New facility to accelerate materials solutions for fusion energy
MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center to establish the Schmidt Laboratory for Materials in Nuclear Technologies.
Department
Physics
Physicists observe a new form of magnetism for the first time
The magnetic state offers a new route to “spintronic” memory devices that would be faster and more efficient than their electronic counterparts.
Eight with MIT ties win 2025 Hertz Foundation Fellowships
The fellowships recognize doctoral students who have “the extraordinary creativity and principled leadership necessary to tackle problems others can’t solve.”
$20 million gift supports theoretical physics research and education at MIT
Gift from the Leinweber Foundation, in addition to a $5 million commitment from the School of Science, will drive discovery, collaboration, and the next generation of physics leaders.
MIT physicists discover a new type of superconductor that’s also a magnet
The “one-of-a-kind” phenomenon was observed in ordinary graphite.
MIT physicists snap the first images of “free-range” atoms
The results will help scientists visualize never-before-seen quantum phenomena in real space.
Astronomers discover a planet that’s rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail
The small and rocky lava world sheds an amount of material equivalent to the mass of Mount Everest every 30.5 hours.
Unparalleled student support
Professors Andrew Vanderburg and Ariel White are honored as “Committed to Caring.”
MIT affiliates named 2024 AAAS Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science recognizes six current affiliates and 27 additional MIT alumni for their efforts to advance science and related fields.
Professor Emeritus Earle Lomon, nuclear theorist, dies at 94
On the physics faculty for nearly 40 years and a member of the Center for Theoretical Physics, he focused on the interactions of hadrons and developed an R-matrix formulation of scattering theory.
MIT scientists engineer starfish cells to shape-shift in response to light
The research may enable the design of synthetic, light-activated cells for wound healing or drug delivery.
Device enables direct communication among multiple quantum processors
MIT researchers developed a photon-shuttling “interconnect” that can facilitate remote entanglement, a key step toward a practical quantum computer.
Professor Emeritus Lee Grodzins, pioneer in nuclear physics, dies at 98
An MIT faculty member for 40 years, Grodzins performed groundbreaking studies of the weak interaction, led in detection technology, and co-founded the Union of Concerned Scientists.
A dive into the “almost magical” potential of photonic crystals
In MIT’s 2025 Killian Lecture, physicist John Joannopoulos recounts highlights from a career at the vanguard of photonics research and innovation.
QS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 11 subjects for 2025
The Institute also ranks second in seven subject areas.