Energy

Reducing wasted energy in commercial buildingsMuch energy is wasted heating and cooling indoor spaces when no one or almost no one is present. Now, MIT researchers have used their own campus to demonstrate a means of measuring that energy/occupancy mismatch.

Purification on the cheapSystem developed at MIT cleans ‘produced water’ from natural gas wells, could lead to improved desalination plants for developing countries.

Renovation plans offer MIT opportunities to save energy, improve designWork aims to make the Institute more energy-efficient and to influence design standards in the construction industry.

Undergraduate contributes to fusion reactor advancementJake Jurewicz, a nuclear science and engineering-physics double major, received a fellowship to develop new simulation and visualization software at the National Fusion Facility in California.

Changing with the climateMIT researchers, Massachusetts officials highlight strategies to adapt to climate change.

Capturing energy from the sunMIT investigators are inspired by a deep-sea bacterium that is able to harvest tiny amounts of incoming solar energy with exquisite efficiency.

Michael Liebreich sees shift to cleaner energy as inevitableChief executive officer of Bloomberg New Energy Finance says clean energy will eventually be the norm.

The right’s resistance to regulationBook details how conservatives have changed the terms of the environmental debate in recent decades.

Undergrads take the lead in 10.27Class offers students a unique opportunity to contribute to the field of energy.

MIT researchers win Pyke Johnson AwardKarplus, Paltsev honored for their study on the impacts of vehicle efficiency standards.

New material harvests energy from water vaporPolymer film could be used in artificial muscle and to power micro- and nanoelectronic devices.

Measuring MIT’s plug loadUndergrad project offers glimpse of electricity consumption on campus.

Using prizes to spur innovationMIT Professor Fiona Murray produces concrete guidelines on designing and executing Grand Innovation Prizes.

Research update: Jumping droplets help heat transferScalable nanopatterned surfaces designed by MIT researchers could make for more efficient power generation and desalination.

Flexible, light solar cells could provide new opportunitiesMIT researchers develop a new approach using graphene sheets coated with nanowires.

New experiments, new insights into stress corrosion crackingMIT researchers now have new insights into how 'stress corrosion cracking' may be affected by nanoscale disruptions in the crystalline structure of metallic materials.

Harnessing solar energyNovel approach yields both electricity and heat.

Yue Fan awarded Argonne postdoctoral fellowship

Buongiorno and McKrell awarded more than $400,000 by CEA, FranceThe researchers will investigate transient boiling heat transfer phenomena under rapidly escalating heat fluxes.

3 Questions: World energy outlookFatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, talks about the future of fossil fuels and the prospects for curbing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Funneling the sun’s energyMIT engineers propose a new way of harnessing photons for electricity, with the potential for capturing a wider spectrum of solar energy.

Making ‘nanospinning’ practicalNanofibers have a dizzying range of possible applications, but they’ve been prohibitively expensive to make. MIT researchers hope to change that.

Chiang honored for achievements in energy and environmentWins Innovation Award from The Economist

Michael Short spans classroom, forge, reactor

BP renews commitment to MIT with second $25 million pledgeCompany to provide $5 million a year to support continued energy-related research activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Programs for green citiesFinding out what works

A better way to shed waterMIT researchers find that lubricated, nanotextured surfaces improved performance of condensers in power and desalination plants.

Department snapshot: Mechanical EngineeringMore MechE students choose to design their own education.

Reaching underground resourcesVaporize the rock — no drilling required

At MIT, Dalai Lama calls for better stewardship of Earth’s resourcesTibetan Buddhist leader urges a more enlightened view of self-interest in remarks at MIT conference.