This post was originally published on this siteChina Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. It’s the perfect moment to talk about EV batteries and China: yesterday, I published a story unpacking the country’s two decades of investment into becoming a world leader […]
If design is everything, is it anything?
This post was originally published on this siteGood design has a habit of making things simple—sometimes too simple. You may look at the first iPod, for example, and marvel at its minimalist elegance without having to consider who designed it, where it was made and by whom, what materials it required, or even how long […]
Why the definition of design might need a change
This post was originally published on this siteIt was drawing, or disegno, as deployed in the making of Italian buildings during the Renaissance, that gave us the word “design”—or such was the enthusiastic explanation I received as an architecture student at the end of the 1990s. History, of course, tells a more complex story. Though […]
The numbers that couldn’t be ignored
This post was originally published on this sitePlease return to this page on or after February 27 to read an excerpt adapted from The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kate Zernike. The book will go on sale on February 28, and the publisher has requested that we […]
No humans allowed
This post was originally published on this siteThe Z Center held its second annual dog swim in December just before draining the pool for maintenance. Dogs able to go online to sign up (or convince their humans to do so for them) enjoyed a one-hour slot of swimming, socializing, ball retrieving, and, of course, dousing […]
Wean Khing Wong ’84
This post was originally published on this siteWean Khing Wong, an attorney, mediator, speaker, and life coach, knows from personal experience that there are many ways to support the institutions and ideals that are important to you. As founder and former president of the MIT Chinese Alumni Group—which alumni and students of any ethnic background […]
A warm welcome
This post was originally published on this siteSally Kornbluth officially began her tenure as MIT’s 18th president on January 1. A welcome banner—in Duke blue, presumably to ease her transition to 02139—greeted her in Lobby 7 as she began taking her first sips from the firehose. Here’s her video hello to the MIT community:
Tackling Earth’s tremors and cancerous tumors
This post was originally published on this siteForecasting earthquakes is complex, relying on specialized analysis of minute signals from the Earth’s crust. Cancer treatment is also a highly complex field, involving thousands of researchers and billions of dollars worldwide. Either would be enough to fill the waking hours of any scientist. But the work of […]
A journey into space policy
This post was originally published on this siteIn the days of the Apollo program, space policy wasn’t really about rockets, it was about international politics: beating the Soviets to the moon. But in the 21st century, with space now populated by thousands of satellites, telescopes, and other technologies, space policy has become far more complex. […]
Making a splash at Universal Studios Japan
This post was originally published on this siteAt Universal Studios Japan, one of the world’s most popular theme parks, a single parade can run 45 minutes and involve more than 100 performers, a half-dozen floats, intricate choreography, and a huge all-out water fight with the audience. It’s an enormous feat of engineering. Good thing an […]
Why this stroke survivor biked 4,500 miles across the US
This post was originally published on this siteAfter a stroke in 2010, Debra Meyerson ’79, SM ’80, was paralyzed on the right side of her body and needed months of speech therapy before she was able to produce even the simplest of words. Today, she’s speaking out about stroke recovery—especially the mental health and emotional […]
Infusing science into public policymaking
This post was originally published on this siteTina Bahadori ’84, SM ’88, studied the chemistry of turbulent diffusion flames and wrote a thesis on Les Liaisons Dangereuses as a double major in chemical engineering and humanities. Then she earned MIT master’s degrees in chemical engineering and technology and policy. So, it’s no surprise that she […]