For the past 12 months MIT SPECTRVM‘s blog, Continuum, has highlighted the innovative ideas, amazing discoveries, and unique inventions of the MIT community. Before you ring in the new year, take a moment to count down our most-read stories of 2014.
10. Are we ready to live on Mars? MIT study says not yet
According to a simulation by a team of MIT engineers, the Mars One plan to send humans on a one-way trip to Mars is doomed to failure unless a number of new technologies are developed. More…
9. A passion for discovery, a desire to give back
MIT-trained mathematician and hedge fund manager James Simons ’58 believes basic science and math education is vital to the nation’s success, and he is doing his part to keep America competitive. More…
8. MIT’s Bitcoin experiment is underway
In November MIT undergraduates who signed up for the MIT Bitcoin Project each received the equivalent of $100 in the cryptocurrency. Now that they have it, what are they doing with it? More…
7. Cancer-detecting yogurt could provide alternative to colonoscopies
MIT professor Sangeeta Bhatia SM ’93, PhD ’97 has developed a yogurt that could make testing for colon cancer easier, cheaper, and more comfortable. More…
6. Kyle Hounsell creates high-speed images in the tradition of Edgerton, Vandiver
It’s no small feat to have a photo published in Nature or National Geographic; Kyle Hounsell ’13, MNG ’14’s astonishing images have earned him a photo credit in both. More…
5. MIT faculty school Stephen Colbert on science, education
With the news that comedian Stephen Colbert will be leaving “The Colbert Report” for “The Late Show” in 2015, Continuum takes a look back at some of the funny man’s interactions with the Institute. More…
4. Roof by roof, online map reveals Boston’s solar potential
MIT spinoff Mapdwell has illustrated the energy-gathering potential of the roofs of all 127,000 buildings in Boston, along with the estimated cost of installing solar panels. More…
3. Nobelists + crayons + paper = winning portraits
Six MIT professors and three alumni are among 50 Nobel laureates asked by photographer Volker Steger to “sketch their science” and pose with the resulting art. More…
2. Engineering the perfect cup of coffee
In 1920, MIT professor Samuel Cate Prescott established a laboratory dedicated to brewing the perfect cup of coffee; today, MIT-trained mechanical engineer Jeremy Kuempel ’10, founder of Blossom Coffee, aims to make an even better brew. More…
1. Giddy Physicists Toast Breakthrough
Exultant physicists and friends packed an MIT auditorium March 18 to celebrate one of the biggest breakthroughs ever in their field: the first direct indication of what happened in the first fraction of a second after the birth of our universe. More…