http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/ Headlines from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology News Office. en-us http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www/mitlogo-rss.jpg http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/ 88 31 Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/glue-0709.html MIT researchers have developed a way to tailor surgical glues to specific tissues, such as the lungs or intestines. Such adhesives can be used to seal tissues after an operation or to repair wounds. Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/glue-0709.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/flexible-0708.html MIT researchers have developed light-detecting fibers that, when weaved into a web, act as a flexible camera that could display information about one's surroundings on a small screen. Wed, 8 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/flexible-0708.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fee-0706.html By studying the chirps of tiny songbirds, MIT neuroscientists have gained new insights on trial-and-error learning -- findings that could further understanding of the complex brain structures that play a key role in learning and habit formation in humans. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fee-0706.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/stable-drugs-0629.html Antibody treatments are the most rapidly growing class of drugs, but their relatively short shelf life can be a problem. A computer model developed at MIT aims to help scientists develop antibodies that can be stored for longer periods of time. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/stable-drugs-0629.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mind-0626.html Based on studies involving the blind, MIT neuroscientists have some surprising new insights about how people make inferences about others' state of mind. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mind-0626.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/extreme-0624.html An MIT materials scientist is developing nanocomposite materials that can endure extreme conditions such as radiation and high temperatures, for use in energy production. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/extreme-0624.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/memories-0624.html New work by researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory shows how the sleeping brain replays experiences like video clips, thereby turning fleeting short-term memories into lasting long-term ones. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/memories-0624.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lemelson-0624.html Professor Chad Mirkin, director of Northwestern University's International Institute for Nanotechnology, has been awarded the 2009 $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lemelson-0624.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/knight-0623.html More than 250 students and professionals in the media business attended a conference hosted by MIT's Center for Future Civic Media and the Knight News Challenge, featuring in-depth discussions and presentations on an imaginative array of new media projects. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/knight-0623.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/koch-0622.html Researchers from around the world discussed some of the latest developments at the June 19 annual symposium of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, held in Kresge Auditorium. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/koch-0622.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lester-0619.html Professor Richard Lester has been named the next head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, effective Sept. 1, 2009, Dean of Engineering Subra Suresh announced this week. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lester-0619.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lyons-0619.html Thomas F. Lyons, a longtime employee of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS), died on Sunday, May 3, in Flagler Beach, Fla. He was 70. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lyons-0619.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/coal-0619.html Professor Ernest Moniz, director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and former undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, today unveiled a report on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/coal-0619.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ragon-0618.html Scientists recently gathered at MIT for a Ragon Institute symposium to discuss how to harness computational immunology to develop treatments for some of today's deadliest infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ragon-0618.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/candida-0618.html An international team, including researchers from the Broad Institute, decoded and analyzed the genomes of fungal species that cause bloodstream infections. Their findings offer some initial clues about what makes some fungi pathogenic and others not. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/candida-0618.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/egypt-0618.html The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Arab Republic of Egypt announced the creation of a new fellowship program to provide financial support to students from Egypt to study engineering and other subjects at MIT. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/egypt-0618.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/crooked-0617.html An international team of researchers, led by MIT physicist Joshua Winn, has found a planet around another star whose orbit is steeply tilted from the plane of the star's equator, a finding that contradicts some theories about how solar systems form. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/crooked-0617.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nems-0616.html MIT engineers looked to the design of a living cell as they sought ways to dissipate heat in tiny electromechanical systems. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nems-0616.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/stretchable-0615.html A study of stickers peeling from windows could lead to a new way to precisely control the fabrication of stretchable electronics, according to a team of researchers including one at MIT. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/stretchable-0615.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/creep-0615.html MIT civil engineers have for the first time identified what causes concrete to gradually deform, decreasing its durability and shortening the lifespan of infrastructures such as bridges and nuclear waste containment vessels. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/creep-0615.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/apollo40-0612.html This week's Giant Leaps celebration at MIT honored those who made the Apollo Program a success and applied the lessons of their experience to the greatest challenges and opportunities of our future. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/apollo40-0612.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/metastasis-0612.html High levels of a tiny fragment of RNA appear to suppress the spread of breast cancer in mice, according to researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/metastasis-0612.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/picower-0612.html Picower Professor of Neuroscience and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Li-Huei Tsai will succeed Mark Bear as director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/picower-0612.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/legatum-0611.html The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT has awarded summer seed grants to eight teams of students, giving them the necessary means to bolster innovative solutions to development challenges in low-income countries. Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/legatum-0611.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hpcc-0611.html What began as an effort to better coordinate information technology at MIT has blossomed into a major drive between the Institute, the state of Massachusetts and several key players in industry and academia to design a high-performance computing center. Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hpcc-0611.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wodiczko-tt0610.html This week, MIT Visual Arts Professor Krzysztof Wodiczko opened a solo video installation at the 53rd Venice Biennale -- considered by many the world's most important venue for contemporary art -- about the plight of immigrants in Europe. Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wodiczko-tt0610.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/traffic-0609.html A team of MIT mathematicians has developed a model that describes how "phantom jams" -- traffic jams with no apparent cause -- can appear, which could help road designers minimize the odds of their formation. Tue, 9 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/traffic-0609.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wild-rides-0609.html Astronomers announced today that stars of a recently discovered type, dubbed ultracool subdwarfs, take some pretty wild rides as they orbit around the Milky Way, following paths that are very different from those of typical stars. Tue, 9 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wild-rides-0609.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/alumni-0608.html More than 3,100 alumni and guests gathered last weekend to celebrate their MIT connections and give back to the Institute. Alumni reunion gifts to MIT, reported at the annual Tech Day luncheon at the Johnson Athletic Center on Saturday, June 6, totaled more than $152 million. Mon, 8 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/alumni-0608.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/pest-0608.html In what may offer an alternative to chemical pesticides, MIT researchers and collaborators from Northeastern University have discovered a novel way to make pest insects more susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections by blocking part of the immune defenses. Mon, 8 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/pest-0608.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/comm-wrap-0605.html Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick advised graduates at MIT's 143rd Commencement to take advantage of the skills they have learned at MIT to "write the next chapter of the American story." Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/comm-wrap-0605.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/volcanoes-0605.html For decades, geologists have been puzzled by the differences among arc volcanoes and how they form. Now, thanks to fieldwork, experiments and computer modeling an MIT team has solved the mystery. Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/volcanoes-0605.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/corporation-0605.html The MIT Corporation, the Institute's board of trustees, elected nine term members and three life members at its quarterly meeting on Friday morning, June 5, before the Commencement exercises. Dana G. Mead, chair of the Corporation, announced the election results. Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/corporation-0605.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/apollo-tt0603.html MIT is hosting a celebration June 10-12 to honor those who made the Apollo Program a success, and to apply the lessons of their experience to the greatest challenges and opportunities of our future. Wed, 3 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/apollo-tt0603.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/awards-index-tt0603.html Awards and recognition of MIT students, faculty and staff for the academic year 2008-2009. Wed, 3 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/awards-index-tt0603.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/bio-electronics-0603.html MIT engineers have built a fast, ultra-broadband, low-power radio chip, modeled on the human inner ear, that could enable wireless devices capable of receiving cell phone, Internet, radio and television signals. Wed, 3 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/bio-electronics-0603.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fetal-0601.html A new system developed by an MIT scientist and colleagues could allow earlier monitoring of the fetal heartbeat and could prevent serious or even fatal complications. Mon, 1 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fetal-0601.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/inl-0530.html The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today began a major new collaboration that will enrich each institution's research activities in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Mon, 1 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/inl-0530.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/counting-0528.html Engineers have designed cells that can count and "remember" cellular events, using simple circuits in which a series of genes are activated in a specific order. Such circuits could serve as biosensors that count exposures to different toxins. Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/counting-0528.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cortex-0528.html Neuroscientists found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex fire in unison and send signals to the visual cortex to do the same, generating gamma oscillations that are associated with cognitive states such as attention, learning and consciousness. Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cortex-0528.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/killian-0522.html Rudolf Jaenisch, professor of biology and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute, is MIT's James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award winner for 2009-2010. Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/killian-0522.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/vegas-tt0520.html Natasha Schull is publishing her conclusions on how closely guarded, proprietary mathematical algorithms and immersive, interactive technology are used to keep people gambling on slots and video poker machines until they "play to extinction." Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/vegas-tt0520.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nuclear-0519.html A panel of nuclear power experts met on Monday at MIT to discuss how to address nuclear waste recycling or disposal, which many analysts consider the biggest obstacle to building a new generation of nuclear power plants across America. Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nuclear-0519.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/robotherapy-0519.html Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they're building on that work to help children with brain injuries and disorders such as cerebral palsy. Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/robotherapy-0519.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/zaragoza-0519.html In 2003 the Aragón government partnered with the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics to create the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program. Since then, MIT has had a strong impact on the growth of the Aragón community. Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/zaragoza-0519.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/metal-0519.html A new nickel-tungsten alloy developed at MIT could become a more environmentally friendly alternative to the chrome coatings now found in car bumpers, bathroom fixtures and engine parts. Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/metal-0519.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/roulette-0519.html New analysis of probabilities shows that global warming could be twice as severe as previously thought, unless serious actions are taken soon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/roulette-0519.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/teaching-0518.html Those in MIT's Department of Economics and the MIT Sloan School of Management suggest the prolonged recession has opened up new areas for research and encouraged innovative approaches to teaching economics. Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/teaching-0518.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/creative-0515.html Fast Company magazine has named Joseph F. Coughlin, director of MIT's AgeLab, and Neri Oxman, a graduate student in MIT's Media Lab, to its inaugural list of the "100 Most Creative People in Business." Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/creative-0515.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/100K-0514.html Top honors this year in the 20th annual MIT $100k Entrepreneurship Competition went to Ksplice, a system that promises to end the annoyance and delays of having to reboot a computer every time a new update is installed. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/100K-0514.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/smallRNA-0514.html An ingenious new method of obtaining marine microbe samples in a natural setting may make it possible finally to learn on a broad scale how microbial communities living at different ocean depths and regions respond to environmental stimuli. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/smallRNA-0514.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chu-0513.html Steven Chu, the secretary of the Department of Energy, said in a talk on Tuesday at MIT that a major increase in basic research is necessary in the United States in order to provide the new energy technologies needed to avert catastrophic climate change. Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chu-0513.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/clean-energy-0513.html The MIT Clean Energy Prize has announced that Husk Insulation was selected from more than 100 student entries to receive the $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Grand Prize sponsored by NSTAR and the U.S. Department of Energy. Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/clean-energy-0513.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hosler-balsa-0512.html For the first time in nearly 500 years, a full-size balsa-wood raft just like those used in pre-Columbian Pacific trade took to the water on Sunday, May 10. Only this time, instead of the Pacific coast, the replica raft was floated in the Charles River basin. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hosler-balsa-0512.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/jpal-0512.html MIT alumnus Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel has committed a substantial gift to support the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in its mission to reduce poverty worldwide by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/jpal-0512.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/atira-0512.html The first asteroid ever discovered that has an orbit completely inside the Earth's, found by an MIT Lincoln Laboratory telescope in 2003, has been formally named Atira by its discoverers. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/atira-0512.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cancer-detect-0512.html MIT researchers have developed the first implantable device that can monitor a tumor for weeks or months after a biopsy, tracking its growth and how it responds to treatment. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cancer-detect-0512.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/scratch-adv-0512.html On May 16, two years from the day of its initial launch, the Media Lab-developed programming language Scratch is being celebrated with events in more than 100 locations in 41 countries around the world, says its creator, Mitchel Resnick. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/scratch-adv-0512.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/tbi-0512.html Transaction prices of commercial property sold by major institutional investors fell by almost 6 percent in the first quarter of 2009, according to an index developed and published by the MIT Center for Real Estate. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/tbi-0512.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cartilage-0511.html MIT engineers have built a new tissue scaffold that can stimulate bone and cartilage growth when transplanted into the knees and other joints. The scaffold could offer a potential new treatment for sports injuries and other cartilage damage, such as arthritis. Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cartilage-0511.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fulbright-0507.html Two recent MIT graduates and 11 current students have been awarded Fulbright scholarships to study abroad for the 2009-2010 academic year. Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fulbright-0507.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/oxman-tt0506.html Media Lab student Neri Oxman creates art and structural designs that draw from the way nature works. That approach has already earned several of her works a place in the permenant collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Wed, 6 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/oxman-tt0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hdac2-0506.html A team led by researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has now pinpointed the exact gene responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn. Wed, 6 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hdac2-0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/taskforce-0505.html MIT's Institute-wide Planning Task Force is now evaluating ideas from the MIT community on how to handle budget reductions and is working toward its preliminary recommendations, due in June. Tue, 5 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/taskforce-0505.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/electrospun-fibers-0505.html MIT Professor of Chemical Engineering Gregory Rutledge is exploring new ways to create electrospun nanofibers, which hold promise for applications including protective clothing and wearable power. Tue, 5 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/electrospun-fibers-0505.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/dalai-0505.html Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, exhorted a packed audience at Kresge Auditorium on Thursday, April 30, to work toward a more compassionate world, emphasizing that a loving and ethical life can be based on any religion, or on no religion. Tue, 5 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/dalai-0505.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/homer-0504.html Researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shed light on how a protein implicated in cognitive disorders maintains and regulates brain cell structures that are key to learning and memory. Mon, 4 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/homer-0504.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/misti-call-0504.html MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) has launched a call for proposals for its second round of Global Seed Funds grants. Mon, 4 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/misti-call-0504.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/sigma-xi-0504.html Andrew Lo will deliver the 2009 Sigma Xi lecture titled, "Models vs. Mania: The Role of Quantitative Analysis Research in the Current Financial Crisis," at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, in the MIT Faculty Club, E26, 50 Memorial Drive. Mon, 4 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/sigma-xi-0504.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/graphene-feature-0504.html Graphene is a recently-discovered material with unique characteristics, and several teams of MIT researchers are hard at work trying to understand its behavior and find new applications for it. Mon, 4 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/graphene-feature-0504.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/2.007-adv-0501.html More than 150 robots, in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and capabilities, will battle it out on May 6 and 7 in a contest to see which can collect the most soda cans and simulated bales of trash and return then to a recycling facility all in under a minute. Fri, 1 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/2.007-adv-0501.