MIT Spectrum

Fall 2020

As Covid-19 began its deadly spread across the globe in 2020, everyone wanted answers. At MIT, the rapid response that emerged relied on tools, techniques, and talents built up over generations. This solid base of cutting-edge work has supported major efforts to combat Covid-19 while also advancing research across the global health spectrum.

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As the pandemic unfolded, the MIT community quickly rolled up its collective sleeves and went to work. Image: Getty Images

Rapid Response

How the MIT community addressed the pandemic during the first few months of 2020

Image: Betsy Skrip, CBI

Building Safer Food Systems

New initiative addresses hazards throughout the supply chain

Wearing masks to adhere to protocols put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. PhD students Elvin Yang and Neil Dalvie, conduct research in the lab of Professor J. Christopher Love. Photo: M. Scott Brauer

Toward Faster Drug Development

Lab of J. Christopher Love forms consortium to speed manufacture of therapeutics

Marie-Laurie Charpignon. Photo: Sarah Bastille Photography

A Model Approach to Public Health

IDSS researcher applies data science to tracking Covid-19

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Mindy Bishop. Photo: Sarah Bastille Photography

The Art and Science of Staying Grounded

Mindy Bishop finds connections between artificial intelligence, sustainable energy, and patient care

Spatial and categorization loss in a deep neural network. Image: Kris Brewer

Modeling a Visionary Future

Hyodong “Hyo” Lee builds brain-inspired neural networks to help machines see like humans

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Neri Oxman’s Krebs Cycle of Creativity

People in Chelsea, Massachusetts, one of the communities hardest hit by the coronavirus, wait in line for food distributed by the National Guard in April 2020. Photo: Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty IMages

Neighborhoods Under Pressure

Mariana Arcaya studies how housing stress increases health risks

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Discovery Science

The McGovern Institute is celebrating two decades of leading-edge brain research. Image: Justin Knight

McGovern Institute Turns 20

Image: Courtesy of Sertac Karaman (Virtual Interior Building)

What a Drone Sees

MIT Radiation Lab. Courtesy MIT Museum

To Fuel the Future, a Look Back

An excerpt from Jump-Starting America

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

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Health of the Planet

The mercury mine in Almadén, Spain, produced tons of mercury before closing in 2002. Photo: Jose Manuel Revuelta Luna/Alamy Stock Photo

Bringing Down Mercury

Noelle Selin explores toxin’s history, works to change policy

Photo of garden.

Hive Mind

Urban garden

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?

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Human Health

MBA student Brittny Chong pitches her startup ONA at the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition in 2019. Photo: Courtesy Brittny Chong

A Passion for Positive Change

Brittny Chong seeks social action through immersive technologies and data analytics

Venkata Mandala PhD ’20. Photo: Courtesy of the Hong Lab

Tiny Molecules, Big Impacts

Protein research by chemical biologist provides insights into flu, Covid-19

Jianzhu Chen. Photo: Courtesy of Jianzhu Chen

Vaccine Booster

Biologist Jianzhu Chen works to enhance immune response

Erin Kelly. Photo: Mimi Phan

Pandemic Shifts World of Work

Erin Kelly sees opportunities for making jobs better

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Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The view down Main Street showcases the transformation of Kendall Square. Building E37, a new 29-story graduate residence, is at center.

Opening for Innovation

2020 marks the unveiling of two new MIT buildings in Kendall Square

Xiao Liu, right, a community organizer with Roots Studio, looks over a print with an artist from Guizhou, China. Photo: 心奕

From Idea to Execution

Trust Center helps myriad startups make the leap

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

Nick Montfort

From Vision to World Wide Web

An excerpt from Nick Montfort’s The Future

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Teaching Learning and Living

One "tent pole" idea to emerge from the TSL's Imagining September report was a "call a teacher" button that would give students better access to teachers during remote situations. Image: Kelvy Bird

Teaching Lab Steps Up During Pandemic

CMS Professor Justin Reich, colleagues help guide schools in remote learning

Image: Amber Shen ’22

Drawing Together for Justice

College leaders, from left: David Kaiser, Julie Shah, Daniel Huttenlocher, Asu Ozdaglar, and Daniela Rus. Photo: Sarah Bastille

Computing College Forms Bit by Bit

Schwarzman College leadership discuss MIT’s mission to harness tech advances for good

Left: Experimental Study Group students Rich Hilliard, Harry Bochner, and Henry Lieberman work together in 1972. Right: Professor Leigh Royden, center, teaches physics to first-years (from left, Alexandra Nwigwe, Veronica Perdomo, and Maya Redden) in 2019. Photos: Courtesy of Experimental Study Group

A Half-Century of Community Learning

Socializing, scholarship come together in Experimental Study Group

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