Graphene surprise + AI education + from MIT to Burning Man

[view in browser]( MIT Weekly [MIT Logo] October 21, 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](. Graphene Surprise #[Between layers of graphene are 4 paired, shiny electrons. 2 are blue and 2 are red, and whisps of glowing energy connect them together. They have rings like Saturn, and these rings move them clockwise or counter-clockwise.]( Physicists have discovered yet another surprising property of [graphene]( When stacked in five layers, it can exhibit unconventional magnetism and exotic electronic behavior. The finding could help with packing more data into magnetic memory devices. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines MIT design would harness 40 percent of the sun’s heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel Conventional systems for producing hydrogen depend on fossil fuels, but the new system uses only solar energy. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Giving students the computational chops to tackle 21st-century challenges With the growing use of AI in many disciplines, the popularity of MIT’s four “blended” majors has intensified. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Study: Germicidal UV lights could be producing indoor air pollutants While useful for killing pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, the lights may cause unwanted chemical reactions and should be used with ventilation, researchers say. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( 3 Questions: What should scientists and the public know about nuclear waste? Professor Haruko Wainwright describes a new effort to communicate information about managing and disposing of spent fuel from nuclear reactors. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( MakerLodge: A launchpad for hands-on learning MIT’s program for first-year students helps develop hands-on maker skills, with tools, socializing, and safety training. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Instagram photo of 15 individuals standing on the steps of a cabin in the woods. Two in the front hold a large rainbow flag. Text via @rainbow_lounge_mit Just wrapped up a wonderful weekend at our annual LBGTQ+ leadership retreat! Shoutout to all the students and volunteers that made this happen. Stay tuned on how you can get involved for next year!]( [Follow @rainbow_lounge_mit on Instagram→]( In the Media Melrose TikTok user “Ms. Nuclear Energy” teaching about nuclear power through social media // CBS Boston Graduate student Kaylee Cunningham discusses her work using social media to help educate and inform the public about nuclear energy. [Full story via CBS Boston→]( Gravitational waves: A new universe // Curiosity Stream MIT researchers Lisa Barsotti, Deep Chatterjee, and Victoria Xu explore how developments in gravitational wave detection are enabling a better understanding of the universe. [Full story via Curiosity Stream→]( Speak less, win more: The art of using silence in negotiations at work // MSNBC Researchers at MIT and elsewhere published a study examining how extended “silence and a deliberative mindset create value in negotiation.” [Full story via MSNBC→]( Opinion: The internet could be so good. Really. // The Atlantic Professor Deb Roy makes the case that “new kinds of social networks can be designed for constructive communication — for listening, dialogue, deliberation, and mediation — and they can actually work.” [Full story via The Atlantic→]( Cancer survivors prepare to take on Head of the Charles Regatta // GBH News Holly Metcalf, head coach for the MIT women’s openweight rowing team, discusses the Survivor Rowing Network, a program aimed at introducing the sport of rowing to cancer survivors. [Full story via GBH News→]( Arts on Display #[Night view of the Living Knitwork Pavilion, a pole with sheets of fabric draped over like a teepeee that are lit in bright blue. Many points of light, from other parts of the Burning Man festival, appear in the background.]( Burning Man is an annual gathering that transforms Nevada’s Black Rock Desert into a vibrant playground for artistic and creative expression. Among the artworks at this year’s burn was the Living Knitwork Pavilion, crafted from knitted textiles and a lattice network of wood. By day, the installation served as a shade structure, while providing a communal space for meditation and discovery. By night, the pavilion illuminated its surroundings through an immersive lighting and audio system. Developed and built by researchers from the MIT Media Lab and MIT School of Architecture and Planning, and led by PhD student Irmandy Wicaksono, the installation received a 2023 Black Rock City Honorarium. [Full story via MIT News→]( Scene at MIT #[About 30 individuals pose together, standing, on a boardwalk along the Charles River with the Boston skyline in the background on a sunny day.]( Members of the Indigenous community at MIT and friends recently joined former Canadian poet laureate [Louise Bernice Halfe (Sky Dancer)]( and MIT Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Scholar [Jean-Luc Pierite]( on a reflective walk along the Charles River. The former poet laureate took time to build relationships with students as part of Indigenous Peoples Day in the greater Boston area on Oct. 9. Participants also experienced readings from Halfe’s “Burning in This Midnight Dream.” [Learn more at MindHandHeart→]( Lingo Out·fi·nite noun An outdoor pathway that runs parallel to MIT’s Infinite Corridor, from Massachusetts Avenue toward Hockfield Court It was a lovely fall day, so we took the Outfinite to get to class. This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [walking across the state of Rhode Island](. 👣 Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] 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