IAP Adventures | | Students explore the world of clay in the IAP class Mighty Mugs. Top left: Heidi Peterson, Hadar Ben Ari, Lorenzo Venneri, and Laura Zhang practice their wheelthrowing technique. Bottom photo: Smita Bhattacharjee weighs clay in preparation for her project. | During January’s Independent Activities Period (IAP), members of the MIT community can participate in a wide array of activities, from creating the perfect coffee mug to daytime stargazing — and virtually everything in between. More about IAP → |
Preventing energy loss in windows |
| Mechanical engineers are developing technologies that could prevent heat from entering or escaping windows, potentially preventing a massive loss of energy. Full story via MIT News → | |
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3 Questions: Maria Zuber on guidance for foreign nationals following recent Homeland Security memo | MIT vice president for research clarifies the memo’s intention and provides guidance. Full story via MIT News → |
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New Whitehead Institute center will research sex chromosomes’ impact on women’s health | $10 million gift establishes the Brit Jepson d’Arbeloff Center on Women’s Health. Full story via MIT News → | |
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Making physics and astronomy more welcoming to African-American students | Report co-chaired by MIT professor cites need for “sweeping changes” in academic culture. Full story via MIT News → |
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Zeroing in on decarbonization Wielding complex algorithms, nuclear science and engineering doctoral candidate Nestor Sepulveda spins out scenarios for combating climate change. Full story via MIT News → | |
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The superpowers of superthin materials // The New York Times MIT researchers including Professor Tomás Palacios and postdoc Xining Zang are developing superthin, 2D materials that could power a wide variety of applications. “What if we were able to embed electronics in absolutely everything?” Palacios asks. Full story via The New York Times → |
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Meet NASA’s first astronaut graduates of the Artemis program, eligible for missions to the moon and Mars // CNN Research affiliate Warren “Woody” Hoburg ’08 graduated on Friday from NASA’s basic training program and is now eligible for a spaceflight assignment. The NASA graduates also included Raja Chari SM ’01 and Jasmin Moghbeli ’05. Full story via CNN → |
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These patients are hard to treat // The New York Times MIT researchers have found that a program that provided coordinated care for frequently hospitalized patients did not reduce hospital readmissions. Full story via The New York Times → |
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Here’s how to regulate artificial intelligence properly // The Washington Post “If we’re going to govern AI, we need to recognize it for what it is: a tool, with innumerable uses,” writes R. David Edelman of MIT’s Internet Policy Research Initiative about the need to create substantive policies for AI technologies. “That means we need to govern it for the ways people actually use it.” Full story via The Washington Post → |
| | During the 1940s, MIT (along with many institutions around the U.S.) increased recruitment of black and female research staff to ensure continuing advances within wartime units. One such group was the MIT Radiation Laboratory, which staffed the airport maintenance crew seen here in Bedford, Massachusetts. Among Rad Lab employees in this 1945 photo are Lauretta Reid and Louise Gaskins, first two from left in the bottom row. Learn more via the MIT Black History Project → | Name: Donald Surette Affiliation: Custodian in the Department of Facilities Hometown: Saugus, Massachusetts Years at MIT: 7 Musicians you love: Rolling Stones Last great book you read: “Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11” by Mitchell Zuckoff Hobby: Playing pool every Saturday Favorite Olympic sport: Curling Secret superpower: Being a new grandfather Favorite thing about MIT: Interacting with staff across campus |
| | Happy birthday, Tim! The beaver was formally adopted as MIT’s mascot on Jan. 17, 1914. According to legend, the beaver beat out the kangaroo and the elephant as mascot candidates: Tim himself describes this piece of Institute history in an interview he gave on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Full story via Slice of MIT → | |