Diet and cancer + seeing materials with AI + Memorial Day

MIT Weekly May 27, 2023 Greetings! We start this issue with a question: How are you enjoying the MIT Weekly? Please take [this brief survey]( which should take about two minutes to complete. Thank you! Now, here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community. Diet and Cancer #[Yilmaz stands his lab, filled with various lab equipment, including binders and boxed supplies. 2 people in lab coats are in the background working together at a table.]( Associate Professor [Omer Yilmaz]( studies how different diets and environmental conditions affect intestinal stem cells, and how those factors can lead to diseases such as cancer. This work could help researchers develop new therapies to improve gastrointestinal health. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines Researchers use AI to identify similar materials in images This machine-learning method could assist with robotic scene understanding, image editing, or online recommendation systems. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Using data to write songs for progress Senior Ananya Gurumurthy adds her musical talents to her math and computer science studies to advocate using data for social change. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Will the charging networks arrive in time? The MIT Mobility Forum considers whether startups can provide the infrastructure for electric vehicles, or if more automakers must step in. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( First-of-its-kind Indigenous immersive incubator gathers on MIT campus Over the course of four days, Indigenous delegates collaborated on immersive technology with MIT community members. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( The startup CEO remaking City Hall As chief of staff to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Tiffany Chu ’10 is working to make big changes in Beantown. [Full story via MIT Technology Review→]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Six people pose for a portrait while wearing formal wear and standing side by side. They are under a rainbow balloon arch. Text via rainbow_lounge_mit: Thank you for joining us today for Lavender Graduation. We had 137! That’s right 137 people join us in total both in person and virtual.]( [Follow @rainbow_lounge_mit on Instagram→]( In the Media MIT MAD announces cohort of future world-changing designers // Designboom Eleven fellows have been selected for the 2023-2024 MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MIT MAD) program. [Full story via Designboom→]( Economist Daron Acemoglu: “When mistakes involve powerful technologies, you’re going to have trouble” // Financial Times In a wide-ranging discussion with Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times, Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu explores artificial intelligence and the labor market, the history of technological progress, and Turkey. [Full story via The Financial Times→]( LIGO is back — and can now spot more colliding black holes than ever // Nature Professor and MIT School of Science Dean Nergis Mavalvala and postdoc Victoria Xu discuss upgrades made to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors that have significantly increased their sensitivity. [Full story via Nature→]( In new VR, role-playing gives insight into racism // Axios As part of an effort to address racism and discrimination, MIT researchers have developed a new VR role-playing project, dubbed “On the Plane.” CSAIL Research Scientist Caglar Yildirim explains that: “Our hope is that (players) move away from the experience with an understanding of how xenophobia and other forms of discrimination may play out in everyday life situations.” [Full story via Axios→]( Marking Memorial Day #[Cadet Morgan Schaefer holds a trumpet with a gloved hand while wearing an Air Force uniform. The Great Dome and grassy area is in blurry background.]( MIT salutes the Americans who have given their lives in defense of our nation. [Air Force ROTC]( Cadet Morgan Schaefer, a student in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, plays “Taps” in honor of those we’ve lost. [Watch the video→]( 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.]( In the latest episode of the [Lock The Quill]( podcast from MIT’s Pappalardo Lab, host [Daniel Braunstein]( chats with President [Sally Kornbluth]( who discusses her transition from Duke University to MIT, leadership and what she’s learned on her listening tour so far, how her dogs are acclimating to the ’Tute, and why you probably won’t see her driving around campus — or anywhere in the Boston area — anytime soon. [Listen to the episode]( Scene at MIT #[Collage of four images. On top, three examples of people posing with a virtual Tim the BeaVR outside an MIT building. In the first, Tim appears giant-sized; in the second, human-sized; and in the third, palm-sized. On bottom, a person holds a phone toward another person posing with their arm in the air, as if around an invisible person’s shoulder.]( Developed by MIT undergraduate Daniel Portela, “[Tim the BeaVR]( is a new app that allows users to take pictures with a virtual Tim, MIT’s mascot, anywhere by using their phone’s camera and a web browser. Individuals can also animate Tim to wave or dance and adjust his size — either to fit in the palm of a hand or to stand as tall as a two-story building. The virtual-reality app was created for Portela’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program ([UROP]( project at the [MIT.nano Immersion Lab]( and was unveiled at MIT’s Community Day last month. “As a developer, there really is no feeling like seeing other people enjoy something you’ve created,” he says. [Learn more via MIT News→]( [“] I think it’s our responsibility to recognize … privilege and to think about how we can make good on the gifts that we’ve been given. My studies in Portuguese, and the opportunities I’ve received to interact with people in Brazil, have really given me context for how to do that going forward. —MIT senior Theo St. Francis on how studying a new language can help one look at life through a different lens [Full story via MIT News →]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [why time speeds up as you age](. 🕔 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