Mostafa Fawzy became interested in physics in high school. It was the “elegance and paradox” of quantum theory that got his attention and led to his studies at the undergraduate and graduate level. But even with a solid foundation of coursework and …
Prof. Caitlin Mueller has been named Innovator of the Year by Architectural Record for her work advancing a “vision for building design and construction that unites these disciplines with computation to create structure that are sustainable, high …
The MIT Museum presents “Remembering the Future,” a new installation by artist Janet Echelman in collaboration with Prof. Caitlin Mueller, reports Kat Barandy for DesignBoom. The installation suspends above the museum’s grand lobby and will be open to the …
Palladium is one of the keys to jump-starting a hydrogen-based energy economy. The silvery metal is a natural gatekeeper against every gas except hydrogen, which it readily lets through. For its exceptional selectivity, palladium is considered one of the …
Noman Bashir, a fellow with MIT’s Climate and Sustainability Consortium, speaks with Smithsonian Magazine reporter Amber X. Chen about the impact of AI data centers on the country’s electric grid and infrastructure. Bashir notes “that the industry’s …
In part 2 of our two-part series on generative artificial intelligence’s environmental impacts, MIT News explores some of the ways experts are working to reduce the technology’s carbon footprint. The energy demands of generative AI are expected to continue …
The Center for International Studies (CIS) empowers students, faculty, and scholars to bring MIT’s interdisciplinary style of research and scholarship to address complex global challenges. In this Q&A, Mihaela Papa, the center's director of …
Geopolitical tensions increasingly threaten global climate cooperation. Great power competition between the United States, the European Union, and China complicates effective climate action by embedding it within broader geopolitical conflicts. …
Placing a lit candle in a window to welcome friends and strangers is an old Irish tradition that took on greater significance when Mary Robinson was elected president of Ireland in 1990. At the time, Robinson placed a lamp in Áras an Uachtaráin — the …
Machine-learning models can speed up the discovery of new materials by making predictions and suggesting experiments. But most models today only consider a few specific types of data or variables. Compare that with human scientists, who work in a …
The design of transportation taxation has long been a critical issue in public finance, with policymakers seeking systems that are both efficient and equitable. In the United States, the federal gas tax—a longstanding mechanism for funding transportation …
MIT professors Zachary Hartwig and Wanda Orlikowski exemplify a rare but powerful kind of mentorship — one grounded not just in intellectual excellence, but in deep personal care. They remind us that transformative academic leadership starts with humanity …
At the center of nuclear reactors across the United States, a new type of chromium-coated fuel is being used to make the reactors more efficient and more resistant to accidents. The fuel is one of many innovations sprung from collaboration between …
The artificial intelligence models that turn text into images are also useful for generating new materials. Over the last few years, generative materials models from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta have drawn on their training data to help …
In recent years, power outages caused by extreme weather or substation attacks have exposed the vulnerability of the electric grid. For the nation’s military bases, which are served by the grid, being ready for outages is a matter of national security. …
Boston Globe reporter Jon Chesto spotlights the kickoff event for the new MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance, which will “fund research initiatives, fellowships, and other programs with an eye toward improving energy technologies and …
George Tynan followed a nonlinear path to fusion. Following his undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering, Tynann's work in the industry spurred his interest in rocket propulsion technology. Because most methods for propulsion involve the …
To most, the Arctic can feel like an abstract place, difficult to imagine beyond images of ice and polar bears. But researcher David Whelihan of MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Advanced Undersea Systems and Technology Group is no stranger to the Arctic. …
Before batteries lose power, fail suddenly, or burst into flames, they tend to produce faint sounds over time that provide a signature of the degradation processes going on within their structure. But until now, nobody had figured out how to interpret …
Figure 1. Mean electricity contract prices in Finland. High energy prices—driven by supply disruptions, renewable energy intermittency, and climate policies—have become central to policy discussions. A key concern is the financial burden that high energy …
