1 MIT Facts and History

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EconomicInformation 9TechnologyLicensingOffice 9People 9Students 10UndergraduateStudents 11GraduateStudents 12Degrees 13Alumni 13PostdoctoralAppointments 14FacultyandStaff 15AwardsandHonorsofCurrentFacultyandStaff 16AwardsHighlights 17FieldsofStudy 18ResearchLaboratories,Centers,andPrograms 19AcademicandResearchAffiliations 20EducationHighlights 23ResearchHighlights 26

1 MIT Facts and History

8 MIT Briefing Book

nologiesforartificiallimbs,andthemagneticcorememorythatenabledthedevelopmentofdigitalcomputers.Excitingareasofresearchandeducationtodayincludeneuroscienceandthestudyofthebrainandmind,bioengineering,energy,theenvi-ronmentandsustainabledevelopment,informa-tionsciencesandtechnology,newmedia,financialtechnology,andentrepreneurship.

Universityresearchisoneofthemainspringsofgrowthinaneconomythatisincreasinglydefinedbytechnology.AstudyreleasedinFebruary2009bytheKauffmanFoundationestimatesthatMITgraduateshadfounded25,800activecompanies.Thesefirmsemployedabout3.3millionpeople,andgeneratedannualworldsalesof$2trillion,ortheequivalentoftheeleventh-largesteconomyintheworld.

MIThasforgededucationalandresearchcollabora-tionswithuniversities,governments,andcompa-niesthroughouttheworld,anddrawsitsfacultyandstudentsfromeverycorneroftheglobe.Theresultisavigorousmixofpeople,ideas,andprogramsdedicatedtoenhancingtheworld’swell-being.

MIT Facts and History TheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyisoneoftheworld’spreeminentresearchuniversities,dedicatedtoadvancingknowledgeandeducatingstudentsinscience,technology,andotherareasofscholarshipthatwillbestservethenationandtheworld.Itisknownforrigorousacademicprograms,cutting-edgeresearch,adiversecampuscommu-nity,anditslong-standingcommitmenttoworkingwiththepublicandprivatesectorstobringnewknowledgetobearontheworld’sgreatchallenges.

WilliamBartonRogers,theInstitute’sfoundingpres-ident,believedthateducationshouldbebothbroadanduseful,enablingstudentstoparticipatein“thehumanecultureofthecommunity”andtodiscoverandapplyknowledgeforthebenefitofsociety.Hisemphasison“learningbydoing,”oncombiningliberalandprofessionaleducation,andonthevalueofusefulknowledgecontinuestobeattheheartofMIT’seducationalmission.

MIT’scommitmenttoinnovationhasledtoahostofscientificbreakthroughsandtechnologicaladvances.AchievementsoftheInstitute’sfacultyandgraduateshaveincludedthefirstchemicalsynthesisofpenicillinandvitaminA,thedevelop-mentofinertialguidancesystems,moderntech-

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MIT Facts and History

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TotalMITexpendituresgrew6.1percentfromfiscalyear2011(FY2011)to2012.Researchexpendituresgrew3.1percentoncampusand5.1percentatLincolnLaboratory.

TotalMITexpendituresinFY2012 $2.7billion

Payroll,includingLincolnLaboratory andSMART(FY2012) $1.1billion

ResearchExpenditures(MITFY2012)Cambridgecampus $681millionLincolnLaboratory* $847millionSMART* $29millionTotal $1.56 billion

*TotalsdonotincluderesearchperformedbycampuslaboratoriesforLincolnLaboratoryandSingapore-MITAllianceforResearchandTech-nology(SMART).

TheTechnologyLicensingOffice(TLO)managesthepatentingandlicensingprocessforMITandMITLincolnLaboratory.TheTLOaimstobenefitthepublicbymovingresultsofMITresearchintosocietaluseviatechnologylicensing.

TechnologyLicensingOfficeStatisticsforFY2012Totalnumberofinventiondisclosures 694NumberofU.S.newutilitypatent

applicationsfiled 198NumberofU.S.patentsissued 199Numberoflicensesgranted(notincluding

trademarksandend-usesoftware) 81Numberofoptionsgranted(notincluding

optionsaspartofresearchagreements) 26Numberofsoftwareend-uselicensesgranted 32Numberofcompaniesstarted(venture

capitalizedand/orwithaminimumof $500Kofotherfunding) 16

Economic Information

People In2011–2012,MIT-affiliatedemployees,students,andalumniinMassachusettsamountedtoapproxi-mately46,000people.

Employees 14,127 Cambridgecampus 10,775 LincolnLaboratory 3,352Students 10,894AlumniinMassachusetts 21,000+

Technology Licensing Office

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Students The Institute’sfall2011studentbodyof10,894ishighlydiverse.Studentscomefromall50states,theDistrictofColumbia,threeterritoriesanddepen-dencies,and115foreigncountries.U.S.minoritygroupsconstitute50percentofundergraduatesand20percentofgraduatestudents.TheInstitute’s2,909internationalstudentsmakeup10percentoftheundergraduatepopulationand38percentofthegraduatepopulation.Seepages84-86for more informationaboutinternationalstudents.

Student Profile, 2011–2012Undergraduate 4,384 (40%)Graduate 6,510 (60%)Total 10,894

Infall2011,44percentofMIT’sfirst-yearstudents(whoreportedtheirclassstanding)werefirstintheirhighschoolclass;90percentrankedinthetopfivepercent.

Student Ethnicity, 2011–2012* Undergraduate GraduateAsianAmerican 1,055 760HispanicorLatino 649 303AfricanAmerican 302 124AmericanIndianor

AlaskanNative 25 15NativeHawaiianor

otherPacificIslander 1 0Twoormoreraces 146 115Total 2,178 (50%) 1,317 (20%)

StudentswhoidentifiedatleastinpartasaU.S.minoritygrouptotaled3,495.

*DataisforU.S.citizensandpermanentresidents.Thesefiguresmaynotpreciselyreflectthepopulationbecausetheyareself-reported,andnotallstudentschoosetoidentifyanethnicityorrace.One-hundredseventeenundergraduatesand535graduatestu-dentschosenottoidentifyanethnicityorrace.

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Faculty and Students 1865–2012

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0

500

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2,500

ArchitectureandPlanning

Engineering Humanities,Arts,andSocialSciences

Management Science Undesignated*

Num

berofStude

nts

School

Undergraduate Students StudentsfirstenrolledatMITin1865.Twenty-sevenstudentsenrolledasundergraduatestudentsthatfirstyear.In2012,therewere4,384undergraduatestudents.

Undergraduate Students, 2011–2012Citizenship CountU.S.citizen 3,650U.S.permanentresident 282International 452Total 4,384

School Undergraduates

ArchitectureandPlanning 59

Engineering 2,019

Humanities,Arts,andSocialSciences 120

Management 106

Science 918

Undesignated* 1,162

Total 4,384

Undergraduate Students by School, 2011–2012

2,421

1,963

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

Male

Female

NumberofStudents

Undergraduate Students by Gender, 2011–2012

*Undesignatedcomprisesfreshmanwhodonotenrollinamajorandundesignatedsophmores.


Graduate Students Graduatestudentshaveoutnumberedundergradu-atestudentsatMITsince1980.Infall2011,theycomprised60percentofthestudentpopulationwith6,510students—2,778master’sstudents(includes152non-matriculating)and3,732doctoralstudents.

Graduate Students, 2011–2012Citizenship CountU.S.citizen 3,757U.S.permanentresident 296International 2,457Total 6,510

School Master’s* Doctoral Total

ArchitectureandPlanning 409 192 601

Engineering 1,071 1,747 2,818

Humanities,Arts,andSocialSciences 22 269 291

Management 1,108 125 1,233

Science 7 1,076 1,083

Whitaker 9 323 332

Total 2,626 3,732 6,358

*Excludesnon-matriculatingstudents

Graduate Students by School, 2011–2012

1,851

927

2,603

1,129

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

Male

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Master's

Doctoral

Graduate Students by Gender, 2011–2012

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Management Science Whitaker

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Management Science Whitaker

Num

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Doctorate Master'sandEngineer Bachelor's

DegreesIn2011–2012,MITawarded3,206degrees:

Bachelor’sdegrees 1,011Master’sdegrees 1,605Engineer’sdegrees 17Doctoraldegrees 573

Halfof2011–2012graduatesfromMITdoctoralprogramswhorespondedtotheannualDoctoralStudentExitSurveyplannedtostayinMassachu-settsaftercompletingtheirstudies.NearlytwelvepercentofthoseearningdegreesindicatedtheyattendedhighschoolinMassachusetts—aroughgaugeofwhoamongdegreerecipientswerenativetothestate.

MIT’s126,684alumniareconnectedtotheInsti-tutethroughgraduating-classevents,departmentalorganizations,andover47clubsintheU.S.and42abroad.Morethan12,000volunteersoffertheirtime,financialsupport,andserviceoncommitteesandontheMITCorporation,theInstitute’sboardoftrustees.MITgraduatesholdleadershippositionsinindustriesandorganizationsaroundtheworld.Over21,000alumniresideinMassachusetts,andabout85percentofMIT’salumniliveintheU.S.

Alumni

School Bachelor’sMaster’s and

Engineer Doctorate Total

ArchitectureandPlanning 22 203 29 254

Engineering 612 696 288 1,596

Humanities,Arts,andSocialSciences 59 16 55 130

Management 36 665 16 717

Science 282 28 158 468

Whitaker 14 27 41

Total 1,011 1,622 573 3,206

Degrees Awarded by School, 2011–2012


Postdoctoral Appointments

China20%

Korea9%

India8%

Germany8%Canada

7%Israel4%

Spain4%

France4%

Italy4%

Japan3%

AllOthers29%

Country of Citizenship of International Postdoctoral Associates and Fellows

*Twoormoreracesmakesuplessthanonepercentofthepostdoctoralassociateandfellowpopulation.

International63%

URM2%

Asian3%

White15%

Unknown17%

Ethnicity of PostdoctoralAssociates and Fellows

AsofOctober31,2011,MIThosts1,375postdoc-toralassociatesandfellows—374femalesand1,001males.Theseindividualsworkwithfacultyinaca-demicdepartments,laboratories,andcenters.

U.S. Citizen and Permanent Resident Postdoctoral Associates and Fellows, October 2011Ethnicity CountHispanicorLatino 23AfricanAmerican 5AmericanIndianorAlaskanNative 1 Total underrepresented minorities (URM) 29White 200Asian 46Twoormoreraces 1Unknown 229Total 505

International Postdoctoral Associates and Fellows CountryofCitizenship Count Percent China 179 20Korea 78 9India 71 8Germany 66 8Canada 62 7Israel 36 4Spain 35 4France 32 4Italy 32 4Japan 24 3AllOthers 255 29Total 870

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Years at MIT of Postdoctoral Associates and Fellows

Female

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India9%

UnitedKingdom

8%

Canada7%

China6%

Germany5%

Greece5%

Italy4%

France4%

Israel3%

Poland3%

Russia3%

SouthKorea3%

Spain3%

Allothers37%

Country of Origin of Internationally Born Faculty

Faculty and StaffMITemploysapproximately10,775personsoncampus.Inadditiontothefaculty,thereareresearch,library,andadministrativestaff,andmanyotherswho,directlyorindirectly,supporttheteachingandresearchgoalsoftheInstitute.

Faculty and Staff, 2011–2012Faculty 1,018Otheracademicandinstructionalstaff 883Researchstaffandresearchscientists

(includespostdoctoralpositions) 3,008Administrativestaff 2,328Supportstaff 1,478Servicestaff 795Medicalclinicalstaff 98Affiliatedfaculty,scientists,andscholars 1,167Total campus faculty and staff 10,775

Approximately500graduatestudentsserveasteachingassistantsorinstructors,and2,450graduatestudentsserveasresearchassistants.

MITLincolnLaboratoryemploysabout3,350people,primarilyatHanscomAirForceBaseinLexington,Massachusetts.

FacultyProfile Count PercentProfessors 647 63Associateprofessors 210 21Assistantprofessors 161 16Total 1,018

Male 801 79Female 217 21

Seventy-sevenpercentoffacultyaretenured.Facultymaybeappointedequallytotwodepartments.Fortyfacultymembershavedualappointments.

FacultybySchool CountArchitectureandPlanning 76Engineering 372Humanities,Arts,andSocialSciences 164Science 273Management 112Whitakerandother 21

Sixty-threepercentofthefacultyareinscienceandengineeringfields.

Eighteenpercentoffacultyaremembersofaminoritygroup;6.2percentaremembersofanunderrepresentedminority.Somefacultymembersidentifyaspartofmultiplegroups.

FacultyMinorityGroup Female MaleAsian 31 99HispanicorLatino 4 30AfricanAmerican 9 25AmericanIndianorAlaskanNative 1 2

Internationalfacultyrecruitedthroughinterna-tionalsearchesfortenure-trackpositionsremainintheU.S.toteachthenextgenerationofAmericancancerresearchers,physicists,biomedicalengi-neers,businessleaders,andcomputerscientists.

Fortypercentofcurrentfacultyareinternationallyborn.


Awards and Honors of Current Faculty and StaffNinecurrentfacultymembersatMIThavereceivedtheNobelPrize:H.RobertHorvitz NobelPrizeinPhysiologyorMedicine(shared)WolfgangKetterle NobelPrizeinPhysics(shared)RobertC.Merton SverigesRiksbankPrizeinEconomicSciencesinMemoryofAlfredNobel(shared)RichardR.Schrock NobelPrizeinChemistry(shared)PhillipA.Sharp NobelPrizeinPhysiologyorMedicine(shared)SusanSolomon NobelPeacePrize(co-chairofWorkingGroupOnerecognizedunder IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC),shared)SamuelC.C.Ting NobelPrizeinPhysics(shared)SusumuTonegawa NobelPrizeinPhysiologyorMedicineFrankWilczek NobelPrizeinPhysics(shared)

Belowisaselectionofothernotableawardsandhonors.Recipients Award Name and Agency 145 AmericanAcademyofArtsandSciencesMember 92 AmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScienceFellow 14 AmericanPhilosophicalSocietyMember 74 AmericanPhysicalSocietyFellow 17 AmericanSocietyofMechanicalEngineersFellow 23 AssociationforComputingMachineryFellow 3 DiracMedal,AbdusSalamInternationalCentreforTheoreticalPhysics 6 FulbrightScholar,CouncilforInternationalExchangeofScholars 7 GairdnerAward,GairdnerFoundation 69 GuggenheimFellow,JohnSimonGuggenheimMemorialFoundation 16 HowardHughesMedicalInstituteInvestigator 25 HumboldtResearchAward,AlexandervonHumboldtFoundation 54 InstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers,Inc.Fellow 33 InstituteofMedicineMember,NationalAcademies 1 JapanPrize,ScienceandTechnologyFoundationofJapan 4 JohnBatesClarkMedal,AmericanEconomicAssociation 2 KavliPrize,NorwegianAcademyofScienceandLetters 19 MacArthurFellow,JohnD.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundation 2 MillenniumTechnologyPrize,MillenniumPrizeFoundation 65 NationalAcademyofEngineeringMember,NationalAcademies 77 NationalAcademyofSciencesMember,NationalAcademies 10 NationalMedalofScience,NationalScience&TechnologyMedalsFoundation 1 NationalMedalofTechnologyandInnovation,NationalScience&TechnologyMedalsFoundation 32 PresidentialEarlyCareerAwardsforScientistsandEngineers,ExecutiveOfficeofthePresident 3 PulitzerPrize,PulitzerBoard 2 RolfNevanlinnaPrize,InternationalMathematicalUnion 5 RoyalAcademyofEngineeringFellow 3 A.M.TuringAward,AssociationforComputingMachinery 1 VonHippelAward,MaterialsResearchSociety 3 AlanT.WatermanAward,NationalScienceFoundation

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Mildred Dresselhaus, Ann Graybiel, and Jane Luu2012 Kavli Prizes MildredDresselhaus,AnnGraybielandJaneLuuareamongsevenpioneeringscientistsworldwidenamedas2012recipientsoftheKavliPrizes.Theseprizesrecognizescientistsfortheirseminaladvancesinastrophysics,nanoscience,andneuroscienceandincludeacashawardof$1millionineachfield.The2012laureateswereselectedfortheirfundamentalcontributionstoourunderstandingoftheoutersolarsystem;thedifferencesinmaterialpropertiesatthenanoscaleandatlargerscales;andhowthebrainreceivesandrespondstosen-sationssuchassight,sound,andtouch.

