massachusetts institute of technology today's spotlight about
Close
Spotlight image Spotlight image
The iconic MIT home page Spotlight features a daily-changing image and design that focuses on advances in research, technology and education taking place at the Institute. Though some Spotlights do run multiple days - for example Friday's spot usually runs through the weekend, we work very hard to maintain the daily-changing tradition. We've combed our servers and have compiled a digital archive of the Institute home page through the years - well over 2000 images. Enjoy!
Close
Picture perfectToday’s Spotlight uses a photo‑illustration by Christine Daniloff/MIT.

Computational photography is the use of clever light‑gathering tricks and sophisticated algorithms to extract more information from the visual environment than traditional cameras can.

The first commercial application of computational photography is the so‑called light‑field camera, which can measure not only the intensity of incoming light but also its angle. That information can be used to produce multiperspective 3‑D images, or to refocus a shot even after it’s been captured.

Read full article.
The MIT home page Spotlight showcases the research, technology and education advances taking place at the Institute every day.

What makes it as a Spotlight image is an editorial decision by the MIT News Office based on factors that include timeliness, promotion of MIT's mission, the balance of interest to both internal and external audiences, and appropriateness.

We do welcome ideas and submissions for spotlights from community members, but please note we are not able to accommodate all requests. We are unable to run event previews or promotions as spotlights; for those looking to promote an event, we are happy to include your listing as an event headline on the homepage (when space is available) and you are free to submit an Of Note to the MIT News office. For more information, e-mail the spotlight team.

Request a Spotlight, Of Note or Event Headline, here.
Q&A: Junot Diaz on his new book

Q&A: Junot Diaz on his new book

Today’s Spotlight uses a photograph, by Nina Subin, of Junot Diaz, the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at MIT.

Junot Diaz may work slowly, in his own estimation, but the results are fast‑moving stories that quickly etch themselves in our minds. The story collection This Is How You Lose Her, published today by Riverhead Books, is Diaz’s third book, following Drown (1996) and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Like Drown, the new volume is a series of interwoven stories, mostly following Yunior, a young Dominican‑American who intermittently wrecks relationships and continually regrets the results. Diaz, the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at MIT, recently spoke to MIT News about his new book. Read more