Innovating for the hybrid future of work
Skepticism about how productive employees could be if they worked from home also eroded. An April 2021 study from the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago examined companies’ post-covid remote work plans...
Investing in people is key to successful transformation
People can be your most important catalyst for digital transformation—or the greatest obstacle. When people-related challenges to transformation progress emerge, the problems are usually very easy to identify but much harder to solve. The...
Clinical trials are better, faster, cheaper with big data
“One of the most difficult parts of my job is enrolling patients into studies,” says Nicholas Borys, chief medical officer for Lawrenceville, N.J., biotechnology company Celsion, which develops next-generation chemotherapy and immunotherapy agents for...
How to accelerate the world into the 5G era
Demand for 5G smartphones is reaching an all-time highIn 2021, consumers and institutions alike are fast-tracking a digital revolution in an unprecedented era of social distancing and remote work—a trend that may continue long...
Collective data rights can stop big tech from obliterating privacy
Individuals should not have to fight for their data privacy rights and be responsible for every consequence of their digital actions. Consider an analogy: people have a right to safe drinking water, but they...
Contact cravings
After months of social distancing, it’s not surprising that many people have felt starved for human companionship. Now a study from MIT has found that to our brains, the longings we feel during isolation...
Envisioning better health outcomes for all
The current covid-19 pandemic has shined the spotlight on longstanding health inequities for people of color. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to the general United States population, African Americans...
The quinoa evangelist
In the early 1970s, Steve Gorad ’63 had a successful career as a clinical psychologist. He was in charge of the alcohol unit at Boston State Hospital and had a private practice, but he...
Sustaining our mission, shaping the conversation
Looking back to the start of the pandemic, I am struck by our community’s formidable strength. In March 2020, we did not know what it would take to sustain MIT’s great mission through this...
Slowing the spread
From the choir rehearsal in Washington to family gatherings in Chicago, numerous covid-19 “superspreading” events have seen one person infect many others. MIT researchers who studied about 60 such events found that they have...
