Most recent 40 articles: MIT - Media Lab
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Q&A: Climate Grand Challenges finalists on building equity and fairness into climate solutions - MIT - Media Lab (Mar 04, 2022) |
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Mar 04, 2022 · d="M12.132,61.991a5.519,5.519,0,0,1-5.866,5.753A5.554,5.554,0,0,1,.4,61.854a5.809,5.809,0,0,1,1.816-4.383,6.04,6.04,0,0,1,4.05-1.37C9.9,55.965,12.132,58.43,12.132,61.991Zm-8.939-.137c0,2.328,1.117,3.7,3.073,3.7s3.073-1.37,3.073-3.7-1.117-3.835-3.073-3.835C4.45,58.156,3.193,59.526,3.193,61.854Z" transform="translate(-0.4 -55.965)" fill="#333"/> d="M17.884,67.531l-3.352-5.753-1.257-2.191v7.944H10.9V56.3h2.793l3.212,5.616c.419.822.7,1.37,1.257,2.328V56.3h2.374V67.531Z" transform="translate(3.765 -55.889)" fill="#333"/> ... Read more ...
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Space for all is this student’s goal - MIT - Media Lab (Feb 17, 2021) |
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Feb 17, 2021 · The latest NASA rover, scheduled to land on Mars tomorrow after traveling more than six months in interplanetary space, is carrying with it a special instrument called MOXIE. About the size of a car battery, MOXIE will inhale carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere and transform it into a breath of oxygen.
That’s the plan, at any rate. On Earth, Maya Nasr and other members of the MOXIE team will be holding their own breath as they wait to see if the instrument they’ve designed, tested, and helped launch will work after the Perseverance rover touches down on the Martian surface.
Nasr, a PhD student in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has been working ... Read more ...
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Dava Newman named director of MIT Media Lab - MIT - Media Lab (Dec 22, 2020) |
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Dec 22, 2020 · Dava Newman SM ’89, SM ’89, PhD ’92, an MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics whose groundbreaking work has advanced human performance in space with the goal of interplanetary reach, has been named the new director of the MIT Media Lab, effective July 1, 2021.
“Leading the legendary Media Lab is a dream for me, and I can’t wait to help write the next chapter of this uniquely creative, impactful, compassionate community,” Newman says. Currently she is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a faculty member in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology.
Newman brings a boldly ... Read more ...
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Innovative face masks and medical-grade gowns to combat Covid-19 and future pandemics - MIT - Media Lab (Nov 09, 2020) |
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Nov 09, 2020 · With the world battling the current Covid-19 outbreak, a new project at MIT seeks to develop innovative solutions to fight this and future pandemics.
The Pandemic Response CoLab is a joint project by the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence (CCI), MIT Media Lab’s Community Biotechnology Initiative, and founding member MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany. The Pandemic Response CoLab is an open, online collaboration platform that invites anyone, from individuals to groups, from communities to businesses, to develop actionable solutions for challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A global challenge like the pandemic ... Read more ...
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Leveraging a 3D printer “defect” to create a new quasi-textile - MIT - Media Lab (Oct 26, 2020) |
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Oct 26, 2020 · Sometimes 3D printers mess up. They extrude too much material, or too little, or deposit material in the wrong spot. But what if this bug could be turned into a (fashionable) feature?
Introducing DefeXtiles, a tulle-like textile that MIT Media Lab graduate student Jack Forman developed by controlling a common 3D printing defect - the under-extrusion of polymer filament.
Forman used a standard, inexpensive 3D printer to produce sheets and complex 3D geometries with a woven-like structure based on the “glob-stretch” pattern produced by under-extrusion. Forman has printed these flexible and thin sheets into an interactive lampshade, full-sized skirts, a roll of fabric long ... Read more ...
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Bringing construction projects to the digital world - MIT - Media Lab (Oct 21, 2020) |
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Oct 21, 2020 · People who work behind a computer screen all day take it for granted that everyone’s work will be tracked and accessible when they collaborate with others. But if your job takes place out in the real world, managing projects can require a lot more effort.
In construction, for example, general contractors and real estate developers often need someone to be physically present on a job site to verify work is done correctly and on time. They might also rely on a photographer or smartphone images to document a project’s progress. Those imperfect solutions can lead to accountability issues, unnecessary change orders, and project delays.
Now the startup OpenSpace is bringing ... Read more ...
