Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2023
The National Academy of Sciences has elected 120 members and 23 international members, including five faculty members from MIT. Joshua Angrist, Gang Chen, Catherine Drennan, Dina Katabi, and Gregory...
View ArticleStudy reveals new ways for exotic quasiparticles to “relax”
New findings from a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere could help pave the way for new kinds of devices that efficiently bridge the gap between matter and light. These might include computer...
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Tiny diamond rotor could improve protein studies
Many of the biological materials that researchers are most interested in studying, including those associated with major diseases, don’t lend themselves to the conventional methods that researchers...
View ArticleCharlie Farquhar: Forger of chemical and social bonds
Charlie Farquhar entered college intending to major in history, but quickly pivoted after taking an introductory chemistry course and becoming fascinated by chemistry’s biomedical applications. “I’m...
View ArticleResearchers develop a new source of quantum light
Using novel materials that have been widely studied as potential new solar photovoltaics, researchers at MIT have shown that nanoparticles of these materials can emit a stream of single, identical...
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Surprise! Weaker bonds can make polymers stronger
A team of chemists from MIT and Duke University has discovered a counterintuitive way to make polymers stronger: introduce a few weaker bonds into the material.Working with a type of polymer known as...
View ArticleQS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2023-24
MIT has again been named the world’s top university by the QS World University Rankings, which were announced today. This is the 12th year in a row MIT has received this distinction.The full 2024...
View ArticleChemists discover why photosynthetic light-harvesting is so efficient
When photosynthetic cells absorb light from the sun, packets of energy called photons leap between a series of light-harvesting proteins until they reach the photosynthetic reaction center. There,...
View ArticleResearchers grow precise arrays of nanoLEDs
Halide perovskites are a family of materials that have attracted attention for their superior optoelectronic properties and potential applications in devices such as high-performance solar cells,...
View ArticleLearning the language of molecules to predict their properties
Discovering new materials and drugs typically involves a manual, trial-and-error process that can take decades and cost millions of dollars. To streamline this process, scientists often use machine...
View ArticleScientists pinpoint where thousands of individual proteins are made in intact...
The following press release was issued by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.For researchers studying how proteins can cause human disease, knowing precisely where proteins are made within cells...
View ArticleHow Tau tangles form in the brain
Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, are characterized by tangled proteins called Tau fibrils. In a new study, MIT chemists have gained insight into how these fibrils form, and...
View ArticleProbe expands understanding of oral cavity homeostasis
Your mouth is a crucial interface between the outside world and the inside of your body. Everything you breathe, chew, or drink interacts with your oral cavity — the proteins and the microbes,...
View ArticleHelping to fill in gaps in urology research for female patients
There were early signs that Nicole De Nisco ’07, PhD ’13 might become a scientist. She ran out of science classes to take in high school and fondly remembers the teacher that encouraged her to pursue...
View ArticleFourteen MIT School of Science professors receive tenure for 2022 and 2023
In 2022, nine MIT faculty were granted tenure in the School of Science:Gloria Choi examines the interaction of the immune system with the brain and the effects of that interaction on neurodevelopment,...
View ArticleArrays of quantum rods could enhance TVs or virtual reality devices
Flat screen TVs that incorporate quantum dots are now commercially available, but it has been more difficult to create arrays of their elongated cousins, quantum rods, for commercial devices. Quantum...
View ArticleStudy suggests energy-efficient route to capturing and converting CO2
In the race to draw down greenhouse gas emissions around the world, scientists at MIT are looking to carbon-capture technologies to decarbonize the most stubborn industrial emitters.Steel, cement, and...
View ArticleFuture science at the molecular level
Innovating at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and engineering, Professor Brad Pentelute and the Pentelute Lab at MIT invent new chemistry, platforms, and techniques that might revolutionize...
View ArticleSchool of Science welcomes new faculty in 2023
Last spring, the School of Science welcomed seven new faculty members.Erin Chen PhD ’11 studies the communication between microbes that reside on the surface of the human body and the immune system....
View ArticleMIT Professor Moungi Bawendi shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Moungi Bawendi, the Lester Wolfe Professor of Chemistry at MIT and a leader in the development of tiny particles known as quantum dots, has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2023. He will share the...
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Photos: Moungi Bawendi’s first day as a Nobel laureate
Today, MIT Professor Moungi Bawendi won a share of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for his role in developing quantum dots— nanoscale particles that can emit exceedingly bright light. Bawendi, a...
View ArticleTargeting a coronavirus ion channel could yield new Covid-19 drugs
The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an...
View ArticleBringing the environment to the forefront of engineering
In a recent podcast interview with MIT President Sally Kornbluth, Associate Professor Desirée Plata described her childhood pastime of roaming the backyards and businesses of her grandmother’s hometown...
View ArticleGlycoMIT Symposium celebrates advancements in glycobiology
On Oct. 5, the Department of Chemistry, funded by a generous donation from Frank Laukien ’94, hosted the GlycoMIT Symposium, an interdepartmental celebration of advancements in glycobiology research....
View ArticleCelebrating five years of MIT.nano
There is vast opportunity for nanoscale innovation to transform the world in positive ways — expressed MIT.nano Director Vladimir Bulović as he posed two questions to attendees at the start of the...
