Energy
“If one advance could transform America's prospects, it would be ready access, at scale, to a range of affordable, renewable, low-carbon energy technologies. Only one path will lead to such transformative technologies: research.” - Susan Hockfield
“Two-dimensional materials” — materials deposited in layers that are only a few atoms thick — are promising for both high-performance electronics and flexible, transparent electronics that could...
MIT researchers have developed a new system that could potentially be used for converting power plant emissions of carbon dioxide into useful fuels for cars, trucks, and planes, as well as into...
MIT has been forging ahead on strategies to implement the Institute’s Plan for Action on Climate Change, which was adopted in 2015. Two years after the plan was released, the Office of...
Sarah Don says she never expected to land in a management role, but the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) alumna did just that a couple of years ago when she became...
Members of the MIT community who passed through the Stata Center courtyard last week likely found it hard not to notice the Lamborghini parked there as if it were visiting from the future. The car...
Over the first weekend of November, the lobby of MIT’s Vannevar Bush Building served as the site for many introductions, brainstorming sessions, and, ultimately, innovation. Participants from all...
As nations gathered in Bonn, Germany, for this year’s UN climate summit, one item on their agenda was determining whether pledged climate efforts are sufficient to achieve the targets of the 2015...
In large parts of the developing world, people have abundant heat from the sun during the day, but most cooking takes place later in the evening when the sun is down, using fuel — such as wood,...
By organizing pigments on a DNA scaffold, an MIT-led team of researchers has designed a light-harvesting material that closely mimics the structure of naturally occurring photosynthetic structures...
Today, more than 1.3 billion people are living without regular access to power, including more than 300 million in India and 600 million in sub-Saharan Africa. In these and other developing...
On any given day at MIT, undergraduates design hydro-powered desalination systems, graduate students test alternative fuels, and professors work to tap the huge energy-generating potential of...
This year marks 10 years since the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) was founded as MIT’s hub for energy research, education, and outreach. To mark the occasion, MITEI Director Robert Armstrong...
In recent years, research efforts such as the Materials Genome Initiative and the...
What are the best ways for U.S. cities to combat climate change? A new study co-authored by an MIT professor indicates it will be easier for cities to reduce emissions coming from residential...
Although he has operated MIT’s nuclear research reactor and worked as an intern for a national energy laboratory, senior Olorunsola “Jerry” Akinsulire never seems happier than when he's...
What does energy have to do with art, literature, and happiness? In a recent MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) seminar, Imre Szeman, a professor of communication and culture at the University of...
Methane gas, a vast natural resource, is often disposed of through burning, but new research by scientists at MIT could make it easier to capture this gas for use as fuel or a chemical feedstock...
The desalination industry, a critical source of potable water in many arid regions, generated more than $13 billion last year and is expected to double within a decade. Most desalination plants...
An inexpensive hydrogel that can extract uranium from water to provide more fuel for nuclear power plants took home the grand prize from this year’s MADMEC competition on Oct. 10.
A team...
Wind and solar power are increasingly popular sources for renewable energy. But intermittency issues keep them from connecting widely to the U.S. grid: They require energy-storage systems that, at...
The albatross is one of the most efficient travelers in the animal world. One species, the wandering albatross, can fly nearly 500 miles in a single day, with just an occasional flap of its wings...
Robert Granetz has been a research scientist in MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center for more than 40 years. He recently gave a talk hosted by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)...
The Materials Processing Center (MPC) and the Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE), which together serve more than 150 MIT engineering and science researchers, announced today their...
“This is probably the stereotypical story, but I always enjoyed building stuff when I was younger, using LEGOs, putting things together, figuring things out.”
In his third year at MIT,...
MIT will host a summit this December to highlight the regional leadership of the northeast U.S. and eastern Canada in responding to climate change and to explore strategies for building on that...