David Chandler
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Articles by David Chandler
Helping AI models to meet the real world
Systems using artificial intelligence to enhance forecasting, planning, and decision-making in businesses have been proliferating in recent years, but in many cases, they lack the detailed, specific information about the organization itself, limiting the usefulness of those tools.
How to create distinguishable states for quantum systems
Researchers around the world are racing to develop new quantum-based systems for sensing, communication, computing, and control that have the promise of outperforming traditional systems. Creating stable, measurable, distinguishable quantum states, which would be the heart of any such system, is a daunting task. Quantum states possess unique properties that can be exploited for developing novel information processing systems.
Innovative projects explore ways to deal with extreme heat
When MIT mechanical engineering Professor Kripa Varanasi landed in New Delhi in the middle of the night in June 2024 to attend a conference, he found himself in 104-degree Fahrenheit heat. “This was June, and it was crazy. It was so hot for the whole meeting that I never left the hotel,” with daytime temperatures nearing 122 F. It didn’t used to be that way. “When I grew up in India, it was not like this,” Varanasi says.
Electrofluidic fiber muscles could enable silent robotic systems
Fiber pumps can be wound around a bundle of McKibben actuators to create compact, power-dense artificial muscles. Credit: Gabriele Pupillo, Ozgun Kilic Afsar Muscles are remarkably effective systems for generating controlled force, and engineers developing hardware for robots or prosthetics have long struggled to create analogs that can approach their unique combination of strength, rapid response, scalability, and control.
A new type of electrically driven artificial muscle fiber
Muscles are remarkably effective systems for generating controlled force, and engineers developing hardware for robots or prosthetics have long struggled to create analogs that can approach their unique combination of strength, rapid response, scalability, and control. But now, researchers at the MIT Media Lab and Politecnico di Bari in Italy have developed artificial muscle fibers that come closer to matching many of these qualities.
Listening to battery failure
Lithium-ion batteries produce faint sounds as they charge, discharge, and degrade. But until now, nobody could interpret those sounds to detect when a battery might be about to lose power, fail, or burst into flames. Now, MIT engineers have found a way to do that, even with noisy data.
Making clean energy investments more successful with forecasting tools
Governments and companies constantly face decisions about how to allocate finite amounts of money to clean energy technologies that can make a difference to the world's climate, its economies, and to society as a whole. The process is inherently uncertain, but research has been shown to help predict which technologies will be most successful. Using data-driven bases for such decisions can have a significant impact on allowing more informed decisions that produce the desired results.
Making clean energy investments more successful
Governments and companies constantly face decisions about how to allocate finite amounts of money to clean energy technologies that can make a difference to the world’s climate, its economies, and to society as a whole. The process is inherently uncertain, but research has been shown to help predict which technologies will be most successful. Using data-driven bases for such decisions can have a significant impact on allowing more informed decisions that produce the desired results.
Here-, There-, and Every Where-: Exploring the Role of Pronominal Adverbs in Legal Language
pronominal adverbs across register, legal linguistics, plain language, corpus-based grammatical analysis, legal language complexity Chandler, D., & Hashimoto, B. (2024). here-, there-, and every where-: Exploring the role of pronominal adverbs in legal language. Applied Corpus Linguistics, 4(1), 100087. Chandler, David and Hashimoto, Brett James, "Here-, There-, and Every Where-: Exploring the Role of Pronominal Adverbs in Legal Language" (2024). Faculty Publications. 7861.
New method could improve manufacturing of gene-therapy drugs
Some of the most expensive drugs currently in use are gene therapies to treat specific diseases, and their high cost limits their availability for those who need them. Part of the reason for the cost is that the manufacturing process yields as much as 90 percent non-active material, and separating out these useless parts is slow, leads to significant losses, and is not well adapted to large-scale production. Separation accounts for almost 70 percent of the total gene therapy manufacturing cost.
Designing better, longer-lasting medicines
Many modern medicines, including insulin and some vaccines, are made from proteins — complex molecules that perform specific functions in the body. Proteins are delicate: If they stick together or break down, the medicine can become less effective. Scientists have long sought ways to keep these drugs stable during manufacturing, storage, and use. Amino acids have been used as stabilizers for protein-based therapies, but there was no general understanding of how they worked.
