Spotlight: Oct 12, 2026
Mechanical engineers developed a flexible sheet that digitally reconstructs its own shape as it moves. The material could be used as a wearable, motion-monitoring “skin” for physical therapy, virtual reality, and gaming.
Research and Education that Matter
Robert E. Hall PhD ’67 and Michael Woodford PhD ’83 share this year’s Nobel prize in economics. The two MIT alumni were honored for work that illuminates how government policy can spur growth in response to economic downturns.
Addressing a national need, the MIT for America initiative ranges across STEM fields and will engage students from kindergarten through community college, preparing them to live and work in a world increasingly shaped by science and technology.
The startup Encora Therapeutics began as a project in 2.009, MIT’s iconic product-design class, to help people with Parkinson's disease. Now, nine years later, the FDA has cleared Encora’s device to help adults with essential tremor.
Researchers developed a noninvasive way to identify senescent cells — which are still alive but have stopped dividing — within aging tissue. The advance could help diagnose age-related disorders and guide scientists working on new treatments.
This fact sheet offers a high-level summary of the many steps MIT leaders have taken to support our vibrant Jewish community.
MIT’s vital research and education — on topics such as human health, energy innovation, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing — continue to advance national security, economic competitiveness, and quality of life for all Americans.