​​Engineers have developed a method to increase wind farms’ energy output – with no need for new equipment. “We’re really just making a software change, and there’s a significant potential energy increase associated with it,” says Michael Howland.

​​New 3D-printed materials that sense their own motion could be useful in flexible robots or wearable devices. Air-filled channels deform when the material is squeezed or stretched, and measuring the air pressure reveals how the structure is deforming.

​​Using computational tools, PhD student Jana Saadi seeks to make product design more creative and inclusive. In MIT D-Lab, where she is based, “you’re not creating products for people; you’re creating products with people,” she says.

A new study finds that when adults gain access to Medicaid, some sign up their previously unenrolled kids, too. “We were just trying to get a sense of whether there were impacts on the children, and how large these effects were,” Amy Finkelstein says.

“A lot of superhero stories are based on complete nonsense,” says Amy Chu ’91, who brought science and diversity to comics following her own transformation from management consultant to comic book writer. “Every story I do I try to ground in science.”

Natel Energy, founded by siblings Gia Schneider ’99 and Abe Schneider ’02, SM ’03, is deploying hydropower plants with fish-safe turbines and other features designed to mimic natural river conditions.