Manufacturing
“The challenge of advanced manufacturing aligns perfectly with MIT’s traditional strengths – our interdisciplinary, problem-based research; our technology- and science-centered education; our contributions to industrial innovation; our commitment to entrepreneurship; and our central mission of national service.” - Susan Hockfield
Caroline White-Nockleby is a PhD student in MIT’s doctoral program in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society (HASTS), which is co-sponsored by the History and Anthropology...
When Ben Calhoun and Dave Wentzloff co-founded Everactive in 2012, analysts and tech companies were forecasting a massive increase in the number of internet-connected devices, collectively...
Ben Linville-Engler, MIT System Design and Management (SDM) industry and certificate director, is the 2021 recipient of the Collier Medal. The Collier Medal was established in 2014 to honor MIT...
When was the last time you repainted your car? Redesigned your coffee mug collection? Gave your shoes a colorful facelift?
You likely answered: never, never, and never. You might...
In recent decades, China’s rapid economic growth has enabled more and more consumers to buy their own cars. The result has been improved mobility and the largest automotive market...
Researchers from the Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES) interdisciplinary research group at Singapore-MIT Alliance...
Some people are actually able to bottle their success, and Mark Kurz SM ’95 is one of the lucky few. Kurz is at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 as a manufacturing supply chain leader...
The cost of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used for phones, laptops, and cars has fallen dramatically over the last three decades, and has been a major driver of the rapid growth of those...
In considering materials that could become the fabrics of the future, scientists have largely dismissed one widely available option: polyethylene.
The stuff of plastic wrap and grocery...
Each semester, the machine shop in MIT’s Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity churns out hundreds of yo-yos. The yo-yos come in all shapes and sizes. They often have a theme – this past...
The new normal has set in motion a sustained urgency to re-imagine how we learn, how we engage in teamwork, and how to solve real-world problems collaboratively. For the Entrepreneurship and...
Elisabeth Beck Reynolds PhD ’10, executive director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center (IPC), has accepted a senior post in the Biden administration’s National Economic Council (NEC), the...
Laser-cutting is an essential part of many industries, from car manufacturing to construction. However, the process isn’t always easy or efficient: Cutting huge sheets of metal requires time and...
From Star Trek’s replicators to Richie Rich’s wishing machine, popular culture has a long history of parading flashy machines that can instantly output any item to a user’s delight.
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A 3D-printed thruster that emits a stream of pure ions could be a low-cost, extremely efficient propulsion source for miniature satellites.
The nanosatellite thruster created by MIT...
At the end of October, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced it won a $3.2 million, two-year grant, in collaboration with MIT, community colleges, and state agencies, to prepare workers for...
Have you ever seen a fancy ergonomic chair that seems to magically mold to a person’s body? Such products got researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) thinking...
In recent decades China has built over 1,400 large industrial parks, a massive investment accounting for over 40 percent of the country’s manufacturing jobs. However, some of these projects are...
Shape, color, and gloss.
Those are an object’s three most salient visual features. Currently, 3D printers can reproduce shape and color reasonably well. Gloss, however, remains a...
“Pop culture does a great job of scaring us that AI will take over the world,” said Professor Daniela Rus, speaking at a virtual MIT event on Wednesday. But realistically, said Rus, who directs...
The American workforce is at a crossroads. Digitization and automation have replaced millions of middle-class jobs, while wages have stagnated for many who remain employed. A lot of labor has...
As president of Caterpillar’s Resource Industries Group, Denise Johnson SM '17 leads the mining and materials hauling business of the world’s largest heavy equipment maker.
Even in the...
Decades of technological change have polarized the earnings of the American workforce, helping highly educated white-collar workers thrive, while hollowing out the middle class. Yet present-day...
We’ve come a long way since the first 3D-printed item came to us by way of an eye wash cup, to now being able to rapidly fabricate things like...
Covid-19 has brought much of the world to a halt this year. However, it is just one of the many infectious diseases without a vaccine that affect millions of people around the world. The...