MIT’s nanofab master + Iran protests + the transcendent brain

The observations could illuminate how supermassive black holes feed and grow.

Women and girls are at the forefront of the uprising, which is rooted in Iranians’ long struggle for freedom, notes the MIT historian.

Sara V. Fernandez, Amanda Hu, and Brigette Wang will spend the 2023-24 academic year at Tsinghua University in China studying global affairs.

“I call myself a spiritual materialist. As a scientist, I’m a materialist. Not in the sense of seeking happiness in cars and nice clothes, but in the literal sense of the word: the belief that everything is made out of atoms and molecules, and nothing more,” writes Professor of the practice Alan Lightman in his forthcoming book, “The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in the Age of Science.” “Further, I believe that the material stuff of the universe is governed by a small number of fundamental laws. Yet I have had transcendent experiences.”

Research affiliate Ramin Hasani discusses how he and his CSAIL colleagues solved a differential equation dating back to the early 1900s, enabling researchers to create an AI algorithm that can learn on the spot and adapt to evolving patterns. The new algorithm could enable “larger-scale brain simulations,” Hasani explains.