Study: Smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer
A wildfire can pump smoke up into the stratosphere, where the particles drift for over a year. A new MIT study has found that while suspended there, these particles can trigger chemical reactions that...
View ArticleCelebrating a decade of a more sustainable MIT, with a focus on the future
When MIT’s Office of Sustainability (MITOS) first launched in 2013, it was charged with integrating sustainability across all levels of campus by engaging the collective brainpower of students, staff,...
View ArticleExploring the nanoworld of biogenic gems
A new research collaboration with The Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT) will seek to develop advanced characterization tools for the analysis of the properties of pearls and to explore...
View ArticleHelping the cause of environmental resilience
Haruko Wainwright, the Norman C. Rasmussen Career Development Professor in Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) and assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering at MIT, grew up in rural...
View ArticleFieldwork class examines signs of climate change in Hawaii
When Joy Domingo-Kameenui spent two weeks in her native Hawaii as part of MIT class 1.091 (Traveling Research Environmental eXperiences), she was surprised to learn about the number of invasive and...
View Article3 Questions: Leveraging carbon uptake to lower concrete’s carbon footprint
To secure a more sustainable and resilient future, we must take a careful look at the life cycle impacts of humanity’s most-produced building material: concrete. Carbon uptake, the process by which...
View ArticleVictor K. McElheny Award in science journalism honors series on poultry...
The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT has announced that the investigative series “Big Poultry,” published by The Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer, has been chosen as the...
View ArticleBenjamin Mangrum receives the 2023 Levitan Prize in the Humanities
Benjamin Mangrum, assistant professor of literature at MIT, has been awarded the 2023 Levitan Prize in the Humanities. This award, presented each year by a faculty committee, empowers a member of the...
View ArticleEngineering for social impact
A desire to make meaningful contributions to society has influenced Runako Gentles’ path in life. Gentles grew up in Jamaica with a supportive extended family that instilled in him his connection to...
View ArticleStudy: Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution
Nearly 20 percent of today’s electricity in the United States comes from nuclear power. The U.S. has the largest nuclear fleet in the world, with 92 reactors scattered around the country. Many of these...
View ArticleA new microneedle-based drug delivery technique for plants
Increasing environmental conditions caused by climate change, an ever-growing human population, scarcity of arable land, and limited resources are pressuring the agriculture industry to adopt more...
View ArticleMIT PhD students honored for their work to solve critical issues in water and...
In 2017, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) initiated the J-WAFS Fellowship Program for outstanding MIT PhD students working to solve humankind’s water-related challenges. Since...
View ArticleEven as temperatures rise, this hydrogel material keeps absorbing moisture
The vast majority of absorbent materials will lose their ability to retain water as temperatures rise. This is why our skin starts to sweat and why plants dry out in the heat. Even materials that are...
View ArticleRecycling plastics from research labs
In 2019, MIT’s Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Office collaborated with several research labs in the Department of Biology to determine the feasibility of recycling clean lab plastics. Based on...
View Article3 Questions: New MIT major and its role in fighting climate change
Launched this month, MIT’s new Bachelor of Science in climate system science and engineering is jointly offered by the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Earth, Atmospheric...
View ArticleVolunteer committee helps the MIT community live and work sustainably
April 22 marks the arrival of Earth Day, which provides all of us with a good reason to think of ways to live more sustainably. For more than 20 years, the MIT Working Green Committee has helped...
View ArticleEnvisioning education in a climate-changed world
What must colleges and universities do differently to help students develop the skills, capacities, and perspectives they’ll need to live, lead, and thrive in a world being remade by the accelerating...
View ArticleMike Barrett: Climate goals may take longer, but we’ll get there
The Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, and the war in Ukraine have combined to cause unavoidable delays in implementation of Massachusetts’s ambitious goals to tackle climate change, state Senator Mike...
View Article3 Questions: Can disused croplands help mitigate climate change?
As the world struggles to meet internationally agreed targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, methods of removing carbon dioxide such as reforestation of cleared areas have become an...
View ArticleSix ways MIT is taking action on climate
From reuse and recycling to new carbon markets, events during Earth Month at MIT spanned an astonishing range of ideas and approaches to tackling the climate crisis. The MIT Climate Nucleus offered...
View Article
