Author Archives: jason

More durable metals for fusion power reactors

For many decades, nuclear fusion power has been viewed as the ultimate energy source. A fusion power plant could generate carbon-free energy at a scale needed to address…

With sustainable cement, startup aims to eliminate gigatons of CO2

While today’s cement is made through extremely high temperatures in a kiln, ancient Romans didn’t have that option. Still, anyone who’s been to Rome recently will tell you…

New transistor’s superlative properties could have broad electronics applications

In 2021, a team led by MIT physicists reported creating a new ultrathin ferroelectric material, or one where positive and negative charges separate into different layers. At the…

Machine learning unlocks secrets to advanced alloys

The concept of short-range order (SRO) — the arrangement of atoms over small distances — in metallic alloys has been underexplored in materials science and engineering. But the…

Professor Emeritus John Vander Sande, microscopist, entrepreneur, and admired mentor, dies at 80

MIT Professor Emeritus John B. Vander Sande, a pioneer in electron microscopy and beloved educator and advisor known for his warmth and empathetic instruction, died June 28 in…

Polina Anikeeva named head of DMSE

Polina Anikeeva PhD ’09, the Matoula S. Salapatas Professor at MIT, has been named the new head of MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE), effective July…

How to increase the rate of plastics recycling

While recycling systems and bottle deposits have become increasingly widespread in the U.S., actual rates of recycling are “abysmal,” according to a team of MIT researchers who studied…

MIT researchers identify routes to stronger titanium alloys

Titanium alloys are essential structural materials for a wide variety of applications, from aerospace and energy infrastructure to biomedical equipment. But like most metals, optimizing their properties tends to…

Rebecca Shepardson and Mahia Brown honored with 2024 Infinite Mile Awards

Rebecca Shepardson and Mahia Brown have won the School of Engineering’s 2024 Infinite Mile Award, which honors staff members for their extraordinary contributions to MIT’s educational mission.  At a…

Pioneering the future of materials extraction

The next time you cook pasta, imagine that instead of just ziti, say, you are cooking spaghetti, rigatoni, and seven other varieties all together, and they need to…