MIT News Newsletter

	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
June 22, 2018
MIT News: top stories
A weekly digest of the Institute’s research and innovation

Chip upgrade helps miniature drones navigate

Low-power design will allow devices as small as a honeybee to determine their location while flying.

Magnetic 3-D-printed structures crawl, roll, jump, and play catch

New printing technique could be used to develop remotely controlled biomedical devices.

Networks in aerospace

Graduate student Alexa Aguilar helps tiny satellites communicate and builds connections in her academic community.

Checking China’s pollution, by satellite

Study finds reduction in sulfur emissions from power plants.

MIT engineers build smart power outlet

Design can “learn” to identify plugged-in appliances, distinguish dangerous electrical spikes from benign ones.

In the Media

In an article for The New York Times, graduate student Joy Buolamwini writes about how AI systems can often reinforce existing racial biases and exclusions. Buolamwini writes that, “Everyday people should support lawmakers, activists and public-interest technologists in demanding transparency, equity and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence that governs our lives.”

STAT reporter Justin Chen writes about a new study that examines why patients with pancreatic cancer often experience significant weight loss. Prof. Matt Vander Heiden explains that the findings show, “pancreatic cancer patients clearly have a lot of tissue wasting and whether it’s good or bad, we can now say that it’s not necessarily bad at diagnosis.”

Yahoo! reporter Elise Solé highlights how Alejandra Falla successfully completed her PhD studies at MIT while pregnant with her daughter, Clara. Clara sported a miniature MIT regalia to Commencement. “It started as a joke but we decided that Clara had earned her Ph.D. in the womb,” says Falla. “She deserved to graduate with me.”