Home to over 20 areas of inquiry and exploration, the School is a steady source of news about research, innovation, and creativity.
Home to over 20 areas of inquiry and exploration, the School is a steady source of news about research, innovation, and creativity.
"Jon Gruber is a health economist at MIT. But that understates his influence in the field. He was one of the architects of the Massachusetts reforms. In 2005, he was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine. In 2006, he received the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under. He's unabashedly pro-reform, but he's from the camp of reformers that worry incessantly about the economics of the plan. So I asked him: Are the economics of the plan sound?" More
In 2007 the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) released "Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900–1934," a four-DVD box set featuring a cross-section of early twentieth-century social-issue films. For musical guidance, the NFPF turned to Martin Marks, Senior Lecturer in the School's Music section, a pioneer scholar and performer of silent-film accompaniment. More
The Boston Globe writes that "Stewart finds that the demographics of Boston have changed the nature of the political campaign, with pivotal voters now minority residents and younger whites, "less attached to Boston and more committed to specific issues." More
"[W]ithin the past month, three fascinating world premieres have tackled historical moments, using movement as political as well as poetic expression....last week Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. depicted the hard lot of Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s...in 'Island.' Sarah Brown, MIT's director of theater design, created the visual display...Here was an artistic statement that hit you in the gut." More
A recent story in The Boston Globe reports on the increasing focus at MIT on giving students opportunities to develop leadership skills. The School has a strong role in leadership education at MIT: teaching communication skills, critical thinking, fluency in historical and cultural perspectives, and languages. As The Boston Globe writes, this work is crucial to the mission of the Institute: "By training more engineering leaders, MIT will help the industry develop competitive products and, in turn, enable the United States to regain its technical edge." More
CMS Director William Uricchio recently introduced Ian Condry, cultural anthropologist with a focus on contemporary Japan, as the new Associate Director of the Comparative Media Studies program. Uricchio said, "Ian's work across a variety of media platforms (music and club scenes, anime, social networks and literature) and between cultures (particularly the US and Japan) fits CMS perfectly. Particularly in this time of transition for CMS, Ian's presence is vitally important." More
Marcus Thompson, acclaimed violinist and viola d'amour player, and Robert R. Taylor Professor of Music in the School's Music and Theater section, is beginning his first season as Artistic Director for the Boston Chamber Music Society. A founding member of the BCMS, Thompson has also catalyzed winter festival concerts on three successive Saturdays in January at MIT. More
"The [administration's] analysis comes from MIT health economist Jon Gruber...one of the most-respected health economists in the country. You can download his analysis, which is based on Congressional Budget Office data, here. from The Washington Post, 12 October 2009 More
A September 2009 report from the MIT Global Council — Mens et Manus et Mundus — outlines an historic opportunity to deepen international learning at the Institute, and to make international education a core component of an MIT education. School faculty were integral to the Council, which was co-chaired by Richard Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Center for International Studies, and Dick Yue, Philip J. Solondz Professor of Engineering, and Director of International Programs.
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Duflo, whose research has helped change the way governments and aid organizations address global poverty, has received a 2009 MacArthur Fellowship Grant. Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, and director of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). More
Two articles by MIT authors have been listed by The Philosopher’s Annual as among the ten best philosophy articles of 2008: "CIA Leaks," authored by Kai von Fintel, Professor of Linguistics and Associate Dean of the School, and Anthony S. Gillies (Rutgers); and "Vague Representation," authored by Agustin Rayo, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Full Story at MIT News
David Mindell has won the 2008 Eugene E. Emme Award for Astronautical Literature, granted by the American Astronautical Society, for his book Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight (MIT Press, 2008). The award is given annually to a work that contributes to the public understanding of astronautics. Full story
Just one year ago [in 2008] a worldwide panic was unfolding. How can we stave off fear-enhanced episodes in the future? Ricardo Caballero, Ford International Professor of Economics, offers a distinctive solution: Government-issued investment insurance for banks. Full story by Peter Dizikes@ MIT News
A House in Bali is a new opera by Evan Ziporyn with libretto by Paul Schick based on a memoir by Colin McPhee. This stunning, multi-media spectacle brings together ensembles of east and west, and features some of the finest operatic and Balinese voices of our time. The opera premiered in June 2009 at Puri Saraswati in Ubud. The American premiere will be presented by Cal Performances in Berkeley, California, September 26-27, 2009. Full Story
"MIT professor Thomas Levenson has written a page-turner about Isaac Newton's mind at work, Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). In a little known episode, Newton was tapped to manage England's Royal Mint at a time when the preponderance of fake money in circulation caused a financial crisis. More
Professor Susan Silbey has received the 2009 Harry J. Kalven Jr. Prize from the Law and Society Association. The award is given in recognition of a body of scholarly work, and goes to individuals who have demonstrated empirical scholarship that has contributed most effectively to the advancement of research in law and society. More
Part of the MIT Awards Convocation, the Arthur C. Smith Award is given annually to recognize a faculty member for exceptional dedication and heartfelt contributions to undergraduate student life and learning at MIT. More
Heather Paxson, Associate Professor of Anthropology, has received the Belasco Prize for Scholarly Excellence from the Association for the Study of Food and Society. The prize recognizes an article published in the last two years, that exhibits superior research, a unique perspective and methodological approach, and novel insights for the study of food. More
Anne McCants, MacVicar Faculty Fellow, Professor of History and Section Head, has received the Elizabeth Topham Kennan Award, given only periodically, by Mount Holyoke College, to an outstanding alumna educator. McCants received the honor on the occasion of her 25th reunion at Mount Holyoke. More
In a forthcoming book, Panic at the Pump, Meg Jacobs argues that America’s rightward drift has been slowed by a durable thread in the fabric of American politics not yet fully appreciated: “the reality of conservative rule in an era of New Deal ideas." Full Story at the Harvard Gazette
Alumnus Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel has committed a substantial gift to support the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in its mission to reduce poverty worldwide by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence. Full Story at MIT News
The First Annual James A. and Ruth Levitan Award to honor extraordinary teaching has been presented to these members of the School community: Faculty members Chris Capozzola (History), Sally Haslanger (Linguistics and Philosophy) and Stefan Helmreich (Anthropology); Lecturers Laura Harrington (Music and Theater Arts), Martin Marks (Music and Theater Arts), and Douglas Morgenstern (Foreign Languages and Literatures); and Teaching Assistant, Brandon Lehr (Economics). More
Natasha Schull, Assistant Professor in STS, observed that gamblers become transfixed for hours at video poker and slot machines. What, she wondered, kept them glued to machines until they lost all they had to lose? Schull is publishing her conclusions that proprietary mathematical algorithms and immersive technology are used to keep people gambling until they—in the industry jargon—"play to extinction." Full Story at MIT News
Robert C. Merton, a Nobel laureate economist whose work revolutionized financial markets and helped launch the growth of the risk-management industry, has received the 2009 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award presented by the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. More
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