MIT observes Juneteenth + Nobles named chancellor + Covid-19 vaccine immunity

MIT Weekly June 19, 2021 Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.  Want a daily dose of MIT in your inbox? [Subscribe to the MIT Daily](. MIT Observes Juneteenth # “Setting aside this day serves to acknowledge the stain on our nation of centuries of slavery,” President L. Rafael Reif says of Juneteenth, “and to appreciate the ongoing struggle of Black Americans for equity, inclusion and justice.” [Read the letter→]( Top Headlines Melissa Nobles named MIT’s next chancellor Dean of SHASS will move to senior academic post overseeing student life at the Institute. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How long will my vaccine protect me? MIT Medical provides guidance on the latest science about Covid-19 vaccine protection and what we currently know about booster shots. [Full story via MIT Medical→]( [MIT Heat Island]( Could all your digital photos be stored as DNA? A technique for labeling and retrieving DNA data files from a large pool could help make DNA data storage feasible. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Why the Earth needs a course correction now The 2021 Global Change Outlook from the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change shows how more aggressive policies can sharply reduce climate risk. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Stents inspired by paper-cutting art can deliver drugs to the GI tract MIT engineers used kirigami-style etching to design a stent that can temporarily lodge in tubular organs to release drugs. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT # [Post via @labronic_mike on Instagram→]( In the Media Juneteenth and the meaning of Black liberation in Boston // The Boston Globe “For myself, Black liberation can be defined as the self determination of Black people,” says Malia Lazu, a lecturer in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management Group in the MIT Sloan School of Management. “Liberation is a culmination of honoring the past, being healthy in the present and curious about the future.” [Full story via The Boston Globe →]( Opinion: What will remain? // Inside Higher Ed Shigeru Miyagawa, senior associate dean of the Office of Digital Learning, and Meghan Perdue, a digital learning scientist at MITx,explore how the shift to remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the future of education. [Full story via Inside Higher Ed→]( Improving your pitch, with motion capture tech // Mashable Todd Carroll, MIT’s baseball pitching coach, is using motion capture technology to help analyze and teach pitching techniques. The system can “suggest real-time adjustments as a player is pitching so that just one session using the technology improves their game.” [Full story via Mashable→]( Climate projections with Sergey Paltsev // Climate Now Sergey Paltsev, deputy director of MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, discusses climate forecasts and the tools he and his colleagues use to communicate projected climate outcomes to policymakers and the public. [Full story via Climate Now→]( Stronger Than Steel # “How can we make better stuff?” asks Ashley Kaiser SM ’19, PhD ’21, who just received her doctorate in materials science and engineering. She has worked with NASA to use carbon nanotubes in designing stronger, lighter materials for future space vehicles. [Watch the video→]( Still Life # Amir Cohen ’19, Eric Luu ’19, and Garrett Souza ’19 shattered (and twice shot) a rose frozen with liquid nitrogen in [6.163]( (Strobe Project Laboratory), in which students learn the techniques of high-speed imaging as developed by late MIT Professor Harold “Doc” Edgerton. The resulting image, and others, are featured in [the latest issue]( of MIT Infinite Magazine. [Full article via MIT Infinite→]( Featured Video # As we continue to observe Pride Month, a recent video from [LGBTQ+ Services]( at MIT serves as a helpful resource on inclusive pronouns. The video explores the history of gender-neutral pronouns, how they are used, and what people can do to include this language in conversations. [Watch the video→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [the sea urchin of love](. 🤿 Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News Office [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] Massachusetts Institute of Technology This email was sent to {EMAIL} because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. [subscribe]( [update preferences]( [unsubscribe]( [view in browser]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA