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September 7, 2024
Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.
 
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The MITchanic
Amos Winter, wearing a red Team Ferarri jersey, stands by a red Ferarri in front of a contemporary gray house in the woods
      
Professor Amos Winter is a mechanical engineer driven by his Formula 1 passion to find “elegant engineering solutions to perennial problems.” In a recent profile in Esses Magazine, Lecturer Amy Carleton writes that “as a professor, Winter teaches students to be resourceful innovators, while also stressing the need for them to be responsible community partners and user advocates. And as an educator, he resolutely dispels the adage, ‘those who can’t do, teach,’ because his hands-on experience is what compels student buy-in.”
Top Headlines
New filtration material could remove long-lasting chemicals from water
Membranes based on natural silk and cellulose can remove many contaminants, including “forever chemicals” and heavy metals.
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MIT chemists explain why dinosaur collagen may have survived for millions of years
The researchers identified an atomic-level interaction that prevents peptide bonds from being broken down by water.
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This is MIT and yes, we have bananas
The Banana Lounge offers beanbag chairs, camaraderie, and a free, potassium-rich snack to students and visitors alike.
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Study of disordered rock salts leads to battery breakthrough
A new family of integrated rock salt-polyanion cathodes opens door to low-cost, high-energy storage.
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How AI is transforming logistics
Artificial intelligence can address many logistics and supply chain challenges, including vehicle routing.
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Study: EV charging stations boost spending at nearby businesses
The spending increases were particularly pronounced for businesses within 100 yards of charging stations, and for businesses in low-income areas.
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#ThisisMIT
A colorful postcard-sized illustration of MIT’s Killian Court hovers over the actual Killian Court on sunny day. Text via @‌artsatmit: Welcome back, MIT! This year, we’re kicking off with a special highlight: the beautiful campus-inspired art of Hannah Gazdus (@‌wren_in_flight), a master’s student in Mechanical Engineering who blends her passions for precision machine design and creative writing into beautiful works of art. Swipe to see some of her gorgeous illustrations!
In the Media
Receipts taped to windows, barren shelves, and a customer kissing the floor: Memories from the Market Basket protests // The Boston Globe
Professor Thomas Kochan reflects upon the impact of 2014 Market Basket protests.
Hate reading contracts? MIT study explains the real reason legal documents are so hard to understand // Fast Company
MIT researchers uncovered a possible reason why legal documents can be so difficult to read, finding that “convoluted legalese often acts as a way to convey authority.”
Grad students find inevitable patterns in big sets of numbers // Quanta Magazine
Since meeting as undergraduates at MIT, Ashwin Sah ’20 and Mehtaab Sawhney ’20, PhD ’24 have “written a mind-boggling 57 math proofs together, many of them profound advances in various fields.”
Chris Birch aims for outer space // Associated Press
Associated Press reporter Bernie Wilson spotlights Christina “Chris” Birch PhD ’15 and her quest to reach outer space after conquering many miles as a competitive cyclist.
Student Stories
Collage of three images: Andrew Blair sits besides drums and keyboard in front of “Hoodie” artwork. Sonia Kekeh looks up at “A Crowded Field” artwork. Tommaso Salvatori sits in bedroom with artwork “Clinamen.”
The Student Lending Art Program is a unique tradition that allows MIT students to borrow original artwork from MIT’s List Visual Arts Center for the academic year. The extensive collection contains more than 700 framed works of art, primarily prints and photographs, and is made available to students each September. Students from the program’s 2023-24 cohort recently described the artwork they selected and how it impacted them. The program, which is free for all MIT students, is accepting applications for its upcoming cohort through Sept. 10.
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Art is a monologue. Design is a dialogue. If you are an artist, you can do pretty much whatever you like. If you are a designer, there is a function behind it, whatever your form of design is.
—Matthew Carter, type designer, in a recent “Design +” interview from the MIT Morningside Academy for Design
Magic of Mechatronics
Four students in Class 2.737
In class 2.737 (Mechatronics), the most powerful teaching tools include pen and paper: “Students have to be able to work out things on a piece of paper, and make sketches, and write down key calculations in order to be creative,” says Professor David Trumper.
This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by campus charging stations. ☕

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