A team of MIT students took first place in the first round of the SpaceX Hyperloop competition, reports Steve Annear for The Boston Globe. Team members told Annear that, “It’s great to see our hard work recognized, and we are excited to have the opportunity to continue to push this technology one step closer to reality.”
John Urschel, a PhD candidate in math and offensive lineman in the NFL, speaks with The Tech's Ray Wang about "juggling two worlds." Urschel describes how his competitiveness in football translates to his studies: "This is competitive ‘me’ against the unknown — against things I’m trying to solve."
Dean of Admissions Stuart Schmill speaks with WRKO’s Kim Carrigan about a new set of recommendations for the college admissions process. Schmill explains that, “we want students who are going to come here and try to improve the lives of their classmates,” as well as students interested in having a positive effect on the world.
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni examines “Turning the Tide,” a new report that recommends changes to the college admissions process. Bruni says the report - which Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions, contributed to – “sagely reflects on what’s wrong with admissions and rightly calls for a revolution, including specific suggestions.”
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Leslie Brody speaks with Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions, about a report that recommends new guidelines for the college admissions process. “We want students to lead balanced lives,” says Schmill of the impetus for updating the admissions process.
Stu Schmill, MIT’s Dean of Admissions, speaks with Matt Lauer of The Today Show about a new report that he helped develop, which recommends changes in the college application process. “This report, I hope, will really send a more powerful message around what colleges are really, really interested to see,” says Schmill.
Boston Herald reporter Tom Layman writes about freshman Bradley Jomard’s first game for the MIT basketball team, which took place the night of the Paris terrorist attacks. Head coach Larry Anderson says that Bradley, whose family lives in Paris, stayed focused on the game. “What that says about him is that he’s a very thoughtful person,” says Anderson.
A number of MIT students, researchers and alumni have been named to Forbes’ annual “30 Under 30” list, which honors rising stars in 20 different sectors.
Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes about the MIT team working to develop a Hyperloop transportation system. “The Hyperloop would be a system of near-vacuum tubes that sends levitating pods from one place to another at 760 miles per hour,” Graham explains.
BetaBoston reporter Elizabeth Preston writes that MIT graduate students are explaining complex aerospace engineering topics to a class of fifth grader students in Georgia. Teacher Alana Davis says of the MIT students that, “I don’t think they realize what a difference they’re making in these kids’ lives.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Karen Weintraub spotlights Prof. Rosalind Picard’s work examining college stress. Research scientist Akane Sano explains that they have been using machine learning techniques to identify the differences in “behaviors between high-stress and low-stress people.”
In an article for Scientific American, Katherine Hamilton writes about the fourth annual Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Symposium (C3E), which highlighted the increasing role women are playing in clean energy. The symposium was started by the U.S. Department of Energy in conjunction with the MIT Energy Initiative.
In a letter to The Boston Globe, Lisa Arrowood, president of the Boston Bar Association, commends MIT’s decision “to speak out in favor of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education.” Arrowood writes that these policies help foster diversity in higher education.
Washington Post reporter Matt McFarland writes about Sprout, a company that sells pencils with “an attached seed capsule, containing everything from tomatoes to cilantro and lavender.” The idea for the pencils came from three MIT students, who were developing ideas for sustainable office products.
This CNN Money article explores a new company called Sprout, which develops plantable pencils that grow into vegetables, herbs and flowering plants. Three MIT students conceived the idea for Sprout and began selling the pencils in Europe in 2013.