Cutting Edge Research

Here are some examples of the research at MIT that inspires us.

Stimulating Sight

Researchers at MIT are working on a retinal implant that could one day help blind people regain a useful level of vision. A team led by John Wyatt, a professor of electrical engineering, and comprised of scientists, engineers, and ophthalmologists from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, the Boston VA Medical Center, Cornell University, and MIT, is designing an implant for people who have lost retinal sight from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related muscular degeneration. The retinal prosthesis would take over the function of lost retinal cells by electrically stimulating nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain. The team hopes to start testing a prototype in blind patients within the next three years. The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the VA Center for Innovative Visual Rehabilitation, the National Science Foundation, the Catalyst Foundation, and the MOSIS microchip fabrication service. More details.

Energy Initiative

The Energy Initiative at MIT, launched in September 2006, is dedicated to helping the world meet its energy needs by re-thinking the global energy system. Thomas Friedman described one small part of that effort in a New York Times editorial¹:

Last week, I also met with two groups of M.I.T. students who blew me away. One was the M.I.T. Energy Club, which was founded in 2004 by a few grad students discussing energy over beers at a campus bar. Today it has 600-plus members who have put on scores of events focused on building energy expertise among M.I.T. students and faculty, and "fact-based analysis," including a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Then I got together with three engineering undergrads who helped launch the Vehicle Design Summit — a global, open-source, collaborative effort, managed by M.I.T. students, that has 25 college teams around the world, including in India and China, working together to build a plug-in electric hybrid within three years. Each team contributes a different set of parts or designs. I thought writing for my college newspaper was cool. These kids are building a hyper-efficient car, which, they hope, "will demonstrate a 95 percent reduction in embodied energy, materials and toxicity from cradle to cradle to grave" and provide "200 m.p.g. energy equivalency or better." The Linux of cars!

They're not waiting for G.M. Their goal, they explain on their Web site — vds.mit.edu — is "to identify the key characteristics of events like the race to the moon and then transpose this energy, passion, focus and urgency" on catalyzing a global team to build a clean car. I just love their tag line. It's what gives me hope:

"We are the people we have been waiting for."

Further details about the MIT Energy Initiative can be found at web.mit.edu/mitei.

¹Thomas Friedman, "The People We Have Been Waiting For", New York Times Op-Ed Dec 2nd, 2007. Read online.