News and Blog Landing | MIT Sustainability

MIT researchers have devised a way to protect seeds from the stress of water shortage during their crucial germination phase, and even provide the plants with extra nutrition.
Image: Felice Frankel

MIT News Office

July 8, 2021

Engineering seeds to resist drought

A new seed-coating process could facilitate agriculture on marginal arid lands by enabling the seeds to retain any available water.

Arlene Fiore is the first person to be appointed to the Peter H. Stone and Paola Malanotte Stone Professor in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Photo courtesy of Arlene Fiore.

MIT News Office

July 8, 2021

Arlene Fiore appointed first Stone Professor in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Fiore brings a breadth of expertise in climate science, atmospheric chemistry, and air pollution to MIT.

Victoria Preston, a PhD student in the MIT-WHOI joint program, is helping to design robots that can independently navigate to sites where they can take samples or measurements that will be most useful to environmental scientists.
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MIT News Office

July 7, 2021

Designing exploratory robots that collect data for marine scientists

“This is a really exciting time to be a roboticist who also cares about the environment,” says PhD student Victoria Preston.

The TROPICS Pathfinder satellite, pictured here, was launched on June 30. The satellite body measures approximately 10 cm X 10 cm X 36 cm and is identical to the six additional satellites that will be launched in the constellation i...

MIT News Office

July 6, 2021

Pathfinder satellite paves way for constellation of tropical-storm observers

Lincoln Laboratory’s TROPICS satellites will help scientists study extreme tropical weather once all six are launched next year.

This cut-away rendering of the MIT nuclear battery concept shows important components such as the instrumentation and control module, the reactor, and the power module.
Courtesy of the researchers

MIT News Office

June 25, 2021

3Q: Why “nuclear batteries” offer a new approach to carbon-free energy

Jacopo Buongiorno and others say factory-built microreactors trucked to usage sites could be a safe, efficient option for decarbonizing electricity systems.

According to some estimates, millions of objects created by humans orbit the Earth, creating a need for innovation to protect the space environment.
Image courtesy of the European Space Agency.

MIT News Office

June 25, 2021

A new chapter for space sustainability

MIT researchers are co-leading the design of a global Space Sustainability Rating system that will soon be operational.

MIT researchers have found a way to achieve high yields of ethanol with different types of cellulosic feedstocks, including switchgrass, wheat straw, and corn stover.
Image: MIT News, with images from iStockphoto.

MIT News Office

June 25, 2021

Engineered yeast could expand biofuels’ reach

By making the microbes more tolerant to toxic byproducts, researchers show they can use a wider range of feedstocks, beyond corn.

Merging species conservation and architectural design, MIT MArch student James Brice is studying the sustainable development of public spaces.
Image: Adam Glanzman

MIT News Office

June 24, 2021

From NYC zookeeper to aspiring architect

Merging species conservation and architectural design, graduate student James Brice is studying the sustainable development of public spaces.

Can a classical physics question be handled on a quantum computer? Abhay Ram believes the answer is yes, and that it will accelerate understanding of electromagnetic wave phenomena in plasma.
Photo: Priyanka Ram

MIT News Office

June 23, 2021

Revisiting a quantum past for a fusion future

Principal Research Scientist Abhay Ram circles back to his graduate school studies for a new initiative combining classical physics and quantum computing.