News + Impact - MIT EAPS

How the search for extraterrestrial life helps sustainability on Earth

February 11, 2026

Categories: Life + Environments, Planets, Research, Students + Postdocs

A minimalist evolutionary tree in front of stylized cyanobacteria.

Some early life forms may have breathed oxygen well before it filled the atmosphere

February 6, 2026

Categories: Life + Environments, Research, Students + Postdocs

Group photo of MIT students and IAC-ULL PhD students together with researchers and teaching staff, following the joint scientific conference held at the University of La Laguna.

MIT holds fourth astronomy camp at the Teide Observatory

February 2, 2026

Categories: Community, In the Media, Planets, Students + Postdocs

Two presenters at the front of a crowded room giving a lecture.

CS3 students and postdocs present lecture series on climate science and policy

January 26, 2026

Categories: Climate, Community, Students + Postdocs

Jupiter’s North Pole showing multiple vortexes.

Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets’ interior details

January 19, 2026

Categories: Planets, Research, Students + Postdocs

Overheated person with fan.

New research may help scientists predict when a humid heat wave will break

January 5, 2026

Categories: Climate, Natural Hazards, Research, Students + Postdocs

A Mobile Laser Scanning truck parked near a surface rupture in the California desert.

Earthquake damage at deeper depths occurs long after initial activity

October 06, 2025

Categories: Landscapes + Planetary Interiors, Natural Hazards, Research, Students + Postdocs

A variety of sea sponges, some tall and cylindrical, some wide and flat, and some bowl-shaped.

The first animals on Earth may have been sea sponges, study suggests

September 29, 2025

Categories: Life + Environments, Research, Students + Postdocs

Pope Leo XIV sits in the center of a front row with three other Vatican officials; behind him are six rows of students and scientists involved with the Vatican Observatory Summer School program.

Student perspective: what does one wear to meet the Pope?

September 15, 2025

Categories: Planets, Students + Postdocs

An artist’s rendition of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e as it transits in front of its host star.

New study finds habitable-zone planet unlikely to have a Venus- or Mars-like atmosphere

September 8, 2025

Categories: Planets, Research, Students + Postdocs

Two students confer in front of an array of monitors with astronomy data.

New student optical “astronomy hub” ready for remote observations

August 6, 2025

Categories: Community, Planets, Students + Postdocs

Antarctica as seen from space, with coloring depicting ozone recovery.

Tracing persistent ozone-depleting emissions to their source

July 3, 2025

Categories: Health of the Planet, Research, Students + Postdocs

Three MIT PhD graduates in caps and robes pose with their diplomas and new doctoral hoods.

Commencement 2025 Roundup: Degrees Earned

June 20, 2025

Categories: Community, Students + Postdocs

A river reef on Tetiaroa.

Island rivers carve passageways through coral reefs

June 20, 2025

Categories: Landscapes + Planetary Interiors, Research, Students + Postdocs

Researchers taking samples from a small pool of water.

When Earth iced over, early life may have sheltered in meltwater ponds

June 19, 2025

Categories: Life + Environments, Research, Students + Postdocs

Nikos Trichakis, Caspar Hare, Annaliese Meyer, Sally Kornbluth, Dan Huttenlocher, and Asu Ozdaglar stand in a row in front of a light wooden wall. Meyer holds a colorful glass award.

Marine microbe thesis work inspires vision of healthcare future — and computing prize

June 9, 2025

Categories: Awards + Promotions, Community, Students + Postdocs

Looking down toward a guitarist and banjo player from the top of the bleachers filled with seated guests in the Building 55 atrium during the EAPS commencement reception.

Scenes from EAPS Commencement 2025

June 6, 2025

Categories: Community, Students + Postdocs

Anthony Wong stands at a research poster while explaining it to another person.

3Q’s: Investigating environmental impacts of alternative fuel usage

June 3, 2025

Categories: Health of the Planet, Research, Students + Postdocs

Seven undergraduates gathered wearing commencement caps and gowns under a tent.

Meet the EAPS Majors: Class of 2025

May 30, 2025

Categories: Community, Students + Postdocs

Ananda Santos Figueiredo seated at a table in a classroom, with a pug sitting in the chair next to her.

Meet Ananda Figueiredo ’25: Shaping the future through systems thinking

May 27, 2025

Categories: Community, Profile, Students + Postdocs