| Philosopher and Feminist | | | | | | Philosophy PhD student Marion Boulicault hates decisions: “One of the effects of making a choice is that other choices are closed off.” She seeks to unite her field with interests in social justice, public policy, and feminism. |
| Stephen Buchwald awarded Wolf Prize for chemistry Honor shared with John Hartwig of the University of California at Berkeley for their development of a process to improve the synthesis of large organic molecules. |  |
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| Cataloging defects of 2-D materials Theoretical analysis distinguishes observed “holes” from the huge list of hypothetically possible ones. |  |
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| Hair and identity Senior Sefa Yakpo explores the politics of beauty among Francophone African women. |  |
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| Technique identifies electricity-producing bacteria Microbes screened with a new microfluidic process might be used in power generation or environmental cleanup. |  |
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| Fortifying the future of cryptography Vinod Vaikuntanathan aims to improve encryption in a world with growing applications and evolving adversaries. |  |
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| The outlook is dim for Americans without college degrees // The Economist New research by Professor David Autor and graduate student Juliette Fournier examines the economic prospects for Americans without college degrees. |
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| Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s 70 percent tax: The numbers behind the proposal // NPR’s On Point Institute Professor Emeritus and Nobel laureate Peter Diamond says increasing the top marginal tax rate “will raise a lot of money that we could [use to] address some of our shortfalls and that will help us prepare for the large costs coming from climate change.” |
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| Mysterious radio signals from far outside the galaxy // TechCrunch A team of researchers, including MIT scientists, used the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment radio telescope to identify 13 new fast radio bursts coming from a distant galaxy. |
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| Why this venture capitalist is tackling “tough tech” // Fortune The Engine, built by MIT, “has an investing horizon of up to 18 years, which allows us to think about bigger, longer-term bets — and these could be world-changing,” says Katie Rae, The Engine’s CEO and managing partner. |
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| | | A recent New England Sports Network (NESN) profile highlights MIT senior Riley Quinn, who was born without a left hand and forearm, and his successes in both academics and in sports. “My only option was to outwork people, whether that was on the field, in the classroom, in relationships, day-to-day life, being a good person,” says Quinn. “I'm kind of just taking that with me in everything I do.” |
 | | | | Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodiness. Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth. And always feel that your life has ultimate significance. | | —Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., born 90 years ago this week, in an empowering 1967 speech to high school students |
| | | On Jan. 17, 1914, the beaver was chosen as MIT’s mascot. The original proposal was made at a dinner of the Technology Club of New York, at which MIT President Richard Maclaurin was present. The kangaroo and elephant were apparently considered first; however, as neither is native to North America, a book on North American animals soon inspired the selection of the beaver, noted for its engineering skills. The MIT mascot was later named Tim and redesigned as the lovable rodent we know today. |
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