During an MIT visit, National Defense Magazine met with John Joannopoulos to learn how researchers at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies “are conducting serious research on nanotechnology that could have a big impact on the battlefield.”

Xinyi Zhang is bridging machine learning and biology to understand fundamental biological principles. The PhD student is developing computational tools for analyzing cells in the age of “multimodal” data, from different types of measurements taken simultaneously.

“It never occurred to me not to join the military. I knew I wanted ROTC,” says US Air Force Maj. (Ret.) Teri Centner ’89. Soon after graduating from MIT, she found herself reverse-engineering Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles — the start of 20 years of military service.

Emergency personnel are at elevated risk for mental health challenges like post-traumatic stress disorder. A new study shows that a cognitive strategy focused on social good may help people cope with distressing events.

“I am an astronaut,” Cady Coleman ’83 wrote recently in The Boston Globe. “Even after 24 years at NASA, two space shuttle missions, and six months living aboard the International Space Station, it thrills me to say those words.”

With a new surgical intervention and neuroprosthetic interface, researchers restored a natural walking gait in people with amputations below the knee. Seven patients could walk faster, avoid obstacles, and climb stairs more naturally than people with a traditional amputation.