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/misti-fellowship-0501.html Five MIT students have received a 2009 Anthony Sun Fellowship Award to pursue international internships this summer through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). Fri, 1 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/misti-fellowship-0501.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/physics-diversity-0430.html MIT's physics department has launched several initiatives to draw more women and underrepresented minorities to its faculty and student body. Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/physics-diversity-0430.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/dalailama-center-0430.html The Dalai Lama today visits MIT to dedicate a new center aimed at promoting ethical behavior and leadership. Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/dalailama-center-0430.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nas-members-0428.html Six MIT faculty members are among the 72 newly elected members and 18 foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nas-members-0428.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lemelson-sustainability-0428.html The Lemelson-MIT Program today named Dr. Joel Selanikio as the recipient of the 2009 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability in recognition of his accomplishments in public health and international development. Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lemelson-sustainability-0428.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/efrc-0427.html MIT will be home to two of 46 new multimillion-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), the White House announced this week. Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/efrc-0427.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/moniz-pcast-0427.html MIT Energy Initiative Director Ernest J. Moniz is among the 20 leading U.S. scientists and engineers selected to serve on President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/moniz-pcast-0427.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/gamma-0426.html MIT researchers and colleagues have found a way to induce gamma waves -- high-frequency brain waves thought to be crucial to consciousness, attention, learning and memory -- by shining laser light directly onto the brains of mice. Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/gamma-0426.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/synthesis-0424.html For the first time, MIT chemists have synthesized a complex compound, first discovered in ocean-living fungus, that has shown the ability to kill cancer cells. Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/synthesis-0424.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ochsendorf-prize-0424.html Regulation of carbon emissions could pose a significant challenge to the way engineers design products, cities and more, but a solution may be as simple as using archaic building materials such as soil, says MIT Associate Professor John Ochsendorf. Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ochsendorf-prize-0424.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/dapervarsity-0423.html Today, MIT announces that the following eight varsity sports will no longer be offered at the Institute: Alpine Skiing, Golf, Men's Ice Hockey, Women's Ice Hockey, Men's Gymnastics, Women's Gymnastics, Pistol, and Wrestling. These changes are effective at the conclusion of this academic year. Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/dapervarsity-0423.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/usnews-grad-0423.html MIT's School of Engineering was again ranked No. 1 in U.S. News & World Report's annual evaluation of American graduate school programs, which hits newsstands next week. Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/usnews-grad-0423.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/origin-of-cells-0422.html An analysis by researchers at MIT and Boston University has undercut a theory about the origin of a basic structure within animal and plant cells. Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/origin-of-cells-0422.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/aaas-fellows-0420.html Eight members of the MIT community are among the 210 new Fellows and 19 new Foreign Honorary Members recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/aaas-fellows-0420.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chiral-microbes-0417.html Scientists at MIT and Brown University studying how marine bacteria move recently discovered that a sharp variation in water current segregates right-handed bacteria from their left-handed brethren, impelling the microbes in opposite directions. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chiral-microbes-0417.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/speech-processing-0416.html Technology under development by Pedro Torres-Carrasquillo and his colleagues at Lincoln Laboratory may lead to a dialect identification system that compensates for a translator's inexperience with multiple variants of a spoken language. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/speech-processing-0416.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/designer-protein-0415.html Interactions between proteins underlie nearly everything that happens inside a cell. MIT researchers have developed a model that can be used to design new protein interactions and could help scientists create proteins for use in developing new drugs. Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/designer-protein-0415.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/awards-announcement-0414.html The MIT News Office will publish the 2009 Institute Awards issue in print (MIT Tech Talk) and online on June 3 this year. The annual special section lists winners of annual awards, by department, along with photographs where available. Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/awards-announcement-0414.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/coughlinq&a-0414.html AgeLab Director Joseph F. Coughlin discusses new technologies such as the Age Gain Now Empathy System, a suit that allows wearers to experience the physical restrictions of age, and can be used to improve the quality of life of older people and those who care for them. Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/coughlinq&a-0414.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mitei-event-0413.html At a policy forum hosted by MIT on Monday Rep. Edward Markey announced that he and Rep. Henry Waxman will begin a series of high-level hearings next week in Washington to help refine the details of a clean energy bill they introduced two weeks ago. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mitei-event-0413.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nanopatterning-0409.html Researchers at MIT have found a novel method for etching extremely narrow lines on a microchip, using a material that can be switched from transparent to opaque, and vice versa, just by exposing it to certain wavelengths of light. Thu, 9 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nanopatterning-0409.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/illusion-0409.html Researchers have found that the phenomenon called motion aftereffect occurs not only in our visual perception but also in our tactile perception, and that these senses actually influence one another. Simply, how you feel the world can actually change how you see it. Thu, 9 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/illusion-0409.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/blood-pressure-tt0408.html High blood pressure is a common risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and aneurysms, so diagnosing and monitoring it are critically important. MIT engineers have built a wearable blood pressure sensor that can provide continuous, 24-hour monitoring. Wed, 8 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/blood-pressure-tt0408.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/community-gardens-tt0408.html This summer, vegetables, flowers and herbs will take the place of some of the cars and trucks atop MIT's West Garage as part of MIT's first-ever community garden. Wed, 8 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/community-gardens-tt0408.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/uli-students-0407.html A School of Architecture and Planning team's plan to redevelop a 75-acre parcel of land within the city of Denver has won the Urban Land Institute's seventh annual Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/uli-students-0407.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mr-magnet-0407.html For almost two decades, Paul Thomas, a technical supervisor at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, has brought his truckload of magnetic demonstrations to area schools to excite students about science. After 17 years MIT's Mr. Magnet is taking his show off the road. Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mr-magnet-0407.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/novel-needle-0406.html Each year, hundreds of thousands of people suffer medical complications from hypodermic needles that penetrate too far under their skin. A new device developed by MIT engineers aims to prevent this from happening. Mon, 6 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/novel-needle-0406.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/yeast-games-0406.html A team of MIT researchers has used game theory to show how cooperative behaviors in yeast can be compatible with evolutionary theory. Mon, 6 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/yeast-games-0406.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fuzzy-logic-0403.html Living cells are bombarded with messages from the outside world -- hormones and other chemicals tell them to grow, migrate, die or do nothing. Inside the cell, complex signaling networks interpret these cues and make life-and-death decisions. Fri, 3 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/fuzzy-logic-0403.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/virus-battery-0402.html For the first time, MIT researchers have shown they can genetically engineer viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery through a cheap and environmentally benign process. Thu, 2 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/virus-battery-0402.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/financial-sym-tt0401.html Six months after a panel of five MIT faculty experts in economics and business warned that the then just-emerging financial crises would get much worse, the same panel re-convened and found bright spots on the economic horizon. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/financial-sym-tt0401.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/killian-0331.html If the lesson of this year's Killian Award lecture could be told as a folk proverb, it might be this: Water changes land, land changes plant, plant changes land, land changes water. Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/killian-0331.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/truman-0327.html An MIT junior who is working to make it easier for physically challenged individuals in Africa to move around has been awarded a 2009 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/truman-0327.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/financial-syposium-adv-0327.html Several MIT financial experts will discuss the current economic climate and how it has changed in the last six months during a talk titled "The U.S. Financial Crisis … Is There an End in Sight?" Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/financial-syposium-adv-0327.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/3q-stewart-0326.html In this installment of "3 Questions" Charles Stewart III, head of MIT's Department of Political Science, discusses the findings of a survey he helped conduct on how American voters experienced Election Day 2008. Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/3q-stewart-0326.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/animal-behavior-0326.html For the first time, MIT engineers and colleagues have observed the initiation of a mass gathering and subsequent migration of hundreds of millions of animals -- in this case, fish. Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/animal-behavior-0326.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hhmi-early-0326.html Three scientists were today named Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Early Career Scientists, part of a new initiative designed to give promising researchers more time and resources to focus on their boldest -- and potentially transformative -- research ideas. Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hhmi-early-0326.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cancer-test-0324.html Scientists at MIT, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical Schoolhave developed a test that could help doctors precisely identify which breast cancer patients should receive aggressive therapy. Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cancer-test-0324.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hockfield-whitehouse-0323.html At a press briefing at the White House on Monday, MIT President Susan Hockfield joined U.S. President Barack Obama in calling for a "truly historic" new level of federal funding for clean energy research. Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hockfield-whitehouse-0323.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lo-interview-0323.html Andrew W. Lo, the Harris & Harris Group Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management, shares his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities presented by the economic crisis. Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lo-interview-0323.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/open-access-0320.html In a move aimed at broadening access to MIT's research and scholarship, faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have unanimously voted to make their scholarly articles available to the public for free and open access on the Web. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/open-access-0320.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/police-story-0320.html The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is appointing a special review panel to determine whether MIT Police have the policies, governance and disciplinary systems needed to promote police practice at the highest level. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/police-story-0320.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/police-statement-0320.html MIT Executive Vice President and Treasurer Theresa M. Stone has issued the following statement regarding the arrest of an MIT Police officer. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/police-statement-0320.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/disc1-0319.html Researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have found that inhibiting a key brain enzyme in mice reversed schizophrenia-like symptoms. The finding identified how a particular gene controls this brain enzyme. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/disc1-0319.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/flying-car-0319.html A prototype of what is being touted as the world's first practical flying car took to the air for the first time this month, a milestone in a project started four years ago by students in MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/flying-car-0319.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/graphene-palacios-0319.html New research findings at MIT could lead to microchips that operate at much higher speeds than is possible with today's standard silicon chips, leading to cell phones and other communications systems that can transmit data much faster. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/graphene-palacios-0319.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hynes-q&a-tt0318.html MIT Professor Richard Hynes discusses the impact of President Obama's recent announcement that the federal government will expand its funding of certain types of embryonic stem cell research. Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/hynes-q&a-tt0318.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/obama-economists-0317.html American presidents have famously raided universities to build their policy teams. President Barack Obama has tapped a number of MIT-trained economists to craft a response to the worst economic downturn in generations. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/obama-economists-0317.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/energy-manufacturing-0317.html Modern manufacturing methods are spectacularly inefficient in their use of energy and materials, according to a detailed MIT analysis of the energy use of 20 major manufacturing processes. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/energy-manufacturing-0317.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/harmless-intruder-0316.html MIT planetary scientist Richard Binzel found that an asteroid that whizzed past Earth on March 2 was smaller than originally thought. Observations showed that if it had been on collision course it would probably have disintegrated harmlessly in the atmosphere. Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/harmless-intruder-0316.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/climate-shock-0313.html A rising tide is said to lift all boats. Rising global temperatures, however, may lead to increased disparities between rich and poor countries, according to a recent MIT economic analysis of the impact of climate change on growth. Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/climate-shock-0313.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/battery-material-0311.html MIT engineers have created a kind of beltway that allows for the rapid transit of electrical energy through a well-known battery material, an advance that could usher in smaller, lighter batteries that could recharge in seconds rather than hours. Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/battery-material-0311.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/prinn-greenhouse-tt0311.html A gas used for fumigation has the potential to contribute significantly to future greenhouse warming, but because its production has not yet reached high levels there is still time to nip this potential contributor in the bud, according to an international team of researchers. Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/prinn-greenhouse-tt0311.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wilson-race-0310.html Rich Wilson SM '76 piloted his 60-foot racing yacht, Great American III, across the finish line at Les Sables d'Olonne in France on Tuesday, March 10, after sailing nonstop for four months -- and 26,000 miles -- around the world. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wilson-race-0310.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diversity-roundtable-0310.html Ways to enhance diversity were explored in the March 9 HERC 2009 Diversity Roundtable at MIT. Human resource professionals brainstormed goals for making work places welcoming to all races, ages, genders and work styles. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diversity-roundtable-0310.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/oldjobs-0310.html Dramatic shifts in the U.S. labor market in the last 25 years are relegating older workers -- even those with a college education -- to lower-wage jobs, according to a research paper by MIT Economics Professor David Autor. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/oldjobs-0310.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/turing-liskov-q&a-0310.html On the occasion of her winning the Turing Award, Institute Professor Barbara Liskov participated in an interview with the MIT News Office in which she discussed her role in shaping the past, present and future of computer science. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/turing-liskov-q&a-0310.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/turing-liskov-0310.html Institute Professor Barbara Liskov has won the Association for Computing Machinery's A.M. Turing Award, one of the highest honors in science and engineering, for her pioneering work in the design of computer programming languages. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/turing-liskov-0310.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/drug-delivery-0309.html MIT researchers have demonstrated that a gel composed of small, woven protein fragments can successfully carry and release proteins of different sizes, potentially enabling delivery of drugs such as insulin and trastuzumab (Herceptin). Mon, 9 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/drug-delivery-0309.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/macvicar-0305.html Two professors from the School of Engineering and two from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences were named MacVicar Faculty Fellows this year in recognition of their innovative teaching practices and accomplishments. Thu, 5 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/macvicar-0305.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/parkinsons-stem-0305.html Whitehead Institute researchers have developed a novel method of removing potential cancer-causing genes during the reprogramming of skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients into an embryonic-stem-cell-like state. Thu, 5 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/parkinsons-stem-0305.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nanostitching-0305.html MIT engineers are using carbon nanotubes only billionths of a meter thick to stitch together aerospace materials in work that could make airplane skins and other products some 10 times stronger at a nominal increase in cost. Thu, 5 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nanostitching-0305.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wound-heal-0304.html MIT sophomore Asad Moten has invented of a scaffold that can help regenerate tissue and that may one day be able to help patients with spinal cord injuries, serious burns, nerve defects and other chronic wounds. Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/wound-heal-0304.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/transportation-0304.html The Massachusetts Institute of Technology today launched Transportation@MIT, a coordinated effort to address one of civilization's most pressing challenges: the environmental impact of the world's ever-increasing demand for transportation. Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/transportation-0304.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/energy-conference-adv-tt0304.html MIT's annual student-run Energy Conference, now in its fourth year, continues to grow and has added some new features this year. The theme of this year's conference is "Accelerating Change in Global Energy." Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/energy-conference-adv-tt0304.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/transportation-story-tt0304.html Transportation@MIT is a new faculty-led initiative that will draw on the strengths of three of the Institute's schools to address one of civilization's most pressing challenges: the environmental impact of the world's every-increasing demand for transportation. Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/transportation-story-tt0304.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/macular-degen-0303.html A new MIT study sheds light on how the brain's visual cortex can re-map itself in response to visual deprivation caused by macular degeneration, the most common form of adult blindness. Tue, 3 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/macular-degen-0303.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lemelson-mit-0303.html MIT graduate student and biomedical engineer Geoffrey von Maltzahn is this year's winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for his promising innovations in the area of cancer therapy. Tue, 3 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lemelson-mit-0303.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cbi-esd-0227.html The MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation is joining the Engineering Systems Division as one of its numerous research initiatives, allowing ESD and CBI to more closely align their efforts in tackling large-scale challenges in the healthcare industry. Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cbi-esd-0227.