Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science

Lumicell Co-Founder Moungi Bawendi Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 5, 2023

Lumicell, Inc. , a privately held company focused on innovative fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for cancer surgery, today announced company co-founder Moungi G. Bawendi, PhD, is one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.

Key Points: 
  • Lumicell, Inc. , a privately held company focused on innovative fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for cancer surgery, today announced company co-founder Moungi G. Bawendi, PhD, is one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
  • The investigational Lumicell Direct Visualization System (DVS), which is designed to assist in the detection of residual cancerous tissue during lumpectomy using fluorescence imaging, was developed in Bawendi’s lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
  • The New Drug Application (NDA) for the LUMISIGHT™ Optical Imaging Agent and Premarket Approval (PMA) application for the Lumicell™ Direct Visualization System (DVS) are currently under review by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
  • Images are available for download from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Salient Awarded NOAA Grant to Advance Water Availability Forecasting with Weather Patterns Threatening Agricultural Production

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

BOSTON, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Salient Predictions, a leading pioneer in weather forecasting analytics, has been awarded a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to advance water availability forecasting that spans an unprecedented two to 52 weeks ahead. Focused in the vast agricultural region of Central Valley, California, the Phase I project will concentrate on improving predictions of subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) water availability, enabling communities to more effectively manage resources amid increasing and erratic natural disasters like floods and droughts.

Key Points: 
  • BOSTON, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Salient Predictions , a leading pioneer in weather forecasting analytics, has been awarded a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to advance water availability forecasting that spans an unprecedented two to 52 weeks ahead.
  • "Global warming has led to an intensification of the water cycle with longer droughts and more intense rainfall events, threatening agricultural production and hydropower generation," said Ray Schmitt , President and co-founder of Salient.
  • "NOAA recognizes the critical need for advancing predictive capabilities related to water availability," said Dr. Genevieve Lind , SBIR Program Manager at NOAA.
  • "Salient's proposed technology for enhancing water forecasts aligns with NOAA's mission to improve our knowledge and management of water resources in a changing climate."

Breaking Down the Science of the Blood-Brain Barrier

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 1, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For decades, many scientists have described the blood-brain barrier—a tight network of cells that separates the brain from the blood—as a nearly impenetrable border wall. But Andrew C. Yang, PhD, who is joining Gladstone Institutes as an assistant investigator, thinks there's more to it than that. He likens the blood-brain barrier to a family home.

Key Points: 
  • "I think we'll come to appreciate that, similarly, the blood-brain barrier maintains a dynamic and sophisticated dialogue with other parts of the body."
  • His research could inform the design of new drugs that can efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier, a current impediment to treating many brain conditions.
  • At the time Yang was completing his graduate studies, it remained difficult to identify individual proteins crossing the blood-brain barrier.
  • At Gladstone, Yang is looking forward to collaborating with researchers across neuroscience, immunology, and data science as he tackles the large questions of how the blood-brain barrier relates to disease.

DIII-D National Fusion Facility Completes Record-Breaking 1,600-Hour Research Campaign

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 5, 2023

San Diego, CA, July 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DIII-D National Fusion Facility completed its current two-year research campaign last week, closing out a series of experiments that pioneered many transformational advances for fusion energy.

Key Points: 
  • San Diego, CA, July 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DIII-D National Fusion Facility completed its current two-year research campaign last week, closing out a series of experiments that pioneered many transformational advances for fusion energy.
  • The campaign included a record-breaking 1,600 hours of plasma research as part of 140 ground-breaking studies.
  • As research operations conclude, the facility will begin a slate of major upgrades over the next eight months to prepare for the next phase of research.
  • The record-breaking campaign saw the facility in operations for over 200 days.

Quantum-Si Announces the Appointment of Industry Veteran Johan Denecke as Senior Vice President of Operations

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Quantum-Si Incorporated (Nasdaq: QSI) (“Quantum-Si,” “QSI” or the “Company”), The Protein Sequencing Company™, today announced the appointment of Johan Denecke as Senior Vice President of Operations, effective June 20, 2023.

