News From SHASS

MIT economist Isaiah Andrews, with colleagues, has developed tools can help policymakers, business people, and even scientists avoid a "winner's curse" in their work — the pattern in which people select programs that test well at first, but are likely to perform worse upon repetition.

How to avoid a “winner’s curse” for social programs

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

February 5, 2024

When interventions or policies perform well in studies, they may disappoint later on. An MIT economist’s tools can help planners recognize this trap.

Hiroko Matsuyama (right), a master instructor of the Ohara School of Ikebana, works with a student during an IAP course in January.

Scene at MIT: Learning ikebana during IAP

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 2, 2024

Hiroko Matsuyama teaches her last course on the ancient art of Japanese flower arrangement.

MIT historian of science Robin Scheffler studies the progress of biomedical research in the U.S., including in Kendall Square and greater Boston.

A chronicler of the biotech boom

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

February 2, 2024

MIT historian of science Robin Wolfe Scheffler takes a close look at the progress of biomedical research in the U.S.

Paul Roquet (left) is a professor in MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing program. Per Urlaub is the director of MIT's Global Languages program.

Projects investigating Swahili, global media win SHASS Humanities Awards

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

February 1, 2024

The awards offer opportunities to expand research into unique areas of scholarship.

“Her leadership style is a lot of listening; she’s willing to listen to the issues that students are experiencing and from that, she is able to offer support and advice,” says MIT senior Myles Noel of DiOnetta Jones Crayton.

DiOnetta Jones Crayton: Change-maker at MIT

Elizabeth Durant | Office of the Vice Chancellor

February 1, 2024

For 14 years, Crayton has strengthened programs and created new ones that foster academic success, provide mentoring, prepare students for careers or graduate school, and build community.

Mohammed Yahia (left) was widely admired for his work advancing the status of science journalism in the Middle East and throughout Africa.

New fellowship to help advance science journalism in Africa and the Middle East

Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT

January 31, 2024

The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT announces a new one-semester fellowship to start in fall 2024.

Senior Charles Williams, a computer engineering major, works on pieces he says depict stressors he was experiencing. “This class breathes back into you the creative and artistic expression that is too often lost as we grow up and mature,” he says.

Opening the doorway to drawing

Nicole Estvanik Taylor | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 28, 2024

In the new interdisciplinary course 21A.513 (Drawing Human Experience), students look within themselves for artistic inspiration.

As a graduate student, Fatima Husain studies the fossil and genetic records of ancient and modern life forms to better understand the history of life on Earth.

Unlocking history with geology and genetics

Olivia Young | Office of Graduate Education

January 25, 2024

PhD student Fatima Husain investigates the co-evolution of life and Earth and works to communicate science to the public.

Senior Tatum Wilhelm is majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in anthropology. "I value being able to look at very technical scientific problems from a humanities lens, and I think it has enhanced my learning in both disciplines," she says.

Rowing in the right direction

Danna Lorch | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 23, 2024

Senior and MIT Crew member Tatum Wilhelm balances her chemical engineering and anthropology studies with early mornings on the Charles River.

Left to right: Gavin Off, Adam Wagner, Ruth McElheny, Victor McElheny, Cathy Clabby, and Deborah Blum pose during a Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT McElheny Award ceremony.

Award shines a spotlight on local science journalism

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 22, 2024

The Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award honors outstanding local and regional journalists’ reporting on science, public health, tech, and the environment.

Josh Angrist welcomes attendees to the Charter School Research Collaborative Kickoff.

Blueprint Labs launches a charter school research collaborative

Talia Gerstle | Amanda Schmidt | Blueprint Labs

January 19, 2024

Collaborative brings together charter school policy, practice, and research communities to help make research on charters more actionable, rigorous, and policy-relevant.

Some of the students who attended the recent FLI Week of Celebration events gathered for a group photo in their red FLI sweatshirts, designed to build greater awareness of first-generation and/or low-income identities.

The art of being FLI

Elizabeth Durant | Office of the Vice Chancellor

January 17, 2024

The MIT First Generation/Low Income Program provides undergraduates with community, resources, and support as they navigate MIT.

John Buttrick was an influential professor of humanities and music at MIT.

John Buttrick, celebrated pianist and former director of music at MIT, dies at 88

Benjamin Daniel | School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

January 17, 2024

A renowned classical musician and MIT faculty member for more than two decades, Buttrick taught and performed extensively around the world.

Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education Ian Waitz

3 Questions: Implementing the MIT Graduate Student Union’s collective bargaining agreement

Elizabeth Durant | Office of the Vice Chancellor

January 16, 2024

Ian Waitz describes the three-year contract that will change and enhance MIT’s graduate student policies and procedures.

A new comic takes readers through a history of infectious disease discoveries. “A Paradigm Shift in Infectious Disease” follows MIT Associate Professor Lydia Bourouiba and artist Argha Manna, who are both protagonists and creators of the project.

Turning history of science into a comic adventure

Zach Winn | MIT News

January 11, 2024

Associate Professor Lydia Bourouiba and artist Argha Manna take readers through a series of discoveries in infectious disease.

Attendees at the Blueprint Labs Preschool Research Convening

Bridging the gap between preschool policy, practice, and research

Talia Gerstle | Amanda Schmidt | Blueprint Labs

January 10, 2024

At an MIT Blueprint Labs Preschool Research Convening, researchers present studies on early childhood education and discuss new research directions with practitioners.

The new MIT Music Building, adjacent to Kresge Auditorium, will feature high-quality rehearsal and performance spaces, a professional-grade recording studio, classrooms, and laboratories for the music technology program.

3 Questions: A new home for music at MIT

Ken Shulman | Office of the Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship

January 9, 2024

Keeril Makan describes how a new facility, now under construction, features rehearsal and performance spaces, a recording studio, classrooms, and music technology laboratories.

Five projects were selected for WORLDING 2023, each exploring an emergent field within climate futures through interdisciplinary teams made up of storytellers, land use planners, and creative technologists who use speculative modeling and game engine technologies.

Co-creating climate futures with real-time data and spatial storytelling

Open Documentary Lab

January 8, 2024

Five multimedia projects communicating climate futures selected for 2023 WORLDING program, online and at MIT.

Five projects were selected for WORLDING 2023, each exploring an emergent field within climate futures through interdisciplinary teams made up of storytellers, land use planners, and creative technologists who use speculative modeling and game engine technologies.

Co-creating climate futures with real-time data and spatial storytelling

Open Documentary Lab

January 8, 2024

Five multimedia projects communicating climate futures selected for 2023 WORLDING program, online and at MIT.

MIT senior Kwesi Afrifa believes technology has a unique power to accelerate urban development and empower citizens. With a major in urban planning and computer science, he seeks to create cultural hubs that are inviting to everyone.

Building technology that empowers city residents

Angelina Parrillo | MIT News correspondent

January 3, 2024

Kwesi Afrifa, a senior majoring in urban planning and computer science, wants to create cultural hubs that are inviting to everyone.

Left to right: Panelist Ziv Epstein SM ’19, PhD ’23, multimedia artist and social science researcher; panelist Alex Reben MAS ’10, artist and roboticist; moderator Onur Yüce Gün SM ’06, PhD ’16, director of computational design at New Balance; and panelist Ana Miljački, MIT professor of architecture and director of SMArchS Programs and the SMArchS AD Program.

The creative future of generative AI

Ken Shulman | Arts at MIT

January 2, 2024

An MIT panel charts how artificial intelligence will impact art and design.

A new study co-authored by an MIT economist looks at the impact of a healthy diet on Type 2 diabetes.

Does “food as medicine” make a big dent in diabetes?

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

December 27, 2023

Study of rigorous trial shows mixed results, suggests need to keep examining how nutrition can combat a pervasive disease.

Irene Terpestra (left) and Rujul Gandhi are master's of engineering students in course 6A at MIT.

Leveraging language to understand machines

Lauren Hinkel | MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab

December 22, 2023

Master’s students Irene Terpstra ’23 and Rujul Gandhi ’22 use language to design new integrated circuits and make it understandable to robots.

Robert Solow, influential economist and longtime MIT professor, was affilliated with the Institute for nearly three-quarters of a century.

Institute Professor Emeritus Robert Solow, pathbreaking economist, dies at age 99

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

December 22, 2023

Nobel-winning scholar changed his field, taught generations of students, and helped make MIT a global leader in economics research.

A new course open to the MIT community gives context to the crisis in the Middle East.

Minicourse open to the MIT community gives context to the Middle East crisis

Zach Winn | MIT News

December 21, 2023

Attended by more than 500 students, faculty, staff, and alumni, with more sessions planned, the course offers a jumping off point for constructive discussions.

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