MIT love stories + heat physics + enduring AI + crashing "Tetris"

[view in browser]( MIT Weekly [MIT Logo] February 17, 2024 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](. Met at MIT #[A pair of hands makes a heart shape against a red background. Inside the heart is a photo of Building 10 and the MIT Dome from Killian Court.]( It’s not uncommon for MIT alumni to maintain strong relationships after graduation. In honor of Valentine’s Day, enjoy these stories of MIT alumni who met at the Institute, fell in love, and have been together ever since. ❤️ [Full story via Slice of MIT→]( Top Headlines MIT physicists capture the first sounds of heat “sloshing” in a superfluid The results will expand scientists’ understanding of heat flow in superconductors and neutron stars. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Anantha Chandrakasan named MIT’s inaugural chief innovation and strategy officer While continuing to serve as dean of engineering, Chandrakasan will play a pivotal role in advancing President Kornbluth’s priorities. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How tech leaders spend their time As times and job titles have changed, so has the way technology leaders spend their day, according to executive surveys from 2007, 2016, and 2022. [Full story via MIT Sloan→]( [MIT Heat Island]( A new way to let AI chatbots converse all day without crashing Researchers developed a simple yet effective solution for a puzzling problem that can worsen the performance of large language models such as ChatGPT. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How retirement saving incentives amplify wealth gaps in the US Changing how more than $300 billion of annual incentives are allocated could close the racial gap in retirement savings by a third, a new study finds. [Full story via MIT Sloan→]( [MIT Heat Island]( Junior Justin Yu crashes “Tetris,” with thanks to the game’s recent “space race” In a Q&A, Yu describes his feat — and the behind-the-scenes race that led him and fellow player Willis Gibson to record achievements. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Jack Fischer wears a red MIT Beaver shirt and grey socks with text “I love you to the moon and back” on soles that face the camera inside space station. A red banner with text “MIT” hangs above Fischer. Text via @‌astro2fish: It’s ALL about the Moon this week.]( [Post via @astro2fish on Instagram→]( In the Media MIT’s 4D-knit dress changes shape in response to heat // Dezeen Researchers at the MIT Self-Assembly Lab developed a 4D-knit dress using “heat-activated yarn that allows its shape and fit to be altered in an instant.” [Full story via Dezeen→]( Cement is a climate nightmare. Here’s how one Boston startup is eliminating emissions // Fast Company Sublime Systems, an MIT startup, is developing technology to fully decarbonize the cement manufacturing process. [Full story via Fast Company→]( How an MIT hackathon restored my faith in AI, VR, and beyond // Fast Company Reality Hack, an annual hackathon held at MIT, is focused on transforming off-the-shelf tech into mixed-reality prototypes. [Full story via Fast Company→]( America’s poorer counties are new investment boomtowns: study // Axios A report by researchers from MIT and the Brookings Institute finds poorer counties in the U.S. with lower employment rates have “attracted a large share of the hundreds of billions of dollars allocated for clean energy projects, semiconductor mega-factories and more.” [Full story via Axios→]( Scene at MIT #[Two photos of students performing in a green lion dance costume in MIT's student center]( To mark the Lunar New Year, members of the [MIT Lion Dance]( team performed on campus, including the Student Center (Building W20), last week. Dating back thousands of years, the tradition “brings with it good fortune, prosperity, and longevity.”​ [Learn more→]( Arts on Display #[At top, half a dozen artworks on easels in MIT Lobby 10, in front of glass walls that show a sunny sky. At bottom, a 24-panel quilt with many figures and sayings such as “MLK,” Martin Luther King’s silhouette, and “I have a dream.”]( The winners of the [2024 MLK Art Contest]( were on display in Lobby 10 during business hours this past week. Entrants were asked to draw their inspiration from a saying by the late Martin Luther King Jr.: “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character; that is the goal of true education.” The winning projects are “Martin to Maslow” by undergraduate student Kortni Foreman; “The girl with an armor of knowledge” by staff member Andrea Salas; and “Miss Education” by undergraduate student Akua Yeboah. Also on display was the MLK 50th Anniversary Quilt, which was developed by many hands in the MIT community. [Learn more via the ICEO→]( Did You Know? #[On a mauve background, a heart illustration composed of pink technical gadgets and symbols]( Love is often associated with romance, but it also applies to many other aspects of our lives — from friendship to parental care to creativity. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, MIT Open Learning has compiled a list of free courses and lectures from MIT OpenCourseWare and MITx that explore love’s role in philosophy, literature, music, film, and more. [Learn more→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [the Class of 2026 Brass Rat, revealed](. 💍 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. 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