Kavliawardwinners,fromleft,MildredDresselhaus,AnnGraybiel,andJaneLuuPhotos (L to R): Dominick Reuter; Kent Dayton; Kavli Foundation

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Timothy K. Lu, Parag A. Pathak, Pawan Sinha, and Jesse Thaler2012 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and EngineersFivemembersofthefacultyare2012recipientsofPresidentialEarlyCareerAwardforScientistsandEngi-neers(PECASE),thehighesthonorbestowedbytheU.S.governmentonscienceandengineeringprofession-alsintheearlystagesoftheirindependentresearchcareers.TheOfficeofScienceandTechnologyPolicywithintheExecutiveOfficeofthePresidentcoordinatestheawards,whichwereestablishedbyPresidentBillClinton in 1996.PabloJarillo-Herrero,TimothyK.Lu’03,MEng’03,PhD’08,ParagA.Pathak,PawanSinhaSM’92,PhD’95,andJesseThalerareamong96honored.Currently,30facultymembersandtwostaffmembersarerecipientsofthePECASEaward,includingthe2012recipients.

AmyFinkelsteinPhoto: Ed Quinn

Amy Finkelstein2012 John Bates Clark MedalMITeconomistAmyFinkelstein,aleaderinstudyinghealthinsur-ancemarkets,isthe2012recipientoftheprestigiousJohnBatesClarkMedal,anannualawardgivenbytheAmericanEconomicAssociation(AEA).TheClarkMedalisgiventoaneconomistundertheageof40“whoisjudgedtohavemadethemostsignificantcontributiontoeco-nomicthoughtandknowledge,”accordingtotheAEA.

Award Highlights


MITsupportsalargevarietyoffieldsofstudy,fromscienceandengineeringtothearts.MIT’sfiveacademicschoolsareorganizedintodepartmentsandotherdegree-grantingprograms.Inaddition,severalprograms,laboratories,andcenterscrosstraditionalboundariesandencouragecreativethoughtandresearch.

School of Architecture and Planning ArchitectureMediaArtsandSciencesUrbanStudiesandPlanningCenterforRealEstate

School of EngineeringAeronauticsandAstronauticsBiologicalEngineeringChemicalEngineeringCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringElectricalEngineeringandComputerScienceEngineeringSystemsMaterialsScienceandEngineeringMechanicalEngineeringNuclearScienceandEngineering

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences AnthropologyComparativeMediaStudiesEconomicsForeignLanguagesandLiteraturesHistoryHumanitiesLinguisticsandPhilosophyLiteratureMusicandTheatreArtsPoliticalScienceScience,Technology,andSocietyWritingandHumanisticStudies

Sloan School of Management Management

School of Science BiologyBrainandCognitiveSciencesChemistryEarth,Atmospheric,andPlanetarySciencesMathematicsPhysics

Interdisciplinary Educational ProgramsAmericanStudiesAncientandMedievalStudiesComputationforDesignandOptimizationComputationalandSystemsBiologyComputerScienceandMolecularBiologyHarvard-MITDivisionofHealthSciencesand

TechnologyLeadersforGlobalOperationsMicrobiologyOperationsResearchPsychologyPolymerScienceandTechnologyMIT-WoodsHoleJointPrograminOceanography

andAppliedOceanScienceandEngineeringSystemDesignandManagementTechnologyandPolicyTransportationWomen’sandGenderStudies

Fields of Study

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Inadditiontoteachingandconductingresearchwithintheirdepartments,faculty,students,andstaffworkinlaboratories,centers,andprograms.

Someoftheseinclude:

CenterforArchaeologicalMaterialsCenterforBiomedicalEngineeringCenterforCollectiveIntelligenceCenterforComputationalEngineeringCenterforComputationalResearchinEconomics andManagementScienceCenterforEnergyandEnvironmentalPolicy ResearchCenterforEnvironmentalHealthSciencesCenterforFutureCivicMediaCenterforGlobalChangeScienceCenterforGynepathologyResearchCenterforInternationalStudiesCenterforMaterialsScienceandEngineeringCenterforRealEstateCenterforTransportationandLogisticsComputerScienceandArtificialIntelligence LaboratoryDeshpandeCenterforTechnologicalInnovationDivisionofComparativeMedicineFrancisBitterMagnetLaboratoryHaystackObservatoryInstituteforMedicalEngineeringandScienceInstituteforSoldierNanotechnologiesInstituteforWorkandEmploymentResearchJointProgramontheScienceandPolicyofGlobal ChangeKnightScienceJournalismProgramDavidH.KochInstituteforIntegrativeCancer ResearchLaboratoryforFinancialEngineeringLaboratoryforInformationandDecisionSystems

Research Laboratories, Centers, and Programs

LaboratoryforManufacturingandProductivityLaboratoryforNuclearScienceLeanAdvancementInitiativeLegatumCenterforDevelopmentand EntrepreneurshipLincolnLaboratoryMartinTrustCenterforMITEntrepreneurshipMaterialsProcessingCenterMcGovernInstituteforBrainResearchMediaLaboratoryMicrosystemsTechnologyLaboratoriesMITCatalystClinicalResearchCenterMITCenterforArt,Science,andTechnologyMITCenterforDigitalBusinessMITEnergyInitiativeMITKavliInstituteforAstrophysicsandSpace ResearchMITPortugalProgramMITProfessionalEducationMITPrograminArt,CultureandTechnologyMITSeaGrantCollegeProgramNuclearReactorLaboratoryOperationsResearchCenterPicowerInstituteforLearningandMemoryPlasmaScienceandFusionCenterResearchLaboratoryofElectronicsSimonsCenterfortheSocialBrainSingapore-MITAllianceforResearchand TechnologySociotechnicalSystemsResearchCenter


Broad Institute of MIT and HarvardTheBroadInstituteofMITandHarvardseekstotransformmedicinebyempoweringcreativeandenergeticscientistsofalldisciplinesfromacrosstheMIT,Harvard,andtheHarvard-affiliatedhospitalcommunitiestoworktogethertoaddresseventhemostdifficultchallengesinbiomedicalresearch.Seepage36formoreinformation.

Charles Stark Draper LaboratoryFoundedasMIT’sInstrumentationLaboratory,DraperLaboratoryseparatedfromMITin1973tobecomeanindependentnot-for-profitresearchandeducationalorganization.MITandDraperLaboratorystillcollaborateinareassuchasguidance,navigationandcontrol,complexreliablesystems,autonomoussystems,informationanddecisionsystems,andbio-medicalandchemicalsystems.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute HowardHughesMedicalInstitute(HHMI)isascien-tificandphilanthropicorganizationthatconductsbiomedicalresearchincollaborationwithuniversi-ties,academicmedicalcenters,hospitals,andotherresearchinstitutionsthroughoutthecountry.SixteenHHMIinvestigatorsholdfacultyappointments.

Idaho National Laboratory UnderthepurviewoftheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy,theIdahoNationalLaboratoryincludestheNationalUniversityConsortium(NUC)—fiveleadingresearchuniversitiesfromaroundthenationwhosenuclearresearchandengineeringexpertiseareofcriticalimportancetothefutureofthenation’snuclearindustry.MITleadstheNUCteaminsupportofnuclearresearchandrelatededucationprograms.TheNUCconsistsofMIT,OregonStateUniversity,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,OhioStateUniversity,andUniversityofNewMexico.

Magellan ProjectTheMagellanProjectisafive-universitypartnershipthatconstructedandnowoperatestwo6.5meteropticaltelescopesattheLasCampanasObserva-toryinChile.Thetelescopesallowresearcherstoobserveplanetsorbitingstarsinsolarsystemsbeyondourownandtoexplorethefirstgalaxiesthatformedneartheedgeoftheobservableuniverse.CollaboratingwithMITontheMagellanProjectareCarnegieInstituteofWashington,HarvardUniversity,UniversityofArizona,andUniversityofMichigan.

Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center TheMassachusettsGreenHighPerformanceComputingCenter(MGHPCC)isacollaborationoffiveofthestate’smostresearch-intensiveuniver-sities—MIT,UniversityofMassachusetts,BostonUniversity,NortheasternUniversity,andHarvardUniversity—theCommonwealthofMassachusetts,CISCO,andEMC.TheMGHPCCfacility,projectedtobecompletedtheendof2012,willbeadatacenterdedicatedtothegrowingresearchcomputingneedsthatsupportbreakthroughsinscience.

MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and EngineeringTheWoodsHoleOceanographicInstitution(WHOI)isthelargestindependentoceanographicinstitu-tionintheworld.MITandWHOIofferjointdoctoraldegreesinoceanographyanddoctoral,profes-sional,andmaster’sdegreesinoceanographicengineering.

Academic and Research Affiliations

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Naval Construction and EngineeringThegraduateprograminNavalConstructionandEngineering(Course2N)isintendedforactivedutyofficersintheU.S.Navy,U.S.CoastGuard,andforeignnavieswhohavebeendesignatedforspecializationinthedesign,construction,andrepairofnavalships.ThecurriculumpreparesNavy,CoastGuard,andforeignofficersforcareersinshipdesignandconstructionandissponsoredbyCommander,NavalSeaSystemsCommand.Besidesprovidingtheofficersacomprehensiveeducationinnavalengi-neering,weemphasizetheirfuturerolesasadvo-catesforinnovationinshipdesignandacquisition.

Northeast Radio Observatory CorporationTheNortheastRadioObservatoryCorporation(NEROC)isanonprofitconsortiumofeducationalandresearchinstitutionsthatwasformedin1967toplananadvancedradioandradarresearchfacilityintheNortheast.NEROCpresentlyconsistsofnineeducationalandresearchinstitutions,theseareMIT,BostonUniversity,BrandeisUniversity,DartmouthCollege,HarvardUniversity,Harvard-SmithsonianCenterforAstrophysics,UniversityofMassachu-setts,UniversityofNewHampshire,andWellesleyCollege.

Ragon InstituteThePhillipT.andSusanM.RagonInstitutewasestablishedatMIT,MassachusettsGeneralHospital,andHarvardinFebruary2009.TheRagonInstitutebringsscientistsandclinicianstogetherwithengi-neersusingthelatesttechnologiesinaninterdis-ciplinaryefforttobetterunderstandhowthebodyfightsinfectionsandultimatelytoapplythatunder-standingagainstawiderangeofinfectiousdiseasesandcancers.TheinitialfocusoftheinstituteistheneedforaneffectivevaccineagainstAIDS.

Reserve Officer Training Corps ProgramsMilitarytraininghasexistedatMITsincestudentsfirstarrivedin1865.In1917,MITestablishedthenation’sfirstArmyReserveOfficerTrainingCorps(ROTC)unit.Today,AirForce,Army,andNavalROTCunitsarebasedatMIT.Theseprogramsenablestudentstobecomecommissionedmilitaryofficersupongraduation.Morethan12,000officershavebeencommissionedfromMIT,andmorethan150haveachievedtherankofgeneraloradmiral.

Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology CentreTheSingapore-MITAllianceforResearchandTechnology(SMART)CentreisamajorresearchenterpriseestablishedbyMITinpartnershipwiththeNationalResearchFoundationofSingapore.TheSMARTCentreservesasanintellectualhubforresearchinteractionsbetweenMITandSingaporeatthefrontiersofscienceandtechnology.Seepage79formoreinformationaboutSMARTandpage44foradescriptionofaselectedSMARTproject.

Synthetic Biology Engineering Research CenterTheSyntheticBiologyEngineeringResearchCenter(SynBERC)isamulti-institutionresearchefforttolaythefoundationfortheemergingfieldofsyntheticbiology.InadditiontoMIT,participatinguniversitiesareUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,UniversityofCaliforniaatSanFrancisco,HarvardUniversity,StandfordUniversity,andPrairieViewA&MUniver-sity.SynBERC’sfoundationalresearchwillbemoti-vatedbypressingbiotechnologyapplications.Syn-BERCworkwillalsoexaminetheethical,economic,andbiosecurityimplicationsofsyntheticbiologyandassesstheeffectsofintellectualpropertyandsecu-rityregimesonthedevelopmentofthefield.


Whitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhiteheadInstituteisanonprofit,independentresearchinstitutionwho’sresearchexcellenceisnurturedbythecollaborativespiritofitsfacultyandthecreativityanddedicationofitsgraduatestudentsandpostdoctoralscientists.Whitehead’sprimaryfocusisbasicscience,withanemphasisonmolecularandcellbiology,geneticsandgenomics,anddevelopmentalbiology.WhiteheadisaffiliatedwithMITthroughitsmembers,whoholdfacultypositionsatMIT.Asmallnumberofjuniorinvestiga-torsalsoholdpositionsatWhiteheadInstituteaspartoftheWhiteheadFellowsprogram.

Cross-Registration at Other Institutions MIThascross-registrationarrangementswithseveralareaschools.Attheundergraduatelevel,studentsmaycross-registeratHarvardUniversity,WellesleyCollege,MassachusettsCollegeofArtandDesign,andtheSchooloftheMuseumofFineArts.Atthegraduatelevel,qualifiedstudentsmayenrollincoursesatHarvardUniversity,WellesleyCollege,BostonUniversity,BrandeisUniversity,andTuftsUniversity.

Academic and Research Affiliations (continued)

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Education Highlights MIThaslongmaintainedthatprofessionalcompe-tenceisbestfosteredbycouplingteachingwithresearchandbyfocusingeducationonpracticalproblems.Thishands-onapproachhasmadeMITaconsistentleaderinoutsidesurveysofthenation’sbestcolleges.MITwasthefirstuniversityinthecountrytooffercurriculumsinarchitecture(1865),electricalengineering(1882),sanitaryengineering(1889),navalarchitectureandmarineengineering(1895),aeronauticalengineering(1914),meteorology(1928),nuclearphysics(1935),andartificialintel-ligence(1960s).Morethan4,000MITgraduatesareprofessorsatcollegesanduniversitiesaroundtheworld.MITfacultyhavewrittensomeofthebest-sellingtextbooksofalltime,suchas EconomicsbyPaulA.SamuelsonandCalculus and Analytic Geom-etry byGeorgeThomas.ThefollowingaresomenotableMITteachingmilestonessince1969,whenhumans,includingMITalumnusBuzzAldrin,firstlandedonthemoon.

1969 MITlaunchestheUndergraduateResearchOpportunitiesProgram(UROP),thefirstofitskind.Theprogram,whichenablesundergraduatestoworkdirectlywithfacultyonprofessionalresearch,subsequentlyiscopiedinuniversitiesthroughouttheworld.About2,400MITstudentsparticipateinUROPannually.

1970TheHarvard-MITPrograminHealthSciencesandTechnologyisestablishedtofocusadvancesinscienceandtechnologyonhumanhealthandtotrainphysicianswithastrongbaseinengineeringandscience.

1971MITholdsitsfirstIndependentActivitiesPeriod(IAP),aJanuaryprogramthatemphasizescreativityandflexibilityinteachingandlearning.

1977MITorganizesthePrograminScience,Tech-nology,andSocietytoexploreandteachcoursesonthesocialcontextandconsequencesofscienceandtechnology—oneofthefirstprogramsofitskindintheU.S.

1981 MITlaunchesProjectAthena,a$70millionprogramtoexploretheuseofcomputersineduca-tion.DigitalEquipmentCorporationandIBMeachcontribute$25millionincomputerequipment.

1981TheMITSloanSchoolofManagementlaunchesitsManagementofTechnologyprogram,theworld’sfirstmaster’sprogramtofocusonthestrategicmanagementoftechnologyandinnova-tion.

