21A.S01 Anthro-Engineering: Decarbonization at the Million-Person Scale, co-taught by Professors Manduhai Buyandelger of MIT Anthropology and Michael Short of MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering (and faculty lead of MIT’s NEET Climate & Sustainability Systems thread) catalyzed MIT students and educators to journey to the Mongolian capital city, Ulaanbataar, over IAP 2023.

Prof. Buyandelger's framing of Ulaanbataar's power and pollution problem through an anthropological lens proved instrumental in deepening students' understanding of the intricate dynamics at play. She asks, "The prototype works in the lab, but does it work in real life once you factor in the challenges in the larger structures of delivery, production, and implementation in Mongolia?"

Students from MIT Anthropology's DV Lab class shot footage documenting 2022's Living Climate Futures events including: Indigenous Earth Day, Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience Tour at GreenRoots in Chelsea, and EcoTown Workshop Event.

"A class like Paranormal Machines complements the educational mission of the Institute by giving students an opportunity to reflect critically and creatively on what science and technology do in these students lives." - Graham Jones

2022 NEW DIRECTIONS AWARD - GROUP CATEGORY | Honorable Mention: Southeast Chicago Archive and Storytelling Project (SECASP)

Christine J. Walley, Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The recently launched Southeast Chicago Archive and Storytelling Project (SECASP) (sechicagohistory.org)  is an online collaborative venture. It highlights materials donated to the all-volunteer Southeast Chicago Historical Museum by the multiracial working-class residents who historically settled in this former steel mill region. The website uses residents' saved objects – and the stories they told about them – to bring to life everyday experiences of work, immigration, job loss, and environmental contamination from the point of view of residents themselves.

The GAD Awards Committee acknowledges the creativity, innovation, and broad dissemination of anthropological insights of SECASP, a collaborative digital project that exposes the public to the history and material culture of Chicago's ethnically diverse working-class neighborhoods.

MIT Provost Cynthia Barnhart has announced three Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grants to support bold research projects across diverse areas of study including biology, engineering, and the humanities.

Among this year's recipients are Graham Jones of the Anthropology Section and Arvind Satayanaryan of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Their “Magical Data Visualization” proposal uses performance magic to create new visualizations that are responsive to the users’ intent, potentially impacting how misinformation spreads.