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/bartolotta-0227.html MIT senior and men's basketball guard Jimmy Bartolotta was honored again this week by being named to this year's ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America men's basketball team. Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/bartolotta-0227.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/arts-mcdermott-adv-0227.html Internationally renowned video artist Bill Viola has been selected by MIT's Council for the Arts as the recipient of the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts, which recognizes the highest standard of creative achievement on a national level. Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/arts-mcdermott-adv-0227.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/deaf-touch-0226.html Researchers in MIT's Sensory Communication Group are working on a new generation of devices to aid the deaf by translating sound waves to vibrations. This could be an important tool for deaf people who rely on lip reading and can't use or can't afford cochlear implants. Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/deaf-touch-0226.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/solar-car-adv-0225.html MIT's Solar Electric Vehicle Team, the oldest such student team in the country, has just finished construction of its latest high-tech car and will be unveiling it to the public this Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. in Lobby 13. Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/solar-car-adv-0225.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nano-origami-0224.html A team of researchers is developing a new 'nano-origami' technique that allows engineers to fold nanoscale materials into simple 3-D structures. The tiny folded materials could potentially lead to better computer memory storage and faster microprocessors. Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nano-origami-0224.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/misti-seedfund-0224.html Across the Institute awarded teams will receive nearly half a million dollars in funding as part of a new program by the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). Awardees include undergraduate, graduate or post-doctoral student participation. Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/misti-seedfund-0224.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/plasma-rocket-0224.html Satellites orbiting the Earth must occasionally be nudged to stay on the correct path. MIT scientists are developing a new rocket that could make this and other spacecraft maneuvers much less costly. Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/plasma-rocket-0224.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/muh-award-0223.html Robert C. Merton, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, will receive the 2009 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award presented by the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/muh-award-0223.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/check-fraud-0223.html Several individuals and institutions have recently reported receiving fraudulent checks from various large academic institutions, including MIT. These fraudulent checks appear to have been issued in a check overpayment scam. Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/check-fraud-0223.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/itw-bicilavadora-0219.html A pedal-powered washing machine that MIT students and staff built mostly from bicycle parts and empty barrels could make a big difference to the quality of life, and at the same time could be built locally and thereby create jobs. Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/itw-bicilavadora-0219.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/algal-blooms-0219.html Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering explain how thin layers of tiny organisms form at sea and how work could help predict harmful algal blooms like red tide. Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/algal-blooms-0219.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/letter-to-community-0219.html In a letter to the MIT community, MIT President Susan Hockfield provides updates on Institute finances and planning. Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/letter-to-community-0219.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/sloan-fellows-0217.html Six junior MIT faculty have won 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellows, intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/sloan-fellows-0217.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/bacteria-energy-0217.html In the search for answers to the planet's biggest challenges, some are turning to its tiniest organisms: bacteria. MIT researchers are trying to manipulate bacteria's unique abilities to help generate energy and clean up Earth's atmosphere. Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/bacteria-energy-0217.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/kauffman-study-0217.html A Kauffman Foundation study released today demonstrates the critical role universities play not only in fostering innovation and entrepreneurial growth, but in stimulating the much-needed recovery in regional and global economies. Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/kauffman-study-0217.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diarrhea-0213.html Nearly 2 million people per year die from diarrhea, the vast majority of them in poor countries in Africa and Asia. New research from MIT indicates that underlying, low-level undiagnosed infection may greatly add to the severity of a significant number of these cases. Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diarrhea-0213.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chinaambassador-tt0211.html China's ambassador to the United States, Zhou Wenzhong, called for increased global cooperation on a host of international issues during a visit to MIT on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chinaambassador-tt0211.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/excellence-tt0211.html The 15 individuals and three teams who won MIT Excellence Awards this year went to extraordinary lengths to improve the lives of others, whether those were colleagues deployed in distant lands or working right on campus. Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/excellence-tt0211.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/simons-tt0211.html Jim '58 and Marilyn Simons, along with the Simons Foundation, recently made a gift of $4.5 million to establish the Simons Initiative on Autism and the Brain at MIT. Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/simons-tt0211.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/itw-pda-tt0211.html For patients who have drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis, it's critical to monitor the disease as closely as possible. That means monthly testing throughout a two-year course of powerful antibiotics, with injections six days a week for the first six months. Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/itw-pda-tt0211.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/comm-speaker-0210.html Deval Patrick, governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will deliver the MIT Commencement address on June 5, 2009. Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/comm-speaker-0210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/china-ambassador-adv-0209.html MIT is honored to host a visit by Zhou Wenzhong, the Chinese ambassador to the United States. As a featured speaker at the MIT China Forum on Tuesday, Feb. 10, Zhou will lecture on "China's Development and China-U.S. Relations." Mon, 9 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/china-ambassador-adv-0209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/shock-absorbers-0209.html A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smoothes the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/shock-absorbers-0209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/autism-gene-0209.html By pinpointing two genes that cause autism-like symptoms in mice, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown for the first time that multiple, interacting genetic risk factors may influence the severity of autistic symptoms. Mon, 9 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/autism-gene-0209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ovarian-cancer-0209.html Small RNA molecules can effectively keep ovarian tumors from growing and spreading in mice, according to a team of researchers from MIT, the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Mon, 9 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ovarian-cancer-0209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/taskforce-letter-0209.html Provost L. Rafael Reif, Chancellor Phillip L. Clay and Executive Vice President & Treasurer Theresa M. Stone update the MIT community about the Institute-wide planning process. Mon, 9 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/taskforce-letter-0209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/rett-0209.html A molecule that promotes brain development could serve as a possible treatment for Rett syndrome according to researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Mon, 9 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/rett-0209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/alien-ocean-0205.html When anthropologist Stefan Helmreich decided to study scientists who chase some of the world's smallest creatures in some of the world's most forbidding places, his research took an unexpected twist. Thu, 5 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/alien-ocean-0205.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nature-sponges-0204.html Our earliest animal ancestors, it appears, were sponges. New evidence found by researchers at MIT, UC Riverside and other institutions shows these earliest sponges may predate the Ediacarian period by as much as 80 million years. Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/nature-sponges-0204.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mit-cre-tt0204.html Transaction sale prices of commercial property sold by major institutional investors fell by more than 10 percent -- a record -- in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to an index developed and published at the MIT Center for Real Estate. Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mit-cre-tt0204.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ragon-0204.html The presidents of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University announced today the creation of the Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute, formed to find new ways of preventing and curing human disease through harnessing the power of the immune system. Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ragon-0204.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ragon-mit-tt0204.html MIT is joining a bold new initiative to develop an AIDS vaccine. Founded through a 10-year, $100 million grant from the Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute Foundation, the Ragon Institute will bring together scientists and engineers from MIT, MGH and Harvard. Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ragon-mit-tt0204.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/3q-tsipis-0203.html In this installment of "3 Questions" Kosta Tsipis, former director of MIT's Program in Science and Technology for International Security, discusses the threats posed by nuclear proliferation. Tue, 3 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/3q-tsipis-0203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chameleon-guitar-0203.html Built by a student at MIT's Media Lab the Chameleon Guitar -- so named for its ability to mimic different instruments -- is an electric guitar whose body has a separate central section that is removable. Tue, 3 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chameleon-guitar-0203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/prostate-protein-0202.html Blocking a specific protein complex prevents the formation of tumors in mice genetically predisposed to develop prostate cancer, researchers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have found. Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/prostate-protein-0202.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mlk-breakfast-adv-0202.html Educator and humanitarian Johnnetta B. Cole, the first African-American woman to serve as president of Spelman College, will be the keynote speaker at MIT's 35th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Celebration on Thursday. Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mlk-breakfast-adv-0202.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/parkinsons-gene-0201.html Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have demonstrated one of the first links between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson's disease. Sun, 1 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/parkinsons-gene-0201.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/sloan-forrester-0130.html Jay Forrester, the father of system dynamics, now 90 and a professor emeritus of the MIT Sloan School of Management, took the time to speak with us about sustainability and organizational decision making. Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/sloan-forrester-0130.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/l-dopa-0129.html Research results at MIT may lead to new approaches to the treatment of dyskinesias in Parkinson's patients. Involuntary nodding and rocking are common side effects known as L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias. Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/l-dopa-0129.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/neurotechnology-0129.html The rapidly growing field of neurotechnology is becoming a boon for existing businesses while generating startup ventures. With the aim of grooming the sector's future leaders, MIT has created a new research program and is offering numerous classes. Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/neurotechnology-0129.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/forklift-0121.html Researchers in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are working on a better way to handle supplies in a war zone: a semi-autonomous forklift that can be directed by people safely away from the dangers of the site. Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/forklift-0121.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/racialpolarization-0120.html Through careful analysis of 2008 exit-poll data, researchers found that Barack Obama won the election precisely because of his race, most significantly because of his appeal among black voters who turned out in record numbers. Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/racialpolarization-0120.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/briggs-0120.html Xavier de Souza Briggs, has been named associate director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and will be on a two-year professional leave effective Inauguration Day. Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/briggs-0120.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mitei-masdar-0119.html The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is becoming the inaugural founding public member of MITEI. The collaboration will support ongoing research and development of alternative and renewable energy technologies and solutions. Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mitei-masdar-0119.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/colon-cancer-0119.html Scientists from MIT's Division of Comparative Medicine and Department of Biological Engineering have found that nitric oxide produced by inflammatory cells during bacterial infection can cause colon cells to become cancerous. Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/colon-cancer-0119.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/schizophrenia-0119.html Schizophrenia may blur the boundary between internal and external realities by over-activating a brain system that is involved in self-reflection, and thus causing an exaggerated focus on self, a new MIT and Harvard brain imaging study has found. Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/schizophrenia-0119.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/plant-drug-0118.html In work that could expand the frontiers of genetic engineering, MIT chemists have, for the first time, genetically altered a plant to produce entirely new compounds, some of which could be used as drugs against cancer and other diseases. Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/plant-drug-0118.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diversity-0116.html Building on the momentum established at the Diversity Leadership Congress in November, MIT will launch a new web site dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion at the Institute. Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diversity-0116.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/oil-recovery-0116.html Picture this: an accurate map of a large underground oil reservoir that can guide engineers' efforts to coax the oil from the vast rocky subsurface into wells where it can be pumped out for storage or transport. Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/oil-recovery-0116.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/moonrock-0115.html Rocks that the Apollo astronauts brought back from the moon carried with it a riddle that has puzzled scientists since the early 1970s: What produced the magnetization found in many of those rocks? The puzzle has now been solved by researchers at MIT. Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/moonrock-0115.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/career-tt0114.html Four MIT researchers are among the latest recipients of CAREER awards, the highly selective grants that the National Science Foundation awards to junior faculty members who are likely to become academic leaders of the future. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/career-tt0114.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/obamacisss-0114.html In response to the immense global challenges facing President-elect Barack Obama, scholars affiliated with MIT's Center for International Studies (CIS) have produced a document of succinctly stated fresh ideas and suggestions for the new president's consideration. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/obamacisss-0114.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/aandh-tt0114.html Recent achievements by members of the MIT community Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/aandh-tt0114.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/energy-week-0113.html When it comes to changing the ways energy is produced and used, MIT has long been at the forefront of research. Now, in addition, students, faculty and staff are working hard to put improvements in energy efficiency into practice on campus. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/energy-week-0113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cci-0113.html Imagine if the planet's collective brainpower and computing power could be brought together to tackle some of the world's toughest problems. It may sounds like science fiction, but researchers at MIT's are trying to make it reality. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cci-0113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/camera-blind-0113.html 20 years after Elizabeth Goldring, a senior fellow at MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies and colleagues began work on a "seeing machine," she smiles as she shows a visitor photos she's taken - and can see - with her blind eye. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/camera-blind-0113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diy-bio-0113.html Building a cell from scratch is a lot more complicated than building a computer. But that's just what synthetic biologists, including many at MIT, are trying to figure out how to do. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/diy-bio-0113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mitalert-test-0112.html Be on the lookout this month for a test of the MIT Alert text-messaging service, a key component of the Institute's emergency notification program. Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/mitalert-test-0112.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lunar-institute-0112.html MIT faculty and students will play substantial roles on two of the seven teams that NASA selected to be part of its virtual Lunar Science Institute, in preparation for the resumption of human visits to the moon about a decade from now. Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/lunar-institute-0112.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/macular-0109.html A naturally occurring DNA repair system that normally protects cells from damage can cause retinal degeneration and blindness when overstimulated, according to a new study by MIT researchers. Fri, 9 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/macular-0109.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cassiopeiaa-mit-0108.html Using views captured by several orbiting and ground-based telescopes, an MIT researcher and her colleagues have produced the first fully three-dimensional reconstruction of the remains of a star that exploded in a cosmic cataclysm called a supernova. Thu, 8 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cassiopeiaa-mit-0108.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/economists-0108.html Three MIT economists - Esther Duflo, Amy Finkelstein and Iván Werning - have been singled out by The Economist magazine as among the world's eight best young economists, who are "making a big splash in their discipline and beyond." Thu, 8 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/economists-0108.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/kiplinger-honor-0107.html MIT was ranked number eight among the nation's top 50 private universities in Kiplinger's Personal Finance's annual assessment of schools that combine outstanding academic excellence and exceptional economic value. Wed, 7 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/kiplinger-honor-0107.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/zuber-testimony-0107.html Funding for research and education in science and technology should be a major priority in the economic recovery package, said MIT geophysics professor Maria T. Zuber testified before the Steering and Policy Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Wed, 7 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/zuber-testimony-0107.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/aging-brain-0107.html As people age, memory and the ability to carry out tasks often decline. A new study by MIT neuroscientists has found that memory and cognitive impairments were more associated with loss of brain "white matter," which forms connections within and between brain regions. Wed, 7 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/aging-brain-0107.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/better-stents-0105.html Researchers have been puzzled in recent years by drug-releasing stents that can increase blood clots and heart attacks. Now, a model developed by MIT engineers can predict whether particular types of stents are likely to cause life-threatening side effects. Mon, 5 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/better-stents-0105.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/obit-lemay-0105.html Douglas LaMay, an officer with the Office of Environment, Health & Safety, died on Sunday, Jan. 4. He was 38. Mon, 5 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/obit-lemay-0105.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/vale-feature-0105.html As he steps down from what he good-naturedly calls "year seven of my four-year term as department head," Larry Vale takes satisfaction in what everyone in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning agrees has been a most productive term of office. Mon, 5 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/vale-feature-0105.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cell-fusion-0104.html MIT engineers have developed a new, highly efficient way to pair up cells so they can be fused together into a hybrid cell. Sun, 4 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/cell-fusion-0104.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanorods-1230.html Using tiny gold particles and infrared light, MIT researchers have developed a drug-delivery system that allows multiple drugs to be released in a controlled fashion. Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanorods-1230.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dusp-glasmeier-1223.html Amy Glasmeier, who most recently was the E. Willard Miller Professor of Economic Geography at Penn State, will take over in January as the new head of MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, the first woman to do so since its inception in 1933. Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dusp-glasmeier-1223.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lander-pcast-1222.html President-elect Barack Obama on Friday named Eric Lander, the founding director of the Broad Institute, a co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lander-pcast-1222.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/antibodies-1222.html MIT engineers have found that antibodies do not need a particular sugar attachment long believed to be essential to their function, a discovery that could make producing therapeutic antibodies much easier and cheaper in the future. Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/antibodies-1222.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fluid-trampoline-tt1203.html A water drop placed on a soap film that vibrates up and down may bounce as if on a trampoline -- but it's much more than that, according to MIT mathematicians who say the "fluid trampoline" is the simplest fluid example of chaos theory ever explored. Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fluid-trampoline-tt1203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/agu-malaria-1219.html Modifying the environment by using everything from shovels and plows to plant-derived pesticides may be as important as mosquito nets and vaccinations in the fight against malaria, according to a computerized analysis by MIT researchers. Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/agu-malaria-1219.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/metallic-glass-1218.html Researchers at MIT have made significant progress in understanding a class of materials that has resisted analysis for decades. Their findings could lead to the rapid discovery of a variety of useful new kinds of glass made of metallic alloys. Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/metallic-glass-1218.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/superstar-1218.html When "superstar" academic scientists die, their collaborators experience a significant and permanent decline in productivity, according to a recent paper coauthored by MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Pierre Azoulay. Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/superstar-1218.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aaas-fellows-1218.html The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has awarded the distinction of fellow to 486 members, including nine members of the MIT community. Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aaas-fellows-1218.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rae-fellows-1218.html The United Kingdom's Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) named Forbes Dewey, professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering, and Ed Greitzer, the H.N. Slater Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics, as fellows for 2008. Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rae-fellows-1218.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mitei-total-1218.html The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and Total, a leading oil and gas company, have announced a new energy research collaboration that will support MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change to further understand and mitigate global climate change. Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mitei-total-1218.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lunar-xprize-1217.html MIT faculty and students will be part of a team competing to send the first privately-financed robotic vehicle to the moon, as part of the $30-million Google Lunar X-Prize competition, organizers revealed Wednesday. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lunar-xprize-1217.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1217.html Recent achievements by members of the MIT community Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1217.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/waves-portugal-tt1217.html MIT researchers are working with Portuguese colleagues to design a pilot-scale device that will capture significantly more of the energy in ocean waves than existing systems, and use it to power an electricity-generating turbine. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/waves-portugal-tt1217.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-tsai-1216.html Lauren Tsai, who graduated from MIT with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2004, was killed Saturday in a car crash in Newton. She was 26. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-tsai-1216.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-logemann-1216.html Hugo Logemann, an engineer who helped develop radar at MIT during World War II, died Dec. 2 after a brief illness. He was 89. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-logemann-1216.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/ancient-bacteria-1216.html MIT researchers have found that the pigments responsible for the blue-green stain of the mucus of cystic fibrosis patients are signaling molecules that allow large clusters of the opportunistic infection agent to organize themselves into structured communities. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/ancient-bacteria-1216.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/microfluidic-1216.html MIT engineers have built a device that gives them a view of three-dimensional cell growth and migration, including the formation of blood vessels and the spread of tumor cells. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/microfluidic-1216.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mindell-space-1216.html A team led by MIT researchers released on Monday, Dec. 15, the most comprehensive independent review of the future of the nation's human spaceflight program undertaken in many years. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mindell-space-1216.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/discover-top100-1216.html Five discoveries from MIT have been named to Discover Magazine's Top 100 Stories of 2008. The list appears in the magazine's December issue. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/discover-top100-1216.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-kaufmann-1215.html William W. Kaufmann, an MIT professor emeritus of political science who was one of the country's leading experts on defense analysis in the nuclear age, passed away Dec. 14. He was 90. Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-kaufmann-1215.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/3q-poterba-1215.html In this installment of "3 Questions" James Poterba, the Mistui Professor of Economics, discusses the current economic recession and how long it might last. Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/3q-poterba-1215.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mini-ecosystem-1215.html MIT researchers have created a microbial ecosystem smaller than a stick of gum that sheds new light on the plankton-eat-plankton world at the bottom of the aquatic food chain. The work may lead to better predictions of marine microbes' influence on climate. Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mini-ecosystem-1215.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nano-sensor-1214.html MIT engineers have developed carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells. The sensors can detect chemotherapy drugs as well as environmental toxins and free radicals that damage DNA. Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nano-sensor-1214.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gravity-fingers-1212.html MIT researchers have found an elegant solution to a sticky scientific problem in basic fluid mechanics: Why water doesn't soak into soil at an even rate, but instead forms what looks like fingers of fluid flowing downward. Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gravity-fingers-1212.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/legatum-grants-1212.html The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2008-2009 seed grant program. Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/legatum-grants-1212.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-mcdonough-1211.html Winifred T. McDonough, who spent more than 30 years in various administrative positions at the Institute, died on Monday, Dec. 8. She was 82. Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-mcdonough-1211.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aerial-weather-tt1210.html MIT researchers in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics are trying to improve weather forecasting using robotic aircraft and advanced flight plans that consider millions of variables. Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aerial-weather-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hst-director-1210.html Vice President for Research and Associate Provost Claude Canizares today announced the appointment of Ram Sasisekharan as the new director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology at MIT. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hst-director-1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/info-scraps-tt1210.html In an attempt to better organize scraps of information, a team of MIT computer scientists has developed several software programs that allow users to easily enter, store and retrieve all kinds of information, from e-mail addresses to a list of restaurants you've visited. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/info-scraps-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-nyhart-1210.html Former Dean for Student Affairs John Daniel Nyhart, who helped build community ties at MIT during a time of great unrest on American college campuses, died on Dec. 6 of pneumonia contracted as a result of Lewy Body dementia. He was 77. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-nyhart-1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/affordable-housing-tt1210.html 34 affordable-housing rental units are now available for income-eligible households -- including MIT employees -- at 285 Third Street, which is part of a two-building complex envisioned as a university residential area. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/affordable-housing-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1210.html Recent achievements by members of the MIT community Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dimmest-stars-tt1210.html The two faintest star-like objects ever found, a pair of twin "brown dwarfs" each just a millionth as bright as the sun, have been spotted by a team led by MIT physicist Adam Burgasser. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dimmest-stars-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/alzheimer-mystery-1210.html In work that could lead to new drugs to target Alzheimer's disease, MIT researchers and colleagues have shed light on one of the molecular mysteries surrounding this common form of dementia. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/alzheimer-mystery-1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-materials-tt1210.html Research by MIT scientists and students could lead to cheaper and more efficient solar cells, either by incorporating materials that are so abundant that they could support a major boom in the industry or by cutting production costs for conventional solar cells. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-materials-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dark-matter-tt1210.html Several research projects are underway to try to detect particles that may make up the mysterious "dark matter" beleived to dominate the universe's mass. A new detector built by MIT physicist Jocelyn Monroe and her students finished its initial testing last week. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dark-matter-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dancing-bees-tt1210.html What do honeybees and stock markets have in common? At first glance, not much. An MIT graduate student has developed a methodology for automatically constructing computer models that can accurately describe the behavior of such complex systems. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dancing-bees-tt1210.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/sfs-search-1209.html Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel Hastings has announced a national search for a new executive director of Student Financial Services (SFS). Tue, 9 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/sfs-search-1209.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/central-sq-theater-1208.html A collaboration between theater and science will be celebrated with a fundraising gala on Tuesday, Dec. 9, that officially opens the Central Square Theater (CST) and culminates an 11-year effort by MIT to revitalize a parcel of property in the heart of Cambridge. Mon, 8 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/central-sq-theater-1208.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/kerberos-1208.html MIT has been awarded the Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration in recognition of the Institute's 20 years of work on developing and supporting Kerberos, the world's most widely used authentication system for computer networks.  Mon, 8 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/kerberos-1208.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/santos-award-1208.html Adèle Naudé Santos, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, is being honored with the 2009 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education, given by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Mon, 8 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/santos-award-1208.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-filipowski-1205.html Richard E. Filipowski, a sculptor of international reputation who taught visual design in the School of Architecture and Planning for 36 years, died on Nov. 26. He was 85. Fri, 5 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-filipowski-1205.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lemelson-mit-1205.html The Lemelson-MIT Program has announced that Michael J. Cima, the Sumitomo Electric Industries Professor of Engineering, will be its new faculty director, effective Jan. 1, 2009. Fri, 5 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lemelson-mit-1205.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/reverse-dna-1204.html In work that represents a fundamental shift in scientists' understanding of DNA transcription, MIT researchers have found evidence that two DNA copying machines frequently start from the same site and move in different directions. Thu, 4 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/reverse-dna-1204.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mathbook-tt1203.html A new book, "Recountings: Conversations with MIT Mathematicians," tells the story of the rise of MIT's Department of Mathematics through the eyes of 13 influential MIT mathematicians. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mathbook-tt1203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fusion-results-tt1203.html Research carried out at MIT's Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fusion-results-tt1203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1203.html Recent achievements by members of the MIT community. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/heparin-1203.html A team of researchers led by MIT has confirmed that a contaminant found in several batches of the blood-thinner heparin is linked with severe allergic reactions in patients, dozens of whom died after receiving the tainted drug. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/heparin-1203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/holograms-tt1203.html MIT Museum's newest exhibit, "Luminous Windows: Holograms for the 21st Century," opens Dec. 5. It features works by six artists from five countries and represents artistic and technical advancements in the field of display holography. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/holograms-tt1203.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/techtv-1202.html MIT Tech TV, the video-sharing site for the MIT community, relaunched its site this week with a host of new features to make it more user friendly. Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/techtv-1202.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/opencourseware-1202.html MIT's OpenCourseWare (OCW) has now shared MIT course materials with more than 50 million visitors worldwide, indicating how OCW has grown from a bold idea into a global movement that is reshaping the role of the university in the digital age. Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/opencourseware-1202.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mobilizecms-1202.html When Natural gas companies knock on doors, they typically hold most of the cards. MIT researchers are developing software to extract information from government and corporate databases and make it available in a easy-to-navigate form. Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mobilizecms-1202.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mumbai-day-1201.html All members of the MIT community are invited to a candlelight vigil to honor the memory of those killed and wounded in last week's terror attacks in Mumbai. The vigil will be held in Killian Court on Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 5:30-7 p.m. Mon, 1 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mumbai-day-1201.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/marshall-1201.html Four MIT students have won Marshall Scholarships, allowing them to study for up to two years at a British university. Mon, 1 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/marshall-1201.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aids-day-1126.html MIT is marking World AIDS Day -- Monday, Dec. 1 -- with a series of events on campus aimed at recognizing the effects of the pandemic and helping those suffering from AIDS. Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aids-day-1126.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/ortiz-award-1126.html Christine Ortiz, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, was recently named a 2009 National Security Science and Engineering Fellow. Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/ortiz-award-1126.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-efficiency-1126.html New ways of squeezing out greater efficiency from solar photovoltaic cells are emerging from computer simulations and lab tests conducted by a team of physicists and engineers at MIT. Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-efficiency-1126.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/kfupm-1125.html The production of fresh water and low-carbon energy will be the focus of a seven-year research and educational program launched between faculty in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Saudi Arabia's King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/kfupm-1125.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/roboclam-1125.html The simple razor clam has inspired a new MIT robot that could lead to a "smart" anchor that burrows through the ocean floor. The RoboClam is being developed to explore the performance capabilities of clam-inspired digging and the behavior of the real animal. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/roboclam-1125.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/debate-1124.html Don't call it beginners' luck: In its first time competing in one of the world's most prestigious debate tournaments, MIT's debate team captured first place. Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/debate-1124.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-motor-1124.html For the first time, an MIT team has shown at a molecular level how a cell motor protein generates the force needed to move through cells. Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-motor-1124.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/brain-remodel-1124.html An associate professor of neurobiology at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and colleagues are finding that neurons in the adult brain can remodel their connections. This could lead to creating growth in cells and regions normally unable to repair themselves. Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/brain-remodel-1124.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rhodes-1122.html Two MIT students, Matt Gethers and Alia Whitney-Johnson, have won prestigious Rhodes Scholarships to study next year at Oxford University in Britain. Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rhodes-1122.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/zuber-award-1121.html MIT planetary scientist Maria T. Zuber, who was selected last year by NASA as one of the two first women to head major space missions, has been named this year by the magazine U.S. News and World Report as one of "America's Best Leaders." Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/zuber-award-1121.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/3q-cusumano-1121.html In the first installment of "3 Questions" Michael Cusumano, the Sloan Management Review Professor in Management in the MIT Sloan School of Management, discusses why U.S. automakers should be allowed to fail and what it will take for them to become viable again. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/3q-cusumano-1121.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/neurons-1121.html Using adult stem cells to replace neurons lost because of brain damage and disease could be more difficult than previously thought, according to MIT researchers, because newly formed brain cells receive messages before they are capable of sending them. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/neurons-1121.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/diversity-congress-tt1119.html Hundreds of academic, administrative and student leaders gathered on Tuesday, Nov. 18 for the first Diversity Leadership Congress, which aimed to accelerate efforts at promoting diversity and inclusion across MIT. Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/diversity-congress-tt1119.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/medialab-plymouth-1118.html The MIT Media Laboratory today announced the creation of the Center for Future Storytelling. This seven-year, $25 million collaboration will revolutionize how we tell stories, from major motion pictures to peer-to-peer multimedia sharing. Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/medialab-plymouth-1118.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/panstarrs-1118.html Silicon chips developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory are at the heart of a new survey telescope that will soon provide a more than fivefold improvement in scientists' ability to detect asteroids and comets that could someday pose a threat to the planet. Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/panstarrs-1118.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/letter-1117.html In a letter to the MIT community dated Nov. 17, 2008, President Susan Hockfield and Provost L. Rafael Reif discuss the situation in global financial markets and its impact on the Institute. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/letter-1117.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/surgical-robots-1117.html On Nov. 24, MIT students will show off their robotic engineering skills. They have been building robotic arms and writing software that will allow them to remotely make an incision in a silicone "organ" and remove a jelly bean masquerading as a tumor. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/surgical-robots-1117.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bury-greenhouse-1117.html To prevent global warming, researchers and policymakers are exploring a variety of options to significantly cut the amount of carbon dioxide that reaches the atmosphere. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bury-greenhouse-1117.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/ecofriendly-coal-1117.html Construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States is in danger of coming to a standstill. MIT analysis suggests an intermediate step that could get construction moving again. