Author Archives: jason
DMSE researchers develop a low-cost technique to get lithium out of rocks
Demand for lithium has surged in recent years as lithium-ion batteries power increasingly more of our world. And yet, even as places like the U.S., Europe, and Australia…
Steel developed at MIT is key to Formula One, Baja 1000, and MIT Motorsports
A high-performance steel with MIT origins has come full circle. After proving its worth in Formula One and Baja 1000 race cars, the computationally designed material has now been…
Learning to teach, learning to discover
Nik Sandu points to a graph on the whiteboard in a seventh-grade science class. “According to the graph, what is the energy of the ball?” she asks, gently waving…
Researchers “reprogram” materials by quickly rearranging their atoms
It’s been 37 years since scientists first demonstrated the ability to move single atoms, suggesting the possibility of designing materials atom by atom to customize their properties. Today there…
Solving hard problems in soft electronics
A crepe cake.That’s how Camille Cunin describes the polymer-metal “sandwiches” that became a highlight of her doctoral thesis at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE). Over…
Aristide Gumyusenge will receive the 2026 PMSE Early Investigator Award
Assistant Professor Aristide Gumyusenge has been selected to receive a 2026 PMSE Early Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society’s Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering. The…
The hidden structure behind a widely used class of materials
Materials called relaxor ferroelectrics have been used for decades in technologies like ultrasounds, microphones, and sonar systems. Their unique properties come from their atomic structure, but that structure…
An engineer’s guide to birds
Feathers give birds their dazzling colors. They repel water and trap heat, keeping them warm and dry. They can even stifle sound, allowing species such as owls to…
Tech Reflection: 1980 tests in 3.091
Tom Davis ’84, SM ’85: “These are images of quizzes I took in (3.091 Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry) as a freshman in the fall of 1980.“One is my very…
MIT faculty, alumni receive 2025-26 American Physical Society honors
The American Physical Society (APS) recently honored two MIT faculty members — professors Yoel Fink PhD ’00 and Mehran Kardar PhD ’83 — as well as six alumni…