Looking back on 2022 at MIT + hello from President Kornbluth

MIT Weekly January 7, 2023 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](. 2022 In Review #[In background, aerial photo shows top of MIT Great Dome. 4 circles show a conga line at an MIT party, Reif and other community members during Raimondo’s visit, a Wakanda still showing 2 actors, Kornbluth posing with 2 community members.]( As we begin a new solar orbit, let us take a moment to appreciate the many accomplishments and goings-on across MIT during the past 12 months! Here are the Institute’s [top research stories]( [top community stories]( and [top media mentions]( from 2022. Top Headlines Evelyn Wang appointed director of US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy The head of MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering was nominated by President Biden to lead ARPA-E’s mission to support critical energy research. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( This is your brain. This is your brain on code MIT researchers are discovering which parts of the brain are engaged when a person evaluates a computer program. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Exploring morality at MIT Philosophy PhD student Eliza Wells investigates how our social roles influence our moral lives. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Should we tax robots? A new study suggests a robot levy — but only a modest one — could help combat the effects of automation on income inequality in the U.S. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( MIT community members named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2023 Nearly 30 MIT innovators were in the spotlight as Forbes unveiled its annual lists of the top leaders, founders, and creators under 30 years old. [Full story via Slice of MIT→]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Instagram photo of a woman holding up what looks like a glowing circle of fire that’s spitting out]( [Follow @mitmeche on Instagram→]( In the Media The interview: MIT President Sally Kornbluth // Boston Magazine Sally Kornbluth, the 18th president of MIT, speaks with Boston Magazine reporter Jonathan Soroff about why she is excited to lead MIT; her knowledge of Smoots, Boston weather, and sports; and how to encourage more girls and women to pursue STEM careers. [Full story via Boston Magazine→]( The gift: Kindness goes viral with Steve Hartman // CBS News Steve Hartman visits Professor Anette “Peko” Hosoi to explore the science behind whether a single act of kindness can change the world. [Full story via CBS News→]( Rafael Reif on leading — and leaving — MIT // Latino USA with Maria Hinojosa President Emeritus L. Rafael Reif, who will return to the faculty following a sabbatical, reflects on his tenure and how his upbringing shaped his outlook on education. [Full story via Latino USA with Maria Hinojosa→]( ISS astronauts are building objects that couldn’t exist on Earth // Popular Science MIT researchers developed a system to build gravity-defying spare parts in space that is currently being tested aboard the International Space Station. [Full story via Popular Science→]( Watch This #[Video still featuring Sally Kornbluth posing in front of the entrance to MIT's Infinite Corridor]( This week, MIT President Sally Kornbluth arrived at her new office on MIT’s campus. “I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can,” she wrote in her first [letter to the community](. In this new video, Kornbluth offers a quick hello as she unpacks and begins a listening tour around campus. [Watch the video→]( [“] We’ve been able to treat the theater the same way you might use the labs on campus. —Professor Jay Scheib on the creation and staging of a new play at MIT inspired by advances in neurotechnology [Full story via MIT News →]( Arts on Display #[Illustration of the back of a woman who is seated and looking over her shoulder. Her back is cut open as in an anatomical diagram with bones and muscles visible, though she otherwise appears alive and well.]( What role did drawings and prints play during the Enlightenment? In a new exhibit, MIT Associate Professor [Kristel Smentek]( explores the nuances of this complex time, when political and cultural revolutions spurred profound shifts in science, philosophy, the arts, and society. Smentek is co-curator of “[Dare to Know: Prints and Drawings in the Age of Enlightenment]( on display through Jan. 15 at the Harvard Art Museums. The exhibition, which features contributions by MIT doctoral students Phoebe Springstubb and Brandon Scott as well as Elizabeth Browne PhD ’21, highlights the achievements and history of the era many call the “revolution of the mind” — and was recently featured in The Boston Globe’s [Best of the Arts of 2022](. [Learn more→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [a comic summary of last semester](. 🛡️ 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