• Oct. 25, 2017
    Imagine hopping into a ride-share car, glancing at your smartphone, and telling the driver that the car’s left front tire needs air, its air filter should be replaced next week, and its engine needs...
  • Oct. 5, 2017
    This October marks 15 years since Amy Smith, a celebrated inventor and educator, founded MIT D-Lab, which works with people around the world to develop practical solutions to global poverty...
  • Sep. 27, 2017
    The wind whipped down Mass Ave. Torrents of rain pelleted the roof of the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center. The remnants of Hurricane Jose circled above. Dry inside the Johnson Ice Rink, mechanical...
  • Sep. 7, 2017
    How does cargo weight affect fuel economy in cars? What are the mechanical differences between bench pressing dumbbells and bench pressing barbells? How does temperature alter the mechanical...
  • Aug. 3, 2017
    MIT alumnus Long Phan SM ’99, PhD ’12 is a technology innovator and entrepreneur with several engineering “firsts” under his belt. In the mid-1990s, Phan helped build the Draper Small Autonomous...
  • Jul. 17, 2017
    Access to clean, safe water is one of the world’s pressing needs, yet today’s water distribution systems lose an average of 20 percent of their supply because of leaks. These leaks not only make...
  • Jun. 4, 2017
    Eight years ago, Ted Adelson’s research group at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) unveiled a new sensor technology, called GelSight, that uses physical contact...
  • May. 30, 2017
    Computer scientists have been working for decades on automatic navigation systems to aid the visually impaired, but it’s been difficult to come up with anything as reliable and easy to use as the...
  • May. 29, 2017
    When engineers design a new aircraft, they carry out much of the initial testing not on full-sized jets but on model planes that have been scaled down to fit inside a wind tunnel. In this more...
  • Apr. 18, 2017
    The Lemelson-MIT Program today announced the winners of the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize after a nationwide search for the most inventive college students. The Lemelson-MIT Program awarded $115,000 in...
  • Apr. 18, 2017
    The archer fish is arguably the ninja of the aquatic world, known for its stealth-like, arrow-straight aim while shooting down unsuspecting prey. Once the fish has sighted its target, it can spit...
  • Apr. 4, 2017
    Ernesto E. Blanco, a renown inventor, mechanical designer, and beloved former professor in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), passed away on March 21, in Murrieta, California. He was...
  • Mar. 19, 2017
    Trees and other plants, from towering redwoods to diminutive daisies, are nature’s hydraulic pumps. They are constantly pulling water up from their roots to the topmost leaves, and pumping sugars...
  • Feb. 9, 2017
    Eight MIT faculty are among the 84 new members and 22 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Newly elected members for this year also include an impressive 18 MIT-...
  • Feb. 8, 2017
    Matthew Cavuto, now a senior in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, embarked on his career path partly as a result of a talk he heard in high school by MIT Professor Hugh Herr, a double...
  • Jan. 31, 2017
    Engineers at MIT have fabricated transparent, gel-based robots that move when water is pumped in and out of them. The bots can perform a number of fast, forceful tasks, including kicking a ball...
  • Dec. 15, 2016
    In the not so distant future, first responders to a disaster zone may include four-legged, dog-like robots that can bound through a fire or pick their way through a minefield, rising up on their hind...
  • Nov. 30, 2016
    Making an academic makerspace isn’t easy. There’s no easy formula for setting up and operating safe, effective, readily available university environments where students can come together, make plans...
  • Nov. 22, 2016
    Artificial muscles — materials that contract and expand somewhat like muscle fibers do — can have many applications, from robotics to components in the automobile and aviation industries. Now, MIT...
  • Sep. 22, 2016
    On a Friday afternoon in September, a small clutch of people are gathered around Anthony McDougal to hear him describe his research on the biological and mechanical processes behind the brilliant...

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