MIT Tech Connection

Drawing on expertise from a long US Navy career, Pacific Engineering president Osie V. Combs Jr. OEng ’77, SM ’77 is partnering with the State of Nebraska on sites for cold-weather Covid testing.

A sixth of the global population lives in informal urban or squatter settlements. “Traditionally, policymakers see these people as a problem,” says Janice Perlman PhD ’71. “I believe they’re part of the solution.”

Analyzing homebuying trends, Daryl Fairweather ’10, chief economist of the real estate website and brokerage Redfin, seeks explanations based in complex human motivations.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Frederick Goff SM ’01 and colleagues created Jobcase to help people “manage their own future of work with a set of open tools.”

A new book by Motional CTO Laura Major SM ’05 and MIT associate professor Julie Shah ’04, SM ’06, PhD ’11 explores a future populated with robot helpers.

All alumni are invited to join us Tuesday, November 17, at 7:00 p.m. EST, to hear insights from Institute leaders, faculty, students, and alumni in global pursuit of scientific knowledge. This MIT Better World event will be virtually hosted by MIT alumni and friends in Canada. The main session will feature MIT chancellor for academic advancement W. Eric L. Grimson PhD ’80, dean of the School of Science Nergis Mavalvala PhD ’97, and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences faculty member Rebecca Saxe PhD ’03, and will be followed by interactive breakout sessions. Register now to attend.

On Tuesday, December 1, the world will mark Giving Tuesday, “a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.” Join thousands of MIT alumni in visiting giving.mit.edu that day to support MIT students, who are hard at work making a better world for us all.

Each year, the Institute recognizes the outstanding contributions of alumni who volunteer for MIT. Recognize a fellow alum for their commitment and dedication with an MIT Alumni Leadership Award. Submit your nomination by December 13.

On November 17, author, economist, and activist Winona LaDuke will discuss “An Indigenous Green New Deal.” And on December 3, University of Minnesota professor Samuel L. Myers PhD ’76 will answer questions about his recent book, Race Neutrality: Rationalizing Remedies to Racial Inequality. Sign up to attend these and other upcoming MIT Alumni Association virtual events.

Are you an MIT maker? From Arduino-based alarm clocks to culinary masterpieces, check out our roundup of alumni maker projects (requires Instagram login). To have yours added, tag @mitalumni on Instagram or use #MITmaking on any social media platform.

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE)—en route to Mars with NASA’s Perseverance rover—was designed to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. This video explains how.