Companies and developers often face a steep learning curve when implementing clean energy technologies like solar installations and EV charging. To get a fair deal, they must go through a complex bidding process that includes requests for proposals, bid evaluations, and ultimately signing contracts with suppliers. Now, Station A, a startup founded by two MIT…
In biology textbooks, the ER is often described as a distinct, compact organelle located near the nucleus, commonly known to be responsible for protein transport and secretion. In fact, the ER is very large and dynamic, spread throughout the cell, and able to contact and communicate with other organelles. These membrane contacts control various processes…
Smith, an inventor on 11 patents, believes strongly in the power of collaboration when it comes to MIT’s work. Her team, embedded in the lab’s Advanced Technologies Division, drives innovation in areas including computing, aerospace, optical systems, and bioengineering by applying cutting-edge technology. Smith, an inventor on 11…
Robots have come a long way since the Roomba. Today, drones make home deliveries, self-driving cars are on some roads, robot dogs help first responders, and more robots are turning things around and helping out in factories. But Luca Carlon believes the best is yet to come. Carlone, recently appointed associate professor in MIT’s Department…
A home robot that is factory-trained to do housework cannot effectively clean the sink or take out the trash when placed in a user’s kitchen, because this new environment is different from its training ground. To avoid this, engineers often try to include a simulated training environment that resembles the real world in which the…
The world warmed by 1.5 degrees Celsius last year, more than before industrialization, and wildfires, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent, intense, and deadly. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and prevent such a scenario, the nearly 200 countries that signed the Paris Agreement on climate…
Imagine a boombox that tracks your every move and suggests music to match your dance style. That’s the idea behind “Be the Beat,” one of several projects in the MIT 4.043/4.044 (Interactive Intelligence) course taught by Marcelo Coelho of the Faculty of Architecture, which will be presented at the 38th NeurIPS (Neural Information Processing Systems)…
If you’ve ever watched a cartoon like Tom and Jerry, you’ll notice a common theme: an elusive target escaping a formidable foe. This game of “cat and mouse” means chasing something that you barely escape every time you try, whether literally or figuratively. Similarly, keeping persistent hackers at bay is a constant challenge for cybersecurity…
High-energy explosions in the sky are often attributed to gamma-ray bursts. We now know that these explosions result from the merger of two neutron stars, or the collapse of a massive star. In these scenarios, a new black hole forms, emitting jets that travel at nearly the speed of light. As these jets travel towards…
While in medical school, Matthew Dolan ’81 considered specializing in orthopedic surgery for a job involving materials science, but he quickly realized he didn’t have the innate skills needed for that type of work. “I’ll be honest with you, I can’t parallel park,” he joked. “You can think of a lot of different things, but…
