Hello and greetings to the EECS community both near and far!
As winter fades into spring in Boston and we all emerge from a hard few years, I’m happy to bring you some uplifting news from the Department of EECS.
Our community has come together to cheer the MIT competitive programming team as they ended their 44-year drought to place first in the World Finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC); to hold our first faculty retreat since the pandemic began; and to raise funds to held aid earthquake recovery.
In yet more good news, our Alliance guest speaker events, which bring our students into contact with influential leaders at innovative companies, have drawn huge crowds of eager undergraduates who are excited to learn about all the places a degree in EECS can take them. Our annual Thriving Stars career panel of accomplished and inspiring women drew hundreds of viewers and sparked lively discussion, and our undergraduate office continues to unite our student body around a calendar of fun community-building events.
I am proud to lead a department full of energetic people who are looking towards the future with optimism and imagination. The field of EECS is all about possibilities; read on to be inspired.
–Asu Ozdaglar, Department Head, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
MathWorks Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Deputy Dean of Academics, MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing
Departmental News
Tomás Palacios named new Director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL)
Palacios has been a member of the MTL since 2006.
Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: EECS extends a hand to help survivors
Graduate Officer Leslie Kolodziejski shares a personal reflection on her experience facilitating EECS’s drive for donations in the wake of the tragic earthquake.
Mohammad Alizadeh named new Industry Officer for EECS
In this role, Alizadeh will oversee the EECS Alliance, the department’s industry outreach program which provides access for EECS students to internships, post graduate employment, networking and collaborations.
Ruonan Han named EECS Undergraduate Laboratory Officer
He succeeds Karl Berggren in the role, which involves long-term strategic planning and supervision duties for the EECS Department Teaching Laboratories.
Education Initiatives
6.9930 New Women in EECS Seminar: another fun semester of conversation and networking underway!
The seminar is now starting its 18th year of supporting women PhD students in the first semester of the EECS doctoral program.
School of Engineering unveils MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence
With the selection of 16 inaugural postdocs, the program seeks to develop the next generation of faculty leaders and help guide the school toward a more diverse and inclusive culture.
Feature Story
Thriving Stars panel: women leaders share career wisdom
This year’s panelists included: Jelena Notaros, Assistant Professor of EE in EECS at MIT; Neha Sardesai, senior application engineer of education at MathWorks; Lila Snyder, CEO of Bose Corporation; Grace Wang, litigating high tech patent attorney at Allen and Overy, LLC; and Songyee Yoon, president and chief strategy officer of video gaming giant NCSOFT.
A Satisfying Solve
Ending a 44-year drought, the MIT competitive programming team came in on top in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Research
Scientists boost quantum signals while reducing noise
“Squeezing” noise over a broad frequency bandwidth in a quantum system could lead to faster and more accurate quantum measurements.
Putting a new spin on computer hardware
Luqiao Liu utilizes a quantum property known as electron spin to build low-power, high-performance computer memories and programmable computer chips.
Faculty Spotlight
Sensing with purpose
Fadel Adib uses wireless technologies to sense the world in new ways, taking aim at sweeping problems such as food insecurity, climate change, and access to health care.
Go Deeper
Unpacking the “black box” to build better AI models
Stefanie Jegelka seeks to understand how machine-learning models behave, to help researchers build more robust models for applications in biology, computer vision, optimization, and more.
Faculty Awards
Hari Balakrishnan Awarded Marconi Prize
The prize is the top honor within the field of communications technology.
Regina Barzilay, other MIT community members elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2023
One of the highest professional distinctions for engineers, membership to the NAE is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education.”
Connor Coley, Dylan Hadfield-Menell named AI2050 Early Career Fellows
The professors have been named to the inaugural cohort of AI2050 Early Career Fellows by Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative from Eric and Wendy Schmidt aimed at helping to solve hard problems in AI.
Student Awards & Spotlights
Making computer science research more accessible in India
Passionate about creating educational opportunities in India, PhD student Siddhartha Jayanti recently explored multiprocessor speed limits, in a paper written in the Indian language Telugu
Paying it forward: computer science and molecular biology major Sherry Nyeo
When she’s not analyzing data about her favorite biomolecule, senior Sherry Nyeo focuses on improving the undergraduate experience at MIT.
Three from MIT named 2023 Rhodes Scholars
Jack Cook, Matthew Kearney, and Jupneet Singh have been selected for the 2023 cohort of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship program.
Q & A
Q&A: A fresh look at data science
MIT Visiting Scholar Alfred Spector discusses the power of data science and visualization, as well as his new textbook on the subject.
Farewell
Louis Braida, hearing aid innovator and mentor, dies at 79
Braida was internationally known for his research in the areas of intensity perception, the characterization of hearing impairments, and aids for the deaf.
