Mechanical engineering

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Working to automate nuclear plant operations

For nuclear to be considered as a viable clean energy source, it has to be competitively priced and economical to produce. Lauren Fortier, a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), is helping the cause by developing remote operation protocols for autonomous control of nuclear plants. After an undergraduate degree in materials […]

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MIT projects selected for funding under US Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission

MIT researchers are set to contribute to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission, with 15 collaborative projects among those selected for funding under Genesis Phase I, DOE announced Wednesday.The Genesis Mission, a national initiative, intends to build “the world’s most powerful integrated science discovery platform” by incentivizing cross-sector collaborations that leverage AI, supercomputing, quantum systems,

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A better way to turn 2D designs into 3D models for rapid prototyping

Engineers often use vision-language models to produce new designs, such as for airplane or automobile components. To simulate how those components will perform in realistic situations, they’ll use tried-and-true computer-aided design (CAD) software to generate 3D models of those designs, which they can put through virtual crash or durability tests. Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have

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Can AI build a jet engine? JARVIS Challenge tests role of AI copilots in tough-tech engineering

Artificial intelligence has rapidly transformed software engineering. Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can create huge volumes of code and documentation; machine-learning algorithms can monitor performance and detect security vulnerabilities. But when the task is to conceive, design, and make a complex physical system such as a jet engine, are those AI tools equally

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MIT’s Initiative for New Manufacturing builds momentum

In May, the Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM) marked its first anniversary with MIT Manufacturing Week, four days of events that attracted more than 800 registrants including students, faculty, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and government officials to explore topics ranging from how companies are using AI on factory floors to the role of startups in

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MIT affiliates win 2026 Hertz Foundation Fellowships

The Hertz Foundation announced that it awarded 2026 fellowships to three current MIT students as well as an incoming graduate student. They are: Annika Marschner, Alvin Q. Meng, Zachary S. Siegel, and Matthew Wanta.The prestigious science and technology award provides each recipient with five years of financial support — a stipend and full tuition equivalent — which gives them

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Preview tool helps makers visualize 3D-printed objects

Designers, makers, and others often use 3D printing to rapidly prototype a range of functional objects, from movie props to medical devices. Accurate print previews are essential so users know a fabricated object will perform as expected.But previews generated by most 3D-printing software focus on function rather than aesthetics. A printed object may end up

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Seeing sounds

Growing up in Mexico and Texas, Mariano Salcedo ’25 couldn’t readily indulge his passion for creating music. “There are no bands in Mexican public schools,” he says. While some families could pay for instruments and lessons, others, like Salcedo’s, were less fortunate.“I’ve always loved music,” he continues. “I was a listener.” Salcedo, the Alex Rigopulos (1992)

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MIT engineers design proteins by their motion, not just their shape

Proteins are far more than nutrients we track on a food label. Present in every cell of our bodies, they work like nature’s molecular machines. They walk, stretch, bend, and flex to do their jobs, pumping blood, fighting disease, building tissue, and many other jobs too small for the eye to see. Their power doesn’t

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Augmenting citizen science with computer vision for fish monitoring

Each spring, river herring populations migrate from Massachusetts coastal waters to begin their annual journey up rivers and streams to freshwater spawning habitat. River herring have faced severe population declines over the past several decades, and their migration is extensively monitored across the region, primarily through traditional visual counting and volunteer-based programs. Monitoring fish movement and understanding

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