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Professor Ernest Moniz speaks at the 2017 Karl Taylor Compton Lecture, titled “Reducing Global Threats: Climate Change and Nuclear Security.”
Photo: Jake Belcher

MIT News Office

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September 22, 2017

Ernest Moniz addresses threats of nuclear weapons and climate

In MIT’s Compton Lecture, former U.S. energy secretary speaks on global security risks.

Erica James, associate professor of medical anthropology and urban studies in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, co-presents with Dennis McLaughlin, H.M. King Bhumibol Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineerin...

MIT News Office

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September 21, 2017

Projects make inroads on global food and water challenges

MIT researchers supported by J-WAFS present results of their work on food and water security.

Kerry Emanuel, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Atmospheric Science and co-director of the Lorenz Center at MITPhoto: Helen Hill

MIT News Office

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September 21, 2017

Kerry Emanuel: This year’s hurricanes are a taste of the future

Climate scientist describes physics behind expected increase in storm strength due to climate change.

“This is not saying that disaster occurs the next day,” says Professor Daniel Rothman about his new study. “It’s saying that, if left unchecked, the carbon cycle would move into a realm which would be no longer stable, and would behave in ...

MIT News Office

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September 20, 2017

Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction

By 2100, oceans may hold enough carbon to launch mass extermination of species in future millennia.

Researchers from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, the University of New Brunswick, and Oregon State University visited the Mactaquac Dam in New Brunswick, Canada, in August. Photo: Jeremy Gregory/MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub

MIT News Office

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September 13, 2017

Investigating a big dam concrete problem

Researchers working to address concrete durability get a close look at the impacts of a chemical reaction known to cause structural problems.

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.

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