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National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator awards two grants to MIT - MIT - Media Lab (Sep 23, 2020) |
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Sep 23, 2020 · d="M12.132,61.991a5.519,5.519,0,0,1-5.866,5.753A5.554,5.554,0,0,1,.4,61.854a5.809,5.809,0,0,1,1.816-4.383,6.04,6.04,0,0,1,4.05-1.37C9.9,55.965,12.132,58.43,12.132,61.991Zm-8.939-.137c0,2.328,1.117,3.7,3.073,3.7s3.073-1.37,3.073-3.7-1.117-3.835-3.073-3.835C4.45,58.156,3.193,59.526,3.193,61.854Z" transform="translate(-0.4 -55.965)" fill="#333"/> d="M17.884,67.531l-3.352-5.753-1.257-2.191v7.944H10.9V56.3h2.793l3.212,5.616c.419.822.7,1.37,1.257,2.328V56.3h2.374V67.531Z" transform="translate(3.765 -55.889)" fill="#333"/> ... Read more ...
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3Q: Fighting racism in the nuclear community - MIT - Media Lab (Sep 19, 2020) |
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Sep 19, 2020 · d="M12.132,61.991a5.519,5.519,0,0,1-5.866,5.753A5.554,5.554,0,0,1,.4,61.854a5.809,5.809,0,0,1,1.816-4.383,6.04,6.04,0,0,1,4.05-1.37C9.9,55.965,12.132,58.43,12.132,61.991Zm-8.939-.137c0,2.328,1.117,3.7,3.073,3.7s3.073-1.37,3.073-3.7-1.117-3.835-3.073-3.835C4.45,58.156,3.193,59.526,3.193,61.854Z" transform="translate(-0.4 -55.965)" fill="#333"/> d="M17.884,67.531l-3.352-5.753-1.257-2.191v7.944H10.9V56.3h2.793l3.212,5.616c.419.822.7,1.37,1.257,2.328V56.3h2.374V67.531Z" transform="translate(3.765 -55.889)" fill="#333"/> ... Read more ...
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With Perseverance and a little MOXIE, MIT is going to Mars - MIT - Media Lab (Jul 29, 2020) |
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Jul 29, 2020 · Media can only be downloaded from the desktop version of this website.
On July 30, a two-week window of opportunity opens for Perseverance - the newest Mars rover, forged in the spirit of human curiosity - to begin its journey toward the Red Planet with a launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Center on the eastern Florida coast. With MIT’s help, this latest NASA mission will build upon the legacy of its roving laboratory predecessors and dig deeper than ever before into questions about life on Mars.
In its current state, Mars is inhospitable; the surface is dusty, and the only available water is frozen near the poles, deep underground, or so tightly bound to the ... Read more ...
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Bringing the benefits of in-person collaboration to the virtual world - MIT - Media Lab (Jul 10, 2020) |
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Jul 10, 2020 · Media can only be downloaded from the desktop version of this website.
Over the past few months, while many workers were adjusting to a newfound reliance on Zoom meetings and Slack messages, employees at companies including toy designer Mattel, banking giant BNP Paribas, and the multinational energy corporation Enel Group have been collaborating in shared spaces. They’ve been using whiteboards and sticky notes to organize ideas, and even finishing up work sessions with handshakes and high fives, all without the slightest concern of contracting Covid-19.
That’s because they’re meeting virtually on the platform of Spatial, a startup using augmented and virtual reality to ... Read more ...
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Cynthia Breazeal named Media Lab associate director - MIT - Media Lab (Jun 19, 2020) |
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Jun 19, 2020 · Cynthia Breazeal has been promoted to full professor and named associate director of the Media Lab, joining the two other associate directors: Hiroshi Ishii and Andrew Lippman. Both appointments are effective July 1.
In her new associate director role, Breazeal will work with lab faculty and researchers to develop new strategic research initiatives. She will also play a key role in exploring new funding mechanisms to support broad Media Lab needs, including multi-faculty research efforts, collaborations with other labs and departments across the MIT campus, and experimental executive education opportunities.
“I am excited that Cynthia will be applying her tremendous ... Read more ...
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Deep learning accurately stains digital biopsy slides | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (May 22, 2020) |
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May 22, 2020 · Tissue biopsy slides stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) dyes are a cornerstone of histopathology, especially for pathologists needing to diagnose and determine the stage of cancers. A research team led by MIT scientists at the Media Lab, in collaboration with clinicians at Stanford University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, now shows that digital scans of these biopsy slides can be stained computationally, using deep learning algorithms trained on data from physically dyed slides.
Pathologists who examined the computationally stained H&E slide images in a blind study could not tell them apart from traditionally stained slides while using them to ... Read more ...