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/ecofriendly-coal-1117.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/catalyst-1116.html A new class of chemical catalysts has been discovered by a team of Boston College and MIT scientists, opening up a vast new scientific platform to researchers in medicine, biology and materials. Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/catalyst-1116.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/energy-conf-1114.html A panel of experts at an MIT Energy Initiative research conference Thursday tried to assess the likely impact of the ongoing financial crisis on energy issues, and found no simple answers as to what can be expected. Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/energy-conf-1114.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solow-event-1114.html Two renowned economists agreed Thursday that America is facing several major challenges with economic implications but differed on how President-elect Barack Obama should handle those crises efficiently. Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solow-event-1114.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blood-drive-1114.html MIT's American Red Cross Team and Network will be conducting a blood drive from Monday, Nov. 17, through Friday, Nov. 21, in La Sala de Puerto Rico on the second floor of the MIT Student Center. Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blood-drive-1114.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/jordan-1113.html Two MIT professors traveled to Jordan this month to help kick off a new initiative called Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies (BLOSSOMS), a joint international collaboration of educators from the United States, Jordan and Pakistan. Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/jordan-1113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/discover-1113.html Discover magazine has named two MIT faculty members -- Ed Boyden and Sara Seager -- among its top 20 scientists under the age of 40. Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/discover-1113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/capandtrade-1113.html Researchers at MIT's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research have produced a report concerning "cap-and-trade" programs that are under consideration in the United States as a way of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/capandtrade-1113.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/football-1112.html Thirty years after helping to relaunch football at MIT, Dwight Smith has decided to retire from coaching. The 1999 New England Football Conference Coach of the Year, Smith has been on the sidelines for every game in the modern history of Engineer football. Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/football-1112.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/xerox-1112.html A celebration honoring this year's Xerox MIT fellowship recipients was hosted in late October. The fellowship program is focused on research in such areas as green technologies, imaging and smart-document technology, nanotechnology and systems design. Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/xerox-1112.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/brain-timing-1112.html MIT scientists report using temperature to control the speed of brain activity. Thanks to some technical advances and some help from songbirds, they are closing in on the regions responsible for timing within the brain. Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/brain-timing-1112.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/siemens-1107.html Dozens of regional finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology will exhibit their projects this weekend at MIT. Fri, 7 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/siemens-1107.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cellbackpack-1106.html MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny "backpacks" that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering. Thu, 6 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cellbackpack-1106.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stemcell-1106.html MIT biologists have discovered that the organization of DNA's packing material plays a critical role in directing stem cells to become different types of adult cells. The work could also shed light on the possible role of DNA packaging in cancer development. Thu, 6 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stemcell-1106.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/futureplanes-tt1105.html An MIT-led team recently won a $2 million contract from NASA to develop concepts for commercial airliners that could go into service beginning around 2030. This sleek-looking airplane is among the team's preliminary concepts. Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/futureplanes-tt1105.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1105.html Institute Professor Ann Graybiel has won the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, which honors and recognizes a woman scientist of national reputation who has a stellar record of research accomplishments and who is known for her mentorship of other women in science. Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aandh-tt1105.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/globalcenter-tt1105.html The Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education announced the formation of the Global Education and Career Development Center. While GEO and the CDC will offer distinct services for students and faculty, they will also operate as a one-stop organization. Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/globalcenter-tt1105.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/visualization-1104.html A new high-resolution digital screen in the Stata Center will help visualize things -- such as global maps and folded proteins among others -- in a way that can't be done on a small monitor. Tue, 4 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/visualization-1104.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/150th-1104.html Planning has begun in earnest for MIT's sesquicentennial in 2011, when the Institute will celebrate 150 years of education and research. Tue, 4 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/150th-1104.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/institute-prof-1103.html Ann Graybiel, the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, has been named Institute Professor, the highest honor MIT can bestow on a member of the faculty. Mon, 3 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/institute-prof-1103.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/vaccination-1103.html MIT engineers have painted a detailed portrait of how single cells from the immune system respond to vaccination helping researchers develop and test new vaccines for diseases including HIV, fungal infections and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Mon, 3 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/vaccination-1103.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/respiration-1103.html Two pacemakers in the brain work together in harmony to ensure that breathing occurs in a regular rhythm. That cooperation provides critical backup during respiratory stress, from the early trauma of birth to intense exercise and oxygen shortages. Mon, 3 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/respiration-1103.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/heart-1102.html Broken hearts could one day be mended using a novel scaffold developed by MIT researchers and colleagues. Living heart cells or stem cells seeded onto such a scaffold could be used to treat congenital heart defects, or aid the recovery of tissue damaged by a heart attack. Sun, 2 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/heart-1102.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/splice-1102.html Scientists have long known it's possible for one gene to produce slightly different forms of the same protein. Now, an MIT team has shown that this phenomenon, is far more prevalent and varies more between tissues than was previously believed. Sun, 2 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/splice-1102.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/planetevolution-1030.html Meteorites that are among the oldest rocks ever found have provided new clues about the conditions that existed at the beginning of the solar system, solving a longstanding mystery and overturning some accepted ideas about the way planets form. Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/planetevolution-1030.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chromosome-1030.html Mammalian cells with extra chromosomes share some common traits that could be exploited to develop cancer treatments. Having too many chromosomes, a condition known as aneuploidy, seems to confer an advantage on tumor cells Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chromosome-1030.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/soros-1029.html Financier, philanthropist and political activist George Soros told an MIT audience Tuesday that the current financial crisis underscored the need for regulation, even while he warned of the pitfalls of regulation and insisted on the impossibility of predicting the economic future. Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/soros-1029.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanodrugs-tt1029.html MIT researchers have custom designed nanoparticles that can deliver the cancer drug cisplatin specifically to prostate cancer cells. The new research was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week. Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanodrugs-tt1029.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/methane-tt1029.html The amount of methane in Earth's atmosphere shot up in 2007, bringing to an end a period of about a decade in which atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas were essentially stable, according to a team led by MIT researchers. Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/methane-tt1029.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/astronauts-tt1029.html In November, as more than 120,000 MIT graduates roam the earth below, four of their fellow alumni will, for the first time in history, be simultaneously traveling in space. Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/astronauts-tt1029.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/w1-1028.html Construction on the W1 residence hall will be paused as a precautionary measure amid general economic uncertainty. Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/w1-1028.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mcgovern-grants-1028.html The McGovern Institute for Brain Research has announced six new funding awards to develop technologies aimed at accelerating neuroscience research and developing new therapeutic approaches for brain disorders. Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mcgovern-grants-1028.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/diversity-1028.html More than 300 academic, administrative and student leaders will gather next month for the Diversity Leadership Congress, which represents an opportunity to accelerate MIT's long-standing efforts at promoting diversity and inclusion. Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/diversity-1028.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/sonenberg-1028.html Was it coincidence? An era dubbed "the time of silence" -- the years between 1642 and 1660 in England when Puritan rulers shuttered theaters -- was also a period of intense interest in experimental science. Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/sonenberg-1028.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tlo-1028.html Publishing academic papers is a top priority for MIT researchers, but they should also be aware of the need to protect their inventions with patents. That's where MIT's Technology Licensing Office can help. Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tlo-1028.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-vote-1027.html As part of a News Office series in the run-up to the Nov. 4 presidential election, Charles Stewart III, the Kenan Sahin (1963) Distinguished Professor of Political Science and head of MIT's Department of Political Science, examines issues of voting security. Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-vote-1027.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/viral-1027.html A facility exploiting viruses' ability to inject DNA efficiently into brain cells and two new experts on the molecular underpinnings of the brain will bolster neuroscience at MIT, home to one of the largest brain sciences research centers in the world. Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/viral-1027.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-internet-1024.html As part of a News Office series in the run-up to the Nov. 4 presidential election, MIT professors Hal Abelson and Harry R. Lewis collaborated on answers to a series of questions about Internet policy and technology. Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-internet-1024.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/physics-of-energy-tt1022.html College courses focused on energy have been proliferating widely in recent years, at MIT and elsewhere. But one new class here approaches the subject in a very different way: in terms of the basic underlying mechanisms involved. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/physics-of-energy-tt1022.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/signals-1021.html What you say in a conversation -- whether on a first date or a job interview -- may be less important than how you say it. But the cues that may decide the outcome can be so subtle that neither person in the conversation is consciously aware of them. Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/signals-1021.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/electoral-1020.html In a lively, sometimes contentious, conference at MIT on the problems and merits of the Electoral College, a group of scholars looked into what one called the "fun house mirror of electoral politics" and debated its reflections of federalism, states' rights and equality. Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/electoral-1020.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/eab-shultz-1017.html Former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who has witnessed the issues surrounding energy policy from multiple perspectives, said Oct. 15 at MIT that after several failed attempts to reduce our oil dependence, we really have to get it right. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/eab-shultz-1017.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-economy-1016.html As part of a News Office series in the run-up to the Nov. 4 presidential election, MIT professors Andrea Louise Campbell and James Poterba answer questions about economic issues and the proposed tax policies of the two presidential candidates. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-economy-1016.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-signal-1016.html After spending years developing a model to help illuminate cell signaling pathways, a team of MIT researchers decided to "break" the model, yielding information that could maximize the effectiveness of treatments such as chemotherapy. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-signal-1016.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/smith-award-1016.html As part of its annual roster of Breakthrough Awards for "life-changing innovations," Popular Mechanics magazine has awarded its top honors to MIT Senior Lecturer Amy B. Smith, for her work fostering low-tech solutions to problems in developing nations. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/smith-award-1016.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/energy-museum-1014.html More than 1,200 people showed up Friday night at the MIT Museum to learn about the latest developments, and the most promising new research efforts, in creating new energy technologies and improving the established ones. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/energy-museum-1014.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hot-planets-1014.html Young planets around other stars may be easier to spot because they stay hotter for a few million years, much longer than astronomers have previously estimated, according to new work by MIT planetary scientist Linda Elkins-Tanton. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hot-planets-1014.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nobel-krugman-1013.html Former MIT economics professor Paul R. Krugman PhD '77 has won the Nobel economics prize for "his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity." Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nobel-krugman-1013.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/biking-1010.html MIT researchers unveiled a major new project on Oct. 10 in Copenhagen aimed at transforming bicycle use in Denmark's largest city, promoting urban sustainability and building new connections between the city's cyclists. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/biking-1010.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/legatum-1010.html Celebrating the inauguration of MIT's Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship on Oct. 7, five Nobel laureates in economics, including MIT Institute Professor Paul Samuelson, spoke on "the role of entrepreneurship in development." Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/legatum-1010.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/financial-1009.html A panel of five MIT faculty experts in economics and business analyzed the ongoing financial crisis in the U.S. and world markets at a special session Oct. 8 that filled lecture hall 10-250 to capacity and extended to two overflow auditoriums. Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/financial-1009.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rankings-theqs-1009.html MIT ranks ninth among 604 universities from around the world included in the 2008 Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings released Thursday, Oct. 9. Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rankings-theqs-1009.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/car-sensors-tt1008.html Dozens of cars in the Boston area are testing the latest generation of an MIT mobile-sensor network for traffic analysis that could help drivers cut their commuting time and alert them to potential engine problems. Wed, 8 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/car-sensors-tt1008.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/electoral-college-tt1008.html MIT is well known for a "fix-it" approach to problems, be it in engineering, software or science. On Oct. 17, a group of experts will convene at MIT to examine what may be the most vexing issue in the American election process -- the Electoral College. Wed, 8 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/electoral-college-tt1008.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-polling-tt1008.html As part of a News Office series in the run-up to the Nov. 4 presidential election, Adam Berinsky, associate professor in the Department of Political Science, answers questions about the role of polling in U.S. elections. Wed, 8 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-polling-tt1008.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/debate-1007.html In a spirited but friendly debate Monday night at MIT, representatives of the John McCain and Barack Obama presidential campaigns detailed the differences between their candidates' approaches to solving the nation's energy problems. Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/debate-1007.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/china-energy-1006.html A detailed analysis of powerplants in China by MIT researchers debunks the widespread notion that outmoded energy technology or the utter absence of government regulation is to blame for that country's notorious air-pollution problems. Mon, 6 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/china-energy-1006.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/environment-1003.html MIT has announced the launch of the Environmental Research Council to elevate and expand the Institute's leadership in this critical area of study. The goal is to create a robust collaboration comparable to the MIT Energy Initiative. Fri, 3 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/environment-1003.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fuel-cell-1002.html In a step toward developing better fuel cells for electric cars, engineers at MIT and two other institutions have taken the first images of individual atoms on and near the surface of nanoparticles key to the eco-friendly energy storage devices. Thu, 2 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fuel-cell-1002.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/renewable-energy-tt1001.html Rules passed by states to combat climate change through the development of renewable energy technologies may not achieve the intended effects, according to research by an MIT graduate student, who also suggests remedies. Wed, 1 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/renewable-energy-tt1001.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-corncob-tt1001.html Jodie Wu, an MIT senior in mechanical engineering, spent the summer traveling around Tanzania to introduce a new system for processing corn: A simple attachment for a bicycle that makes it possible to remove the kernels quickly and efficiently. Wed, 1 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-corncob-tt1001.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/energy-debate-tt1001.html Representatives selected by the McCain and Obama campaigns will face off next Monday, Oct. 6, in Kresge Auditorium for a debate on energy, moderated by NPR's Tom Ashbrook, host of the daily talk show "On Point." Wed, 1 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/energy-debate-tt1001.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-science-0930.html As part of a News Office series in the run-up to the Nov. 4 presidential election, members of the MIT community share their thoughts on what should be the next president's top priority in the areas of science and technology. Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/election-science-0930.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/institute-0929.html MIT's finances are not only in "terrific shape," but the Institute stands ready to provide service and leadership on key issues of energy and economics in a turbulent era, MIT President Susan Hockfield said Monday during the annual State of the Institute Forum. Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/institute-0929.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/smell-0929.html MIT biological engineers have found a way to mass-produce smell receptors in the lab, paving the way for the creation of "artificial noses." Such devices could be used to detect drugs and explosives as well as to understand the molecular basis of smell. Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/smell-0929.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/landfill-0926.html Many architects dream of being given a blank slate upon which they could let the imagination soar when designing a project. A team led by two MIT architects is working on what could be the largest blank slate in the history of construction. Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/landfill-0926.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/odyssey4-0925.html MIT researchers have designed the Odyssey IV, a new robotic underwater vehicle that can hover in place like a helicopter and serve as an invaluable tool for deepwater oil explorers, marine archaeologists, oceanographers and others. Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/odyssey4-0925.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/worms-0924.html An MIT team has shown that even the simplest behaviors of the tiny roundworm can be controlled by multiple signaling pathways. The results might have implications for the treatment of human brain disorders. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/worms-0924.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fluid-flow-0924.html In work that could lead to ways of controlling aerodynamic separation effect, with potential impacts on fuel efficiency, MIT scientists and colleagues have reported new mathematical and experimental work for predicting where that aerodynamic separation will occur. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fluid-flow-0924.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/detector-tt0924.html U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents might benefit from technology developed by an MIT professor, which could enable screeners to examine the contents of a cargo container for radiological or nuclear material without having to open the container. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/detector-tt0924.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/smoot-tt0924.html Alumnus Oliver Smoot '62 recalled memories recently as MIT prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the night his name became a unit of measurement. In a quirky hack on Oct. 4, 1958, then-freshman Smoot was used to measure the length of the Mass. Ave. bridge. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/smoot-tt0924.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/trees-0923.html MIT researchers and colleagues are finding out whether energy from trees can power a network of sensors to prevent spreading forest fires. What they learn also could raise the possibility of using trees as silent sentinels along the nation's borders. Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/trees-0923.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/macarthur-0923.html Two MIT faculty members -- physicist Marin Soljacic and John Ochsendorf, a structural engineer who studies architectural history -- have won 2008 MacArthur Fellowships, commonly known as "genius" grants. Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/macarthur-0923.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nih-pioneer-0922.html Three MIT faculty are among 16 scientists nationwide to receive 2008 Pioneer Awards from the National Institutes of Health for their "pioneering -- and possibly transforming -- approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research." Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nih-pioneer-0922.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/madmec-0919.html A team of three students who designed a system that could allow solar power panels to track the sun without motors or control systems won top honors and a check for $10,000 in the finals of a competition aimed at developing innovative energy technologies. Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/madmec-0919.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/wheelchair-0919.html MIT researchers are developing a new kind of autonomous wheelchair that can learn all about the locations in a given building, and then take its occupant to a given place in response to a verbal command. Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/wheelchair-0919.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/compton-0919.html Connections between the technology-hungry countries of Africa and the tech-savvy MIT community were underscored Sept. 18 by the first democratically elected president of Rwanda and the first African leader to give MIT's prestigious Compton lecture. Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/compton-0919.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-response-0918.html MIT researchers have shown that cells from different people don't all react the same way when exposed to the same DNA-damaging agent -- a finding that could help clinicians predict how patients will respond to chemotherapy. Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-response-0918.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hockfield-npc-0917.html MIT President Susan Hockfield on Wednesday continued her call for the federal government to boost energy research funding, saying the United States needs "a commitment of historic proportions" to power innovation in the field. Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hockfield-npc-0917.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/foreign-adv-0916.html Tough questions confronting the next American president will be discussed by MIT scholars from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18, in a roundtable discussion on "Foreign Policy and the Next U.S. Administration: America's Defining Moment." Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/foreign-adv-0916.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/compton-kagame-0916.html Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who as a boy had to flee his homeland to escape ethnic violence, will present the Karl Taylor Compton Lecture 18 from 3:30-5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18, in MIT's Kresge Auditorium. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/compton-kagame-0916.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/deutch-testimony-0912.html MIT Institute Professor John Deutch stressed the importance of pursuing every available avenue on energy, in testimony Friday before the U.S. Senate's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/deutch-testimony-0912.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/quantum-detect-0911.html A bizarre but well-established aspect of quantum physics could open up a new era of electronic detectors and imaging systems that would be far more efficient than any now in existence, according to new insights by an MIT leader in the field. Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/quantum-detect-0911.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/neuron-object-0911.html In work that could aid efforts to develop more brain-like computer vision systems, MIT neuroscientists have tricked the visual brain into confusing one object with another, thereby demonstrating that time teaches us how to recognize objects. Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/neuron-object-0911.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lhc-0910.html MIT physicists are waiting anxiously to sift through data from the world's biggest physics experiment, which officially started Sept. 10 when scientists sent the first beam of protons zooming at nearly the speed of light around the Large Hadron Collider. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lhc-0910.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hockfield-testimony-0910.html MIT President Susan Hockfield urged Congress Wednesday to sharply increase federal funding for energy research, saying such a move could help unleash an "energy revolution" capable of resolving several of America's problems at once. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hockfield-testimony-0910.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hockfield-congress-0909.html MIT President Susan Hockfield will argue for a sharp increase in federal funding for energy-related research during testimony before Congress on Sept. 10 and at a news conference at the National Press Club on Sept. 17. Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hockfield-congress-0909.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-pye-0908.html Retired MIT political science professor Lucian W. Pye, one of America's leading China scholars, died Sept. 5 in Boston after a long illness. He was 86. Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-pye-0908.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/vision-memory-0908.html A new study from MIT cognitive neuroscientists may overturn the widespread belief that human memory does not store the details of our experiences. They have shown, given the right setting, the human brain can record an amazing amount of information. Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/vision-memory-0908.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/redlines-0905.html A new MIT exhibition, presented by the Center for Advanced Visual Studies and the MIT Museum, explores possible relationships between finance and buildings through an installation of models, videos, photographs and drawings. Fri, 5 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/redlines-0905.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/proton-therapy-0904.html Researchers at MIT's Bates Linear Accelerator Center have begun a collaboration with Texas-based ProTom International to develop and test a new cancer treatment based on proton therapy. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/proton-therapy-0904.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/broad-0904.html Declaring the success of an unprecedented experiment in science and philanthropy, philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad have announced that they have increased their total gift to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT to $600 million. Thu, 4 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/broad-0904.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/artificial-atom-0903.html Collaborating researchers from the MIT campus and Lincoln Laboratory may have found a way to overcome a key barrier to the advent of super-fast quantum computers, which could be powerful tools for applications such as code breaking. Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/artificial-atom-0903.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obryant-0903.html When Bruno Piazzarolo, 17, and Alban Cobi, 18, started their senior year at the John D. O'Bryant School of Math & Science in the Roxbury section of Boston, they really wanted to go to MIT -- but neither was counting on it. Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obryant-0903.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/air-traffic-0903.html MIT researchers are working toward a computer tool that could reduce airline flight delays due to weather. Already, they have found that a prototype deployed in the New York City region cut delays last year by 2,300 hours. Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/air-traffic-0903.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blackhole-view-0903.html An international team, led by astronomers at the MIT Haystack Observatory, has obtained the closest views ever of what is believed to be a super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blackhole-view-0903.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/manalis-eureka-0903.html Scott Manalis, associate professor of biological and mechanical engineering, has been awarded a new grant from the National Institutes of Health to promote investigation of novel, unconventional hypotheses. Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/manalis-eureka-0903.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fallon-0902.html He has been in all the world's hot spots in the last 40 years -- both as soldier and commander -- and now Admiral William J. Fallon brings his hands-on experience and wide-ranging knowledge to MIT's Center for International Studies. Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fallon-0902.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aquaculture-0902.html A self-propelling underwater cage developed and recently tested by an MIT researcher could not only cut costs for offshore ocean-based fish farms but also aid the movement of such operations into the high seas away from coastal zones. Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/aquaculture-0902.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/katrina-0902.html Karl F. Seidman, senior lecturer in urban planning at MIT, writes in an op-ed that New Orleans "neighborhood viability should not be a condition to be proven by residents but the result of collective decisions and actions." Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/katrina-0902.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blood-cell-0901.html In work that could lead to new ways of detecting and treating malaria, MIT researchers have used two advanced microscopy techniques to show in unprecedented detail how the malaria parasite attacks red blood cells. Mon, 1 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blood-cell-0901.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hurricanes-0828.html Hundreds of lives and millions of dollars could potentially be saved if emergency managers could make better critical decisions when faced with an approaching hurricane. Now, an MIT student has developed a computer model that could help do just that. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hurricanes-0828.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/security-0827.html In response to the chronic cyber threat of hackers, MIT Lincoln Laboratory researchers are developing a software tool to identify the most vulnerable points in a computer network, allowing administrators to focus on those rather than the whole network. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/security-0827.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/brain-data-0825.html In an advance that may impact the field of artificial intelligence, a new model developed at MIT can help computers recognize patterns the same way that humans do. The model can analyze a set of data and figure out which type of organizational structure best fits it. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/brain-data-0825.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/convocation-0825.html MIT President Susan Hockfield invoked the spirit of the intellectually ravenous Leonardo da Vinci as she welcomed the Institute's newest students and challenged them to cultivate their own insatiable desire for knowledge. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/convocation-0825.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tracking-0822.html What started out as an MIT project aimed at monitoring owls in their natural environment has grown into an international collaboration on how to use widespread networks of citizen-scientists to gain new insights into a wide variety of species. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tracking-0822.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanorod-0822.html The glitter of gold may hold more than just beauty, or so says a team of MIT researchers that is working on ways to use tiny gold rods to fight cancer, deliver drugs and more. But first they must overcome one major difficulty: the rods' surface. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanorod-0822.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/usnews-0822.html MIT ranks fourth among national universities and first in undergraduate engineering, according to U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings released today. In the overall university rankings, MIT shares the number four slot with Stanford. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/usnews-0822.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/alzheimers-protein-0821.html MIT engineers report a new computer-based approach to identifying protein structures key to Alzheimer's disease, an important step toward the development of new drugs that could prevent such structures from forming. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/alzheimers-protein-0821.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/climate-sterman-0820.html Why is the general public not more concerned about the potential consequences of climate change? MIT Professor John Sterman's research suggests that people don't have good mental models for understanding the phenomenon. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/climate-sterman-0820.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/virus-battery-0820.html Forget 9-volts, AAs, AAAs or D batteries: The energy for tomorrow's miniature electronic devices could come from MIT-developed microbatteries that are about half the size of a human cell and built with viruses. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/virus-battery-0820.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/pindyck-0819.html As jittery consumers contemplate the price at the pump, energy issues have become a major factor in the U.S. presidential race. Have the candidates forthrightly addressed the country's energy needs? Not really, says MIT professor Robert S. Pindyck. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/pindyck-0819.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/self-assembly-0814.html Using a novel system based on molecules that can assemble themselves into precise patterns, MIT researchers have overcome size limitations that would otherwise crimp improvements in data-storage media and electronic microchips. Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/self-assembly-0814.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fertilizer-0813.html One of the reasons food prices have risen sharply is the cost of fertilizer. MIT Nobelist Richard Schrock is among a handful of researchers pursuing less energy-intensive ways to produce ammonia, the main component of fertilizer. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fertilizer-0813.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/meteorites-0813.html Researchers have found why the majority of asteroids that come near Earth are of a type that matches only a fraction of the meteorites that tend to hit our planet: the meteorites come straight in from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/meteorites-0813.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/idds-0808.html Using a bicycle wheel to thresh millet and making LEGO-like bricks from dirt were among the projects designed during a month-long summer workshop at MIT to help improve the lives of millions of people living in the world's developing countries. Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/idds-0808.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/camera-0807.html By producing "6-D" images, an MIT professor and colleagues are creating unusually realistic pictures that not only have a full 3-D appearance, but also respond to their environment, producing natural shadows and highlights. Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/camera-0807.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/antenna-0807.html A mammoth MIT antenna installed in 1957 as the first radar system to conduct space surveillance (it observed the Sputnik satellite) is poised for many more years of key observations thanks to a recently completed renovation. Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/antenna-0807.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/kaplan-0806.html MIT has been named one of the top 25 environmentally responsible schools in the Kaplan College Guide 2009, which was released Aug. 5 and for the first time ranked institutions based on green initiatives. Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/kaplan-0806.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cre-0806.html Transaction sale prices of commercial property sold by major institutional investors declined 2.7 percent overall in the second quarter of 2008 with prices for office properties declining 5.5 percent, according to an index from the MIT Center for Real Estate. Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cre-0806.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cars2035-0805.html Detailed analyses in a new MIT report published this month conclude that over the next 25 years, the fuel consumption of new vehicles could be reduced by 30-50 percent and total U.S. fuel use for vehicles could be cut to year 2000 levels. Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cars2035-0805.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/superfund-0805.html The cost of the federal Superfund program isn't bringing financial returns to homeowners living near the cleaned-up toxic sites, according to new research by Michael Greenstone, the 3M Professor of Environmental Economics at MIT. Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/superfund-0805.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nsf-solar-0804.html A team led by MIT and Caltech scientists has been awarded $20 million by the National Science Foundation to help pursue the dream of meeting the world's energy needs with solar-fuel power plants. Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nsf-solar-0804.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/newman-0804.html When most people look at a rock, they see a lifeless slab. When Dianne Newman looks at one, she sees clues to the history of life on Earth--and potential answers to some of today's medical mysteries. Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/newman-0804.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/quantum-0804.html MIT has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a pioneering doctoral-study program in the growing field of quantum information science, which poses great potential in supercomputing. Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/quantum-0804.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chandra-0801.html The orbiting Chandra Observatory, one of NASA's series of Great Observatories, was featured this week in a collection of highlights from NASA's first five decades that was displayed on Nature magazine's web site. Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chandra-0801.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/young-adult-0801.html Fueled by hormone fluctuations, the teenage years can be a time of huge emotional upheaval. But, as an initiative by MIT's Young Adult Development Project finds, the roller coaster may not end at the 18th birthday. Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/young-adult-0801.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mayes-0730.html When Anne Mayes departed MIT recently because of health reasons, the pioneering materials science professor left behind more than just a quarter-century history at the Institute: She left an opportunity for future students. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mayes-0730.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/underwater-0729.html Hundreds of insect species spend much of their time underwater, where food may be more plentiful. MIT mathematicians have now figured out exactly how those insects breathe underwater using a thin layer of air on their bodies. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/underwater-0729.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/alzheimers-humans-0729.html An Alzheimer's treatment based on MIT research has shown promise in its first clinical trials, according to results announced today at the 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/alzheimers-humans-0729.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lincoln-satellite-0728.html The enhanced capabilities of a new global satellite communications system were successfully tested recently by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, representing a major step forward in improving U.S. Department of Defense communications around the world. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lincoln-satellite-0728.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fish-armor-0727.html Scientists seeking to protect the soldier of the future can learn a lot from a relic of the past, according to an MIT study of a primitive fish that could point to more effective ways of designing human body armor. Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fish-armor-0727.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/thermo-0724.html MIT's cogeneration plant, which provides most of the electricity, heat and air conditioning for the campus, could get even more efficient if a team of students' project to harness surplus heat works as expected. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/thermo-0724.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gloucester-0724.html MIT staff members have been working with middle-school students in Gloucester this summer to raise their interest in science and engineering as part of a program that could be implemented in communities across the country. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gloucester-0724.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/robo-censor-0723.html A team of MIT researchers has developed a computer program capable of automatically deleting details from medical records that may identify patients, while leaving important medical information intact. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/robo-censor-0723.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bio-portugal-0723.html Researchers and students from the MIT Portugal Program hope a new biotechnology they developed will help treat patients with medical complications from abnormal protein breakdown. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bio-portugal-0723.