| Better Data Compression | | | | | | A new type of hardware data compression, developed by CSAIL researchers, frees up more memory, allowing computers and mobile devices to run faster and perform more tasks. “All computer systems would benefit from this,” Daniel Sanchez says. |
| Faculty approve proposal to update MIT’s academic calendar, Commencement timing The decision to move Commencement to late May marks the culmination of community dialogue led by vice chancellor and registrar. |  |
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| Nanoscale batteries may power future technology Novel batteries are the first to use water-splitting technology at their core. |  |
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| Four from MIT elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2019 The prestigious honor society announced more than 200 new members. |  |
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| TESS discovers its first Earth-sized planet Orbiting a nearby star, the new planet is the smallest identified so far by the TESS mission. |  |
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| 3Q: Structuring the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing Co-chairs of the Organizational Structure working group discuss their goals and progress. |  |
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| MIT economists share a bold plan to jump-start the economy // WGBH Professors Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson discuss their new book about how to revitalize the American economy. “We invest in science, turn that science into jobs, and spread that around the country,” says Johnson. |
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| Making buildings out of melanin // Fast Company Associate Professor Neri Oxman is developing 3-D printed sculptures filled with melanin, the pigment that colors our skin and hair. The sculptures demonstrate how melanin could potentially be used in buildings to protect inhabitants from the elements, generate energy, or absorb unwanted environmental materials. |
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| The problem with automation // Axios Professor Daron Acemoglu explains that his recent studies examining the impacts of automation show that “so far, we’ve used our know-how singularly automating at the expense of labor. If we keep on doing that, we will keep on destroying more jobs without job gains. It’s completely our decision.” |
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| How “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” helped France rediscover its love for the cathedral // WBUR’s Here & Now Associate Professor Catherine Clark explains that Victor Hugo’s book reminds her of how Notre Dame “is a structure that is built by time and history itself and each generation adds their stones.” |
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| | | With the annual Cambridge Science Festival — a unique collection of events celebrating science and technology — in full swing this week, MIT once again played host to a number of family-friendly offerings. At an MIT.nano open house, kids donned bunny suits to explore the Institute's newest research facility, which is dedicated to investigating matter at the nanoscale. |
 | | | | My goodness, we just proved that Einstein was right, at a scale that no one has dreamed of. ... Most of us still don’t believe it’s possible, even though we have done it. | | —Michael Hecht, MIT Haystack Observatory associate director for research management, on achieving the first direct images of a black hole |
| | | With the Major League Baseball season now well underway, kid reporter Amelia from NESN Clubhouse recently visited MIT to learn about inside baseball: “The best way to understand how a baseball is manufactured is to actually see what’s inside,” explains professor of mechanical engineering and associate dean of engineering Anette "Peko" Hosoi. So what’s actually in there? Watch and learn! ⚾ |
This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by a lesson in “less is more.” 💬
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week!
—Maia, MIT News Office |
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