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Nature-inspired CRISPR enzymes for expansive genome editing | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (May 19, 2020) |
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May 19, 2020 · In nature, bacteria use CRISPR as an adaptive immune system to protect themselves against viruses. Over the past decade, scientists have been able to successfully build upon that natural phenomenon with the discovery of CRISPR proteins found in bacteria - the most widely used of which is the Cas9 enzyme. In combination with a guide RNA, Cas9 is able to target, cut, and degrade specific DNA sequences.
With applications ranging from the treatment of genetic diseases to the nutritional potency of agricultural crops, CRISPR has emerged as one of the most promising tools for genome editing. Cas9 enzymes, however, rely on specific DNA ZIP codes to pinpoint where to cut and edit. The ... Read more ...
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"Lean lab" approach enables quick research ramp down | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (May 14, 2020) |
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May 14, 2020 · When MIT announced in March that most research labs on campus would need to ramp down to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, Canan Dagdeviren’s lab was ready.
For the past two years, Dagdeviren and her lab manager, David Sadat, have run the Conformable Decoders Group using “lean lab” management principles, working closely with MIT’s Environment, Health and Safety Office (EHS). Every item in their lab has an assigned function and location, and there are strict procedures in place describing how everything is to be used, put away, and replenished. As a result, it took the lab just 15 minutes to close down operations on March 13.
“Given that everyone in our lab is very ... Read more ...
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Design that makes a difference | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (May 06, 2020) |
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May 06, 2020 · Media can only be downloaded from the desktop version of this website.
Her first year on campus, Jierui Fang received an intriguing message from a junior living on her dorm floor who was looking for help on a project to paint augmented reality murals in the tunnels below MIT. "I wavered on applying for about a month, not wanting to overload my already frazzled first-year self," Fang recalls. "While riding the bus the day of the deadline, however, I decided I had nothing to lose and hurriedly sketched out my thoughts with hours left, not knowing how much an impact this project would have on my undergraduate life."
Fang became a design chair and later lead for the ... Read more ...
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Siranush Babakhanova and Michal Gala named 2020 Knight-Hennessy Scholars | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (May 05, 2020) |
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May 05, 2020 · Seniors will receive full funding for graduate studies at Stanford University.
Two MIT seniors, Siranush Babakhanova and Michal Gala, have been awarded Knight-Hennessy Scholarships. The prestigious fellowship attracts thousands of applicants from around the world and provides full funding for graduate studies in any field at Stanford University. Knight-Hennessy scholars also receive leadership development training, mentorship, and experiential learning opportunities.
The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program aims to address the world's challenges through innovation and collaboration by developing a community of emerging leaders equipped to work across disciplines and ... Read more ...
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A forum for female voices in international security | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (May 04, 2020) |
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May 04, 2020 · "Our field has traditionally been male-dominated, and many women in security studies today still find themselves in rooms of mostly men," says Sara Plana, a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the MIT Department of Political Science. Women pursuing careers in security studies — especially women of color — confront greater challenges than men in publishing research and scoring coveted public policy or teaching positions, she notes. These longstanding institutional barriers to women have proven dauntingly resistant to change. But recently, Plana and Rachel Tecott, also a fifth-year doctoral candidate in political science, came up with a plan to address the issue. In 2018, they ... Read more ...
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Top collegiate inventors awarded 2020 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (Apr 29, 2020) |
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Apr 29, 2020 · Following a nationwide search for the most inventive undergraduate and graduate college students, the Lemelson-MIT Program has announced the winners of the 2020 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize. The program awarded a total of $75,000 in prizes to three undergraduate teams and three individual graduate student inventors. This year's inventions range from a compostable, biodegradable single-use plastic bag to a new fuel gauging device that accurately detects fuel levels in spacecraft and airplane tanks.
"We are thrilled by this year's group of winners. The pandemic has not slowed the progress of these students on their inventions. They all know their work has the ability to improve ... Read more ...
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Sensors woven into a shirt can monitor vital signs | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (Apr 23, 2020) |
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Apr 23, 2020 · The sensor-embedded garments, which are machine washable, can be customized to fit close to the body of the person wearing them. The researchers envision that this type of sensing could be used for monitoring people who are ill, either at home or in the hospital, as well as athletes or astronauts.
"We can have any commercially available electronic parts or custom lab-made electronics embedded within the textiles that we wear every day, creating conformable garments," says Canan Dagdeviren, the LG Electronics Career Development Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT. "These are customizable, so we can make garments for anyone who needs to have some physical data ... Read more ...
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Proteins may halt the severe cytokine storms seen in Covid-19 patients | MIT News - MIT - Media Lab (Apr 16, 2020) |
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Apr 16, 2020 · One of the defining features of Covid-19 is the excessive immune response that can occur in severe cases. This burst of immune overreaction, also called a cytokine storm, damages the lungs and can be fatal.
