News

Ingenuity is the driving force behind ES 51

May 31, 2016

Cheers erupted from the crowd of spectators as the final seconds of the “Turf Wars” robot racing competition ticked down to zero. Alana Davitt, Sam Meijer, and Davis Wilkinson hoisted their arms into the air and applauded wildly as the reality of their victory sunk in.

The Sustainability Science Program at 10

May 25, 2016

In 2006, as New Orleans reeled from Hurricane Katrina and Al Gore released “An Inconvenient Truth” to international acclaim and debate, Harvard launched a University-wide program to investigate and strengthen the emerging field of sustainability science.

Based out of the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), the Sustainability Science Program was envisioned as a catalyst and training ground for generating greater understanding of global sustainable development opportunities by bridging cross-disciplinary...

In automaton we trust

May 24, 2016

If Hollywood is to be believed, there are two kinds of robots, the friendly and helpful BB-8s, and the sinister and deadly T-1000s. Few would suggest that “Star Wars: the Force Awakens” or “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” are scientifically accurate, but the two popular films beg the question, “Do humans place too much trust in robots?”

Preparing Harvard for the effects of climate change

May 23, 2016

In its nearly 400-year history, Harvard University has weathered dramatic changes. But if the predictions of climate scientists prove true, the weather itself may pose some of the biggest challenges in the near future.

Rising sea levels, warming temperatures, and the increasing prevalence of extreme storms, all anticipated consequences of climate change, could damage campus infrastructure and cause major disruptions for the 40,000...

Teeing up collaboration

May 23, 2016

No matter how many brilliant thinkers a company may employ in-house, sometimes the most innovative solution to a problem can be found from seeking answers outside–from the crowd.

“Crowds appear to reliably produce cheaper, faster, and better solutions than internal efforts for elite institutions,” said Harvard Business School Associate Professor of Business Administration Karim R. Lakhani.

A new platform for discovering antibiotics

May 20, 2016

Harvard researchers have created a greatly simplified platform for discovering antibiotics that may help solve the rising crisis of resistance to such helpful drugs.

In a study just published in the journal Nature, Andrew G. Myers and colleagues describe “a platform where we assemble eight (chemical) building blocks by a simple process to make macrolide antibiotics” without using...

RoboBees can perch to save energy

May 19, 2016

Call them the RoboBats. In a recent article in Science, Harvard roboticists demonstrate that their flying microrobots, nicknamed the RoboBees, can now perch during flight to save energy — like bats, birds, or butterflies.

“Many applications for small drones require them to stay in the air for extended periods,” said Moritz Graule, first author of the paper, who conducted this research as a student at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of...

Harvard licenses genotyping platform

May 19, 2016

Harvard University has granted a license to Aldatu Biosciences Inc., an early-stage diagnostics development company, for a novel qPCR genotyping platform that may help clinicians treating HIV more quickly determine the most effective medication for each patient.

Developed at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the technology addresses the profound challenge of drug resistance among HIV-infected patients in resource-poor areas.

While potent antiretroviral (ARV)...

Using static electricity, RoboBees can land and stick to surfaces

May 18, 2016

Call them the RoboBats. In a recent article in Science, Harvard roboticists demonstrate that their flying microrobots, nicknamed the RoboBees, can now perch during flight to save energy - like bats, birds or...

Harvard collaborates with ReWalk Robotics to develop wearable exosuits for patients with limited mobility