SHASS News

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences 2025 Advanced Degree Ceremony
Master’s and doctoral degrees across multiple SHASS graduate programs were conferred during the ceremony.
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Shaping the future through systems thinking
Long before she stepped into a lab, Ananda Santos Figueiredo was stargazing in Brazil, captivated by the cosmos and feeding her curiosity of science through pop culture, books, and the internet. She was drawn to astrophysics for its blend of visual wonder and mathematics. Even as a child, Santos sensed her aspirations reaching beyond the […]
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The sweet taste of a new idea
Behavioral economist Sendhil Mullainathan has never forgotten the pleasure he felt the first time he tasted a delicious crisp, yet gooey Levain cookie. He compares the experience to when he encounters new ideas. “That hedonic pleasure is pretty much the same pleasure I get hearing a new idea, discovering a new way of looking at […]
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Study in India shows several tactics together boost vaccination against deadly diseases
Around the world, low immunizations rates for children are a persistent problem. Now, an experiment conducted in India shows that an inexpensive combination of methods, including text reminders and small financial incentives, has a major impact on immunization. Led by MIT economists, the research finds that a trifecta of incentives, text messages, and information provided […]
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Usha Lee McFarling named director of the Knight Science Journalism Program
The Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ) at MIT has announced that Usha Lee McFarling, national science correspondent for STAT and former KSJ Fellow, will be joining the team in August as their next director. As director, McFarling will play a central role in helping to manage KSJ — an elite mid-career fellowship program that brings […]
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