Droplette, a skincare device designed by a group of MIT alumni, has been named one of the most innovative personal care products of 2021, reports Jordan Blok and Rachel Feltman for Popular Science. The product “turns pods of treatment like collagen and retinol into a super-fine mist to help skin absorb the ingredients more quickly,” writes Blok and Feltman. “The company’s ultimate aim is to use the tech to deliver drugs without needles."
Prof. Emeritus Daniel Freedman has been awarded the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his work devising the theory of supergravity, reports Philip Ball for Scientific American. Freedman notes that the award, “takes the cake—it is the cap of my long career.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane reports that Prof. Emeritus Daniel Freedman has been named a recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his discovery of supergravity. “The discovery of supergravity was the beginning of including quantum variables in describing the dynamics of spacetime,” explains Edward Witten, chairman of the selection committee.
Profs. Michael Strano and Sheila Kennedy have developed an exhibit for the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, which explores how Strano’s glowing plant research could be part of a sustainable energy future. “The pair is one of 62 design teams involved in the [Triennial], which highlights innovative ways humans are engaging with nature,” writes Emily Matchar for Smithsonian.
The Financial Times has named Prof. Tim Berners-Lee its "Boldness in Business" Person of the Year for his work aimed at providing people with more control over how their personal data is used online, reports John Thornhill. “We know how to fire rockets into the sky. We should be able to build constructive social networks,” says Lee.
Professors Edward Boyden and Feng Zhang have been named to the 2018 class of Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, reports Jonathan Saltzman for The Boston Globe. “We selected these scientists because they know how to ask hard and interesting questions with skill and intellectual courage,” says David Clapham, vice president and chief scientific officer of the institute.
Prof. Martin Marks hosted a conversation with Audra McDonald, the 2018 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT recipient, where she spoke about her personal experience as a Tony Award-winning actress and shared advice with the gathered students, writes Sophie Cannon for The Boston Globe. “Realize you have value and you have worth and what you maybe don’t have is experience but that is what you are here to get,” McDonald said.
Washington Post reporter Martin Weil writes about this year’s recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship. Two MIT students were named Rhodes Scholars this year - Mary Clare Beytagh and Matthew Chun. Weil writes that Chun is, “designing the first prosthetic knee intended specifically for use in the developing world.”
Boston Magazine reporter Hayley Glatter spotlights how two MIT seniors - Mary Clare Beytagh and Matthew Chun - were among this year’s winners of the Rhodes Scholarship.
MIT postdoc Ritu Raman is one of five recipients of the 2017 For Women in Science Fellowship from L’Oreal USA, writes Claire Hansen of U.S. News & World Report. The $60,000 grants are awarded to the women “based on the strength of their research and scientific excellence, but also on their commitment to supporting other women and girls in science,” explains Hansen.
Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is the recipient of the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT, which includes a residency and public talk by the singer-actress, reports Don Aucoin for The Boston Globe.
Prof. Regina Barzilay, recipient of a 2017 MacArthur grant, speaks to Radio Boston’s Meghna Chakrabarti about her research. Barzilay explains that data is not currently used in the medical field “to select treatments, to personalize it, or to help the patients reduce their uncertainty about the outcomes. I really strongly felt it has to be changed.”
Prof. Regina Barzilay has been named a MacArthur grant recipient for her work in computational linguistics and with applying machine learning to the field of oncology, reports Ellen Gamerman for The Wall Street Journal. “I firmly believe there is a lot of really important information and patterns that are hidden in the data of cancer patients,” said Barzilay.
Boston Globe reporter Laura Crimaldi writes that Prof. Regina Barzilay has been awarded a Macarthur “genius grant” in recognition of her work in the field of computational linguistics. Barzilay said she plans to use the prize, “to continue to work on improving cancer care using machine learning and natural language processing.”
WBUR’s Bruce Gellerman profiles Nobel laureate Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss, noting that his “stories of accomplishments and failure are legendary at MIT.” Prof. Peter Fisher, head of the Physics Department, says that Weiss, "is a tremendously intelligent man, but he’s got more perseverance, I think, than anyone else.”