Historic migration patterns are written in Americans' DNA
The following press release was issued today by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.Studies of DNA from ancient human fossils have helped scientists to trace human migration routes around the world...
View ArticleThe elephant in the server room
Suppose you would like to know mortality rates for women during childbirth, by country, around the world. Where would you look? One option is the WomanStats Project, the website of an academic research...
View ArticleDiscerning the texture of urban resilience
If you’ve ever turned down a city street only to be blasted with air, you’ve stepped into what is known as an urban canyon.Much like their geological counterparts, urban canyons are gaps between two...
View ArticleThe 2020 U.S. census: Time to make it count
The year’s U.S. census is taking place at a unique time in the country’s history. Many people, including college students, are staying in their homes as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result,...
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3 Questions: Catherine D’Ignazio on visualizing Covid-19 data
The Covid-19 pandemic is generating waves of data points from around the world, recording the number of tests performed, cases confirmed, patients recovered, and people who have died from the virus. As...
View ArticleFaithfully supporting well-being
Professors Ezra Zuckerman Sivan, Jinhua Zhao, and Kamal Youcef-Toumi have been honored as “Committed to Caring” for the manifold ways they build balance and community among their advisees. These...
View ArticleDesigning for place and space
What makes a building great? To Rafi Segal, it is never just the form of a structure that counts. What matters is the way a building fits its surroundings and responds to its social and cultural...
View ArticleSix from MIT awarded research funding to address Covid-19
As the world grapples with the continuing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, a multi-institutional initiative has been formed to support a broad range of research aimed at addressing the devastation...
View ArticleTransportation policymaking in Chinese cities
In recent decades, urban populations in China’s cities have grown substantially, and rising incomes have led to a rapid expansion of car ownership. Indeed, China is now the world’s largest market for...
View ArticleInside the new world of online dissertation defenses
Call it another MIT innovation. When PhD student Jesse Tordoff passed her dissertation defense this month, she learned about the outcome in a new way: Her professors sent a thumbs-up emoji on the Zoom...
View ArticleThe social life of data
On a typical day in our data-saturated world, Facebook announces plans to encrypt its Messenger data, prompting uproar from child welfare activists who fear privacy will come at the cost of online...
View Article3 Questions: Balakrishnan Rajagopal on recognizing homelessness as a human...
Balakrishnan Rajagopal is an associate professor of law and development in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning. He is the founder of MIT’s...
View ArticleWhat moves people?
It’s easy to think of urban mobility strictly in terms of infrastructure: Does an area have the right rail lines, bus lanes, or bike paths? How much parking is available? How well might autonomous...
View ArticleNear real-time, peer-reviewed hypothesis verification informs FEMA on...
Every corner of the globe has suffered from supply chain disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic. Beginning in January with a focus on China manufacturing, the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab...
View ArticleTwelve MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2020-2021
The term “mentor” traces back to the ancient Greek author Homer. When Odysseus sets off for Troy, he entrusts his son Telemachus to a close friend, Mentor. Finding Telemachus floundering, the goddess...
View ArticleTunney Lee, professor emeritus of urban planning, dies at 88
Tunney Lee, professor emeritus of urban planning and former head of the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), passed away of complications from cancer treatment on July 2 in Boston. He...
View ArticleA voice for diversity, equity, and inclusion in civil and environmental...
Md Sami Hasnine is in the business of understanding people. From his research developing and building predictive models of human behavior, to his work in MIT’s diversity, equity, and inclusion...
View ArticleDoes ride-sharing substitute for or complement public transit?
Ride-sharing apps like Uber, Lyft, Grab, and DiDi have become ubiquitous in cities around the world, but have also attracted much backlash from established taxi companies. Despite its adoption...
View Article“Junior republics,” a unique concept in the history of American childhood
Around 1900, the famed Baedeker’s travel guide began listing a new tourist sight in Freeville, New York: the “George Junior Republic,” a miniature United States run by kids.The invention of...
View ArticleSchool of Architecture and Planning announces 2020 Infinite Mile Award winners
“As one can imagine, it’s never easy to herd eight MIT professors,” according to one of many accolades for Ruth Tse Yiu’s work in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. “She is a very organized,...
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