MIT Spectrum

trajectory artwork

Summer 2019

Paths of discovery cross every day at MIT, propelling groundbreaking research and furthering personal development. Although it’s not always clear where a path will lead, MIT aims high, working to ensure that humanity’s collective trajectory is pointed toward a brighter future.

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GelSight Mobile, the company’s handheld instrument, visualizes and measures the 3-D topography of surfaces such as fabric, diamond, and hair. Image: Courtesy of GelSight Mobile

A Helping Hand

MIT’s entrepreneurial ecosystem boosts sensor tech startup

Microbiome researchers, from left, Mathieu Groussin, Mathilde Poyet, and Eric Alm process a human stool sample in Malaysia. Photo: Christopher Corzett

Going for the Gut

Working to preserve human microbiome diversity

Janelle Sands ’19 and Brice Huang ’19 demonstrate their final project for Interactive Music Systems: Cello Hero, a gamified feedback tool for novice musicians. Photo: Rose Lincoln

Tech Harmony

Students use programming to create new musical experiences

Photo: Lillie Paquette

Hello World, Hello MIT

Celebrating the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing

Latest stories

Photo of MIT President L. Rafael Reif

President’s Letter: Changing Course, of Course

Photo: M. Scott Brauer

Summer Sail Days

Learn-to-sail classes

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Popular stories

Neri Oxman’s Krebs Cycle of Creativity

William Isaacs, a leader in the study of dialogue, says:

The Art of Dialogue

Dialogue expert William Isaacs says that problems between people often stem from an inability to conduct a successful dialogue.

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Discovery Science

MIT researchers have used volcanic locations, such as this acidic stream in the Andes, as Mars analogs to test their DNA sequencer. Photo: C.E. Carr

ET Genome

Genetic testing for life on Mars

Artist’s rendering of the Green Building with the planned Earth and Environment Pavilion. CONCEPTUAL RENDERING: ELLENZWEIG

A Major Expansion for the Green Building

An artist’s illustration of the possible surface appearances of some of the Earth-size planets of TRAPPIST-1, based on properties calculated as of February 2018. IMAGE: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, T. Pyle (IPAC)

Like This World of Ours

An MIT science writer traces the hunt for extrasolar planets

Julien de Wit. Photo: David Silverman

The Search Continues

TRAPPIST team member joins MIT faculty

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Health of the Planet

The latest research from the MIT Energy Initiative outlines the value of including nuclear power in any plans to decarbonize the energy sector. Photo: Zhonguo

Power Forward

MIT Energy Initiative plans for low-carbon future

Patrick White (photographed in the Plasma Science and Fusion Center) is focused on the policy questions that will arise from the new SPARC technology. Photo: Bryce Vickmark

Looking Forward to Fusion

Technical policy scholar Patrick White joins the SPARC project to ask: what comes after success?

Wood was a panelist at 2017 (pictured) and 2018 MIT Media Lab events titled “Beyond the Cradle: Envisioning a New Space Age.” Photo: David Silverman

Down to Earth

How can technologies invented for space advance sustainable development goals?

Leila Pirhaji PhD ’16 spoke at the MIT Intelligence Quest launch about her startup, ReviveMed, which uses AI technology developed at MIT to leverage data from metabolomics (the study of small molecules) to expedite drug discovery. Pirhaji created the company with support from MIT programs including delta v, iTeams, StartMIT, StartIAP, the $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, and the Sandbox Innovation Fund. Photo: Gretchen Ertl.

Implications, Discoveries, Applications

A sampling of MIT research underway in the realm of human and machine intelligence

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Human Health

Photo: Trong Nguyen

Food Process

Professor Deborah Fitzgerald examines the history of mass-produced food

Urgent Care

Ari Bronsoler’s economic analysis helps to identify best practices in a struggling health system

Stefani Spranger. Photo: Ken Richardson

A Wide Net to Trap Cancer

Stefani Spranger is exploring multiple avenues for the next immunotherapy breakthrough

Ronit Langer ’20, left, and Dorothy Szymkiewicz ’20 are part of NEET’s first Living Machines cohort. Photo: Ken Richardson

Following the Thread

Three years of project work yield NEET students an experimental model of the human gut—and preparation for their postgraduation goals

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Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Nick Montfort

From Vision to World Wide Web

An excerpt from Nick Montfort’s The Future

Researchers studying how machine learning will impact future employment have found that, in most occupations, humans and machines will need to work together because they provide different skills. Illustration: Niki Hinkle

Reinventing Jobs

Researchers measure the suitability of machine learning in the workplace

Hala Fadel MBA '01. Photo: M. Scott Brauer

Creating Opportunity

Hala Fadel MBA ’01

Adjacent to the new MIT Museum and graduate residence, as shown in this artist's rendering, open spaces for gathering will be programmed by MIT and open to all. Image: byencore

Welcome to Kendall Square

The flourishing innovation district takes its place as a destination and a gateway

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Teaching Learning and Living

Photo of Alula Hunsen '21. Photo: Ken Richardson

Academic Turn

Mathematical challenges take undergrad in a new direction

Professor Martha Gray mentors MIT linQ participants. Photo: Ken Richardson

What Steps Can Researchers Take to Boost Impact?

Martha Gray reveals lessons from MIT linQ initiative

Lewis "Lew" '65 and Constance "Connee" Counts. Photo: Sarah Bastille

Intellectual, Professional, and Personal Support

Lew ’65 and Connee Counts

Classes began in the new Chemistry Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories in the MIT.nano building this past fall. Photo: Ken Richardson

Do It Yourself

By recreating a chemistry professor’s research, students build the foundations for future discoveries

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