Emerging projects
MIT is known for re-writing the equations, testing the limits, and changing the rules.
Today at MIT, we are doing things we didn’t know were possible a few years ago: finding ways to monitor the evolution of avian flu strains to aid in developing vaccines against a deadly flu pandemic; designing material structures that can repel oils, which could have applications in aviation, space travel, and hazardous waste cleanup; building a lightweight electrically powered scooter that folds up into half its size. And this is just the beginning.
These discoveries arise from the extraordinary mix of brilliant individuals at the Institute. They also occur because MIT believes in supporting and encouraging new ideas—wherever they arise. MIT is committed to providing the support necessary for an exciting new initiative to thrive.
Example: The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research is unique in its concept of pooling MIT’s molecular geneticists and cell biologists with engineers. There are other NCI-designated basic science cancer centers besides this one, says its director, Tyler Jacks, but none with the composition of interdisciplinary investigators that the Koch Institute will have. The Institute will be housed in a state-of-the-art cancer research facility that’s scheduled to open in 2010.
Another example: MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), which was first announced in 2001 as a venue for publishing materials from MIT’s entire curriculum freely and openly on the Web, has reached that milestone. It now makes available core teaching materials—including syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, and exams—from virtually all MIT courses. There are about 1,800 in total. The site includes voluntary contributions from 90 percent of faculty and more than 2,600 members of the MIT community. Next stop? “Highlights for High School.”
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