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-southafrica-0722.html Ten graduate students from MIT recently spent three weeks in Durban, South Africa, working on a project to develop an online tool that could help municipal governments around the world adapt to a changing climate. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-southafrica-0722.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-chittick-0722.html Charles Yardley Chittick '22, who was honored this past June as the oldest MIT alumnus, died on Friday, July 18. He was 107. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-chittick-0722.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/spine-0721.html A researcher at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has pinpointed stem cells within the spinal cord that, if persuaded to differentiate into more healing cells and fewer scarring cells, may lead to a new, non-surgical treatment for spinal-cord injuries. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/spine-0721.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mutation-0721.html MIT biological engineers have developed a new imaging system that allows them to see cells that have undergone a specific mutation. The work could help scientists understand how precancerous mutations arise. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mutation-0721.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/scratch-0721.html This week, users of MIT's easy-to-learn Scratch programming language are gathering for a conference on campus to discuss the software and its uses. Designed at the MIT Media Lab, the program lets anyone create and share video games and animated stories. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/scratch-0721.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/super-conduct-0718.html MIT physicists believe they have identified a mysterious state of matter that has been linked to the phenomenon of high-temperature superconductivity. This state may not be a precursor to superconductivity, as has been theorized, but a competing state. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/super-conduct-0718.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/inl-mit-0717.html Under a research partnership between the Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility at Idaho National Laboratory and MIT, a Colorado School of Mines nuclear materials irradiation experiment will be the first test conducted in the MIT Reactor. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/inl-mit-0717.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/touch-0717.html A team of scientists from MIT, Harvard and McGill has designed a new illusion involving the sense of touch, which is helping to glean new insights into perception and how different senses--such as touch and sight--work together. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/touch-0717.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rationing-0717.html In an effort to assess health-care organizations' cost-cutting techniques, MIT urban economist Frank Levy will study the effects of different initiatives to restrict non-necessary medical-imaging procedures on the costs and quality of care. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rationing-0717.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dsl-0716.html Costantino "Chris" Colombo, dean of student affairs at Columbia University's two undergraduate schools since 1998, has been named MIT's dean for student life, effective Aug. 18. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/dsl-0716.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cooke-0716.html A recent MIT graduate who enrolled in the Institute at the age of 16 will complete a joint MBA and law program on full scholarship as a recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke award. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cooke-0716.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/i-shoe-0716.html Your grandmother might have little in common with an astronaut, but both could benefit from a new device an MIT graduate student is designing to test balancing ability. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/i-shoe-0716.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fulbright-0715.html Four recent MIT graduates and a current PhD student have been awarded Fulbright scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year. Fulbright recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement and leadership potential in their fields. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fulbright-0715.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/missing-link-0715.html Neuroscientists at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory found that a previously unsuspected set of genes links nature and nurture during a crucial period of brain development. The results could lead to treatments for autism and other disorders. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/missing-link-0715.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/powerhouse-0711.html An international team of researchers, led by a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has created the most comprehensive "parts list" to date for mitochondria, a compendium that includes nearly 1,100 proteins. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/powerhouse-0711.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/climate-path-0711.html Long-term climate change policy in the United States and abroad is likely to change very slowly, warns an MIT professor who says the lack of future flexibility argues for stronger short-term goals to reduce carbon emissions. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/climate-path-0711.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/idds-adv-0710.html About 60 people from 20 nations will descend on the MIT campus next week to begin an intensive month-long process of creating technological solutions for the needs of people in the world's developing nations. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/idds-adv-0710.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun's energy—at the edges of solar panels—that could allow just that. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-darbeloff-0709.html Alexander Vladimir d'Arbeloff '49, a visionary entrepreneur who co-founded Teradyne before becoming chairman of the MIT Corporation, died peacefully on July 8. Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-darbeloff-0709.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/inl-mit-0708.html The Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility, centered at Idaho National Laboratory, and the MIT Reactor have announced a partnership designed to increase user access to national reactor irradiation and testing capability. Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/inl-mit-0708.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/drink-memory-0708.html A dietary cocktail that includes a type of omega-3 fatty acid can improve memory and learning in gerbils, according to the latest study from MIT researchers that points to a possible beverage-based treatment for Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/drink-memory-0708.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanochips-0708.html MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, used in the manufacture of computer chips and electronic devices, to make finer patterns of lines over larger areas than have been possible with other methods. Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanochips-0708.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/voyager-0707.html The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft have now traveled beyond the edge of the sun's outflow of particles and radiation. Some of the data that reveals this boundary region comes from a set of magnetic field sensors developed and built at MIT back in the 1970s. Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/voyager-0707.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/arch-sass-0703.html Larry Sass, assistant professor of computation in the MIT Department of Architecture, is one of five architects featured in a major show this summer at the Museum of Modern Art titled "Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling." Thu, 3 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/arch-sass-0703.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-insulation-0701.html Around the world, an estimated one billion people--mostly in rural villages and the shanty towns surrounding developing-world cities--live in houses whose roofs are nothing more than thin sheets of corrugated metal. Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-insulation-0701.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lhc-0701.html Nearly 20 years in the making, the largest particle accelerator in the world will start running in Switzerland this summer, offering scientists a glimpse of particles that have never been seen before. Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lhc-0701.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stem-cells-0701.html Cells from mice created using genetically reprogrammed cells can be triggered via drug administration to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state without the need for further direct genetic manipulation. Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stem-cells-0701.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/liskov-0630.html Barbara H. Liskov, the Associate Provost for Faculty Equity and Ford Professor of Engineering, has been named an Institute Professor, the highest honor awarded by MIT's faculty and administration. Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/liskov-0630.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/protein-binding-0630.html MIT researchers have developed a novel technique to measure the strength of the bonds between two protein molecules important in cell machinery: Gently tugging them apart with light beams. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/protein-binding-0630.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cancer-symp-0630.html Speakers from MIT and other institutions described the promise of nanotechnology to help diagnose, treat and monitor cancer at the annual symposium hosted by the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT on Friday, June 27. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cancer-symp-0630.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/quake-china-0630.html A new analysis of the setting for last month's devastating earthquake in China by a team of geoscientists at MIT shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity. Similar events in that area occur only once in every 2,000 to 10,000 years. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/quake-china-0630.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-seamans-0630.html Robert C. Seamans Jr., an MIT alumnus who was a leading NASA administrator during the Apollo program, the ninth secretary of the U.S. Air Force and the dean of MIT's School of Engineering from 1978-81, died on June 28. He was 89. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-seamans-0630.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/protein-inter-0627.html MIT researchers have designed a new type of probe that can image thousands of interactions between proteins inside a living cell, giving them a tool to untangle the web of signaling pathways that control most of a cell's activities. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/protein-inter-0627.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mit-politics-0625.html As part of a long-standing effort to bring issues of energy, science, technology, education and innovation into the national spotlight, MIT is seeking to engage both of this year's major-party presidential campaigns in an open dialogue. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mit-politics-0625.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mars-basin-0625.html A new analysis of Mars by researchers at MIT and NASA has solved one of the biggest remaining mysteries in the solar system -- why the planet Mars has two completely different kinds of terrain, in its northern and southern hemispheres. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mars-basin-0625.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lemelson-500k-0625.html For Joseph M. DeSimone, the interface between disparate fields and concepts offers the best opportunity for innovation. For his pioneering inventions, entrepreneurship and mentorship, DeSimone has been awarded the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lemelson-500k-0625.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/language-0624.html An Amazonian language has no word to express the concept of "one" or any other specific number, according to a new study from an MIT-led team. Only 300 people speak the language, all of the Piraha tribe in remote northwestern Brazil. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/language-0624.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bosch-0623.html As part of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), MIT and Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, are forming an energy research collaboration to explore new materials and concepts for efficient energy conversion and storage systems. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bosch-0623.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chem-solar-0620.html Ask any scientist to name Earth's most abundant source of energy, and the answer comes quickly: sunlight. In one hour, the sun strikes Earth with enough energy to power the entire planet for a year. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chem-solar-0620.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mirna-0620.html MIT biologists have discovered that proliferating cells shift the output of their genes to evade regulation by microRNAs, tiny molecules that normally suppress tumor growth. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mirna-0620.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bernerslee-0620.html Internet pioneer Timothy Berners-Lee has been named the 3Com Founders Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering, with a joint appointment in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bernerslee-0620.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/astrocytes-0619.html In work that solves a long-standing mystery in neuroscience, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown for the first time that star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes make noninvasive brain scans possible. Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/astrocytes-0619.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/airports-0618.html The leading low-cost airlines with a preference for small, inexpensive airports are now the largest airlines in the United States and Europe, according to an MIT expert on airport design and operations. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/airports-0618.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-dish-0618.html A team led by MIT students this week successfully tested a prototype of what may be the most cost-efficient solar power system in the world--one team members believe has the potential to revolutionize global energy production. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-dish-0618.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cancer-drug-0617.html A compound that accumulates in cells more readily than a commonly used colorectal cancer drug may be just as useful in treating colorectal tumors, but with fewer side effects, MIT researchers have found. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cancer-drug-0617.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-rewire-0612.html MIT researchers have figured out how bacteria ensure that they respond correctly to hundreds of incoming signals from their environment. The researchers' work also raised the possibility of engineering bacteria that can serve as chemical biosensors. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-rewire-0612.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mathscience-0611.html An MIT web site aimed at giving an edge to high school students and teachers has seen an "overwhelming" response since its launch six months ago, MIT President Susan Hockfield said Wednesday. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mathscience-0611.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/zaragoza-tt0611.html An MIT-designed building featuring water walls that can be programmed to display patterns and images is being unveiled this week at the opening of the Zaragoza World Expo in Spain. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/zaragoza-tt0611.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/langer-millennium-0611.html MIT Institute Professor Robert Langer has won the Millennium Technology Prize, the world's largest award for technology innovation, for his development of biomaterials for controlled drug release and tissue regeneration. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/langer-millennium-0611.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/massimpact-0610.html The MIT School of Architecture and Planning and the Boston Society of Architects this week held its second symposium uniting leading urbanists from around the world and focusing on the challenges facing the modern city in a period of global climate change. Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/massimpact-0610.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/emissions-0610.html In a bid to control greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, the European Union has been operating the world's first system to limit and to trade carbon dioxide. This "cap-and-trade" system has operated well, according to an MIT analysis. Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/emissions-0610.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanomirrors-0609.html A new way of bending X-ray beams developed by MIT researchers could lead to greatly improved space telescopes, as well as new tools for biology and for the manufacture of semiconductor chips. Mon, 9 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanomirrors-0609.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-textiles-0609.html Sheila Kennedy, an expert in the integration of solar cell technology in architecture who is now at MIT, creates designs for flexible photovoltaic materials that may change the way buildings receive and distribute energy. Mon, 9 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-textiles-0609.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanocell-0609.html In work that could at the same time impact the delivery of drugs and explain a biological mystery, MIT engineers have created the first synthetic nanoparticles that can penetrate a cell without poking a hole in its protective membrane and killing it. Mon, 9 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanocell-0609.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/comm-trunk-0606.html 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus told graduating students at MIT's 142nd Commencement exercises on Friday that they "represent the future of the world" and urged them to create businesses to help improve the world. Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/comm-trunk-0606.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/comm-photos-0606.html A photo gallery chronicling the events of MIT's Commencement on June 6, 2008. Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/comm-photos-0606.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/corporation-new-0606.html The MIT Corporation, the Institute's board of trustees, elected 10 term members and one life member at its quarterly meeting on June 6 before the Commencement exercises. Dana G. Mead, chair of the Corporation, announced the election results. Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/corporation-new-0606.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/asturias-0605.html Institute Professor Robert Langer is one of five scientists to receive a top Spanish honor, the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research. Thu, 5 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/asturias-0605.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanotube-0605.html Using carbon nanotubes, MIT chemical engineers have built the most sensitive electronic detector yet for sensing deadly gases, a low-cost, low-energy portable device that could be carried in a pocket and used to monitor hazardous chemicals. Thu, 5 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanotube-0605.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/katrina-towers-tt0604.html After Hurricane Katrina left its trail of destruction along the Gulf coast, MIT research affiliate Joe Davis decided to do something to memorialize the event. His idea? Build a tower that will capture electricity from lightning and throw energy back into the sky. Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/katrina-towers-tt0604.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-tibet-tt0604.html When two students visited Tibet two years ago, they kept hearing from villagers that a solar cooker that was both lightweight and strong would make a big difference to their lives. So a team of students from MIT and Tibet ended up producing exactly that. Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-tibet-tt0604.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/teacher-tests-tt0604.html Teacher certification tests may be undermining American public education by deterring higher-quality candidates from applying to teach, according to MIT labor economist Joshua Angrist and Jonathan Guryan of the University of Chicago. Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/teacher-tests-tt0604.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/comm-adv-tt0604.html Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, will deliver the principal address at MIT's 142nd Commencement exercises at 10 a.m., Friday, June 6, in Killian Court. In all, 2,335 undergraduate and graduate students are scheduled to receive degrees. Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/comm-adv-tt0604.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tb-cellphone-tt0604.html MIT students have come up with a possible solution for getting TB patients to take their medicine: A new testing and reporting system that is easy for patients to use and offers economic incentives such as free cell phone minutes. Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tb-cellphone-tt0604.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/arise-0603.html Programs and policies to support early-career investigators and high-risk, high-reward research are needed to preserve U.S. leadership in science and technology, according to a report produced by a panel that included an MIT Nobel laureate. Tue, 3 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/arise-0603.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tess-0603.html A planet-searching satellite planned by scientists from MIT, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and NASA-Ames is one of six proposed spacecraft concepts that NASA has picked for further study as part of its Small Explorer satellite program. Tue, 3 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/tess-0603.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gastric-cancer-0602.html Chronic inflammation of the intestine or stomach can damage DNA, increasing the risk of cancer, MIT scientists have confirmed. Researchers found that chronic inflammation accelerated tumor formation in mice lacking the ability to repair DNA damage. Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gastric-cancer-0602.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bioengineering-0602.html When this year's seniors arrived at MIT four years ago, the biological engineering major did not exist. But this Friday, twenty-three MIT students will become the Institute's first graduates from the new biological engineering program. Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bioengineering-0602.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gates-0602.html Four MIT students preparing for careers in affordable energy, public health, mathematics and biotechnology have been awarded full scholarships for graduate study at the University of Cambridge, England, by the Gates Cambridge Trust. Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gates-0602.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oil-paper-0530.html A mat of nanowires with the touch and feel of paper, that can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil, could be an important new tool in the cleanup of oil and other organic pollutants, MIT researchers and colleagues report. Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oil-paper-0530.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-study-0529.html In a major new project that could help set the agenda for policymakers, researchers and industry leaders, a team of MIT faculty members has begun a comprehensive study of the technology and economics of harnessing the power of the sun. Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-study-0529.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/booklet-0529.html MIT senior Ali Wyne recalls how four years ago he couldn't get anyone to talk politics. But that has changed with the current presidential campaign, and now Wyne is showcasing his fellow students' new political energy in "America in the World: MIT Speaks." Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/booklet-0529.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/robot-arm-0528.html MIT researchers are systematically evaluating the effectiveness of tests given to astronauts to teach them how to control the space shuttle's robotic arm. For the first time, they'll determine how those tests relate to the training's outcome. Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/robot-arm-0528.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/imf-blanchard-0528.html MIT economist Olivier Blanchard, a macroeconomist specializing in monetary policy, global imbalances, labor-market performance and speculative bubbles, has been appointed chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/imf-blanchard-0528.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hhmi-0527.html Five MIT faculty have been named Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, bringing the total number of current MIT professors holding the distinction to 19. Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hhmi-0527.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lifestyle-0522.html Marine bacteria in the wild organize into professions or lifestyle groups that partition many resources, rather than competing for them, according to MIT research that could change the way scientists approach the classification of microbes. Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lifestyle-0522.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/runway-tt0521.html Next year, Boston's Logan International Airport will become one of the first U.S. airports to deploy Runway Status Lights, a new technology originally developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory as part of the FAA's continuing program to improve runway safety. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/runway-tt0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bluelaws-tt0521.html Repealing America's blue laws not only decreased church attendance, donations and spending, but it also led to a rise in alcohol and drug use among people who had been religious, according to a new study by economists from MIT and Notre Dame. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bluelaws-tt0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/leveson-tt0521.html Whenever something really bad happens in this high-tech world--or whenever someone wants to make sure it doesn't--there's a good chance that someone will be calling Nancy Leveson, MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/leveson-tt0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-wheelchairs-tt0521.html MIT students in this year's 'Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries' class split into five teams and each came up with new variations on how to help bring mobility to people whose lives could be dramatically changed by it. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-wheelchairs-tt0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/porsche-tt0521.html With a click and a hum, the sleek Porsche 914 pulled away from the curb while onlookers watched anxiously and the passenger gazed down at a laptop plugged into the dashboard. Why the drama? The 1976 Porsche was operating on 18 high-tech batteries. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/porsche-tt0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/csail-tt0521.html It takes surprisingly few pixels of information to be able to identify the subject of an image, a team led by an MIT researcher has found. The discovery could lead to great advances in the automated identification of online images. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/csail-tt0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hope-horizon-0521.html As the economy appears to falter and as more Americans fear that the country is on the wrong track, the MIT News Office asked a collection of MIT researchers what they think are potentially life-altering technologies that lie just around the corner. Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/hope-horizon-0521.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/iran-nukes-0519.html An MIT expert on Iran's nuclear ambitions is gaining recognition for his work in developing a possible face-saving solution to the tense nuclear standoff between the United States and Iran. Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/iran-nukes-0519.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/surfaces-0516.html Having found that whether bacteria stick to surfaces depends partly on how stiff those surfaces are, MIT engineers have created ultrathin films made of polymers that could be applied to medical devices and other surfaces to control microbe accumulation. Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/surfaces-0516.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fuel-cell-0516.html MIT engineers have improved the power output of one type of fuel cell by more than 50 percent through technology that could help these environmentally friendly energy storage devices find a much broader market, particularly in portable electronics. Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fuel-cell-0516.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/100k-0516.html Business plans focused on harnessing clean energy and making fast, inexpensive medical diagnostic devices were big winners this week in a series of high-profile entrepreneurship competitions at MIT. Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/100k-0516.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bird-beak-0515.html As Darwin showed nearly 150 years ago, bird beaks are exquisitely adapted to the birds' feeding strategy. A team of MIT researchers has now explained exactly how some birds use their long, thin beaks to defy gravity and transport food into their mouths. Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bird-beak-0515.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stem-cell-0515.html Studies at the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute of how cancer cells spread have led to a surprising discovery about the creation of cells with adult stem-cell characteristics, offering potential implications for regenerative medicine and cancer treatment. Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stem-cell-0515.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-ecuador-tt0514.html MIT student Kendra Johnson found that to improve water quality in a rural Ecuadorian village, she needed to consider economic issues in addition to technology, and so ended up devising an innovative way of using local arts to pay for the project. Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-ecuador-tt0514.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/saxe-tt0514.html How do we know what other people are thinking? How do we judge them, and what happens in our brains when we do? MIT neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe is tackling those tough questions and many others. Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/saxe-tt0514.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gulak-tt0514.html Teenager Ben Gulak got a bit of a head start on his training in mechanical engineering. As an incoming freshman at MIT, he's already been featured on the cover of Popular Science magazine for having come up with the year's top invention. Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/gulak-tt0514.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/xprize-0513.html Can a prize designed for the high-tech challenge of helping to get people into space be applied to solving down-to-Earth problems of life and death? Pose the question to a class of MIT students and two out of three give a resounding "yes." Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/xprize-0513.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/audio-game-0513.html AudiOdyssey, a new computer game that simulates a deejay laying down musical tracks, has been developed by MIT and Singaporean students to make it possible for visually impaired people to play on a level field with their sighted friends. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/audio-game-0513.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/2007-contest-0509.html Robots designed to toss pool-noodle trees into a river of ping-pong balls ruled over competitors focused on rescuing fuzzy toy beavers in this year's 2.007 contest, "Da (yes) MIT, or Save the Baby Beavers," held on Thursday, May 8, at MIT. Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/2007-contest-0509.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/welch-0509.html For his pioneering work that has helped scientists unlock the mysteries of RNA and DNA, as well as important scientific discoveries that have opened up new fields of science, Alexander Rich had been named the 38th recipient of the Welch Award in Chemistry. Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/welch-0509.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bear-obesity-0507.html Anti-obesity drugs that work by blocking brain molecules similar to those in marijuana could also interfere with neural development in young children, according to a new study from MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bear-obesity-0507.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/design-main-tt0507.html From hosting the show to advising behind the scenes, members of the MIT community have played an important role in developing and implementing the popular PBS series Design Squad, which recently won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award. Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/design-main-tt0507.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-cambodia-tt0507.html Alan Lightman, MIT physicist and writer, and his wife, Jeanne, made a pact a decade or so ago to turn their energies toward humanitarian pursuits. The latest of their efforts is a dream come true for residents of a small Cambodian village -- a new mosque. Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-cambodia-tt0507.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/autor-tt0507.html Do standardized tests that some employers require of job applicants serve as a barrier to equal employment? A pioneering study co-authored by an MIT economist shows that screening helps productivity without hindering minority hiring. Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/autor-tt0507.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-dish-0506.html For a project that could be on the very cutting edge of renewable energy, this one is decidedly low tech--and that's the point. A team of students is assembling a prototype for a concentrating solar power system built from simple, inexpensive materials. Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-dish-0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/media-directors-0506.html MIT Media Lab Director Frank Moss today announced the appointment of two associate directors: Hiroshi Ishii and Andrew Lippman, both long-term, prominent researchers at the Lab. Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/media-directors-0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/picower-gift-0506.html Restoring memories by flashing brain cells with lasers and dissecting the genetic basis for language learning are among the projects at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT to be funded with a new $4 million gift from The Picower Foundation. Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/picower-gift-0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fuel-0506.html It is possible to slash fuel use by all vehicles on U.S. roads to pre-2000 levels within a few decades, but doing so would require immediate action on several challenging fronts, according to a new analysis by MIT researchers. Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fuel-0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/real-estate-0506.html Despite signs of a widening disconnect between buyers and sellers, transaction sale prices of U.S. commercial property owned by institutional investors rose 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to an MIT index. Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/real-estate-0506.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/trachea-0505.html MIT tissue engineers have successfully healed airway injuries in rabbits using a novel cellular technique. This approach could lead to new treatments for human tracheal injuries such as smoke inhalation, as well as for other parts of the body Mon, 5 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/trachea-0505.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/econ-childcare-0502.html Universal day care, the recurring dream of working parents everywhere, benefits adults economically but may affect young children's well being, according to an MIT economist's study of a highly subsidized childcare program in Quebec. Fri, 2 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/econ-childcare-0502.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stomach-0501.html Prompt treatment of a microbe that causes stomach ulcers and other ailments can reverse damage to the lining of the stomach and ultimately prevent one of the most lethal forms of cancer from developing there, MIT researchers have concluded. Thu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stomach-0501.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/birdsongs-0501.html In work that offers insights into how birds--and perhaps people--learn new behaviors, MIT scientists have found that immature and adult birdsongs are driven by two separate brain pathways, rather than one pathway that slowly matures. Thu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/birdsongs-0501.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-peru-tt0430.html Students and faculty from MIT's CityScope class visited a small Peruvian town over spring break to learn about the earthquake-stricken city's needs and how they might help restore water supplies, health-care and a sense of community. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-peru-tt0430.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bingaman-0429.html Boosting Washington's "anemic and unreliable support for basic science and engineering enterprise" is a critical step toward a viable energy future, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., told an MIT audience on Friday, April 25. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bingaman-0429.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nas-0429.html Seven MIT faculty members are among the 72 newly elected members and 18 foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nas-0429.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/earth-water-0428.html Professor Dara Entekhabi will lead the science team designing a NASA satellite mission to collect global soil moisture measurements to improve weather, flood and drought forecasts and predictions of agricultural productivity and climate change. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/earth-water-0428.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/academy-0428.html Eight MIT faculty members are among the 212 new fellows recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/academy-0428.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rnai-0427.html A team of researchers from MIT and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has developed safe and effective methods to perform RNA interference, a therapy that holds great promise for treating a variety of diseases including cancer and hepatitis. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rnai-0427.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/heparin-0423.html An international team of researchers led by MIT has explained how contaminated batches of the blood-thinner heparin were able to slip past traditional safety screens and kill dozens of patients recently in the United States and Germany. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/heparin-0423.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/patrick-0423.html Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told an enthusiastic crowd at MIT on Tuesday that clean energy has the potential to bring about an economic bonanza for the commonwealth at the same time that it improves the planet's well-being. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/patrick-0423.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lemelson-sustainability-0423.html Dr. Martin Fisher is transforming the lives of poor African farmers through a combination of technological invention and business development. For his work, Fisher has been named the 2008 recipient of the Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lemelson-sustainability-0423.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chesonis-0422.html Promising to transform solar power from a "boutique" option to a mainstream energy solution, MIT and the Chesonis Family Foundation today launched a "solar revolution" with the aim of making solar energy America's primary carbon-free fuel. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/chesonis-0422.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/poverty-edwards-0418.html The global problems of climate change, population growth and severe poverty are so enormous that no one country can solve them alone, John Edwards told attendees at a student-organized conference on global poverty at MIT. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/poverty-edwards-0418.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/soldiers-0418.html Soldiers working in sunny but remote areas, in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan, might get a new boost of power for their electronic devices thanks to an innovative design for backpack-mounted solar cells designed by MIT students. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/soldiers-0418.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/emanuel-paper-0417.html Hurricanes in some areas, including the North Atlantic, are likely to become more intense as a result of global warming even though the number of such storms worldwide may decline, according to a new study by MIT researchers. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/emanuel-paper-0417.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/race-adv-0417.html "What's the Use of Race?"--a conference exploring whether race and ethnicity can be used as analytic categories in law, medicine and government without calcifying the very divisions that research in these fields is supposed to erase--will be held April 25-26 at MIT. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/race-adv-0417.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-divide-0417.html Proteins that control cell division play a far more nuanced role than researchers previously thought in the process that gives rise to reproductive cells, according to new MIT research. The work could explain why errors occcur so often during this process. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/cell-divide-0417.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-lorenz-0416.html Edward Lorenz, an MIT meteorologist who tried to explain why it is so hard to make good weather forecasts and wound up unleashing a scientific revolution called chaos theory, died April 16 of cancer at his home in Cambridge. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-lorenz-0416.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/climate-media-tt0416.html The slow, incremental unfolding of the evidence for global climate change is one reason it has been such a difficult subject for journalists to cover, and for the scientists who try to explain it, said panelists at a recent conference at MIT. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/climate-media-tt0416.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-abudhabi-tt0416.html Abu Dhabi is taking the long view, planning for a future beyond oil. The most dramatic piece of the emirate's plans is its creation of a whole new city from scratch, centered on an institute of technology modeled after, and created in collaboration with, MIT. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/itw-abudhabi-tt0416.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/poverty-tt0416.html Former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards will be among the speakers at an MIT conference April 18-20 involving more than 1,000 students from around the country dedicated to fighting the problems of extreme poverty in the world. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/poverty-tt0416.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/harbison-0415.html The Boston Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of "Symphony No. 5" by MIT Institute Professor, Pulitzer Prize winner and composer John Harbison on April 17 and 18 at Symphony Hall. James Levine will conduct. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/harbison-0415.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fraunhofer-0414.html MIT and Fraunhofer, a German research organization, have signed an agreement to establish a research center in Massachusetts focused on significantly reducing the cost of solar energy over the next five years. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fraunhofer-0414.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/jacks-0414.html Tyler E. Jacks, director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, has been named president-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/jacks-0414.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/pandemic-0411.html The widespread assumption that pandemic influenza is an exceptionally deadly form of seasonal, or nonpandemic, flu is hard to support, according to a new MIT study in the May issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/pandemic-0411.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rome-prize-0411.html MIT professor Keeril Makan, a musician and composer acclaimed for his technique of layering recorded and live sounds, has been awarded the prestigious Rome Prize by the American Academy in Rome for 2008-2009. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rome-prize-0411.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bp-mit-0410.html A corporation-wide focus on safe, reliable operations has brought BP, one of the world's largest energy companies, to MIT for the new Operations Academy, designed to enhance the culture of continuous improvement. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/bp-mit-0410.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lab-on-chip-0410.html An MIT team has improved upon its landmark technology reported last year in which the researchers used a fingernail-sized lab on a chip to image, perform surgery on and sort tiny worms to study nerve regeneration. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/lab-on-chip-0410.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nexi-0409.html A new experimental robot from the MIT Media Lab can slant its eyebrows in anger, or raise them in surprise, and show a wide assortment of facial expressions to communicate with people in human-centric terms. Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nexi-0409.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/patrick-0409.html In a speech Wednesday at MIT to business and government leaders, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick unveiled a plan to pump $3.8 billion into the state's economy as a safeguard against worsening economic conditions. Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/patrick-0409.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice//center-0226.html A new center will promote the Dalai Lama's vision of a better world by sponsoring interdisciplinary programs and deliberations on ethics. The center will be formally launched by the Dalai Lama during a visit to MIT on April 30. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice//center-0226.html