News & Stories

Then and now: How MIT Lincoln Laboratory has served as a driving force in national security innovation

On July 26, 1951, the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy signed a charter establishing Project Lincoln, an R&D program managed by MIT to develop the nation’s first continent-wide air defense system, SAGE. The charter called for a research center to be opened within the towns of Bedford, Lincoln, and Lexington, Massachusetts, to support Project Lincoln, which […]

Scientists unveil more than 600 new tissue models of human cancer

To develop new targeted treatments for cancer, scientists need tissue models that accurately represent the genetic and molecular traits of the cancer they’re studying. An international team led by researchers at MIT’s Koch Institute, the Broad Institute, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the National Cancer Institute, and numerous other partnering institutions has developed nearly 700 new […]

Past is prologue for geopolitical developments

The end of World War II marked a turning point for global empires; weakened by years of conflict, European nations could no longer hold onto their colonies. A wave of independence followed. This shift was fueled by local anti-colonial activists, the heavy economic toll of the war, and the strategic interests of the new global […]

MIT student leaders: Q&A with MIT dining influencer Michaela Brown

Last fall, MIT Campus Dining recruited a group of students to make short videos and share their experiences as student diners on Instagram. The MIT Dining Ambassadors program is an effort to get students talking about — and helping to improve — MIT’s food services and systems. One of the inaugural ambassadors, Michaela Brown, a biochemical […]

Three MIT Press journals lead their fields with Clarivate No. 1 rankings

In an increasingly crowded, for-profit landscape for scholarly research, the health of a publishing program is often measured by the influence of its publications. This year, three MIT Press journals demonstrated their stature by earning the highest impact factors in their disciplines. Computational Linguistics ranked first in the Linguistics category, International Security led the International Relations […]

Lerna Ekmekcioglu named head of MIT’s History Section

Lerna Ekmekcioglu, the McMillan-Stewart Professor of History, has been named head of the History Section, effective July 1. “Lerna is an exceptional scholar and a proven leader. I am confident that she will guide the unit with thoughtfulness, wisdom, and a deep commitment to its continued success. I very much look forward to working with […]

Eleven from MIT accept 2026 Fulbright awards

Eleven MIT affiliates — including undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni — have accepted Fulbright grants to conduct research or teach English in countries across the world. Five other students declined their awards to pursue other opportunities, and another student is still deciding. In total, 17 of MIT’s 30 Fulbright applicants won awards this year. Funded […]

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 […]

Chris Zegras appointed director and CEO of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology

Chris Zegras, professor of mobility and urban planning and the current head of the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), has been appointed chief executive officer and director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), effective Sept. 1. Zegras succeeds Bruce Tidor, professor of biological engineering and computer science, who has […]

A bet that has paid off 500 million times over

In 2001, at the dawn of the digital age, MIT made a bold decision: to open its curriculum to the world. Through MIT OpenCourseWare — now part of MIT Open Learning — the Institute began sharing materials from nearly all of its courses online for free. A quarter of a century later, that decision has […]