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Environment · Publishers: MIT News
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Professor Ali Jadbabaie describes how AI, digital transformation, climate change, and complex geopolitics are forcing engineers and policymakers to rethink how infrastructure is designed, built, and managed.
A cross-section of the MIT community convened discussions on topics ranging from data centers and super pollutants to agriculture and education.
Three MIT teams took five top awards in the 2026 NASA RASC-AL Competition for designing critical elements for the moon base and future missions to Mars.
Researchers combined an efficient algorithm with dedicated hardware to rapidly generate 3D maps for navigation using minimal memory and power.
Founded by Jake Jurewicz ’14, SM ’15, Blue Energy aims to manufacture giant pieces of nuclear reactors at shipyards and ship them on barges for final assembly.
The 18th annual Kendall Square Association Annual Meeting explored how new technologies could be a force for shared prosperity in society.
A new machine-learning approach broke records for weather forecasting for an important time frame in emergency planning.
By rethinking how large cloud computing systems operate, Associate Professor Christina Delimitrou seeks to make data centers more energy efficient.
J-PAL North America’s Learning Lab supported a second cohort of U.S. government and nonprofit organizations in building and using rigorous evidence to advance effective decarbonization and adaptation strategies.
A new way of simulating wind turbines in the field shows how tweaking turbine operation could unlock tens of thousands of dollars per turbine every year.
Innovative strategies, technologies, and collaborations are helping MIT advance solutions on campus and beyond.
Professor Haruko Wainwright believes the risks posed by radioactive wastes cannot be properly assessed without also considering the hazards of chemical wastes.
An MIT team has demonstrated a more efficient way to extract pure hydrogen gas from hydrogen carrier molecules.
In some regions of the world, the poorest people may spend about 50 percent of their income on food, while the richest spend about 5 percent.
New understanding of how nuclear fuel breaks down and changes in an operating nuclear reactor could help keep some reactors running longer, will inform the next generation of nuclear reactor fuel systems.
Their new study aims to give budding industry a framework for understanding how fusion can be profitable.
MIT researchers can now precisely measure how heat moves through multilayered materials like computer chips.
PhD student Lauren Fortier is building on the experience she gained operating a nuclear plant for the Navy to solve a critical hurdle in the wider adoption of the energy source.
MIT researchers find that where new energy projects are built could be key to avoiding blackouts in a future with hotter weather and other challenges.
A team led by MIT Energy Initiative researchers developed the HyCAT tool, enabling decision-makers to explore the cost and carbon emissions of their options for shipping hydrogen fuel to their site.
The FUTUR-IC research program integrates electronics and photonics in microchip systems.
A new study suggests flexibility in the timing of electricity consumption could lower consumer costs.
A hands-on boot camp teaches integrated photonics to community and four-year college students in the region.
Leaders, faculty across MIT discuss fostering innovation and talent in Greater Boston in special series of articles published alongside the outlet's annual list of 'Tech Power Players'
A new impact report shows how the MIT Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellowship has brought community-centered climate coverage to nearly 3 million readers and listeners.
An expert in behavioral science and transportation, Zhao combines these studies with AI and public policy to address some of the most urgent challenges facing cities.
Founded by two researchers from MIT, Ferveret reduces the amount of energy and water required to cool the chips that power AI.
The Quantum Systems Laboratory will catalyze quantum innovation and be open to government, academic, and industry researchers.
The low-temperature process could unlock cleaner lithium from America’s abundant hard rock while minimizing waste.
Living Climate Futures Symposium explores climate challenges and solutions at the community level.
The MBA student and entrepreneur is learning to lead a more resilient future with her renewable energy company.
Uplift Microhome’s modular housing units can provide their own power and water, for faster deployments.
Expect energy disruptions and economic damage, especially in developing countries, and prepare to build a more resilient, sustainable energy system, says International Energy Agency executive director.
Pablo Duenas-Martinez, a MITEI research scientist, describes the “death spiral” of events that caused the 12-hour Iberian peninsula power outage in 2025, and five lessons learned.
Dimitris Bertsimas and Megan Mitchell discuss the motivation behind Universal Learning, and what sets the new MIT Open Learning educational initiative apart.
When it comes to emissions, individual driving patterns matter as much as how “green” the regional electricity mix is, MIT researchers report.
At the 25th IDEAS Social Innovation Incubator Showcase and Awards, 21 student-led ventures joined 1,200 alumni-led ventures tackling the world’s most pressing problems through social entrepreneurship.
Founded by Peter Godart ’15, SM ’19, PhD ’21, the company has developed technologies for extracting critical metals and making fuel out of aluminum.
The “EnergAIzer” method generates reliable results in seconds, enabling data center operators to efficiently allocate resources and reduce wasted energy.
Greentown Labs CEO Georgina Campbell Flatter emphasizes the importance of collaboration in the entrepreneurship space, and the role that universities play in this landscape.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss visits the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center to learn about scaling geothermal energy.
MIT Energy Initiative symposium maps a path to tap the planet’s heat-rich rocks for clean power at scale.
Startup accelerator program grows to over 30 companies, almost half of them with MIT pedigrees.
“You can’t teach planning today without grappling with how policy actually unfolds within communities,” says Professor Phillip Thompson.
Dean Price, assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, sees a bright future for nuclear power, and believes AI can help us realize that vision.
Co-founded by Dan Sobek ’88, SM ’92, PhD ’97, 1s1 Energy has developed electrochemical cell materials for hydrogen electrolyzers that it says reduces energy use by 30 percent.
Sophia Henneberg, assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, is developing stellarators to harness fusion energy.
This award-winning startup with roots at the MIT Energy Initiative is developing lightweight, flexible, high-efficiency solar energy films designed to be used on roofs, walls, and any curved surface.
Madison Goldberg, the new host of the Ask MIT Climate podcast, talks about her career as a science communicator as well as ideas she thinks it’s important for climate communicators to convey.
Fourth Power, founded by Professor Asegun Henry, is developing thermal batteries for efficiently storing excess electricity from utility grids and power producers.