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MIT Spinout Tapping Into the Million-Year Energy Source Below Our Feet

What if we could retrofit virtually every coal and gas power plant in the world to use a carbon-free energy source deep below our feet — geothermal energy. Quaise Energy, an MIT spinout, is working to create geothermal wells made from the deepest holes in the world. There’s an abandoned coal power plant in upstate New York that most people consider a worthless relic. MIT’s Paul Woskov, on the other hand, has a different perspective. Woskov, a research engineer in MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, points out that the plant’s power turbine is still intact and the transmission lines…

The Michael Jordan of Solar Cells: New Technology Proves Its Lasting Power

Lead Image: An emerging class of solar energy technology, made with perovskite semiconductors, has passed the long-sought milestone of a 30-year lifetime. The Princeton Engineering researchers who designed the new device also revealed a new method for testing long-term performance, a key hurdle on the road to commercialization. Credit: Photos by Bumper DeJesus 30-year perovskite solar cells and the new technique for testing them for the long haul. Princeton Engineering scientists have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a commercially viable lifetime, marking a major milestone for an emerging class of renewable energy technology. The research team projects their…

AI Machine-Learning: In Bias We Trust?

Lead Image: MIT researchers find that the explanation methods designed to help users determine whether to trust a machine-learning model’s predictions can perpetuate biases and lead to worse outcomes for people from disadvantaged groups. Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT with images from iStockphoto According to a new study, explanation methods that help users determine whether to trust machine-learning model predictions can be less accurate for disadvantaged subgroups. Machine-learning algorithms are sometimes employed to assist human decision-makers when the stakes are high. For example, a model may predict which law school candidates are most likely to pass the bar exam, assisting admissions…

Engineers Develop New Lithium-Ion Batteries That Work Well in Scorching Heat as Well as Extreme Cold

Engineers have developed new energy-packed lithium-ion batteries that perform well at frigid cold and blazing hot temperatures. Engineers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed new lithium-ion batteries that perform well at freezing cold and scorching hot temperatures, while still packing a lot of energy. According to the researchers, this feat was accomplished by developing an electrolyte that is not only versatile and robust throughout a wide temperature range, but also compatible with a high-energy anode and cathode. The temperature-resilient batteries are described in a paper published the week of July 4 in the journal Proceedings of…

An Avoidable Disaster: Experts Believe That Climate Change Threatens the Health of Billions

Lead Image: A team of over 80 experts collaborated to evaluate the impacts of climate change. Climate change poses a significant danger to people’s health, yet solutions are within reach Climate change is thought to have a vast range of impacts on health today. However, experts believe that this will become even more severe unless action is soon taken. The health of vulnerable groups might become more jeopardized by both direct effects, such as excessive heat, and indirect effects, such as those of decreased food and nutrition security. Outstanding scientists from around the world have teamed up to gather and…