| Music and the Brain | | | | | | Exposure to different kinds of music influences how the brain interprets rhythm: A study of people in 15 countries reveals that while everyone favors rhythms with simple integer ratios, biases can vary quite a bit across societies. |
| Four-peat: MIT students take first place in the 84th Putnam Math Competition MIT undergraduates win top five spots for the fourth year in a row and capture the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize. |  |
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| How dynamic work design can prevent overload One core operational improvement — moving from a “push” to “pull” method of scheduling — can have large implications for organizations’ agility. |  |
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| Three MIT alumni graduate from NASA astronaut training Marcos Berríos ’06, Christina Birch PhD ’15, and Christopher Williams PhD ’12, now eligible for spaceflight assignments, encourage MIT students to apply for the next astronaut class. |  |
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| Tests show high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion A detailed study of magnets built by MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems confirms they meet requirements for an economic, compact fusion power plant. |  |
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| Nicole McGaa: Ensuring safe travels in space The MIT senior seeks to make spaceflight easier and safer for the human body. |  |
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| Bradley Cooper used this MIT alumnus’ batons in the Oscar-nominated “Maestro” “I love making batons,” says Mark Horowitz ’71, “and I’m proud to have contributed, in a small way, to the film.” |  |
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| To see black holes in stunning detail, she uses “echoes” like a bat // Quanta Magazine Assistant Professor Erin Kara is an observational astrophysicist who works to understand how black holes behave. |
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| Developers got backing for affordable housing. Then the neighborhood found out. // The New York Times Professor Nathaniel Hendren and Associate Professor Justin Steil discuss the difficulty in building affordable housing in opportunity-rich neighborhoods. |
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| Opinion: US energy transition policy is leaving vulnerable workers behind // The Hill Professor Christopher Knittel and graduate student Kailin Graham emphasize the importance of ensuring the transition away from fossil fuels is an equitable process that provides support for vulnerable workers. |
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| “Cyber-physical attacks” fueled by AI are a growing threat, experts say // CNBC Professor Stuart Madnick discusses how the rise of generative AI technologies could lead to cyberattacks on physical infrastructure. |
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| Opinion: The miracle weight-loss drug is also a major budgetary threat // The New York Times Professor Jonathan Gruber, MIT Innovation Fellow Brian Deese, and Stanford University doctoral student Ryan Cummings describe the health benefits and financial risks posed by new weight-loss drugs. |
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| | | This Women’s History Month, we shine a light on the career of Institute Professor Emerita Barbara Liskov, a highly influential computer scientist whose fundamental contributions have shaped modern programming. Among her many accomplishments, Liskov laid the foundation for modern object-oriented programming 50 years ago with a paper introducing the concept of “abstract data types.” In a recent video, produced in recognition of her receipt of the 2023 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science, Liskov is celebrated for “utterly transforming the way software is written, leaving a mark on nearly every single program and app we use today.” |
In a new episode of the Curiosity Unbounded podcast, President Sally Kornbluth talks with Associate Professor Skylar Tibbits, a designer and computer scientist, the founder of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab, and the director of undergraduate design programs in the Department of Architecture. The two discuss 4D printing, self-assembling materials, the inspiration for lab projects, why design at MIT is unique, and the magic in combining the creative with the technical.
Listen to the episode→ |
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| 1,000+ | | Number of free, gently used items taken home and kept out of waste streams by MIT community members at recent Choose to Reuse and Clothing Exchange events |
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