Materials science and engineering

At left, different patterns of slices through a thin metal foil, are made by a focused ion beam. These patterns cause the metal to fold up into predetermined shapes, which can be used for such purposes as modifying a beam of light.

Kirigami-inspired technique manipulates light at the nanoscale

Folding and cutting thin metal films could enable microchip-based 3-D optical devices.

July 6, 2018

Summer Scholar Abigail Nason (left) and graduate student Takian Fakhrul peer into a pulsed laser deposition chamber for creating thin films that combine magnetic properties and infrared light transparency to serve in waveguides and isolators for integrated photonic chips.

Summer projects in motion

Lab assignments for MIT Materials Research Laboratory undergraduate researchers and teachers cut across disciplines.

July 3, 2018

Repellency of different liquids on polyester fabric coated with H1F7Ma-co-DVB: soy sauce (black drop), coffee (brown drop), HCl acid (top left transparent drop), NaOH (bottom right transparent drop) and water (remaining transparent drops).

Let it rain! New coatings make natural fabrics waterproof

MIT-developed process could offer nontoxic alternative to environmentally harmful chemicals.

June 29, 2018

MiNDS probes developed at MIT cause minimal injury to brain tissue. This image shows minimal tissue scarring (green and red stains) and healthy neuron growth (purple) surrounding an implant.

Neural implants modulate microstructures in the brain with pinpoint accuracy

MIT researchers develop new tools to enable targeted delivery of drugs to deep brain structures through implanted microprobes.

June 28, 2018

Carl Thompson is the Stavros Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and co-director of the Materials Research Laboratory at MIT.

Broadening the range of material rewards

Headed by Carl Thompson, the newly formed Materials Research Laboratory opens up opportunities for industrial partnerships.

June 18, 2018

On the roof of the Central Utility Plant building, standing in front of one of the cooling towers, are (left to right): Seth Kinderman, Central Utility Plant engineering manager; Kripa Varanasi, associate professor of mechanical engineering; recent doctoral graduates Karim Khalil and Maher Damak; and Patrick Karalekas, plant engineer, Central Utilities Plant.

New system recovers fresh water from power plants

Technology captures water evaporating from cooling towers; prototype to be installed on MIT’s Central Utility Plant.

June 8, 2018

Michael J. Tarkanian, the lead instructor for 3.042, “The Materials Project Laboratory,” the capstone design course for undergraduate students in materials science and engineering, in the lab with MIT student Mindy Wu.

The heart of the materials

From cobalt-free, high-entropy alloys to synthetic goose down, the Materials Project Laboratory offers students a chance to explore.

June 8, 2018

QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2018-19

Ranked at the top for the seventh straight year, the Institute also places first in 12 of 48 disciplines.

June 6, 2018

This cloaking grenade, used for hiding troop operations from view on the battlefield, is an example of nanoparticles that reflect a particular color of light based on their exact size and composition. New work by MIT researchers provides a way to predict the light-scattering properties of layered nanoparticles – or to design particles to match a desired type of light-scattering behavior.

AI-based method could speed development of specialized nanoparticles

Neural network could expedite complex physics simulations.

June 1, 2018

Left to right: Seed Fund awardees Ahmed Ghoniem, Betar Gallant, Karthish Manthiram, and Bilge Yildiz.

MIT Energy Initiative awards nine Seed Fund grants for early-stage energy research

Awardees will use grants to advance research in areas including energy storage, renewables expansion modeling, and the chemistry of electrocatalysts.

June 1, 2018

A new MIT program will provide regular summer research opportunities in the lab of Assistant Professor Rafael Jaramillo to students from neighboring community colleges. Seen here, Noon Farsab, from Bunker Hill Community College, conducted research in Jaramillo’s lab during the summer of 2017.

GAIN program to connect community college students to career opportunities

Jaramillo lab launches a summer program to broaden the horizons of local students interested in materials science and engineering.

May 31, 2018

Left to right: Catherine Kim, Mary Ellen Sinkus, Rachel Kemper, Adam Shervanian, Anantha Chandrakasan, Daniel Darling, Kyle Keane, Paul Barone and Tia Giurleo. Seated, left to right: Kiley Clapper, Angela Mickunas, Sheren Aram, Caitlin Vinci, Tricia Campbell, and Eileen Ng.

Spotlight on engineering staff

The School of Engineering gives its 2018 Infinite Mile Awards for exceptional service and support.

May 30, 2018

MIT physicists have now found a way to significantly boost thermoelectricity’s potential by using metal, heat, and magnetic fields to produce energy.

Turning up the heat on thermoelectrics

New materials, heated under high magnetic fields, could produce record levels of energy, model shows.

May 25, 2018

Seven new projects focusing on solutions to water and food systems challenges, led by 11 faculty principal investigators across five MIT departments, will be funded by the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS) with two-year grants of up to $200,000.

J-WAFS awards over $1.3 million in fourth round of seed grant funding

Eleven principal investigators from six MIT departments will receive grants totaling over $1.3 million, overhead free, for research on food and water challenges.

May 25, 2018

Guanyu Su, MIT graduate student in nuclear science and engineering, is examining multi-scale physics in annular flow heat transfer using advanced diagnostics.

Turning up the heat

Fine-tuning thermal hydraulics in reactors, doctoral student Guanyu Su hopes to advance more powerful nuclear energy technology.

May 17, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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