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1 week ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
In 1989, New York City opened a new jail. But not on dry land. The city leased a barge, then called the “Bibby Resolution,” which had been topped with five stories of containers made into housing, and anchored it in the East River. For five years, the vessel lodged inmates. A floating detention center is a curiosity. But then, the entire history of this barge is curious.
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1 week ago | 
terradaily.com | Peter Dizikes
Tiny organisms, huge implications for peopleby Peter Dizikes | MIT NewsBoston MA (SPX) Jun 16, 2025
Back in 1676, a Dutch cloth merchant with a keen interest in microscopes, Antony van Leeuwenhoek, discovered microbes and began cataloging them. Two hundred years later, a German doctor in current-day Poland, Robert Koch, identified the anthrax bacterium, a crucial step toward modern germ theory.
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2 weeks ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
Back in 1676, a Dutch cloth merchant with a keen interest in microscopes, Antony van Leeuwenhoek, discovered microbes and began cataloging them. Two hundred years later, a German doctor in current-day Poland, Robert Koch, identified the anthrax bacterium, a crucial step toward modern germ theory. Those two signal advances, with others, have helped create the conditions of modern living as we know it.
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2 weeks ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
Suppose you were shown that an artificial intelligence tool offers accurate predictions about some stocks you own. How would you feel about using it? Now, suppose you are applying for a job at a company where the HR department uses an AI system to screen resumes. Would you be comfortable with that? A new study finds that people are neither entirely enthusiastic nor totally averse to AI.
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4 weeks ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
An energetic OneMIT Commencement ceremony today featured calls for MIT’s newest graduates to have a positive impact on society while upholding the Institute’s core values of open inquiry and productive innovation. “Orient yourself not just toward the construction and acquisition of new tools, but to the needs of people,” said science communicator Hank Green, in the event’s keynote remarks.
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4 weeks ago | 
homelandsecuritynewswire.com | Peter Dizikes
U.S. MANUFACTURINGMIT Announces the Initiative for New ManufacturingPublished 29 May 2025The Institute-wide effort aims to bolster industry and create jobs by driving innovation across vital manufacturing sectors. MIT earlier this week launched its Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM), an Institute-wide effort to reinfuse U.S. industrial production with leading-edge technologies, bolster crucial U.S. economic sectors, and ignite job creation.
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4 weeks ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
Hank Green, prolific content creator and YouTuber whose work has often focused on science and STEM-oriented topics, is delivering today’s OneMIT Commencement address. Green, along with his brother John, has built the educational media company Complexly, racking up over 2 billion views for the their content, including the channels SciShow and CrashCourse. MIT News talked with Green in advance of his commencement remarks. Q: MIT’s president, Sally Kornbluth, often talks about the value of curiosity.
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1 month ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
MIT today launched its Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM), an Institute-wide effort to reinfuse U.S. industrial production with leading-edge technologies, bolster crucial U.S. economic sectors, and ignite job creation. The initiative will encompass advanced research, innovative education programs, and partnership with companies across many sectors, in a bid to help transform manufacturing and elevate its impact.
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1 month ago | 
news.mit.edu | Peter Dizikes
MIT’s Initiative for New Manufacturing, announced today by President Sally A. Kornbluth, is the latest installment in a grand tradition: Since its founding, MIT has worked overtime to expand U.S. manufacturing, creating jobs and economic growth. Indeed, one of the strongest through lines in MIT history is its commitment to U.S. manufacturing, which the Institute has pursued in economic good times and lean times, during wartime and in peacetime, and across scores of industries.
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1 month ago | 
medicalxpress.com | Peter Dizikes |Lisa Lock |Andrew Zinin
Around the world, low immunization 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 by local residents creates a 44% increase in child immunizations, at low cost.
