News and Blog Landing | MIT Sustainability

6K’s microwave plasma technology, called UniMelt, uses beams of tightly controlled thermal plasma to melt or vaporize precursor materials into particles with precise sizes and crystalline phases. Pictured is a photo from 6K’s factory showing some of its large plasma equipment.

MIT News Office

February 7, 2025

Cleaning up critical minerals and materials production, using microwave plasma

With technology developed at MIT, 6K is helping to bring critical materials production back to the U.S. without toxic byproducts.

A new American Physical Society report led by MIT physics professor Washington Taylor explores the physical limitations of carbon dioxide removal and concludes these technologies are worth pursuing in tandem with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

MIT News Office

February 6, 2025

3 Questions: What the laws of physics tell us about CO2 removal

In a report on the feasibility of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, physicists say these technologies are “not a magic bullet, but also not a no-go.”

By combining measurements that he takes in the ocean with experiments in his MIT lab, Andrew Babbin is working to understand the connections between microbes and nitrogen in the ocean.

MIT News Office

February 6, 2025

Seeking climate connections among the oceans’ smallest organisms

MIT oceanographer and biogeochemist Andrew Babbin has voyaged around the globe to investigate marine microbes and their influence on ocean health.

MIT Assistant Professor Sara Beery (left) discusses a sonar monitoring system with another researcher.

MIT News Office

February 6, 2025

Streamlining data collection for improved salmon population management

Assistant Professor Sara Beery is using automation to improve monitoring of migrating salmon in the Pacific Northwest.

David McGee, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been instrumental in the growth of the community and culture of the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.

MIT News Office

February 5, 2025

David McGee named head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Specialist in paleoclimate and geochronology is known for contributions to education and community.

“So many things I was lucky to be exposed to at MIT,” Doug Field says, were “all building blocks, pieces of the puzzle, that helped me navigate through difficult situations later on.”

MIT News Office

February 4, 2025

Driving innovation, from Silicon Valley to Detroit

Doug Field SM ’92, Ford’s chief of EVs and digital design, leads the legacy carmaker into the software-enabled, battery-propelled future.

The mission of Gradiant, a firm started by MIT alumni, is to preserve water for generations to come in the face of rising global demand through innovation. Here, a worker inspects a Gradiant water treatment system.

MIT News Office

January 30, 2025

MIT spinout Gradiant reduces companies’ water use and waste by billions of gallons each day

The company builds water recycling, treatment, and purification solutions for some of the world’s largest brands.

A new MIT study finds that biochar (charcoal produced from plant matter and stored in soil) is a cost-competitive option for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide removal is expected to play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with long-term climate targets.

MIT News Office

January 29, 2025

Smart carbon dioxide removal yields economic and environmental benefits

MIT study finds a diversified portfolio of carbon dioxide removal options delivers the best return on investment.

In MIT course 15.366 (Climate and Energy Ventures) student teams select a technology and determine the best path for its commercialization in the energy sector.

MIT News Office

January 28, 2025

MIT Climate and Energy Ventures class spins out entrepreneurs — and successful companies

The course challenges students to commercialize technologies and ideas in one whirlwind semester. Alumni of the class have founded more than 150 companies.