| Rethinking Evaporation | | | | | | Evaporation is all around us, but it turns out we’ve been missing a major part of the picture: MIT researchers have now demonstrated that heat isn’t alone in causing water to evaporate. Light, striking the water’s surface where air and water meet, can cause evaporation in the absence of a heat source. The astonishing discovery could have a wide range of significant implications. |
| Circadian rhythms can influence drugs’ effectiveness MIT researchers find circadian variations in liver function play an important role in how drugs are broken down in the body. |  |
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| New flight procedures to reduce noise from aircraft departing and arriving at Boston Logan Airport The results of a six-year collaboration between MIT researchers, the FAA, and Massport will reduce aircraft noise in local communities while maintaining or improving fuel efficiency. |  |
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| Researchers detect a new molecule in space Such discoveries help researchers better understand the development of molecular complexity in space during star formation. |  |
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| New major crosses disciplines to address climate change Combining engineering, earth system science, and the social sciences, Course 1-12 prepares students to develop climate solutions. |  |
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| “No one can work in civil engineering alone” For senior Mikayla Britsch, civil and environmental engineering is a vocation that requires both technical and people skills. |  |
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| Advancing technology for aquaculture MIT Sea Grant students apply machine learning to support local aquaculture hatcheries. |  |
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| By 2100, some destinations will lose half their nice weather days // Bloomberg News MIT researchers developed a metric called “outdoor days,” which describes the number of days per year in which temperatures are comfortable enough for outdoor activities in specific locations around the world. |
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| Boston startup building safer way to send money abroad // Axios Kura, an MIT startup, is “developing a platform to help immigrants safely deliver money to loved ones back home.” |
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| The pros and pitfalls of hydrogen power, according to MIT energy expert // GBH News Robert Stoner, interim director of the MIT Energy Initiative, discusses how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act provides funding for hydrogen hubs around the country to create networks of hydrogen fuel producers. |
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| Opinion: What economists miss about inflation // The Wall Street Journal Professor S.P. Kothari and Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen explore why U.S. consumers “continue to feel they are suffering from inflation, although the annual rate of inflation dropped sharply during 2023.” |
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| | | Biochar is a type of processed carbon-rich plant matter. As plants grow, they breathe in CO2 from the air, using carbon to build their tissues. Then they die and decompose, releasing CO2 into the air again. But if they are turned into charcoal-like biochar, the carbon is instead converted into a solid, which can stay locked in soil for many years. Once produced, biochar can be added to soil for farming: Plants can draw climate-warming CO2 out of the air and store it in the ground. While its ability to address climate change faces certain challenges, the use of biochar is thought to be a promising “carbon removal” technique. |
| 300+ | | Number of MIT’s 1,080 faculty members working on projects to address climate change |
| | | With a newly developed catalyst, researchers are working to set up systems to reduce methane in the air at dairy farms and other sites. “Methane emission removal is the fastest way that we can ensure immediate results for reduced global warming,” graduate student Audrey Parker says. |
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