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Harry Brekelmans, right, the projects and technology director for Royal Dutch Shell, speaks with MITEI co-founder and director Robert Armstrong.
Photo: Kelley Travers

MIT News Office

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September 7, 2017

Shell executive describes inevitable transition to carbon-free energy

Harry Brekelmans says Shell has significant commitment to renewable energy, carbon pricing.

One proposed application of the firebrick-based thermal storage system is depicted in this hypothetical configuration, where it is coupled to a nuclear power plant to provide easily dispatchable power.
Courtesy of the researchers

MIT News Office

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September 6, 2017

Firebricks offer low-cost storage for carbon-free energy

Ancient technology could be used to level electricity prices for renewables.

“The goal was trying to understand the chemistry associated with organic particulate matter in a forested environment,” associate professor Jesse Kroll explains. “We took a lot of measurements using state-of-the-art instruments we ha...

MIT News Office

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September 4, 2017

Team gathers unprecedented data on atmosphere’s organic chemistry

Colorado forest study provides clearest-ever picture of gases released into the atmosphere and how they change.

Texas Army National Guardsmen help Houston residents affected by flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey board a military vehicle. "With an event like this," says MIT associate professor of urban planning Brent Ryan, "it becomes viscerally evident whic...

MIT News Office

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September 1, 2017

3 Questions: Brent Ryan on Hurricane Harvey’s implications for U.S. cities

Stranded in Houston by hurricane floodwaters, an MIT assistant professor sees firsthand how design and policy decisions affected the storm’s impact.

Scientists in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) have for the first time determined the strength of the stratosphere’s circulation, based on observations of key chemicals traveling within this atmospheric layer...

MIT News Office

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August 28, 2017

Strength of global stratospheric circulation measured for first time

Estimate will help gauge hang time of greenhouse gases, water vapor, and ozone in upper atmosphere.

MIT students, students from the University of Venice, and faculty members from both institutions pose in front of Venice's experimental floodgates as part of a collaborative summer workshop. Photo: Lily Keyes

MIT News Office

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August 23, 2017

Saving Venice, MIT-style

MISTI interns and MIT faculty tackle rising sea level challenges at Italian research camp this summer.

A national study by MIT researchers provides one of the first in-depth looks at the characteristics of places that have adopted food recycling, revealing several new facts in the process.

MIT News Office

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August 17, 2017

Study: For food-waste recycling, policy is key

Successful programs aren’t limited to well-off towns with strong environmental movements.

Researchers have found there is often a strong case for building relatively modest, incremental additions to water infrastructure in advanced countries, rather than expensive larger-scale projects that may be needed only rarely.
Image: Christin...

MIT News Office

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August 14, 2017

Case study suggests new approach to urban water supply

One drought remedy: Keep infrastructure fast, cheap, and under control.

“The Freezer Challenge not only encouraged our lab to perform freezer maintenance and inventorying, but also provoked a collaborative effort with neighboring labs that resulted in the adoption of new freezer management practices within ou...

MIT News Office

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August 9, 2017

Putting the freeze on lab energy waste

MIT Green Labs’ first-ever Freezer Challenge encourages energy conservation through better freezer and sample storage practices.

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