News & Stories

Sustainable solutions at home and abroad

Arnav Patel is a self-described sustainability enthusiast. Working on solutions related to climate change has been a central thread woven throughout his time at MIT. As a first-year student, he was initially drawn to mechanical engineering because he wanted to keep his options open. “I felt like mechanical engineering is that perfect niche where there’s […]

Working toward a more secure world

Well before arriving on campus, Peninah (Nina) Levine knew what she wanted from her undergraduate education: “I came to MIT to be in an environment that would push me beyond my comfortable limits,” says Levine, a senior majoring in nuclear science and engineering (NSE). “I had to find where my passions lay and forge my […]

Transforming lives by providing safe drinking water

As a child, Susan Murcott ’90 SM ’92 saw firsthand the long-term impact that water- and food-borne illness can have on people. At age 16, her maternal grandmother contracted polio, which can be transmitted through direct contact with someone infected with the virus or, occasionally, through contaminated food and water. As a result of the […]

Traveling the world for global health solutions

As a kid, Andrea Orji always loved it when her grandpa would visit from Nigeria. He would share stories about his home to teach Orji, a Texas native, about her family’s heritage. But while she and her family attended school and work, her grandpa remained at the house, frequently alone. She could tell he longed […]

Celebrating the life of undergraduate Sergio Dominguez

MIT junior Sergio Dominguez “so loved learning,” says his sister Laura, that he insisted on entering elementary school a full year early. “He loved to learn new things and would spend so much time reading,” often pulling out a random encyclopedia volume and just digging in, she recalls. Dominguez, a Course 6-9 (Computation and Cognition) […]

Startup empowers women to improve access to safe drinking water

In Ghana’s Northern Region, thousands of villages rely on water from artificial ponds during the region’s long dry season. The water is unsafe to drink and results in thousands of water-borne illnesses each year. Worse yet, the situation is totally preventable. Cheap, locally available water treatment solutions exist to make the region’s abundant surface water […]

Space for all is this student’s goal

The latest NASA rover, scheduled to land on Mars tomorrow after traveling more than six months in interplanetary space, is carrying with it a special instrument called MOXIE. About the size of a car battery, MOXIE will inhale carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere and transform it into a breath of oxygen. That’s the plan, […]

Reducing inequality across the globe and on campus

At a young age, Orisa Coombs pledged to use her engineering knowledge to reduce inequality. The summer after her first year of high school, she found herself grappling with the harsh realities of systemic racism after the death of Michael Brown. Brown’s death altered Coombs’ world view and reshaped how she approached her own role […]

Connecting machines in remote regions

On Nov. 26, seven fishermen aboard a small fishing boat off the coast of Maharashtra in western India were struck with panic when their vessel was damaged and began to sink. The panic was warranted: The boat was too far from shore to radio for help. Tens of thousands of fishermen find themselves in a […]

George Shultz PhD ’49, renowned statesman and former professor, dies at 100

George P. Shultz PhD ’49, former U.S. secretary of labor, state, and of the treasury, died peacefully at his home on Feb. 6, at the age of 100. A champion of bipartisanship who for decades urged action on climate change, he leaves a rich legacy forged during more than 70 years of leadership in government, […]