
MIT News · Latest research
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- 1.Fueling a return journey from MarsGitana Savage | MIT News correspondent · PhD candidate Lanie McKinney is building technology to convert the Red Planet’s atmosphere into propellant for bringing astronauts home.
- 2.Meet the 2026 tenured professors in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social SciencesBenjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences · Faculty members granted tenure in Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Economics, Political Science, and Theater.
- 3.MIT School of Engineering faculty and staff receive awards in spring 2026Jordan Silva | School of Engineering · Faculty members and researchers were honored in recognition of their scholarship, service, and overall excellence.
- 4.Understanding the world, from the Cold War to the age of AICenter for International Studies · For 75 years, the Center for International Studies has brought together social scientists, engineers, and practitioners to understand global change, shape public debate, and address generational chall
- 5.Lincoln Laboratory summer research interns take on national security challengesKylie Foy | MIT Lincoln Laboratory · Anna Raymaker and Vivek Jagadeesh tackled cybersecurity threats to ships and inside operating systems, respectively.
- 6.Robotic lab sets up and runs optics experiments on demandJennifer Chu | MIT News · The autonomous system could speed up testing of high-tech materials for applications such as solar cells, sensors, video displays, and quantum technologies.
- 7.Faces of MIT: Jay WilcoxsonKaty Dandurand | MIT Human Resources · Combining a background in private law practice with a passion for problem-solving, Wilcoxson supports MIT’s mission and principles through his work as counsel.
- 8.“Technology is the equalizer”Lauren Rebecca Thacker | MIT Open Learning · Using knowledge gained from MIT’s free learning materials, an educator in rural India builds apps to reach students who can’t make it to school.
- 9.New artist residency program at MIT expands views of the cosmosMIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research · Inaugural artist Amy Karle will join astrophysicists at MIT’s Kavli Institute to explore questions about the universe and translate them into an immersive multimedia experience.
- 10.Nanoscale mechanics could enable brain-inspired computingAdam Zewe | MIT News · A new device uses reconfigurable motion to mimic the firing behavior of a neuron, which could lead to more efficient computing.
- 11.New AI technique could make minimally invasive surgeries safer and more preciseAdam Zewe | MIT News · This patient-specific method, called xvr, helps doctors use X-rays for surgical navigation in fields such as orthopedics and neurosurgery.
- 12.MIT startups inspire with impressive presentations at Demo Day 2026Zach Winn | MIT News · The event featured ventures solving problems in manufacturing, cybersecurity, health care spending, and more.
- 13.Measure by measure, studying society accuratelyPeter Dizikes | MIT News · Naoki Egami has become a standout in political methodology, helping refine tools that give scholars durable results.
- 14.How MIT student communities help develop lifelong skills and connectionsSarah Foote | Division of Student Life · Members of the Institute’s fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups translate their MIT experiences into cherished memories, friendships, and lessons about leadership and service.
- 15.MIT makes progress on campus climate goalsOffice of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer · Innovative strategies, technologies, and collaborations are helping MIT advance solutions on campus and beyond.
- 16.3 Questions: Putting nuclear waste into perspectiveSteve Nadis | Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering · Professor Haruko Wainwright believes the risks posed by radioactive wastes cannot be properly assessed without also considering the hazards of chemical wastes.
- 17.Marine bacteria team up to break down one of the ocean's toughest carbon-storing moleculesStephanie Martinovich | Civil and Environmental Engineering · Researchers reveal how communities of marine bacteria divide the task of degrading fucoidan, a key player in ocean carbon storage.
- 18.New method enables AI for safety-critical situationsAdam Zewe | MIT News · The “HardFlow” algorithm could help generative AI models produce high-quality outputs that obey strict requirements when “pretty close” doesn’t cut it.
- 19.MIT spinout turns plastic waste into resilient building materialsZach Winn | MIT News · Atlas Building Composites is commercializing MIT research to turn plastic waste into parts for buildings and other infrastructure.
- 20.Lifesaving Lincoln Laboratory device wins 2026 Excellence in Technology Transfer AwardErin Lee | Lincoln Laboratory · The handheld catheterization device AI-GUIDE, created by Lincoln Laboratory and Massachusetts General Hospital, promises improved health outcomes for injured service members and civilians.
- 21.MIT Schwarzman College of Computing launches pilot to help educators teach AI across disciplinesAmanda Diehl | MIT Schwarzman College of Computing · A weeklong summer workshop brought higher education faculty to campus to explore how AI and machine learning materials can be adapted for their classrooms.
- 22.A burst of “pink noise” may lead to more restorative sleepAnne Trafton | MIT News · Delivered at just the right time, this type of auditory stimulus can strengthen the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, which clears debris from the brain and keeps it healthy.
- 23.An electrochemical approach turns ammonia into pure hydrogenAnne Trafton | MIT News · An MIT team has demonstrated a more efficient way to extract pure hydrogen gas from hydrogen carrier molecules.
- 24.Study predicts large disparities in access to food, water, and energy in 2050Peter Dizikes | MIT News · In some regions of the world, the poorest people may spend about 50 percent of their income on food, while the richest spend about 5 percent.
