October 16, 2021
Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.
 
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New Nobel Laureate
 
Joshua Angrist, the Ford Professor of Economics and a member of MIT’s faculty since 1996, has won the 2021 Nobel Prize in economics for “methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships.” He shares the prize with David Card and Guido Imbens.
Top Headlines
MIT to put unexpected gains to work immediately
A rise in the Institute’s endowment will enable greater support for undergraduate and graduate students, and a stronger MIT.
At the crossroads of language, technology, and empathy
With a double major in linguistics and computer science, senior Rujul Gandhi works to surmount language and cultural barriers, globally and on campus.
MIT Heat Island
New integrative computational neuroscience center established at MIT’s McGovern Institute
The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience Center will use mathematical tools to transform data into a deep understanding of the brain.
MIT Heat Island
A 2,050-year-old Roman tomb offers insights on ancient concrete resilience
New research on ancient Roman concrete inspires durable and sustainable modern constructions.
MIT Heat Island
MIT receives a $15 million USAID award to promote research and innovation at universities in Latin America
The award will support development-oriented research through a Center for Innovation and Technology at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
MIT Heat Island
#ThisisMIT
In the Media
Rebecca Blank chosen as next president of Northwestern University // Forbes
Rebecca Blank PhD ’83 has been selected as the next president of Northwestern University, the first woman to hold this position. “Blank’s selection as Northwestern’s 17th president represents something of a homecoming for her. She served on Northwestern’s economics faculty from 1989 to 1999, where she was named the first tenured woman in the department.”
Plant-based diet’s health benefits play a big role in its popularity during the pandemic // The Washington Post
Ayr Muir ’00, SM ’01 describes the goal behind his Clover Foods Labs restaurants, which offer plant-based foods: “The overarching mission is [addressing] global warming. And what we’re trying to do is help meat-lovers eat more meals that have no meat in them,” Muir says.
Weak links in the supply chain // CBS News
“The underlying cause of all of this is actually a huge increase in demand,” says Professor Yossi Sheffi of what’s currently causing supply chain breakdowns.
Meet the ARTery 25 — Artists of color transforming the cultural landscape // WBUR
Erin Genia ’19, a multidisciplinary artist, has been honored as one of The ARTery 25, which highlights artists of color in the Greater Boston area who stand out for the work they are making.
Watch This
A new film produced in collaboration with the MIT Press presents the story behind the 1999 Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT and its impact at the Institute and elsewhere. Featuring Nancy Hopkins, professor emerita of biology, the film highlights the steps she and 15 other faculty women took to compile and present data demonstrating that female MIT science professors at the time received less lab space and lower salaries than their male counterparts. The report led to improved practices for ensuring equal access and pay, at MIT, across the nation, and around the world.
Gratitude@MIT
We could all use a little more — and give a little more — gratitude in our lives. A new microlesson from MIT Physical Education describes what gratitude is, why it matters, and how it works. It also suggests feasible steps for how you can start your own gratitude practice.
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