View ArticleExplained: The sugar coating of life
In the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biology, and evolution of glycans, the carbohydrates and sugar-coated molecules found in every living organism. As a recent symposium...
View ArticleChemists create organic molecules in a rainbow of colors
Chains of fused carbon-containing rings have unique optoelectronic properties that make them useful as semiconductors. These chains, known as acenes, can also be tuned to emit different colors of...
View ArticleMIT engineers develop a way to determine how the surfaces of materials behave
Designing new compounds or alloys whose surfaces can be used as catalysts in chemical reactions can be a complex process relying heavily on the intuition of experienced chemists. A team of researchers...
View ArticleMoungi Bawendi honored during Nobel Week in Stockholm
The 2023 Nobel Prize winners received their awards in a grand ceremony yesterday in Stockholm, Sweden. Among those honored was MIT Professor Moungi Bawendi, who shared the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry...
View ArticleComputational model captures the elusive transition states of chemical reactions
During a chemical reaction, molecules gain energy until they reach what’s known as the transition state — a point of no return from which the reaction must proceed. This state is so fleeting that it’s...
View ArticleMIT community members elected to the National Academy of Inventors for 2023
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) recently announced the election of more than 160 individuals to their 2023 class of fellows. Among them are two members of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative...
View ArticleStudy reveals a reaction at the heart of many renewable energy technologies
A key chemical reaction — in which the movement of protons between the surface of an electrode and an electrolyte drives an electric current — is a critical step in many energy technologies, including...
View ArticleCobalt-free batteries could power cars of the future
Many electric vehicles are powered by batteries that contain cobalt — a metal that carries high financial, environmental, and social costs.MIT researchers have now designed a battery material that...
View ArticleA new drug candidate can shrink kidney cysts
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the most common form of polycystic kidney disease, can lead to kidney enlargement and eventual loss of function. The disease affects more than 12...
View ArticlePerformance art and science collide as students experience “Blue Man Group”
On a blustery December afternoon, with final exams and winter break on the horizon, the 500 undergraduate students enrolled in Professor Bradley Pentelute’s Course 5.111 (Principles of Chemical...
View ArticleSusan Solomon wins VinFuture Award for Female Innovators
Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies Susan Solomon has been awarded the 2023 VinFuture Award for Female Innovators. Solomon was picked out of almost 1,400 international...
View ArticleMiddle-school students meet a beam of electrons, and excitement results
Want to get middle-school kids excited about science? Let them do their own experiments on MIT.nano’s state-of-the-art microscopes — with guidelines and adult supervision, of course. That was the...
View ArticleResearchers discover new channels to excite magnetic waves with terahertz light
Plucking a guitar string is a simple action that generates a harmonic series of overtones. However, skilled guitar players can elevate their performance by applying pressure to the strings while...
View ArticleMIT community members honored with 2024 Franklin Institute Awards
The Franklin Institute recently announced its 2024 cohort of award winners, as part of its bicentennial celebration. Since its inception, the Franklin Institute Awards Program has honored the most...
View ArticleWith just a little electricity, MIT researchers boost common catalytic reactions
A simple technique that uses small amounts of energy could boost the efficiency of some key chemical processing reactions, by up to a factor of 100,000, MIT researchers report. These reactions are at...
View ArticleStudy unlocks nanoscale secrets for designing next-generation solar cells
Perovskites, a broad class of compounds with a particular kind of crystal structure, have long been seen as a promising alternative or supplement to today’s silicon or cadmium telluride solar panels....
View ArticleEight from MIT named 2024 Sloan Research Fellows
Eight members of the MIT faculty are among 126 early-career researchers honored with 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Representing the departments of Chemistry,...
View ArticleSchool of Science announces 2024 Infinite Expansion Awards
The MIT School of Science has announced nine postdocs and research scientists as recipients of the 2024 Infinite Expansion Award, which highlights extraordinary members of the MIT community.The...
View ArticleNew exhibits showcase trailblazing MIT women
This spring, two new exhibits on campus are shining a light on the critical contributions of pathbreaking women at the Institute. They are part of MIT Libraries’ Women@MIT Archival Initiative in the...
View ArticleA new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water
MIT chemists have designed a sensor that detects tiny quantities of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — chemicals found in food packaging, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer...
View ArticleExploring the cellular neighborhood
Cells rely on complex molecular machines composed of protein assemblies to perform essential functions such as energy production, gene expression, and protein synthesis. To better understand how these...
View ArticleStudy: Life’s building blocks are surprisingly stable in Venus-like conditions
If there is life in the solar system beyond Earth, it might be found in the clouds of Venus. In contrast to the planet’s blisteringly inhospitable surface, Venus’ cloud layer, which extends from 30 to...
View ArticleEngineers find a new way to convert carbon dioxide into useful products
MIT chemical engineers have devised an efficient way to convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, a chemical precursor that can be used to generate useful compounds such as ethanol and other fuels.If...
View ArticleQS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 11 subjects for 2024
QS World University Rankings has placed MIT in the No. 1 spot in 11 subject areas for 2024, the organization announced today.The Institute received a No. 1 ranking in the following QS subject areas:...
View ArticleWith inspiration from “Tetris,” MIT researchers develop a better radiation...
The spread of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011 and the ongoing threat of a possible release of radiation from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex in the...
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