Energy

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.

In profile: Seeing the lightArchitect Christoph Reinhart studies how buildings — and whole communities — can use daylight to become more energy-efficient.

A novel ultracapacitorEnergy when and where you need it.

Presidential campaigns offer energetic energy debate at MITRepresentatives of Obama, Romney camps lay out differences in crucial policy domains of energy and the environment.

New technique reveals lithium in actionFundamental reactions behind advanced battery technology, revealed in detail by advanced imaging method, could lead to improved materials.

New interactive map assesses solar power potential of CambridgePublic launch for project taking place Oct. 3

Women’s impact in clean energy is growing worldwideMIT symposium highlights women’s increasing leadership in energy research, industry and government.

Understanding and predicting materials behaviorDepartment of Nuclear Science and Engineering takes an interdisciplinary approach

Inauguration festivities off to a stimulating startInnovation symposium touches on a dizzying array of topics, with themes of interdisciplinary collaboration, energy and innovation for the developing world.

R. Scott Kemp brings new perspectives on nuclear technology and society

Converting plant waste into biofuelsPromising advances using yeast and fungi.