Author: Ms. R.

In 2021, Crystan McLymore was a nuclear surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, in charge of more than 30 mechanics maintaining the systems and safety of a nuclear reactor aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. Two years later, she is excelling in a completely different world, if possibly in service to those working on a nuclear ship. McLymore has just completed a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at MIT, after participating in research on an ingestible……

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MIT’s School of Engineering and global health care company Novo Nordisk has announced the launch of a multi-year program to support postdoctoral fellows conducting research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and data science with life sciences. The MIT-Novo Nordisk Artificial Intelligence Postdoctoral Fellows Program will welcome its first cohort of up to 10 postdocs for a two-year term this fall. The program will provide up to $10 million for an annual cohort of up to 10 postdoc for……

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It was an uncharacteristically sunny morning as Marcela Angel MCP ’18, flanked by a drone pilot from the Boston engineering firm AirWorks and a data collection team from the Colombian regional environmental agency Corpoamazonia, climbed a hill in the Andes Mountains of southwest Colombia. The area’s usual mountain cloud cover — one of the major challenges to working with satellite imagery or flying UAVs (unpiloted aerial vehicles, or drones) in the Pacific highlands of the Amazon — would roll……

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David H. Autor, Ford Professor of Economics at MIT, has been recognized as one of two 2023 NOMIS Distinguished Scientists for his significant contributions and ongoing research work to understand the effects of technological change and globalization on jobs and earnings prospects for workers. Anne Brunet of Stanford University is the other winner for this year. The NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award is presented by the NOMIS Foundation to researchers who, through their innovative, groundbreaking research, have made……

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On a Monday afternoon, poet Joshua Bennett is chatting with early arrivals to his class, asking how they spent their weekends. The wistful chords of the 1979 Bill Evans jazz album “We Will Meet Again” play in the background. It’s a relaxed, convivial start to a new MIT Literature class that explores the relationship between poetry and the social lives of everyday people. Bennett, a visiting professor in spring 2023 who will join the MIT faculty as a full-time……

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How are waves of disruptive technologies, such as more advanced versions of artificial intelligence systems, changing the way we work, live, and play? Are there pathways that academics, practitioners, innovators, and entrepreneurs ought to be pursuing to ensure that the largest share of the benefits associated with new technologies uplift the most marginalized populations? What professional training is needed to ensure that this happens? What responsibility do creators of new or repurposed technologies have when they, and their organizations,……

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The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences recently recognized the 2023 winners of the school’s Infinite Mile Award. The awards salute members of the SHASS staff who have made exceptional contributions to their academic units, the school, and the Institute. These colleagues exemplify the spirit of going the extra mile in their roles and work on a regular basis, supporting their teams’ mission in diverse initiatives throughout the school. Infinite Mile Award winners are nominated by their colleagues. ……

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One of many key priorities identified in the Task Force 2021 and Beyond report (TF2021) is the need to improve undergraduate advising. That conclusion isn’t groundbreaking; the committee working on the issue conceded that, over the past 30 years, multiple reports, memos, and pilots had already delved into it extensively. “We do not need further study of undergraduate advising at MIT,” the committee wrote. “We need a plan for implementing change.” The committee proposed a four-year, structured implementation plan……

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There are many ways to map New York City, including street maps of Manhattan’s famous grid, the brightly colored subway map, and souvenir maps of skyscrapers. Those are all static maps of long-term features, however. Alternately, there is a more dynamic way to map the city: use digital technologies to show the city in motion, charting pollution, traffic, pedestrian flow, crowds, commuting patterns, and other elements of our daily urban experience. This second kind of map is a specialty……

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For the past two and a half years, graduate student Tong Zhang has been figuring out how bacteria protect themselves against phages — the viruses that infect them. All the while, doing so as a student far from her hometown of Beijing, China. Phages and bacteria are in a constant arms race, which those in the field call the Red Queen Conflict: Alice in Wonderland running to stay in place, the queen making chase. Both the infector and the……

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