Episodes

  • Curiosity Unbounded, Ep 2: Bureaucracies, dictatorships, and the power of Africa's people — Mai Hassan

    Curiosity Unbounded, Ep 2: Bureaucracies, dictatorships, and the power of Africa's people — Mai Hassan
    May 8 2023

    In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sits down with associate professor of political science and faculty co-director of MIT-Africa, Mai Hassan. Her work looks at bureaucracy, public administration, and the state in Africa, and more recently, how people mobilize against repressive dictatorships.

    Show notes and transcript:

    https://news.mit.edu/podcast/bureaucracies-dictatorships-and-power-africas-people-mai-hassan

    The Curiosity Unbounded podcast brings you behind the scenes at MIT through conversations between MIT President Sally Kornbluth and the people working in its labs and in the field. Along the way, Sally and her guests discuss pressing issues, as well as what inspires the people running at the world’s toughest challenges at one of the most innovative institutions on the planet.
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    33 mins
  • Curiosity Unbounded, Ep 1: How a free-range kid from Maine is helping green-up industrial practices — Desirée Plata

    Curiosity Unbounded, Ep 1: How a free-range kid from Maine is helping green-up industrial practices — Desirée Plata
    Apr 19 2023

    In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sits down with newly tenured associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, Desirée Plata. Her work focuses on making industrial processes more environmentally friendly, and removing methane (a key factor in global warming) from the air.

    Show notes and transcript:

    https://news.mit.edu/podcast/how-free-range-kid-maine-helping-green-industrial-practices-desiree-plata

    The Curiosity Unbounded podcast brings you behind the scenes at MIT through conversations between MIT President Sally Kornbluth and the people working in its labs and in the field. Along the way, Sally and her guests discuss pressing issues, as well as what inspires the people running at the world’s toughest challenges at one of the most innovative institutions on the planet.
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    22 mins
  • Audio Article: Low-cost device can measure air pollution anywhere

    Audio Article: Low-cost device can measure air pollution anywhere
    Mar 27 2023
    MIT researchers have made an open-source version of the “City Scanner” mobile pollution detector that lets people check air quality anywhere, cheaply. Pictured are some examples of the latest version of the device, called Flatburn, as well as a researcher attaching a prototype to a car. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/low-cost-device-can-measure-air-pollution-anywhere-0316
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    6 mins
  • Audio Article: Minimizing electric vehicles’ impact on the grid

    Audio Article: Minimizing electric vehicles’ impact on the grid
    Mar 23 2023
    In a new study, MIT researchers have developed strategies for beneficial electric vehicle charging to reduce peak electricity demand and store solar energy. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/minimizing-electric-vehicles-impact-grid-0315
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    7 mins
  • Audio Article: How to push, wiggle, or drill an object through granular material

    Audio Article: How to push, wiggle, or drill an object through granular material
    Jan 30 2023
    Predicting what it takes to push through sand, gravel, or other soft media can help engineers drive a rover over Martian soil, anchor a ship in rough seas, and walk a robot through sand and mud. But modeling the forces involved in such processes is a huge computational challenge that often takes days to weeks to solve. Now, engineers at MIT and Georgia Tech have found a faster and simpler way to model intrusion through any soft, flowable material. Their new method quickly maps the forces it would take to push, wiggle, and drill an object through granular material in real-time. The method can apply to objects and grains of any size and shape, and does not require complex computational tools as other methods do. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/soft-push-granular-intrusion-0119
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    7 mins
  • Audio Article: A new method boosts wind farms’ energy output, without new equipment

    Audio Article: A new method boosts wind farms’ energy output, without new equipment
    Aug 19 2022
    By modeling the conditions of an entire wind farm rather than individual turbines, engineers can squeeze more power out of existing installations. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/wind-farm-optimization-energy-flow-0811
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    9 mins
  • Audio Article: Startup lets doctors classify skin conditions with the snap of a picture

    Audio Article: Startup lets doctors classify skin conditions with the snap of a picture
    Jul 11 2022
    Piction Health, a startup founded by Susan Conover SM '15, lets doctors classify skin conditions with the snap of a picture. Their app uses machine learning to help physicians identify and manage skin diseases. Read the article on MIT News: https://news.mit.edu/2022/piction-health-skin-app-0706
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    7 mins
  • Audio Article: Keeping web-browsing data safe from hackers

    Audio Article: Keeping web-browsing data safe from hackers
    Jun 22 2022
    Studying a powerful type of cyberattack, researchers identified a flaw in how it’s been analyzed before, then developed new techniques that stop it in its tracks. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/side-channel-attacks-detection-0609
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    8 mins