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Spotlight: Jan 14, 2026

Leslie Tilley is both an ethnomusicologist, who studies music in its cultural settings, and a music analyst, who examines its formal principles. One of her core interests is how artists create infinitely new work out of existing musical knowledge.

Jan 14, 2026

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Research and Education that Matter

New MITEI research charts the impact of ammonia energy production and trade pathways. “Everyone is talking about ammonia as a super important hydrogen carrier in the future,” Woojae Shin says. “But we needed this dataset. It’s filling a major knowledge gap.”

The chemical propulsion systems that got us to the moon just won’t work for the longer journey to Mars. NSE grad student Taylor Hampson is modeling an engine that heats propellant using nuclear energy, producing thrust that could reduce travel times to the Red Planet.

New nanoparticles coated with molecular sensors may enable paper-strip tests for many types of cancer. “We’re focused on ultra-sensitive detection in diseases like the early stages of cancer, or early on in recurrence after surgery,” Sangeeta Bhatia says.

A new MIT program will help train military leaders for the AI age, equipping naval officers with skills needed to solve the military’s hardest problems. It’s part of the MIT Naval Construction and Engineering program, marking its 125th year in 2026.

In a world without MIT, radar wouldn’t have been available to help win World War II. We might not have email, CT scans, time-release drugs, photolithography, or GPS. And we’d lose over 30,000 companies, employing millions of people. Can you imagine?

​Since its founding, MIT has been key to helping American science and innovation lead the world. Discoveries that begin here generate jobs and power the economy — and what we create today builds a better tomorrow for all of us.