A team of MIT researchers has developed specialized proteins, similar in structure to antibodies, that they believe could soak up these excess cytokines.
"The idea is that they can be injected into the body and bind to the excessive cytokines as generated by the cytokine storm, removing the excessive cytokines and alleviating the symptoms from the infection," says Rui Qing, an MIT research scientist who is one of the senior authors of the study.
Shuguang Zhang, ... Read more ...
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Ed Boyden wins prestigious Wilhelm Exner Medal - MIT - Media Lab (Mar 18, 2020) |
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Mar 18, 2020 · The Austrian Association of Entrepreneurs has announced that Edward S. Boyden, the Y. Eva Tan Professor in Neurotechnology at MIT, has been awarded the 2020 Wilhelm Exner Medal.
Named after Austrian businessman Wilhelm Exner, the medal has been awarded annually since 1921 to scientists, inventors, and designers who are "promoting the economy directly or indirectly in an outstanding manner." Past honorees include 22 Nobel laureates.
"It's a great honor to receive this award, which recognizes not only the basic science impact of our group's work, but the impact of the work in the industrial and startup worlds," says Boyden, who is a professor of biological engineering and ... Read more ...
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Printing objects that can incorporate living organisms - MIT - Media Lab (Jan 23, 2020) |
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Jan 23, 2020 · The new development was led by MIT Media Lab Associate Professor Neri Oxman and graduate students Rachel Soo Hoo Smith, Christoph Bader, and Sunanda Sharma, along with six others at MIT and at Harvard University's Wyss Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The system is described in a paper recently published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
"We call them hybrid living materials, or HLMs," Smith says. For their initial proof-of-concept experiments, the team precisely incorporated various chemicals into the 3D printing process. These chemicals act as signals to activate certain responses in biologically engineered microbes, which are spray-coated onto the ... | By David L. Chandler | MIT News Office Read more ...
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Bringing artificial intelligence and MIT to middle school classrooms - MIT - Media Lab (Dec 30, 2019) |
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Dec 30, 2019 · In the age of Alexa, YouTube recommendations, and Spotify playlists, artificial intelligence has become a way of life, improving marketing and advertising, e-commerce, and more. But what are the ethical implications of technology that collects and learns personal information? How should society navigate these issues and shape the future?
A new curriculum designed for middle school students aims to help them understand just that at an early age, as they grow up surrounded by the technology. The open-source educational material, designed by an MIT team and piloted at this year's Massachusetts STEM Week this past fall, teaches students how AI systems are designed, how they can be ... Read more ...
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Journalists and academics explore the communication of science - MIT - Media Lab (Dec 06, 2019) |
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Dec 06, 2019 · The amount of trust people place in different professions has ebbed and flowed over the years, though in recent years faith in most categories has plummeted, with Congress and the press among the least-trusted groups, surveys have shown. Trust in scientists, by contrast, has remained remarkably steady, at a level that's comparatively high but still only around 40 percent.
The ways that information about science gets out to the public have changed significantly in recent years, with newsrooms downsizing nationwide, sources of misinformation proliferating, and skepticism growing about what is reported, including about science. To explore ways of building trust in science and ... Read more ...
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Designing humanity's future in space - MIT - Media Lab (Nov 26, 2019) |
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Nov 26, 2019 · Just past the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, humanity's life in space isn't so very far away. Virgin Galactic just opened its spaceport with the goal of launching space tourists into orbit within months, not years; Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is gearing up to carry its first human cargo to the edge of space, with New Glenn and a moon mission not far behind. We are nearing a future where trained, professional astronauts aren't the only people who will regularly leave Earth. The new Space Age will reach beyond the technical and scientific achievements of getting people into space and keeping them alive there; the next frontier is bringing our creativity, our values, ... Read more ...
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Zach Lieberman joins MIT Media Lab - MIT - Media Lab (Nov 25, 2019) |
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Nov 25, 2019 · New adjunct associate professor combines fine arts and coding.
A new-media artist with a background in fine arts, Lieberman creates animations, public art, and installations that explore the relationship between computation, art, and movement. He holds degrees from Hunter College and Parsons School of Design, has been artist-in-residence at Ars Electronica Futurelab, Eyebeam, Dance Theater Workshop, and the Hangar Center for the Arts in Barcelona, and his work has been exhibited around the world. He is one of the co-founders of openFrameworks, a C++ library for creative coding.
Lieberman is particularly drawn to coding as a mode of expression, comparing it to poetry in ... Read more ...
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