- 25.Researchers tune into Arctic under-ice sounds and test through-ice communicationAriana Gaines | MIT Lincoln Laboratory · The work is part of a multiyear effort to develop a distributed sensor network for relaying data collected from this critical region.
- 26.Governor Healey, MIT President Kornbluth to Kick Off Festivities at MIT Future FestThe five-day festival will explore the future of science, technology, art and design from Wednesday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, Oct. 4
- 27.New method allows scientists to follow gene activity over time in the same cellsLeah Eisenstadt | Broad Institute · In the new method, cells package and export their RNA, enabling researchers to sequence and analyze the RNA without killing the cells.
- 28.Stories from the steel mills: A model for sharing workers’ historiesPeter Dizikes | MIT News · MIT anthropologist Chris Walley developed a project for people in Southeast Chicago to tell their histories — an approach any community can adopt.
- 29.How architects turned a hulking brick box into MIT’s newest academic hubPeter Dizikes | MIT News · A venerable storage facility has become a 21st-century architectural tour de force. Here are the key decisions that transformed the Met Warehouse.
- 30.Faculty receive promotions in the School of Architecture and Planning for 2026Maria Iacobo | School of Architecture and Planning · The range of faculty disciplines showcases the breadth of research and scholarship across the school.
- 31.3 Questions: The essential role of international engagementOffice of the Vice Provost for International Activities · Duane Boning, MIT’s vice provost for international activities, discusses the Institute’s approach to global engagement.
- 32.Assistant Professor Thomas Rose, an expert in archaeometallurgy, dies at 37Zach Winn | MIT News · Colleagues remember Rose as an enthusiastic and gracious friend who had recently started a promising research track at MIT.
- 33.Fabrication platform could enable flexible, transparent next-generation photonic chipsAdam Zewe | MIT News · This scalable process produces high-performance chips for applications like discreet wearables or pliable augmented-reality displays.
- 34.New qubit architecture enables faster, more accurate operationsAdam Zewe | MIT News · This advance could be a big step toward developing a scalable, practical quantum computer.
- 35.Giving farmers a more sustainable way to protect cropsZach Winn | MIT News · Led by Andee Wallace PhD ’20, Robigo uses cutting-edge biotechnology to engineer microbes to fight pests, reducing the need for harmful chemical pesticides.
- 36.Building foundations that lastLeila Hudson | Office of Graduate Education · Assistant Professor Iwnetim Abate creates space for ambitious research and sustainable growth for his graduate students.
- 37.System helps humans predict when self-driving cars will make mistakesAdam Zewe | MIT News · A new method, called CW-Net, translates the reasoning process of an autonomous vehicle’s AI system into understandable concepts that explain its behavior.
- 38.New research shows a neutrino laser is impossibleJennifer Chu | MIT News · Due to physical and fundamental limitations, an earlier proposal for producing laserlike beams of neutrinos cannot be achieved, scientists report.
- 39.Walter Torous named executive director of MIT Center for Real EstateDenise Brehm | MIT Center for Real Estate | Department of Urban Studies and Plan · The senior lecturer, already director of the degree program, will now oversee all aspects of the center’s activities and operations.
- 40.Atlas of the brain’s striatum could guide researchers to new drug treatmentsAnne Trafton | MIT News · A new study reveals insights into populations of neurons affected by Huntington’s disease, schizophrenia, addiction, and other disorders.
- 41.Ila Kumar: Innovating with communitiesGitana Savage | MIT News correspondent · The PhD student works to give young people an active role in shaping digital technologies that can support their own well-being.
- 42.At MIT convocation, a warm welcome for the Class of 2030Peter Dizikes | MIT News · The Institute is “so glad and so grateful” to have this year’s new undergraduates aboard, President Kornbluth said at the annual greeting ceremony.
- 43.Study: Peptides can form well-defined structures in harsh, Venus-like conditionsAnne Trafton | MIT News · New research offers support for the possibility that complex biological molecules could exist in the highly acidic environment of Venus’s cloud layer.
- 44.How an MIT research project became a global programming languageZach Winn | MIT News · With millions of users across the world, Julia has been used to conduct cutting-edge research and to design new drugs, jet engines, heat pumps, and more.
- 45.Archived: Building 18 UpdatesPhoto: Emily Dahl
- 46.Gage Coon: An Earth scientist exploring the power of microbesGitana Savage | MIT News correspondent · The PhD student’s research on how microorganisms digest compounds in their environment could enable advances in wastewater treatment.
- 47.MIT engineers create a system for building shape-changing smart devicesAdam Zewe | MIT News · Dubbed “bifur-circuits,” these interactive building blocks could be used to develop reconfigurable robotic grippers or customized assistive devices.
- 48.AI helps design new materials that work in the real worldZach Winn | MIT News · The “CrysVCD” tool developed at MIT could cut the huge amounts of time and money spent on screening out chemically unstable designs.
- 49.Retooling to help democracy revivePeter Dizikes | MIT News · Deindustrialization didn’t only hurt some workers, Daron Acemoglu says in a new book; it shrank the coalition supporting democracy, which needs expanding.
- 50.A new kind of aircraft departs an MIT classroom and arrives at an Ohio factoryZach Winn | MIT News · Electra’s hybrid, fixed-wing aircraft, which grew out of a class project, could make travel easier for passengers taking shorter trips.