February 16, 2019
Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.

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Love at MIT
Larissa Nietner SM ’14 PhD ’17 and Scott Nill SM ’14 PhD ’18 fell in love while studying mechanical engineering and were married last spring, just before receiving their MIT doctorates. In between their first meeting at the Thirsty Ear pub and their current postdoctoral positions at MIT Sloan, the couple also started two companies together. “One of the best parts of being married to someone who has been through the MIT PhD program is you have an immense amount of understanding and empathy for what the other person is going through,” Nill says.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Top Headlines
President Reif calls for federal funding, focused education to address “opportunity and threat” of artificial intelligence
In a Financial Times op-ed, the MIT president says higher education must teach students to be “AI bilingual.”
MIT Heat Island
Six from MIT elected to the National Academy of Engineering
New members have made advances in molecular processes, rheology, computer networking, nanocrystalline metals, affective computing, and semiconductor tech.
MIT Heat Island
Unleashing perovskites’ potential for solar cells
Researchers find varying the recipe could bring these materials closer to commercialization.
MIT Heat Island
From summer research program to PhD dissertation
Graduate student Raspberry Simpson’s scientific journey comes full circle.
MIT Heat Island
Acoustic waves can monitor stiffness of living cells
A new technique sheds light on cells’ health and development and may be useful for precision medicine.
MIT Heat Island
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#ThisIsMIT
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In the Media
Do women really care about pants pockets? // The Boston Globe
MIT startup Radian Jeans is developing women’s jeans with functional pockets.
How to solve gender and racial bias in artificial intelligence // TIME
“By working to reduce the exclusion overhead and enabling marginalized communities to engage in the development and governance of AI, we can work toward creating systems that embrace full spectrum inclusion,” writes graduate student Joy Buolamwini.
Paranoid about tainted lettuce? There could be an app for that one day // CBS This Morning
MIT researchers have developed a system that uses wireless signals to detect contamination in food.
Keeping artists’ workspaces front and center // WBUR
Graduate students Stephanie Lee and Ellen Shakespear discuss Spaceus, a collaborative work and exhibition space they created for artists in the greater Boston area.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digit
37
Percentage of graduates from the Class of 2017 who went directly to grad school after earning their MIT degree(s)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I ♥️ π
Valentine’s Day 2019 has come and gone, but it’s always a perfect day to profess your love, perhaps irrationally, for a constant like pi. Enjoy this poignant love poem from nuclear science and engineering graduate student Amelia Trainer ’18.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“
I really wanted the girls to have this empowering experience where their voices and their skills could be put to help people.
—Evelyn Gomez ’10, on joining DIY Girls, an organization supporting girls in STEM by teaching them to make solar-powered tents for individuals without homes
Photo of Maia Weinstock
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