Key Points: 
  • Quantum-Si Incorporated (Nasdaq: QSI) (“Quantum-Si,” “QSI” or the “Company”), The Protein Sequencing Company™, today announced the appointment of Johan Denecke as Senior Vice President of Operations, effective June 20, 2023.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230621345723/en/
    Mr. Denecke brings more than 20 years of experience as a cross-functional operations executive in engineering, quality assurance and best-in-class manufacturing practices.
  • Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Atomica where he scaled the organization yielding significant growth, efficiency, and waste reduction.
  • Mr. Denecke holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Break Through Cancer Launches Two TeamLabs Targeting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Break Through Cancer, a collaborative medical research organization empowering researchers and physicians from top cancer research institutions to intercept and find cures for several of the world's deadliest cancers, is announcing the launch of the Targeting Clonal Hematopoiesis to Prevent AML TeamLab and the Eradicating Minimal Residual Disease in AML TeamLab.

Key Points: 
  • AML accounts for 1% of all cancers and has a five-year survival rate of less than 30%.
  • Break Through Cancer TeamLabs look beyond conventional therapies, utilizing new strategies, structures, and thinking from across disciplines.
  • "The TeamLabs approach that Break Through Cancer is pioneering promises 'radical collaboration' for cancer treatment discovery while affording unprecedented synergies among our dispersed scientific teams," said Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., President of Break Through Cancer.
  • "Ultimately, our TeamLab will identify new molecular targets for treatment strategies that we hope will prevent the development and recurrence of AML," said Dr. Jacks.

Second All-Private Astronaut Mission to the International Space Station Also Brings Compelling Science and Technology Demonstrations

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 11, 2023

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., May 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The second launch of an all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by Axiom Space builds on the new era of privatized utilization of the orbiting laboratory.

Key Points: 
  • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., May 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The second launch of an all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by Axiom Space builds on the new era of privatized utilization of the orbiting laboratory.
  • Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) will send four private astronauts to the space station.
  • These investigations span diverse disciplines, from life sciences to biomanufacturing, materials science, technology demonstrations, and education projects.
  • Alqarni and Barnawi are the first two representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia slated to launch on a mission to the space station.

DIII-D National Fusion Facility Completes Highest-Powered Negative Triangularity Experiments in History of U.S. Fusion Research Program

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 24, 2023

It produced the highest-powered negative triangularity experiments in the history of the U.S. fusion research program.

Key Points: 
  • It produced the highest-powered negative triangularity experiments in the history of the U.S. fusion research program.
  • DIII-D is an Office of Science scientific user facility, operated by General Atomics (GA) for the U.S. Department of Energy.
  • This is known as “positive triangularity” and is the configuration used in nearly every experiment at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.
  • “The negative triangularity research team deserves a lot of credit for their planning and execution of this research campaign,” said Dr. Richard Buttery, Director of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

QI Solutions Joins the University of Arizona's Center for Quantum Networking

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 30, 2023

LEESBURG, Va., March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ: QUBT), ("QCI" or the "Company"), a first-to-market full-stack photonic-based quantum computing and solutions company, today announces that its subsidiary, QI Solutions, which focuses on federal projects, is joining the University of Arizona's Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) as a non-traditional defense company that offers a suite of quantum services.

Key Points: 
  • LEESBURG, Va., March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ: QUBT), ("QCI" or the "Company"), a first-to-market full-stack photonic-based quantum computing and solutions company, today announces that its subsidiary, QI Solutions, which focuses on federal projects, is joining the University of Arizona's Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) as a non-traditional defense company that offers a suite of quantum services.
  • CQN is a first of its kind campus wide networking testbed designed to securely connect quantum devices across the campus's laboratories.
  • QI Solutions is proud to team up with CQN and their partners, Harvard University, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University as well as other industry leaders, Cisco, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, and Raytheon.
  • QI Solutions' unique portfolio of quantum photonics for quantum communications, cryptography and computing solutions coupled with a deep industry expertise in application of these technologies will allow CQN and the U.S. to take further strides in quantum networking.

Stellarator Fusion Company, Type One Energy Group, Raises $29 Million in First Financing, Appointing Christofer Mowry as CEO

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 28, 2023

This effort launches the company’s ambitious, partner-rich and capital-efficient FusionDirect program to commercialize its stellarator fusion technology.

Key Points: 
  • This effort launches the company’s ambitious, partner-rich and capital-efficient FusionDirect program to commercialize its stellarator fusion technology.
  • Their FusionDirect program sets the path to directly commercialize scientifically mature stellarator technology without the need for a large proof-of-concept prototype.
  • The company’s unique FusionDirect commercialization program takes advantage of recent important breakthroughs to pursue a lowest-risk, shortest-schedule pathway to fusion energy.
  • Among several startups that we have evaluated, Type One Energy is on a credible accelerated trajectory to commercialize a steady-state baseload fusion power plant.