Prof. Nergis Mavalvala, dean of the MIT School of Science, and Prof. Salvatore Vitale join Edgar B. Herwick III of GBH’s Curiosity Desk to discuss the science behind the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and how close we are to unraveling the secrets of the early […]

Curiosity-driven research has long sparked technological transformations. A century ago, curiosity about atoms led to quantum mechanics, and eventually the transistor at the heart of modern computing. Conversely, the steam engine was a practical breakthrough, but it took fundamental research in […]

The boundaries of STEM are shifting. Increasingly, we are recognizing the evolution to STEMM — acknowledging medicine, alongside mathematics, as a central pillar of innovation. From cardiovascular research to veterinary science, disciplines are converging, new roles are emerging, and expectations […]

Joseph Paradiso thinks that the most engaging research questions usually span disciplines.  Paradiso was trained as a physicist and completed his PhD in experimental high-energy physics at MIT in 1981. His father was a photographer and filmmaker working at MIT, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and the […]

A. Neil Pappalardo ‘64, co-founder of MEDITECH (Medical Information Technology, Inc.) and a leading supporter of the MIT Department of Physics for decades, died on January 27, 2026, at age 83. He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Jane; their four children; and 13 grandchildren. Pappalardo’s […]

When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions of years. By the time they pass through Earth, such cosmic ripples are barely […]

As a professional mechanical engineer, Badri Ratnam was inspired when MIT started offering massive open online courses (MOOCs) in engineering and science in 2012. He wondered if he was up to the challenge of solving problem sets and successfully completing exams from MIT. Ratnam first began his […]

On Feb. 18, MIT faculty gathered in Huntington Hall (10-250) for the first faculty meeting of 2026, where they discussed the recent proposal released by the Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Program (TFUAP). The set of recommendations, made public on Feb. 5, outlines sweeping changes to the […]

Eight MIT faculty and 22 additional MIT alumni are among 126 early-career researchers honored with 2026 Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The fellowships honor exceptional researchers at U.S. and Canadian educational institutions, whose creativity, innovation, and […]

Trigger warning: mention of suicide   Hello! The Student Spotlight column is back — with an alumni twist this time. Instead of just one student, we’re putting two Course 8s in conversation with each other. Patrick Mang ’98 is a Course 8 alum who moved to London after his PhD and runs the […]