February 15, 2020
Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.
 
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The Tuskegee Airmen
At the outset of World War II, MIT contributed to the training of African-American military pilots popularly known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Among the MIT alumni who served were Wallace Patillo Reed ’42, Victor L. Ransom ’48, Yenwith Whitney ’49, Louis M. Young ’50, and Charles E. Anderson PhD ’60.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Top Headlines
Drawing daily doodles: Chalk of the Day brightens MIT
An MIT student group draws beautiful daily works of art on the chalk wall in Building 32.
MIT Heat Island
Low-cost “smart” diaper can notify caregiver when it’s wet
Design combines a common diaper material with RFID technology.
MIT Heat Island
New theories at the intersection of algebra and geometry
Professor Chenyang Xu applies the techniques of abstract algebra to study concrete but complex geometric objects.
MIT Heat Island
Half of U.S. deaths related to air pollution are linked to out-of-state emissions
A new study tracks pollution from state to state in the 48 contiguous United States.
MIT Heat Island
John Dozier named Institute Community and Equity Officer
Experienced higher-education leader will develop and implement diversity and inclusion strategies for the Institute.
MIT Heat Island
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#ThisisMIT
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the Media
Using math to perfectly fold a notebook page into a bookmark // Popular Mechanics
Postdoc Chenguang Zhang crunched the numbers to determine the ideal way to fold a notebook page in order to “bookmark” it.
Is the polyglot brain different? // PRI’s The World
Assistant Professor Evelina Fedorenko’s lab is investigating how the polyglot brain works, in particular why some people can become proficient at multiple languages.
The butterfly effect is not what you think it is // The Washington Post
When the late Professor Edward Lorenz “first invoked a butterfly’s wings, it wasn’t to say that we can’t predict the weather in New York because we can’t account for all the butterflies in China. On the contrary, Lorenz was actually saying that even if we could account for every skipper and swallowtail along the Yellow Sea, it wouldn’t do much to improve weather forecasts.”
This MIT study will make you always wash your hands at the airport // CNBC
Increased handwashing at airports could significantly curb the spread of infectious diseases, according to a study by MIT researchers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digit
15,162,336
The number of articles downloaded to date from MIT Libraries’ open-access collection
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Listen
MIT Sloan Management Review recently launched its new Three Big Points podcast. Hosted by editor-in-chief Paul Michelman, the series highlights business ideas from academics, researchers, and executives who are breaking new ground in a tech-fueled world. The podcast’s latest episode shines a light on gender equity in the workplace and asks how artificial intelligence can be employed to help move the needle in this area. Featured guest Katica Roy, founder and CEO of Pipeline Equity, argues the workplace was not designed to value women — and that society will continue to face problems with supporting women at work unless companies and organizations change the ways in which they make decisions and evaluate talent.
Listen to the podcast →
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“
I felt like I could get a computer to do anything I wanted.
—Latanya Sweeney SM ’97, PhD ’01, a Harvard University professor and the first black woman to earn a PhD in computer science at MIT, on what it was like when she first discovered how to write computer programs
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