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2014 News in Brief

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Ocean Microbes’ Hidden Talent

Although algae produce large quantities of lipids that can be extracted and converted into biodiesel, breaking apart the algae to recover the lipids is costly and energy-intensive. Recent research in Penny Chisholm’s lab on the oceanic […]

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Sidhant Pai receives Echoing Green fellowship

Sidhant Pai ’14 was among the 55 fellows selected for this year’s prestigious Echoing Green fellowship for social entrepreneurs. Based in India, Pai’s venture, Protoprint, empowers urban waste pickers with the technology to produce fair trade […]

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Morphable surfaces could cut air resistance

Dimples on a golf ball dramatically increase the distance it can travel by reducing the drag caused by air resistance. As reported in the journal Advanced Materials, MIT researchers including Professor Pedro Reis and former postdocs […]

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Graduate student profile: Leon Dimas

After injuries derailed his prospects for playing professional soccer, Leon Dimas changed course and is now a PhD student working to create resilient new materials based on natural substances. He and two other MIT graduate students […]

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Research Associate Sheila Frankel retires

After 41 years at Parsons Lab, Sheila Frankel retired on July 1, 2014. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my MIT journey: research, colleagues, working with grad students, teaching undergrads, and above all designing and implementing the IAP […]

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New Committee on Transportation Graduate Education

Department head Markus Buehler announced the formation of the Committee on Transportation Graduate Education, co-chaired by Moshe Ben-Akiva and Emilio Frazzoli (Aeronautics and Astronautics), with Francisco Pereira as designated executive director. Ben-Akiva said, “Our objective is […]

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Great impacts of basic research

The Spring 2014 issue of Spectrum explains how basic research led MIT faculty, including Professor Sallie “Penny” Chisholm, to profound unanticipated consequences. In 1988 Chisholm “revolutionized our understanding of life in the world’s oceans…when she and […]

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Why eumelanin pigment absorbs light so effectively

Eumelanin, a form of the pigment melanin, not only determines our skin and eye coloring but also protects us from ultraviolet and other damaging radiation. Now researchers at MIT and other institutions, including Professor Markus Buehler, […]

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Transforming troubles to technology

Professor Pedro Reis transforms today’s annoyances, such as cables kinking and columns buckling, into tomorrow’s technology, according to the Spring 2014 issue of Spectrum. By exploring the mechanics and physics underlying natural and manufactured structures, he […]

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