1983–1990MITlanguageandcomputersciencefacultyjoinintheAthenaLanguageLearningProjecttodevelopinteractivevideosthatimmersestudentsinthelanguageandcharacterofothercultures.Theworkpioneersanewgenerationoflanguagelearningtools.

1984MITestablishestheMediaLaboratory,bringingtogetherpioneeringeducationalprogramsincomputermusic,film,graphics,holography,lasers,andothermediatechnologies.

1991MITestablishestheMacVicarFacultyFellowsProgram,namedinhonorofthelateMargaretA.MacVicar,torecognizeoutstandingcontributionstoteaching.MacVicar,aprofessorofphysics,hadconceivedof,designed,andlaunchedUROP(see1969,above).

1992MITlaunchestheLaboratoryforAdvancedTechnologyintheHumanitiestoextenditspioneeringworkincomputer-andvideo-assistedlanguagelearningtootherdisciplines.ItsfirstventurewasatextandperformancemultimediaarchiveforstudiesofShakespeare’splays.

1993Inrecognitionoftheincreasingimportanceofmolecularandcellbiology,MITbecomesthefirstcollegeinthenationtoaddbiologytoitsunder-graduaterequirement.

1995MIT’sPoliticalScienceDepartmentestablishestheWashingtonSummerInternshipProgramtoprovideundergraduatestheopportunitytoapplytheirscientificandtechnicaltrainingtopublicpolicyissues.


1998MITteamsupwithSingapore’stwoleadingresearchuniversitiestocreateaglobalmodelforlong-distanceengineeringeducationandresearch.Thislarge-scaleexperiment,thefirsttrulyglobalcollaborationingraduateengineeringeducationandresearch,isamodelfortoday’sdistanceeducation.

1999TheUniversityofCambridgeandMITestab-lishtheCambridge-MITInstitute,whoseprogramsincludestudentandfacultyexchanges,aninte-gratedresearchprogram,professionalpracticeeducation,andanationalcompetitivenessnetworkinBritain.

1999MITestablishestheSocietyofPresidentialFellowstohonorthemostoutstandingstudentsworldwideenteringtheInstitute’sgraduateprograms.Withgiftsprovidedbyleaddonors,presi-dentialfellowsareawardedfellowshipsthatfundfirstyeartuitionandlivingexpenses.

2000MITFacultyapprovetheCommunicationRequirement(CR),whichwentintoeffectfortheClassof2005.TheCRintegratessubstantialinstruc-tionandpracticeinwritingandspeakingintoallfouryearsandacrossallpartsofMIT’sunder-graduateprogram.Studentsparticipateregularlyinactivitiesdesignedtodevelopbothgeneralandtechnicalcommunicationskills.

2001StudioPhysicsisintroducedtoteachfreshmanphysics.Incorporatingahighlycollaborative,hands-onenvironmentthatusesnetworkedlaptopsanddesktopexperiments,thenewcurriculumletsstudentsworkdirectlywithcomplicatedandunfa-miliarconceptsastheirprofessorsintroducethem.

2001MITlaunchesOpenCourseWare,aprogramthatmakesmaterialsfornearlyallofitscoursesfreelyavailableonthewebandservesasamodelforsharingknowledgetobenefitallhumankind.

2001MITestablishesWebLab,amicroelectronicsteachinglaboratorythatallowsstudentstointeractremotelyontheWebwithtransistorsandothermicroelectronicsdevicesanywhereandatanytime.

2001MIT’sEarthSystemInitiativelaunchesTerra-scope,afreshmancourseinwhichstudentsworkinteamstosolvecomplexearthsciencesproblems.Bringingtogetherphysics,mathematics,chemistry,biology,management,andcommunications,thecoursehasenabledstudentstodevisestrategiesforpreservingtropicalrainforests,understandthecostsandthebenefitsofoildrillingintheArcticNationalWildlifeRefuge,andplanamissiontoMars.

2002Togiveengineeringstudentstheopportunitytodeveloptheskillsthey’llneedtobeleadersintheworkplace,MITintroducestheUndergraduatePrac-ticeOpportunitiesProgram(UPOP).Theprograminvolvesacorporatetrainingworkshop,jobseminarstaughtbyalumni,anda10-weeksummerinternship.

2003MITLibrariesintroduceDSpace,adigitalrepositorythatgathers,stores,andpreservestheintellectualoutputofMIT’sfacultyandresearchstaff,andmakesitfreelyavailabletoresearchinstitutionsworldwide.Withinayearofitslaunch,DSpacematerialhadbeendownloadedmorethan8,000times,andmorethan100organizationshadadoptedthesystemfortheirownuse.

2003 MIT’sPrograminComputationalandSystems Biology(CSBi),anInstitute-wideprogramlinkingbiology,engineering,andcomputerscienceinasystemsbiologyapproachtothestudyofcell-to-cellsignaling,tissueformation,andcancer,beginsacceptingstudentsforanewPh.D.programthatwillgivethemthetoolsfortreatingbiologicalenti-tiesascomplexlivingsystems.

2005Combiningcoursesfromengineering,mathe-matics,andmanagement,MITlaunchesitsmaster’sprograminComputationforDesignandOptimiza-tion,oneofthefirstcurriculumsinthecountrytofocusonthecomputationalmodelinganddesignofcomplexengineeredsystems.Theprogrampreparesengineersforthechallengesofmakingsystemsrangingfromcomputationalbiologytoairlineschedulingtotelecommunicationsdesignandoperationsrunwithmaximumeffectivenessandefficiency.

Education Highlights (continued)

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MIT Briefing Book

2006MITcreatestheCampaignforStudents,afundraisingeffortdedicatedtoenhancingtheeducationalexperienceatMITthroughcreatingscholarshipsandfellowships,andsupportingmulti-disciplinaryeducationandstudentlife.

2007MITmakesmaterialfromvirtuallyallMITcoursesavailableonlineforfreeonOpenCourseWare.Thepublicationmarksthebeginningofaworldwidemovementtowardopeneducationthatnowinvolvesmorethan160universitiesand5,000courses.

2009MITlaunchestheBernardM.Gordon-MITEngineeringLeadershipProgram.Throughinteractionwithindustryleaders,faculty,andfellowstudents,theprogramaimstohelpundergraduateengineeringstudentsdeveloptheskills,tools,andcharactertheywillneedasfutureengineeringleaders.

2009MITintroducesaminorinenergystudies,opentoallundergraduates.Thenewminor,unlikemostenergyconcentrationsavailableatotherinstitutions,andunlikeanyotherconcentrationatMIT,isdesignedtobeinherentlycross-disciplinary,encompassingallofMIT’sfiveschools.Itcanbecombinedwithanymajorsubject.Theminoraimstoallowstudentstodevelopexpertiseanddepthintheirmajordisciplines,butthencomplementthatwiththebreadthofunderstandingofferedbytheenergyminor.

2010 MITintroducestheflexibleengineeringdegreeforundergraduates.Thedegree,thefirstofitskind,allowsstudentstocomplementadeepdisciplinarycorewithanadditionalsubjectconcen-tration.Theadditionalconcentrationcanbebroadandinterdisciplinaryinnature(energy,transpor-tation,ortheenvironment),orfocusedonareasthatcanbeappliedtomultiplefields(roboticsandcontrols,computationalengineering,orengi-neeringmanagement).

2011MITannouncesMITx,anonlinelearninginitia-tivethatwillofferaportfoliooffreeMITcoursesthroughanonlineinteractivelearningplatform.Theinstituteexpectstheplatformtoenhancetheeducationalexperienceofitson-campusstudentsandserveasahostforavirtualcommu-nityofmillionsoflearnersaroundtheworld.TheMITxprototypecourse—6.002xor“CircuitsandElectronics”—debutsinMarch2012withalmost155,000peopleregisteringforthecourse.

2012MITandHarvardUniversityannounceedX,atransformationalnewpartnershipinonlineeducation.ThroughedX,thetwoinstitutionswillcollaboratetoenhancecampus-basedteachingandlearningandbuildaglobalcommunityofonlinelearners.Anopen-sourcetechnologyplatformwilldeliveronlinecoursesthatmovebeyondthestandardmodelofonlineeducationthatreliesonwatchingvideocontentandwillofferaninteractiveexperienceforstudents.TheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeleylaterjoinsedX.ThethreeinstitutionsofferthefirstedXcoursesinfall2012.

