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MIT-led project opens first climate shelter in Bangladesh
In southwestern Bangladesh, where extreme heat and severe tropical cyclones threaten the lives of millions of people, a new kind of climate refuge has opened its doors.At the Baradal Aftab Uddin Collegiate School in the Satkhira district, the Jameel Observatory Climate Resilience Early Warning System Network (Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet) opened its first “adaptation fortress,” a solar-powered […]
MIT-designed educational factory embraces modern manufacturing
From the basement of MIT’s Building 35 to Monterrey, Mexico, and now beyond. That is the journey of FrED, a low-cost desktop fiber (Fr) extrusion (E) device (D), designed and assembled by students in an educational factory at MIT. That factory is transforming how manufacturing is taught — replacing textbook learning with hands-on experience in […]
Fluorescent nanosensor enables rapid, first-of-its-kind detection of key gut health biomarker
An international team of researchers has developed a novel fluorescent nanosensor powered by carbon nanotubes that is capable of rapidly detecting an emerging biomarker linked to gut health and disease. This important development could eventually lead to faster and more accessible gut-health testing. Indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) is a metabolite produced by gut bacteria during the […]
Jinhua Zhao named head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Jinhua Zhao MCP ’04, SM ’04, PhD ’09 has been appointed head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), effective July 1. Zhao is the Class of 1941 Professor of Cities and Transportation at MIT. In making the announcement, dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning Hashim Sarkis noted that Zhao is a […]
MIT SPURS looks to the future of urban technology and policy
The MIT SPURS/Humphrey Program – a small gem nestled in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) with scores of former fellows in leadership positions in countries around the world – will quietly turn 60 next year. And like most 59-year-olds, the program, or its directors, have stepped back to take a long look […]
Innovative projects explore ways to deal with extreme heat
When MIT mechanical engineering Professor Kripa Varanasi landed in New Delhi in the middle of the night in June 2024 to attend a conference, he found himself in 104-degree Fahrenheit heat. “This was June, and it was crazy. It was so hot for the whole meeting that I never left the hotel,” with daytime temperatures […]
Research from the ground up
When Sonya Atalay conducted her doctoral research, she studied pottery in Çatalhöyük, a remarkable ancient site in Turkey. It’s one of the world’s earliest known urban settlements, flourishing by at least 7000 B.C.E. Yet even as Atalay was conducting field research and writing her doctoral thesis, she was scrutinizing standard archaeological practices, believing the discipline to […]
Place-based pathways to a viable future
Aiming to transition away from fossil fuels and avert the worst consequences of climate change, world leaders aspire to achieve net zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. But actions to meet such targets and minimize adverse impacts on lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure are not one-size-fits-all; they […]
Ten from MIT accept 2026 Fulbright awards
Ten MIT affiliates — including undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni — have accepted Fulbright grants to conduct research in countries across the world. Five other students declined their awards to pursue other opportunities, and another student is still deciding. In total, 16 of MIT’s 30 Fulbright applicants won awards this year. Funded by the U.S. […]
MIT Asia Real Estate Initiative expands its footprint in booming Asian cities
Urbanization in the Asia-Pacific region of the world is occurring at an alarmingly rapid pace, with more than 2.2 billion people now living in cities in the region, and an additional 1.2 billion projected to migrate to cities by 2050, according to a February 2026 report from the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and […]