Writing for Make, Gareth Branwyn spotlights Adafruit Industries, which was founded by alumna Limor Fried. Fried explains that she believes the success of Adafruit is based on, “being focused on others, having an unconditional belief that you can be both a good cause and a good company, and seeing risk-taking as your friend and your only real competition as yourself.”
In an article for The Epoch Times, Emel Akpan highlights how The Engine is focused on supporting startups in fields that require time and patient capital. “We have a focus on tough tech,” explains Katie Rae, CEO and president of The Engine. “We think that’s where the resources are limited. But the opportunities can have a lot of impact.”
Fortune reporter Aaron Pressman highlights how in her address during the 2017 Investiture of Doctoral Hoods, MIT alumna Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, urged doctoral graduates to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. "The world is starving for new ideas and great leaders who will champion those ideas," said Su.
Inside Higher Ed reporter Scott Jaschik writes that MIT was awarded second place in a, “global list of the top utility patents (awarded by the U.S. for a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter) awarded in 2016.”
U.S. News & World Report’s Visi Tilak spotlights NuVu Studios, a school started by MIT graduates to create more hands-on learning experiences for middle and high school students. MIT alumna and NuVu co-founder Saba Ghole explains that students use “curiosity and creativity to explore new ideas, and make their concepts come to life.”
Wall Street Journal reporter James Hagerty writes about the life and legacy of Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation known for his work as a pioneering leader in the field of biotechnology.
In an article for The Boston Globe’s 2017 “Game Changers” section - which highlights ideas, inventions, people and places making waves in Boston - Robert Weisman spotlights The Engine. “We hope to create world-changing companies that will grow in the Boston region,” explains Katie Rae, The Engine’s President and CEO.
WCVB reporter Mike Wankum visits MIT to learn about a device, developed by MIT students, that converts text to braille. Undergraduate Charlene Xia explains that, “it’s not just enough to make something cool,” adding that she and her teammates want to make a device that "actually makes a difference in the world.”
In an article for The Boston Globe about electric bike systems, Hiawatha Bray writes about the Copenhagen Wheel, a battery-powered wheel developed by MIT researchers. “The wheel turns almost any standard bike into a two-wheeled Tesla,” writes Bray, who recently tested the wheel on the streets of Boston.
NuTonomy, an MIT startup, will soon start testing self-driving cars in Boston’s Seaport District and Fort Point areas, writes Doug Newcomb for Forbes.
In an article for Forbes about how companies and colleges need to collaborate more to spur innovation, Harold Sirkin writes that “MIT has mastered the art of industry collaboration.”
MIT researchers have developed a device that captures pollution emitted from a car’s tailpipe, and turns it into high-quality ink, reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. “A typical ballpoint pen holds about 0.25 milliliters of ink – meaning that one vehicle can produce almost 3 pens worth of ink per minute,” explains Lott.
In a piece for WBUR about digital health startups, Rachel Zimmerman spotlights Cake, a company co-founded by MIT alumna Suelin Chen. Zimmerman explains that Cake is a web platform aimed at helping “make decisions about death feel easier.”
Boston Globe reporter Robert Weisman writes about how a new startup is using technology developed in part by Prof. Robert Langer to try to reverse hearing loss. The company is applying Langer’s research to “regenerate sensory hair cells in the inner ear to treat the noise-induced hearing loss that affects an estimated 48 million Americans and millions more worldwide.”
Guardian reporter Eliot Stein writes about Media Lab spinoff Graviky Labs, which has developed an exhaust filter that turns diesel exhaust into ink and paint. “If each of the 20,000 black cabs in London had our product,” says founder Anirudh Sarma, “we could clean 30 trillion litres of air a year.”