Brain bioluminescence + ancient stars + Killian Award

[view in browser]( MIT Weekly [MIT Logo] May 18, 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](. Brain Bioluminescence #[A MRI image of a brain shows bright red blood vessels on a darker red background.]( A new way to detect light in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could enable researchers to map changes in gene expression, map anatomical connections between cells, or reveal how cells communicate with each other. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines MIT researchers discover the universe’s oldest stars in our own galactic backyard Three stars circling the Milky Way’s halo formed 12 to 13 billion years ago. [Full story via MIT News →]( [News thumbnail]( Scientists develop an affordable sensor for lead contamination The chip-scale device could provide sensitive detection of lead levels in drinking water, whose toxicity affects 240 million people worldwide. [Full story via MIT News →]( [News thumbnail]( John Joannopoulos receives 2024-2025 Killian Award The MIT physicist is honored for pioneering work in photonics that helped to advance tools for telecommunications and biomedicine. [Full story via MIT News →]( [News thumbnail]( Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2024 Guoping Feng, Piotr Indyk, Daniel Kleitman, Daniela Rus, Senthil Todadri, and nine alumni are recognized by their peers for their outstanding contributions to research. [Full story via MIT News →]( [News thumbnail]( Elaine Liu: Charging ahead The MIT senior calculates how renewables and EVs impact the grid. [Full story via MIT News →]( [News thumbnail]( The MIT Bike Lab: A place for community, hands-on learning The student-run bike shop, founded by graduate student Bianca Champenois, provides repair and maintenance services, emphasizes hands-on learning, and promotes sustainable transportation. [Full story via MIT News →]( [News thumbnail]( #ThisisMIT #[About 100 people from MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics pose for portrait outdoors on sunny day at MIT campus. Text via @‌mitaeroastro: We soared through the semester and celebrated the last day of classes with our annual department BBQ. It’s a great day to be part of the AeroAstro crew!]( [Follow @mitaeroastro on Instagram→]( In the Media New crop-spraying technologies are more efficient than ever // The Economist Professor Kripa Varanasi and Vishnu Jayaprakash SM ’19, PhD ’21 co-founded AgZen, an MIT spinoff that is developing new technologies to improve the performance and effectiveness of pesticide treatments. [Full story via The Economist→]( James Simons, mathematician, philanthropist, and hedge fund founder, has died // Associated Press Former MIT Professor James Simons ’58, a life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation, has died at 86. [Full story via the Associated Press→]( This Boston startup created renewable energy storage that’s 10 times cheaper than lithium-ion batteries // Fast Company Professor Asegun Henry founded Fourth Power, a startup aimed at cutting the cost of storing renewable energy. [Full story via Fast Company→]( Microneedle patches might reverse a form of hair loss // Health Day MIT researchers developed microneedle patches that are capable of restoring hair growth in alopecia areata patients. [Full story via Health Day→]( Watch This #[Screenshot of David Wallace wearing a bright rainbow colored shirt, dancing in front of the Great Dome on MIT’s Killian Court]( Congrats on completing the spring semester, MIT! With classes now complete and finals underway, let’s take a moment to celebrate. This “dance outro” video comes courtesy of course [2.009]( (Product Design Processes), which provides mechanical engineering students with a team-based product development experience — and earlier this year showed off some pretty sweet moves! [Watch the video→]( Scene at MIT #[MIT buildings lit up at night, with several bands of glowing green cloudlike areas hovering just above them in the black sky.]( Over the past week, coronal mass ejections from the sun have led to strong aurora activity over the Northern Hemisphere. The geomagnetic storm has created visible northern lights in parts of North America that are usually too far south to witness them. This image of an aurora seen above the MIT campus was photographed by Shreya Sharma, a PhD student in aeronautics and astronautics and affiliate of the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment. This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [sharing the joys of math and football](. 🏈 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