MIT adds computational Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences to its PhD offerings

The MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) has expanded its academic program to include a new doctoral field: computational Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. EAPS is now the latest department to participate in the Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Program, which has been offering PhD degrees in computation since 2013. This move resonates with the Institute’s growing awareness of the advantages provided by education based in computation, as exemplified by the recent creation of the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing. While enrolled in the CSE program, students are able to specialize at the doctoral level in a computation-related field of their choice through focused coursework and a doctoral thesis through a number of participating host departments, including Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, Nuclear Science and Engineering, and now EAPS. EAPS-affiliated CSE graduate students will be able to analyze complex Earth Continue reading MIT adds computational Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences to its PhD offerings

ElliQ, A Social Home Robot for Older Adults, Now Available for Pre-Order

After nearly a year of beta testing, ElliQ is the latest robot wanting to be a part of your life Intuition Robotics has been working on its ElliQ “proactive social robot for older adults” for only a few years—the company, founded in 2016, has managed to secure funding from Toyota AI Ventures, Samsung, and iRobot, among others. For nearly a year, Intuition has been testing ElliQ in the homes of beta testers aged 62-97 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and things have apparently gone well enough that they’ve decided that the robot is ready to go on sale.

Artificial bug eyes

Single lens eyes, like those in humans and many other animals, can create sharp images, but the compound eyes of insects and crustaceans have an edge when it comes to peripheral vision, light sensitivity and motion detection. That’s why scientists are developing artificial compound eyes to give sight to autonomous vehicles and robots, among other applications. Now, a new report describes the preparation of bioinspired artificial compound eyes using a simple low-cost approach. More details

School of Engineering welcomes new faculty

The School of Engineering is welcoming 11 new faculty members to its departments, institutes, labs, and centers. With research and teaching activities ranging from the development of novel microscopy techniques to intelligent systems and mixed-autonomy mobility, they are poised to make significant contributions in new directions across the school and to a wide range of research efforts around the Institute. “I am pleased to welcome our outstanding new faculty,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the School of Engineering. “Their contributions as educators, researchers, and collaborators will enhance the engineering community and strengthen our global impact.” Pulkit Agrawal will join the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as an assistant professor in July. Agrawal earned a BS in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and was awarded the Director’s Gold Medal. He earned a PhD in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. A co-founder of SafelyYou, Inc., Agrawal researches Continue reading School of Engineering welcomes new faculty