Author: Ms. R.

Water contamination by the chemicals used in today’s technology is a rapidly growing problem globally. A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that 98 percent of people tested had detectable levels of PFAS, a family of particularly long-lasting compounds also known as “forever chemicals,” in their bloodstream. A new filtration material developed by researchers at MIT might provide a nature-based solution to this stubborn contamination issue. The material, based on natural silk and cellulose, can remove……

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Sam Madden, the College of Computing Distinguished Professor of Computing at MIT, has been named the new faculty head of computer science in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), effective Aug. 1. Madden succeeds Arvind, a longtime MIT professor and prolific computer scientist, who passed away in June. “Sam’s research leadership and commitment to excellence, along with his thoughtful and supportive approach, makes him a natural fit to help lead the department going forward. In……

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Mathieu Le Provost, a postdoc in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, passed away unexpectedly on July 30 while traveling in France.  Le Provost joined AeroAstro in 2023 and was a member of the Uncertainty Quantification Group, led by Professor Youssef Marzouk. Marzouk and Le Provost connected in 2020 when Le Provost reached out over email, eager to explore potential research collaborations. Although the Covid-19 pandemic prevented them from meeting in person, Marzouk, le Provost, and colleagues Ricardo Baptista……

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Imagine how a phone call works: Your voice is converted into electronic signals, shifted up to higher frequencies, transmitted over long distances, and then shifted back down so it can be heard clearly on the other end. The process enabling this shifting of signal frequencies is called frequency mixing, and it is essential for communication technologies like radio and Wi-Fi. Frequency mixers are vital components in many electronic devices and typically operate using frequencies that oscillate billions (GHz, gigahertz)……

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Exoplanets form in protoplanetary disks, a collection of space dust and gas orbiting a star. The leading theory of planetary formation, called core accretion, occurs when grains of dust in the disk collect and grow to form a planetary core, like a snowball rolling downhill. Once it has a strong enough gravitational pull, other material collapses around it to form the atmosphere. A secondary theory of planetary formation is gravitational collapse. In this scenario, the disk itself becomes gravitationally……

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MIT’s Security Studies Program has received a $45 million gift from The Stanton Foundation to expand its leading work on the vital issue of global nuclear security. The support will allow the program to create a new center on the topic while extending and enhancing research, teaching, and policy outreach in an area where the Institute is a longstanding leader with wide-ranging faculty expertise. “We are on the cusp of a new and more dangerous nuclear age, with the modernization……

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Charging stations for electric vehicles are essential for cleaning up the transportation sector. A new study by MIT researchers suggests they’re good for business, too. The study found that, in California, opening a charging station boosted annual spending at each nearby business by an average of about $1,500 in 2019 and about $400 between January 2021 and June 2023. The spending bump amounts to thousands of extra dollars annually for nearby businesses, with the increase particularly pronounced for businesses……

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