| Data for the People | | | | | Sarah Williams, an associate professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, applies a data-driven approach to help cities function for everyone. “We hear big data is going to change the world, but I don’t believe it will unless we synthesize it into tools with a public benefit,” she says. |
| Four from MIT awarded 2021 New Horizons in Physics and New Frontiers in Mathematics prizes Physicists Tracy Slatyer and Netta Engelhardt and mathematicians Lisa Piccirillo and Nina Holden PhD ’18 are honored by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. |  |
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| Four ways to design employee experience in the remote-work era |
Helping employees thrive is harder in the Covid-19 era. Frequent check-ins, a “redesign” mindset, empathetic leadership, and empowered teams can help. |  |
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| MIT Media Lab charts a course for the future The high-profile research lab is retaining its unique form of creativity while building trust and inclusion. |  |
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| Study: Empty middle seats make flying safer during Covid-19 pandemic |
Flying is riskier than normal during the pandemic, especially when planes are full – but it may be no more dangerous than other daily activities. |  |
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| Modeling the impact of testing, tracing, and quarantine |
A new model suggests a plan to keep Covid-19 within the capacity of the health-care system while reopening economic activities. |  |
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| Overrated or Underrated: The Nobel edition // NPR’s Planet Money Professors Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee join NPR’s Planet Money for Overrated or Underrated, a game in which Banerjee and Duflo, winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, “rate everything from bread to foreign aid to dating an economist.” |
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| Meet this year’s WIRED25: People who are making things better // Wired |
Assistant Professor Lisa Piccirillo, The Engine CEO Katie Rae, and several MIT alumni are among the community members honored as part of the Wired25, an annual list compiled by Wired that spotlights people who are working to make the world a better place. |
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| Russian fake news is back. Do these four things to help save the election from foreign interference // The Boston Globe |
In an excerpt from his new book “The Hype Machine,” Professor Sinan Aral explores how to combat the spread of misinformation on social media platforms ahead of the 2020 election. |
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| Slime, tornadoes, and static electricity: How the host of “Emily’s Wonder Lab” wants to teach kids about science // STAT “I don’t shy away from the science because I think kids are very clever and know way more than a lot of people give them credit for,” says Emily Calandrelli SM ’13, host of the new Netflix show “Emily’s Wonder Lab,” of her work trying to get children interested in science. |
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| Cyber chiefs calculate data breach costs to explain risks to executives // The Wall Street Journal |
MIT researchers have developed a model that helps quantify a company’s security risk and estimates possible financial losses due to breaches. |
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| | As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, previously shuttered businesses have reopened, people have returned to work, and a new school year has begun. Meanwhile, some activities remain relatively safe. How can we assess the risk of a novel situation or activity? How can we make a safety judgment on the fly? In a new post, MIT Medical provides insights on judging the relative risks of various scenarios, and reminds us that “mindfully choosing to reduce transmission risks now, we can all play a part in keeping ourselves and our communities safe.” Full post via MIT Medical → |
 | | | | The United States cannot afford to observe from the sidelines while others invent the next transistor, or the next internet. We must be at the forefront of the kind of transformative advances that grow out of targeted research, but are years in the making. |
| | —MIT President L. Rafael Reif, in a recent essay, “To Compete with China, America Needs the Endless Frontier Act” |
| | MIT intercollegiate athletics are suspended this semester, but the Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation continues to support its community with updates on student-athletes, as well as head coaches and staff members. A recent video and accompanying Q&A feature women’s tennis head coach/physical education and wellness instructor Carol Matsuzaki, now in her 23rd season at MIT. Video and Q&A via MIT Athletics → |
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