In the Media

A new mechanism that could help explain the remarkable sensitivity and exquisite frequency selectivity of our sense of hearing has been discovered by Dennis Freeman, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) Principal Investigator in the Micromechanics Group, in collaboration with Dr. Roozbeh Ghaffari, post-doctoral associate in the RLE.

Building an effective Photovoltaic cell (PV) that both collects enough solar energy and carries the charge efficiently has held back the use of quantum dots despite their relative ease of production. Now a multi-disciplinary team involving researchers from the MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the MIT Materials Science and Engineering and the MIT Chemistry Departments has designed a way to allow quick extraction of charge yet enough depth for absorption of energy to provide a 50 percent boost in the current generated by the solar cell, and a 35 percent increase in overall efficiency.

Timothy Lu, MIT assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and biological engineering working with members of the Synthetic Biology Group in the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE), has successfully created new synthetic biology circuits that combine memory and logic allowing potential control over production of cells to generate biofuels, drugs or other useful compounds. Read more...

In March 2011, Scott Aaronson, MIT associate professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department (EECS) and principal investigator in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) working with EECS graduate student Alex Arkhipov proposed the creation of a first step towards quantum computing -- an optical experiment that would demonstrate the feasibility of quantum computing. Four distinct research groups, which undertook Aaronson and Arkhipov's proposed experiment in December 2012, are now reporting the results.

EECS researchers including professors Vladimir Bulovic, Jing Kong and Mildred Dresselhaus and postdoctoral associate Hyesung Park and graduate student Joel Jean have joined MIT colleagues including associate professor of materials science and engineering Silvija Gradecak and postdoctoral associate Sehoon Chang, to produce a new kind of flexible and solar cell based on graphene paired with nanowires and quantum dots. This work could rival the current use of silicon crystals or indium tin oxide (ITO) and is predicted to be scalable for alternative use to the silicon or ITO models.

Luis Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories, and his group have created a new system for spinning nanofibers—one that should offer significant productivity increases while drastically reducing power consumption. They will be presenting this work at the International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications in December.

Molybdenum-Disulfide (MoS2), like Graphene, is a one-molecule-thick material. But, MIT researchers including EECS Professors Tomas Palacios and Jing Kong have been able to produce complex electronic circuits from MoS2, a material that could have many more applications than graphene. This work is now reported in the journal Nano Letters.

Sarpeshkar teams with researchers at the Lincoln Laboratory to develop an implantable fuel cell built that could power neural prosthetics that help patients regain control of limbs.

"L. Rafael Reif, a distinguished electrical engineer whose seven-year tenure as MIT’s provost has helped MIT maintain its appetite for bold action as well as its firm financial footing, has been selected as the 17th president of the Institute. Reif, 61, was elected to the post this morning by a vote of the MIT Corporation." Read more of the MIT News Office, May 16, 2012 announcement.

EECS faculty members Vladimir Stojanovic, Rajeev Ram and Michael Watts are collaborating to build the case for integrating optoelectronic and electronic chip components to create the next generation

Scott Aaronson, the Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, a member of the Theory of Computation and Complexity Theory groups, and principal