2012LincolnLaboratorydebutsanewoutreachprogram—atwo-weeksummerresidentialprogramforhigh-schoolstudents.Theprogram,LincolnLaboratoryRadarIntroductionforStudentEngi-neers,focusesonradartechnology.Theproject-basedcurriculumisbasedonapopularclassofferedduringMIT’sIndependentActivityPeriodandtaughtbyLaboratorytechnicalstaff.WhiletheinstructorsadaptedtheIAPcoursetosuithigh-schoolstudents,theyretainedthechallengingnatureoftheoriginalclass.Thegoaloftheprogramisthatstudentstakeawaynotonlyanunder-standingofradarsystemsbutalsotherealizationthatengineeringisaboutproblem-solvingandapplyingknowledgeininnovativeways.


Research Highlights ThefollowingareselectedresearchachievementsofMITfacultyandstaffoverthelastfourdecades.

1969 IoannisV.Yannasbeginstodevelopartificialskin—amaterialusedsuccessfullytotreatburnvictims.

1970 DavidBaltimorereportsthediscoveryofreversetranscriptase,anenzymethatcatalyzestheconversionofRNAtoDNA.Theadvance,whichledtoaNobelPrizeforBaltimorein1975,providedanewmeansforstudyingthestructureandfunctionofgenes.

1973 JeromeFriedmanandHenryKendall,withStanfordcolleagueRichardTaylor,completeaseriesofexperimentsconfirmingthetheorythatprotonsandneutronsaremadeupofminuteparticlescalledquarks.Thethreereceivethe1990NobelPrizeinPhysicsfortheirwork.

1974 SamuelC.C.Ting,UlrichBecker,andMinChendiscoverthe“J”particle.Thediscovery,whichearnsTingthe1976NobelPrizeinPhysics,pointstotheexistenceofoneofthesixpostulatedtypesofquarks.

1975–1977BarbaraLiskovandherstudentsdesigntheCLUprogramminglanguage,anobject-orientedlanguagethathelpsformtheunderpinningsforlanguageslikeJavaandC++.Asaresultofthisworkandotheraccomplishments,LiskovlaterwinstheTuringAward,consideredtheNobelPrizeincomputing.

1975–1982 JoelMosesdevelopsthefirstextensivecomputerizedprogram(MACSYMA)abletomanipu-latealgebraicquantitiesandperformsymbolicintegrationanddifferentiation.

1976 H.GobindKhoranaandhisresearchteamcompletechemicalsynthesisofthefirsthuman-manufacturedgenefullyfunctionalinalivingcell.Theculminationof12yearsofwork,itestablishesthefoundationforthebiotechnologyindustry.Khoranawonthe1968NobelPrizeinPhysiology/Medicineforothergeneticswork.

1977 PhillipSharpdiscoversthesplitgenestructureofhigherorganisms,changingtheviewofhowgenesaroseduringevolution.Forthiswork,Sharpsharedthe1993NobelPrizeinPhysiology/Medicine.

1977 RonaldRivest,AdiShamir,andLeonardAdlemaninventthefirstworkablepublickeycryp-tographicsystem.Thenewcode,whichisbasedontheuseofverylargeprimenumbers,allowssecretcommunicationbetweenanypairofusers.Stillunbroken,thecodeisinwidespreadusetoday.

1979 RobertWeinbergreportsisolatingandiden-tifyingthefirsthumanoncogene—analteredgenethatcausestheuncontrolledcellgrowththatleadstocancer.

1981 AlanGuthpublishesthefirstsatisfactorymodeloftheuniverse’sdevelopmentinthefirst10–32secondsaftertheBigBang.

1982 AlanDavisondiscoversanewclassoftechne-tiumcompoundsthatleadstothedevelopmentofthefirstdiagnostictechnetiumdrugforimagingthehumanheart.

1985 SusumuTonegawadescribesthestructureofthegeneforthereceptors—“anchormolecules”—onthewhitebloodcellscalledTlymphocytes,theimmunesystem’smastercells.In1987,TonegawareceivestheNobelPrizeinPhysiology/Medicineforsimilarworkontheimmunesystem’sBcells.

1986 H.RobertHorvitzidentifiesthefirsttwogenesfoundtoberesponsiblefortheprocessofcelldeath,whichiscriticalbothfornormalbodydevel-opmentandforprotectionagainstautoimmunediseases,cancer,andotherdisorders.Goingontomakemanymorepioneeringdiscoveriesaboutthegeneticsofcelldeath,Horvitzsharesthe2002NobelPrizeinPhysiology/Medicineforhiswork.

1988 SallieChisholmandassociatesreportthediscoveryofaformofoceanplanktonthatmaybethemostabundantsinglespeciesonearth.

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MIT Briefing Book

1990 JuliusRebek,Jr.andassociatescreatethefirstself-replicatingsyntheticmolecule.

1990 Buildingonthediscoveryofthemetath-esis—theprocessofcuttingcarbon-carbondoublebondsinhalfandconstructingnewones—RichardSchrockdevisesacatalystthatgreatlyspeedsupthereaction,consumeslessenergy,andproduceslesswaste.Aprocessbasedonhisdiscoveryisnowinwidespreaduseforefficientandmoreenviron-mentallyfriendlyproductionofimportantpharma-ceuticals,fuels,syntheticfibers,andmanyotherproducts.Schrocksharesthe2005NobelPrizeinChemistryforhisbreakthrough.

1991 ClevelandheartdoctorsbeginclinicaltrialsofalasercathetersystemformicrosurgeryonthearteriesthatislargelytheworkofMichaelFeldandhisMITassociates.

1993 H.RobertHorvitz,togetherwithscientistsatMassachusettsGeneralHospital,discoveranassociationbetweenagenemutationandtheinheritedformofamyotrophiclateralsclerosis(LouGehrig’sdisease).

1993 DavidHousmanjoinscolleaguesatotherinstitutionsinannouncingasuccessfulendtothelongsearchforthegeneticdefectlinkedwithHuntington’sdisease.

1993 AlexanderRichandpostdoctoralfellowShuguangZhangreportthediscoveryofasmallproteinfragmentthatspontaneouslyformsintomembranes.Thisresearchwillleadtoadvancesindrugdevelopment,biomedicalresearch,andtheunderstandingofAlzheimer’sandotherdiseases.

1994 MITengineersdeveloparobotthatcan“learn”exercisesfromaphysicaltherapist,guideapatientthroughthem,and—forthefirsttime—recordbiomedicaldataonthepatient’sconditionandprogress.

1995 ScientistsattheWhiteheadInstituteforBiomedicalResearchandMITcreateamapofthehumangenomeandbeginthefinalphaseoftheHumanGenomeProject.Thispowerfulmapcontainsmorethan15,000distinctmarkersandcoversvirtuallyallofthehumangenome.

1996 AgroupofscientistsatMIT’sCenterforLearningandMemory,ledbyMatthewWilsonandNobellaureateSusumuTonegawa,usenewgeneticandmultiple-cellmonitoringtechnologiestodemonstratehowanimalsformmemoryaboutnewenvironments.

1997 MITphysicistscreatethefirstatomlaser,adevicethatisanalogoustoanopticallaserbutemitsatomsinsteadoflight.Theresultingbeamcanbefocusedtoapinpointormadetotravellongdistanceswithminimalspreading.

1998 MITbiologists,ledbyLeonardGuarente,identifyamechanismofaginginyeastcellsthatsuggestsresearchersmayonedaybeabletointer-venein,andpossiblyinhibit,theagingprocessincertainhumancells.

1998 AninterdisciplinaryteamofMITresearchers,ledbyYoelFinkandEdwinL.Thomas,inventthe“perfectmirror,”whichoffersradicalnewwaysofdirectingandmanipulatinglight.Potentialappli-cationsrangefromaflexiblelightguidethatcanilluminatespecificinternalorgansduringsurgerytonewdevicesforopticalcommunications.

1999 MichaelCima,RobertLanger,andgraduatestudentJohnSantinireportthefirstmicrochipthatcanstoreandreleasechemicalsondemand.Amongitspotentialapplicationsisa“pharmacy”thatcouldbeswallowedorimplantedundertheskinandprogrammedtodeliverprecisedrugdosagesatspecifictimes.


MITFactsandHistory

1999 AlexanderRichleadsateamofresearchersinthediscoverythatleft-handedDNA(alsoknownasZ-DNA)iscriticalforthecreationofimportantbrainchemicals.HavingfirstproducedZ-DNAsyntheti-callyin1979,Richsucceedsinidentifyingitinnaturein1981.HealsodiscoversitsfirstbiologicalroleandreceivestheNationalMedalofScienceforthispioneeringworkin1995.

2000 ScientistsattheWhiteheadInstitute/MITCenterforGenomeResearchandtheircollaboratorsannouncethecompletionoftheHumanGenomeProject.Providingaboutathirdofallthesequencesassembled,theCenterwasthesinglelargestcontributortothisinternationalenterprise.

2000 Researchersdevelopadevicethatusesultrasoundtoextractanumberofimportantmoleculesnoninvasivelyandpainlesslythroughtheskin.Theyexpectthatthefirstapplicationwillbeaportabledevicefornoninvasiveglucosemoni-toringfordiabetics.

2000 ResearchersfromtheMITSloanSchoolofManagementlaunchtheSocialandEconomicExplo-rationsofInformationTechnology(SeeIT)Project,thefirstempiricalstudyoftheeffectsofinformationtechnology(IT)onorganizationalandworkprac-tices.ExaminingIT’srelationshiptochangesinthesemodels,SeeITprovidespracticaldataforunder-standingandevaluatingIT’sbusinessandeconomiceffects,whichwillenableustotakefulladvantageofitsopportunitiesandbettercontrolitsrisks.

2001 Inasteptowardcreatingenergyfromsunlightasplantsdo,DanielNoceraandateamofresearchersinventacompoundthat,withthehelpofacatalystandenergyfromlight,produceshydrogen.

2002 MITresearcherscreatethefirstacrobaticroboticbird—asmall,highlyagilehelicopterformilitaryuseinmountainandurbancombat.

2002–2005 ScientistsatMIT,theWhiteheadInstituteforBiomedicalResearch,andtheBroadInstitutecompletethegenomesofthemouse,thedog,andfourstrainsofphytoplankton,photosyn-theticorganismsthatarecriticalfortheregulationofatmosphericcarbondioxide.Theyalsoidentifythegenesrequiredtocreateazebrafishembryo.Incollaborationwithscientistsfromotherinstitutions,theymapthegenomesofchimpanzees,humans’closestgeneticrelative,andthesmallestknownvertebrate,thepufferfish.

2003 MITscientistscoolasodiumgastothe lowesttemperatureeverrecorded—ahalf-a-billionthofadegreeaboveabsolutezero.Studyingtheseultra-lowtemperaturegaseswillprovide valuableinsightsintothebasicphysicsofmatter;andbyfacilitatingthedevelopmentofbetter atomicclocksandsensorsforgravityandrotation,theyalsocouldleadtovastimprovementsin precisionmeasurements.

2004 MIT’sLevitatedDipoleExperiment,acollabo-rationamongscientistsatMITandColumbia,gener-atesastrongdipolemagneticfieldthatenablesthemtoexperimentwithplasmafusion,thesourceofenergythatpowersthesunandstars,withthegoalofproducingitonEarth.Becausethehydrogenthatfuelsplasmafusionispracticallylimitlessandtheenergyitproducesiscleananddoesn’tcontributetoglobalwarming,fusionpowerwillbeofenormousbenefittohumankindandtoearthsystemsingeneral.

2004AteamledbyneuroscientistMarkBearilluminatesthemolecularmechanismsunderlyingFragileXSyndromeandshowsthatitmightbepossibletodevelopdrugsthattreatthesymptomsofthisleadingknowninheritedcauseofmentalretardation,whoseeffectsrangefrommildlearningdisabilitiestosevereautism.

Research Highlights(continued)

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MIT Briefing Book

2004 ShuguangZhang,MarcA.Baldo,andrecentgraduatePatrickKiley,firstfigureouthowtostabi-lizespinachproteins—which,likeallplants,produceenergywhenexposedtolight—sotheycansurvivewithoutwaterandsalt.Then,theydeviseawaytoattachthemtoapieceofglasscoatedwithathinlayerofgold.Theresultingspinach-basedsolarcell,theworld’sfirstsolid-statephotosyntheticsolarcell,hasthepotentialtopowerlaptopsandcellphoneswithsunlight.

2005 MITphysicists,ledbyNobellaureateWolfgangKetterle,createanewtypeofmatter,agasofatomsthatshowshigh-temperaturesuperfluidity.

2005 VladimirBulovicandTimSwagerdeveloplasingsensorsbasedonasemiconductingpolymerthatisabletodetectthepresenceofTNTvaporsubpartsperbillionconcentrations.

2006 MITlaunchestheMITEnergyInitiative(MITEI)toaddressworldenergyproblems.LedbyErnestJ.MonizandRobertC.Armstrong,MITEIcoordinatesenergyresearch,education,campusenergymanage-ment,andoutreachactivitiesacrosstheInstitute.

2007 RudolfJaenisch,oftheWhiteheadInstituteforBiomedicalResearch,conductsthefirstproof-of-principleexperimentofthetherapeuticpotentialofinducedpluripotentstemcells(iPScells),usingiPScellsreprogrammedfrommouseskincellstocureamousemodelofhumansickle-cellanemia.JaenischwouldthenuseasimilarapproachtotreatamodelofParkinson’sdiseaseinrats.

2007MarinSoljacicandhiscolleaguesdevelopanewformofwirelesspowertransmissiontheycallWITricity.Itisbasedonastronglycoupledmagneticresonanceandcanbeusedtotransferpoweroverdistancesofafewmeterswithhighefficiency.Thetechniquecouldbeusedcommerciallytowirelesslypowerlaptops,cellphones,andotherdevices.

2007 DavidH.Koch’62,SM’63givesMIT$100milliontocreatetheDavidH.KochInstituteforInte-grativeCancerResearch.TheKochInstituteopensin2011.Itbringstogethermoleculargeneticists,cellbiologists,andengineersinauniquemulti-disci-plinaryapproachtocancerresearch.

2007TimJamisondiscoversthatcascadesofepoxide-openingreactionsthatwerelongthoughttobeimpossiblecanveryrapidlyassembletheRedTidemarinetoxinswhentheyareinducedbywater.SuchprocessesmaybeemulatinghowthesetoxinsaremadeinnatureandmayleadtoabetterunderstandingofwhatcausesdevastatingRedTidephenomena.Thesemethodsalsoopenupanenvironmentallygreensynthesisofnewclassesofcomplexhighlybiologicallyactivecompounds.

2007MITmathematiciansformpartofagroupof18mathematiciansfromtheU.S.andEuropethatmapsoneofthethemostcomplicatedstructureseverstudied:theexceptionalLiegroupE8.The“answer”tothecalculation,ifwritten,wouldcoveranareathesizeofManhattan.Theresultingatlashasapplica-tionsinthefieldsofstringtheoryandgeometry.

2008 MrigankaSur’slaboratorydiscoversthatastrocytes,star-shapedcellsinthebrainthatareasnumerousasneurons,formthebasisforfunctioningbrainimaging.Usingultrahigh-resolutionimagingintheintactbrain,theydemonstratethatastrocytesregulatebloodflowtoactivebrainregionsbylinkingneuronstobraincapillaries.

2008 AteamledbyMarcA.Baldodesignsasolarconcentratorthatfocuseslightattheedgesofasolarpowercell.Thetechnologycanincreasetheeffi-ciencyofsolarpanelsbyupto50percent,substan-tiallyreducingthecostofgeneratingsolarelectricity.


Research Highlights(continued)2008 DanielNoceracreatesachemicalcatalystthathurdlesoneoftheobstaclestowidespreaduseofsolarpower—thedifficultyofstoringenergyfromthesun.Thecatalyst,whichischeapandeasytomake,usestheenergyfromsunlighttoseparatethehydrogenandoxygenmoleculesinwater.Thehydrogencanthenbeburned,orusedtopoweranelectricfuelcell.

