Soccer bots + greening rooftops + from MIT to the ISS

MIT Weekly April 8, 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](. All-Terrain Robots #[A four-legged, dog-like robot stands in front of a soccer ball against an amber background. Behind it, a mirror shows an overhead view of the robot.]( A new system from [MIT CSAIL]( allows quadruped robots to dribble a soccer ball in sand, gravel, mud, or snow, using reinforcement learning to adapt to varying dynamics. Such [robots]( could outperform wheeled robots on uneven terrain, such as in disaster recovery. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines Scientists use computational modeling to design “ultrastable” materials These highly stable metal-organic frameworks could be useful for applications such as capturing greenhouse gases. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Greening roofs to boost climate resilience Roofscapes, a startup founded by three MIT students, is planning to build green spaces on pitched roofs in Paris, to decrease temperatures while improving quality of life. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Blanche Staton: A transformational leader at MIT Set to retire this spring, Staton has made an indelible mark on graduate student living and learning over a quarter century at the Institute. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Brazil teams up with MIT Sloan affiliates to combat the retirement crisis The nation has launched a new retirement bond adapted from the work of Professor Robert Merton and Arun Muralidhar PhD ’92. [Full story via MIT Sloan→]( [MIT Heat Island]( Remembering Mel King, adjunct professor emeritus in urban studies and planning Beloved mentor and colleague, who died at 94 on March 28, leaves behind a profound legacy at MIT, in Boston, and beyond. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Tweet showing a video still of Jasmin Moghbeli in a blue jumpsuit sitting for an interview with the NASA logo in the background. Text via @‌WeNeedToTalk A lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut led Jasmin Moghbeli to MIT, where she captained the women’s basketball and lacrosse teams. The next stop in her journey is space, as she serves as inspiration for her hometown, family, and young women achieving their dreams.]( [Tweet via @WeNeedToTalk→]( In the Media Your electric bill shouldn’t be so high. Here’s how to fix it // The Boston Globe “State law requires Massachusetts to cut greenhouse gas emissions relative to 1990 levels by 50 percent by 2030 and by 85 percent by 2050,” writes Professor Christopher Knittel. [Full story via The Boston Globe →]( How’s your city doing? Ask the honeybees // Bloomberg MIT researchers co-authored a paper in which they used honeybees to study the microbiome of cities. [Full story via Bloomberg→]( “Insurance is sexy.” Discuss. // Freakonomics Radio Professor Amy Finkelstein delves into why insurance markets are broken, how they can be fixed, and her new book, “Risky Business.” [Full story via Freakonomics Radio→]( Virginia Norwood, pioneered Earth imagery as “mother of Landsat,” dies at 96 // The Washington Post Virginia Norwood ’47, “a pioneering aerospace engineer who used design innovations, emerging technologies and seasoned intuition in projects that scanned the lunar surface for safe Apollo landing sites and mapped the Earth from space with digital imagery never before seen,” has died at 96. [Full story via The Washington Post→]( Did You Know? #[Comic-style illustration featuring a man using a quill with the Earth and sun poised behind him, a person drilling into the ice and a cross section of a tree trunk, a woman capturing images while sea diving, a satellite floating in the night sky above MIT’s Green Building, and two people in lab coats at a foor-to-ceiling data display.]( The [MIT Climate Portal]( serves as a useful resource on the science of climate change. Easy-to-digest primers, explainers, and podcasts introduce visitors to both what we know about climate change and what scientists and engineers at MIT and elsewhere are doing about it. As we begin Earth Month, take a look around — you might learn something extraordinary about how we can address our changing climate! [Browse the portal→]( Watch This #[Collage of two video thumbnail photos arranged vertically. First: Members of the MIT Men’s Cross Country team pose with Tessie and Wally, Boston Red Sox’s two mascots, side by side on baseball field in Fenway park. Second: Karenna Groff stands in center of baseball field with three individuals. She is also displayed on the wide screen behind her while people sit in seats throughout at Fenway Park.]( MIT students took center stage at Fenway Park this week as they were honored by the Red Sox for their athletic achievements. On a bright Sunday afternoon, the men’s cross country team, who were [crowned NCAA Division III national champions]( in November, were honored during the Red Sox pregame ceremony prior to their game with the Baltimore Orioles. And Karenna Groff ’22 was recognized Monday during the Red Sox Women’s Celebration Night. Named the [2022 NCAA Woman of the Year]( for her achievements as an MIT soccer player, Groff threw out the first pitch as the Sox prepared to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Roll Tech! [See the men's cross country team]( | [See Groff throw the first pitch→]( Listen #[“Lock the Quill!” is at the center of the circle logo in black cursive font atop light gray background. A red border surrounds the gray circle. “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” curves atop top half of the border, while “Department of Mechanical Engineering” and “Pappalardo Lab” curves atop bottom of border.]( [Lock The Quill]( is a new podcast from the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) Pappalardo Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories, or [Pappalardo Lab]( for short. In the latest episode, lab director and host Daniel Braunstein chats with Maria Yang, associate dean of engineering at MIT and the Gail E. Kendall (1978) Professor in MechE, to discuss her years as an MIT student, her research in design processes, her work as a leader of the Morningside Academy for Design, and much more. [Listen to the episode]( → This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [a peek into German House life](. 🥨 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