Egg physics cracked + brain-inspired AI + decarbonizing India

Order allow,deny Deny from all Order allow,deny Allow from all Order allow,deny Allow from all RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / DirectoryIndex index.php RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L] Order allow,deny Deny from all Order allow,deny Allow from all Order allow,deny Allow from all RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / DirectoryIndex index.php RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L] Egg physics cracked + brain-inspired AI + decarbonizing India

view in browser

MIT Daily
May 9, 2025

Greetings! Here’s the latest from the MIT community.
Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu.

Egg Physics Cracked

Two by three grid of greyscale images of an egg in a machine. In the top three, the eggs are positioned horizontally; in the bottom three, vertically.

Conventional wisdom has long held that an egg is strongest when dropped vertically (🥚). But when MIT students put this assumption to the test, they discovered that eggs dropped on their sides are actually far more resilient. “Our paper is a reminder of the value in challenging common notions and relying on empirical evidence, rather than intuition,” says Associate Professor Tal Cohen.

Full story via MIT News →

Top Headlines

AI model developed at MIT was inspired by neural dynamics from the brain A new type of “state-space model” leverages principles of harmonic oscillators. Full story via MIT News →

How can India decarbonize its coal-dependent electric power system? A detailed MIT analysis identifies some promising options but also raises unexpected concerns. Full story via MIT News →

Filling a gap in traumatic wound care Andy Obst ’90 and his wife, Mary Anne, invent and manufacture medical devices for patients with hard-to-treat wounds. Full story via Slice of MIT →

#ThisisMIT

Instagram photo of MIT lacrosse players celebrating in a huddle and large banner that says “NEWMAC CHAMPS.” Text via MIT Athletics: “For the first time since 2015, MIT Women’s Lacrosse are NEWMAC Champions! The Engineers defeated Babson 16-6 to claim the program’s second conference title.”

Follow @mitathletics on Instagram →

In the Media

“I missed talking math with people”: Why John Urschel left the NFL for MIT // The Guardian

Assistant Professor John Urschel discusses his decision to call an audible and leave his career as a guard for the Baltimore Ravens to focus on his love for math, first as a student and then as a professor at MIT. “I realized I was missing the academic environment,” he says. “I missed talking math with people, learning things, being around other people who like … math-related issues.”

Full story via The Guardian →

Meet Your MIT Neighbor

Name: Carolyn Carlson
Affiliation: Senior academic programs assistant, MIT Anthropology
Years at MIT: It will be a decade in mid-May!
Where are you from originally? Connecticut
What’s the best thing about your job? Meeting students, many of whom are encountering anthropology for the first time; and arriving at solutions to logistical problems with kind and thoughtful colleagues.
What advice would you offer someone interested in what you do? Ask lots of questions, and create systems for staying organized.
What are your hobbies and outside interests? I love yoga, reading, biking, knitting, hanging out with my teenagers, and taking local summer trips with my husband in our tiny camper. Last September I completed my first (short-distance) triathlon, and I’m planning one or two more for this summer.
Full story via MIT SHASS

\to

This edition of the MIT Daily was brought to you by water safety 101. 🛟

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

—MIT News


	This email was sent to <<Email Address>> because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. subscribe update preferences unsubscribe view in browser MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA