With a new technique, optical microscopes can zero in on individual atoms within a crystal structure. It’s “something people thought only electron microscopes or X-rays could do,” Sophia Duan says. “That opens up a whole new way of studying materials and biology.”
Enzian Pharmaceutics’ new tablets allow oral cancer drugs to be delivered more steadily into the bloodstream, to improve effectiveness and reduce side effects. “We believe this is a more efficient and effective way to deliver drugs,” Aron Blaesi PhD ’14 says.
Why do some quantum materials scale — making it into computer hard drives, TV screens, and medical diagnostics — while others stall? MIT researchers evaluated quantum materials’ potential for commercial success, and identified promising candidates.
Giorgio Rizzo harnesses plant chemistry to design sustainable fertilizers that could reshape modern farming. He aims to bring these innovations from lab to market at a low cost, helping farmers boost crop yields without compromising soil health.
MIT researchers developed a method that can predict how plasma will behave in a tokamak reactor given a set of initial conditions. The findings may have “lowered one of the major barriers to achieving large-scale nuclear fusion,” Gizmodo wrote.
In a world without MIT, radar wouldn’t have been available to help win World War II. We might not have email, CT scans, time-release drugs, photolithography, or GPS. And we’d lose over 30,000 companies, employing millions of people. Can you imagine?
Since its founding, MIT has been key to helping American science and innovation lead the world. Discoveries that begin here generate jobs and power the economy — and what we create today builds a better tomorrow for all of us.