News

Mariam Abdelbarr, Francesca Garfi elected 2026–2027 UA President and Vice President

On Sunday, March 22, at 6:15 p.m., the Undergraduate Association Election Commission announced that Mariam Abdelbarr ’27 and Francesca Garfi ’29 will serve as the 2026–2027 UA President and Vice President, respectively.

News

Contentious UA debate follows recent budget controversy

On March 16, a debate was held between three UA Election tickets: Mariam Abdelbarr ’27 and Francesca Garfi ’29; Johnnie Jones VI ’27 and Matthew Barnett ’27; and Rivka Lipkovitz ’29 and Anthony Donegan ’28.

News

UA President Alice Hall ’26 clarifies “The UA Files” dormspam debate

On Feb. 21, a dormspam email voiced concerns about the UA’s budget and incited student debates about the organization’s purpose, funding, and structure.

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Mariam Abdelbarr '27 (left) and Francesca Garfi '29 (right) have been elected the 2026–2027 UA President and Vice President. Photo courtesy of Fernanda Guerrero
News

4/2 In Short

Drop Date is on Tuesday, April 21.

News

MIT admits 644 in Regular Action for Class of 2030

On Saturday, March 14, at 1:59 p.m., MIT released Regular Action decisions for the Class of 2030, yielding a highly competitive acceptance rate of 4.6%.

News

Dean of Engineering Paula Hammond on the future of engineering education

On March 5, The Tech interviewed Paula Hammond ’84 PhD ’93 regarding her recent appointment as Dean of Engineering.

meet the minds

Dr. Yiqiao Zheng uses her multidisciplinary expertise both inside and outside of the lab

The current President of the Postdoctoral Association has changed fields twice, and she has thoughts on how science is conducted.

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Lew Lab postdoc and Postdoc Association President Dr. Yiqiao Zheng in her lab, March 2026. Photo courtesy of Dr. Yiqiao Zheng
weather

Unsettled weather continues, more cold next week

A southwesterly flow will return on Friday, bringing warmer air from inland with a high approaching 60°F. It will stay warm on Saturday; the sun may even come out briefly. On Sunday, the rain will return with the potential for a line of thunderstorms mid-day.

Science

Major new NIH investment in women’s health science arrives at MIT

A new $3-million-per-year grant from the National Institutes of Health will fund a Technology Development Center for women’s health at MIT, supporting the development of advanced techniques to study diseases that disproportionately affect women.

Science

What’s in a number?

The hidden patterns and properties of 2026.

Science

The search for eco-friendly energy: MITxGE Vernova alliance unveils novel climate-positive energy research

Five months after the announcement of a five-year partnership, MIT and GE Vernova came together to showcase the newest breakthroughs in renewable energy.

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Charudatta Mehendale (left) opens the Wind Innovation panel of the MITxGE Vernova Energy Symposium on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Malakhi Beyah–The Tech
Science

Science journalist Matt Kaplan presents historical cases of pushback against scientific breakthroughs, from Galileo to Karikó

From Galileo Galilei to Katalin Karikó, Kaplan shows how the scientific community can be resistant to new ideas, even though they are supported by facts.

Science

Cysteine may be the secret to repairing gut damage

A new MIT study has identified that cysteine initiates the regeneration of the intestinal lining by activating intestinal stem cells.

Arts

‘Daughters’ documentary directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae talk about the emotional toll of parental incarceration at WBUR CitySpace

On Friday, March 27, WBUR CitySpace hosted a screening and discussion of ‘Daughters,’ a documentary about four girls who prepare a special father-daughter dance with their incarcerated fathers in a Washington, D.C. jail.

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WBUR reporter Simón Rios (right) hosts a conversation with ‘Daughters’ documentary directors Natalie Rae (left) and Angela Patton (center) at WBUR CitySpace on Friday, March 27, 2026. Photo courtesy of Milena Fernsler/WBUR
concert review

Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson makes his solo debut at Boston’s Symphony Hall on March 20

On March 20, acclaimed pianist Víkingur Ólafsson made his solo debut at Boston’s Symphony Hall.

concert review

The BLO’s ‘Das Lied von der Erde’: immense tragedy in slim form

A reimagined performance of Mahler’s symphony inaugurates the BLO’s new performance space.

book review

‘A Terribly Nasty Business’ is as much of a romp as its predecessor

Julia Seales continues to affectionately poke fun at Jane Austen and regency romance while weaving a mystery filled with unexpected twists and turns that is simultaneously clever and delightfully ridiculous.

Arts

Andris Nelsons to leave Boston after 13 seasons as music director of the BSO

On March 6, Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) President and CEO Chad Smith announced that Andris Nelsons, the orchestra’s music director since 2014, would conclude his tenure at the end of the 2027 Tanglewood season. This decision was shocking for an institution that had seemed, just months before, secure in its artistic vision.

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Boston Symphony Orchestra's music director Andris Nelsons conducting Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Photo courtesy of Robert Torres
concert review

Brahms at his loneliest

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) performance on March 7 was by no means the most precise; however, the emotional delivery of the program ultimately made the evening compelling.

album review

War Child Records’s ‘HELP(2)’ does good, sounds great

Stellar covers from Olivia Rodrigo and Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, alongside excellent new original songs from Black Country, New Road and Arctic Monkeys, seal the deal.

movie review

‘Hoppers’: A lighthearted movie with plenty of pep in its step

Daniel Chong brings his signature charm from ‘We Bare Bears’ to an absurdly wacky adventure with themes that feel especially relevant today.

book review

Fredrik Backman’s new novel ‘My Friends’ is heartfelt, funny, and beautiful

‘My Friends’ is an ode to young artists who are unsure of themselves and courageous teenagers who refuse to give up on their friends.

Opinion

Fighting for fellows: MIT works because we do, too

MIT grads have made it clear — we want equal protections for equal work! Sign our Fellows Petition to show MIT that fellows should be treated the same as RA/TAs!

Open letter on TFUAP’s changes to the science requirement

The reduction of the science breadth requirement could inadvertently disincentivize exploratory learning and interdisciplinary thought.

As thousands are killed in Iran, MIT remains silent

Students in Tehran are risking everything to protest this week. At MIT, the administration has not said a word.

Arts

A heartwarming night at the Fiddler’s House

Itzhak Perlman and the Klezmer Conservatory paid stunning homage to their Jewish roots while simultaneously reminding us of the beauty of music, joy as resistance, and the triumph in celebration and love.

The BSO offers a splendid rendition of Bruckner alongside a convincing American premiere of Salonen’s Horn concerto

Salonen returns to the BSO after 13 years with his Horn concerto written for Dohr, principal Horn player of the Berlin Philharmonic.

‘The Emperor of Gladness’: an intimate portrait of hope and darkness in hardscrabble New England

It is 2009, and the opioid crisis has torn through New England, leaving thousands to die before the CDC even calls it an epidemic.

Campus Life

On belonging

We live on a floating orb somewhere in the middle of who-knows-where, with no context for any of it. Is it really so surprising if we feel a little lost sometimes?

My metric for living

I aspire to think of ‘more life’ not as an extra hour added to the 24-hour clock, but as experiencing more vitality and meaning in the same 16 waking hours we already have — to not only have a beating heart, but to actually feel alive.

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I got stuck in London for two days