In MIT’s 2024 Killian Lecture, chemical engineer Paula Hammond described her groundbreaking work on nanoparticles designed to attack tumor cells.

The device, based on simple tetromino shapes, could determine the direction and distance of a radiation source, with fewer detector pixels.

Most antibiotics target metabolically active bacteria, but with artificial intelligence, researchers can efficiently screen compounds that are lethal to dormant microbes.

Postdoc Xuhai Xu and his colleagues have developed an AI program that can distribute pop-up reminders to help limit smartphone screen time. “A random notification to stop doomscrolling won’t always tear someone away from their phone. But machine learning can personalize that intervention so it arrives at the moment when it is most likely to work.”

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found that a textured surface, designed like a shark riblet, can improve the towed sonar arrays (TSAs) used by ships and submarines. “Utilizing computational modeling, researchers tested various riblet shapes and patterns interacting with simulated water environments. From calm currents to the more commonly unpredictable flows seen in oceans, the team observed how smooth, triangular, trapezoidal, and scalloped riblets might affect fluid dynamics and acoustics.”