2009 AteamofMITresearchersledbyAngelaBelcherreportsthatitisabletogeneticallyengineervirusestoproduceboththepositivelyandnega-tivelychargedendsofalithium-ionbattery.Thebatteryhasthesameenergycapacityasthosebeingconsideredforuseinhybridcars,butisproducedusingacheaper,lessenvironmentallyhazardousprocess.MITPresidentSusanHockfieldpresentsaprototypebatterytoPresidentBarackObamaatapressbriefingattheWhiteHouse.

2009ResearchersatMIT’sPicowerInstituteforLearningandMemoryshowforthefirsttimethatmultiple,interactinggeneticriskfactorsmayinflu-encetheseverityofautismsymptoms.Thefindingcouldleadtotherapiesanddiagnostictoolsthattargettheinteractinggenes.

2009 GerbrandCederandgraduatestudentByoungwooKangdevelopanewwaytomanufac-turethematerialusedinlithiumionbatteriesthatallowsultrafastcharginganddischarging.Thenewmethodcreatesasurfacestructurethatallowslithiumionstomoverapidlyaroundtheoutsideofthebattery.Batteriesbuiltusingthenewmethodcouldtakeseconds,ratherthanthenowstandardhours,tocharge.

2009Asneuroscienceprogressesrapidlytowardanunderstandingofbasicmechanismsofneuralandsynapsefunction,MITneuroscientistsarediscov-eringthemechanismsunderlyingbraindisordersanddiseases.Li-HueiTsai’slaboratorydescribesmechanismsthatunderlieAlzheimer’sdiseaseandproposethatinhibitionofhistonedeacetylasesistherapeuticfordegenerativedisordersoflearningandmemory.HerlaboratoryalsodiscoversthemechanismsofactionofthegeneDisrupted-in-Schizophrenia1anddemonstrateswhydrugssuchaslithiumareeffectiveincertaininstancesofschizophrenia.Thisresearchopensuppathwaystodiscoveringnovelclassesofdrugsfordevastatingneuropsychiatricconditions.

2010 Anewapproachtodesalinationisbeingdevel-opedbyresearchersatMITandinKoreathatcouldleadtosmall,portabledesalinationunitsthatcouldbepoweredbysolarcellsorbatteriesandcoulddeliverenoughfreshwatertosupplytheneedsofafamilyorsmallvillage.Asanaddedbonus,thesystemwouldremovemanycontaminants,viruses,andbacteriaatthesametime.

2010 YangShao-Horn,withsomeofherstudents,andvisitingprofessorHubertGasteiger,reportsthatlithium-oxygen(alsoknownaslithium-air)batterieswithelectrodeswithgoldorplatinumasacatalysthaveahigherefficiencythansimplecarbonelec-trodes.Lithium-airbatteriesarelighterthantheconventionallithium-ionbatteries.

2010AteamatMediaLab,includingRameshRaskar,visitingprofessorManuelOliveira,studentVitorPamplona,andpostdoctoralresearchassociateAnkitMohan,createanewsystemtodetermineaprescriptionforeyeglasses.Initssimplestform,thetestcanbecarriedoutusingasmall,plasticdeviceclippedontothefrontofacellphone’sscreen.

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MIT Briefing Book

2010MITreleasesThe Future of Natural Gas report. Thetwo-yearstudy,managedbytheMITEnergyInitiative,examinesthescaleofU.S.naturalgasreservesandthepotentialofthisfueltoreducegreenhouse-gasemissions.Whilethereportemphasizesthegreatpotentialfornaturalgasasatransitionalfueltohelpcurbgreenhousegasesanddependenceonoil,italsostressesthatitisimpor-tantasamatterofnationalpolicynottofavoranyonefuelorenergysourceinawaythatputsothersatadisadvantage.

2010MichaelStranoandhisteamofgraduatestudentsandresearcherscreateasetofself-assemblingmoleculesthatcanturnsunlightintoelectricity;themoleculescanberepeatedlybrokendownandreassembledquickly,justbyaddingorremovinganadditionalsolution.

2011ElazerEdelman,HSTgraduatestudentJosephFranses,andformerMITpostdoctoralfellowsAaronBakerandVipulChitaliashowthatcellsliningbloodvesselssecretemoleculesthatsuppresstumorgrowthandpreventcancercellsfrominvadingothertissues,afindingthatcouldleadtoanewcancertreatment.

2011TheAlphaMagneticSpectrometer(AMS)—aninstrumentdesignedtousetheuniqueenvironmentofspacetosearchforantimatteranddarkmatterandtomeasurecosmicrays—isdeliveredtotheInter-nationalSpaceStation.TheAMSexperiment,ledbySamuelC.C.Ting,isdesignedtostudyhigh-energyparticles;suchstudycouldleadtonewtheoriesabouttheformationandevolutionoftheuniverse.

2011Ateam,includingKarenGleason,VladimirBulović,andgraduatestudentMilesBarr,developsmaterialsthatmakeitpossibletoproducephoto-voltaiccellsonpaperorfabric,nearlyassimplyasprintingadocument.Thetechniquerepresentsamajordeparturefromthesystemstypicallyusedtocreatesolarcells,whichrequireexposingthesubstratestopotentiallydamagingconditions,eitherintheformofliquidsorhightemperatures.

2011Bycombiningaphysicalinterfacewithcomputer-visionalgorithms,researchersinMIT’sDepartmentofBrainandCognitiveSciencescreateasimple,portableimagingsystemthatcanachieveresolutionspreviouslypossibleonlywithlargeandexpensivelabequipment.Thedevicecouldallowmanufacturerstoinspectproductstoolargetofitunderamicroscopeandcouldalsohaveapplica-tionsinmedicine,forensics,andbiometrics.More-over,becausethedesignusesmultiplecameras,itcanproduce3-Dmodelsofanobject,whichcanbemanipulatedonacomputerscreenforexaminationfrommultipleangles.

2011Researchers,ledbyDanielNocera,haveproducedan“artificialleaf”—asiliconsolarcellwithdifferentcatalyticmaterialsbondedontoitstwosides.Theartificialleafcanturntheenergyofsunlightdirectlyintoachemicalfuelthatcanbestoredandusedlaterasanenergysource.

2011LincolnLaboratoryresearchers,ledbytech-nicalstaffmemberGregoryCharvat,buildanewradartechnologysystemthatcanseethroughwallsupto60feetaway,creatinganinstantaneouspictureoftheactivityontheotherside.Thesystemalsocreatesareal-timevideoofmovementbehindthewallattherateof10.8framespersecond.

2012NASA’sGravityRecoveryAndInteriorLabo-ratory(GRAIL)twinspacecraftsuccessfullyenterslunarorbit.Bypreciselymeasuringchangesindistancebetweenthetwinorbitingspacecraft,scientistswillconstructadetailedgravitationalmodelofthemoonthatwillbeusedtoanswerfundamentalquestionsaboutthemoon’sevolutionanditsinternalcomposition.GRAIL’sprincipal investigatorisMariaZuber.

2012Researchers,includingJeffreyGrossman,discoverthatbuildingcubesortowersofsolarcells—toextendthecellsupwardinthree-dimen-sionalconfigurations—generatestwoto20timesthepowerproducedbyfixedflatpanelswiththesamebasearea.

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2012Researchers,ledbyIanHunter,haveengi-neeredadevicethatdeliversatiny,high-pressurejetofmedicinethroughtheskinwithouttheuseofahypodermicneedle.Thedevicecanbeprogrammedtodeliverarangeofdosestovariousdepths—animprovementoversimilarjet-injectionsystemsthatarenowcommerciallyavailable.

Research Highlights(continued)

2012AclinicaltrialofanAlzheimer’sdiseasetreat-mentdevelopedatMITfindsthatthenutrientcocktailcanimprovememoryinpatientswithearlyAlzheimer’s.RichardWurtmaninventedthesupple-mentmixture,knownasSouvenaid,whichappearstostimulategrowthofnewsynapses.

Documents

1 MIT Facts and History