August 25, 2018
Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Spooky Action
A physics experiment using light from ancient quasars adds more support for quantum entanglement, the seemingly far-out idea that two particles, no matter how distant from each other, can be inextricably linked.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Top Headlines
Remembering Kofi Annan SM ’72
In 2002 MIT Sloan speech, the former UN secretary-general talked trust, responsibility, and big business.
MIT Heat Island
Advancing undersea optical communications
Lincoln Laboratory researchers are applying narrow-beam laser technology to enable communications between underwater vehicles.
MIT Heat Island
Putting the Living Wage Calculator into action
Corporations and nonprofits are applying the popular MIT online tool developed by Prof. Amy Glasmeier to shape policy and set wages.
MIT Heat Island
Antidepressant restores youthful flexibility to aging inhibitory neurons
Neural plasticity and arbor growth decline with age, study in mice shows.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#ThisIsMIT
Follow @MITAeroAstro on Twitter 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the Media
We have finally figured out how to snap spaghetti into two pieces // New Scientist
The so-called spaghetti challenge has puzzled physicists for decades. “We work on a lot of things here,” says Prof. Jörn Dunkel, “but 10 percent of them should be fun.”
Self-driving cars should look down, not just ahead // WIRED
Ground-penetrating radar originally developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to help U.S. troops avoid landmines could give self-driving cars a way to map where they are without relying on visual clues or GPS.
North Korea’s nuclear program isn’t going anywhere // Foreign Affairs
Prof. Vipin Narang writes about the state of North Korea’s nuclear program following President Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Surprise: Index shows U.S. elections were better run in 2016 than in 2012 // The Washington Post
Prof. Charles Stewart III examines the latest findings from the Elections Performance Index, which he says “shows that we can use objective metrics to chart any policy change aimed at improving voting, and that it’s not as difficult as we thought.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Meet Your MIT Neighbor
Name: Julie Parker
Affiliation: Manager of the MIT Furniture Exchange
Hometown: Cousins Island, Maine
Years at MIT: 6
Hobby: Sewing and prepping for the MIT Sew It’s Saturday crafts group
Famous person you’d love to meet: Satchel Paige
Favorite campus location: Collier Memorial and the polka dot railroad crossing connecting Vassar and Albany Streets
Secret superpower: Making fictional maps with my son
Favorite thing about MIT: It seems like no idea is too crazy. People think outside of the box!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digit
88
Percentage of respondents to the 2018 MIT senior survey who reported that they had conducted research with a faculty member during their four years at the Institute
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Scene at MIT
Clara Park ’14, SM ’17, a graduate research assistant at MIT’s Therapeutic Technology Design and Development lab, is working with Assistant Professor Ellen Roche on a heart model to test and validate different implantable cardiac devices. Park presented her work at a recent workshop organized by Roche and Claire Conway from the National University of Ireland Galway. With support from the MISTI Global Seed Fund, Roche and Conway are giving students new opportunities to help tackle the world’s leading cause of death with innovative devices for cardiac disease.
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