How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ammonia production
Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world, used mostly as fertilizer, but also for the production of some plastics, textiles, and other applications. Its production, through processes that require high heat and pressure, accounts for up to 20 percent of all the greenhouse gases from the entire chemical industry, so efforts have been underway worldwide to find ways to reduce those emissions.
Decoding the sounds of battery formation and degradation
Before batteries lose power, fail suddenly, or burst into flames, they tend to produce faint sounds over time that provide a signature of the degradation processes going on within their structure. But until now, nobody had figured out how to interpret exactly what those sounds meant, and how to distinguish between ordinary background noise and significant signs of possible trouble.
A new generative AI approach to predicting chemical reactions
Your first RAG project doesn’t have to be basic. Here’s how to make it awesome from day one. We all know the two major problems that have been pointed …
A new generative AI approach to predicting chemical reactions
Many attempts have been made to harness the power of new artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) to try to predict the outcomes of new chemical reactions. These have had limited success, in part because until now they have not been grounded in an understanding of fundamental physical principles, such as the laws of conservation of mass.
Can large language models figure out the real world?
Apple TV+ is getting its best fall lineup ever, here’s everything new Apple TV+ is having a very strong year, and this fall’s lineup will continue that trend. From major returning series like Slow Horses and The Morning Show to compelling new shows like Pluribus, and several high-profile movies, there’s a lot coming. Plus, Apple likely has releases planned it hasn’t …
Can large language models figure out the real world?
Back in the 17th century, German astronomer Johannes Kepler figured out the laws of motion that made it possible to accurately predict where our solar system’s planets would appear in the sky as they orbit the sun. But it wasn’t until decades later, when Isaac Newton formulated the universal laws of gravitation, that the underlying principles were understood.
Featured research: Can large language models figure out the real world?
Back in the 17th century, German astronomer Johannes Kepler figured out the laws of motion that made it possible to accurately predict where our solar system’s planets would appear in the sky as they orbit the sun. But it wasn’t until decades later, when Isaac Newton formulated the universal laws of gravitation, that the underlying principles were understood.
A new way to test how well AI systems classify text
Is this movie review a rave or a pan? Is this news story about business or technology? Is this online chatbot conversation veering off into giving financial advice? Is this online medical information site giving out misinformation? These kinds of automated conversations, whether they involve seeking a movie or restaurant review or getting information about your bank account or health records, are becoming increasingly prevalent.
A new way to test how well AI systems classify text
Is this movie review a rave or a pan? Is this news story about business or technology? Is this online chatbot conversation veering off into giving financial advice? Is this online medical information site giving out misinformation? These kinds of automated conversations, whether they involve seeking a movie or restaurant review or getting information about your bank account or health records, are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Technology for OEM Design Engineers
By David L. Chandler, MIT Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That's a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems. Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell, which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged.
After more than a decade of successes, ESI’s work will spread out across the Institute
MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI), a pioneering cross-disciplinary body that helped give a major boost to sustainability and solutions to climate change at MIT, will close as a separate entity at the end of June. But that’s far from the end for its wide-ranging work, which will go forward under different auspices. Many of its key functions will become part of MIT’s recently launched Climate Project.
Technology for OEM Design Engineers
By David L. Chandler, MIT Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That's a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems. Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell, which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged.
Study helps pinpoint areas where microplastics will accumulate
The accumulation of microplastics in the environment, and within our bodies, is an increasingly worrisome issue. But predicting where these ubiquitous particles will accumulate, and therefore where remediation efforts should be focused, has been difficult because of the many factors that contribute to their dispersal and deposition. New research from MIT shows that one key factor in determining where microparticles are likely to build up has to do with the presence of biofilms.
New fuel cell could enable electric aviation
New fuel cell could enable electric aviation by David L. Chandler | MIT News Boston MA (SPX) Jun 04, 2025 Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That's a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems.
Study helps pinpoint areas where microplastics will accumulate
The accumulation of microplastics in the environment, and within our bodies, is an increasingly worrisome issue. But predicting where these ubiquitous particles will accumulate, and therefore where remediation efforts should be focused, has been difficult because of the many factors that contribute to their dispersal and deposition. New research from MIT shows that one key factor in determining where microparticles are likely to build up has to do with the presence of biofilms.
New fuel cell could enable electric aviation
New fuel cell could enable electric aviation by David L. Chandler | MIT News Boston MA (SPX) Jun 04, 2025 Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That's a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems.
New fuel cell could enable electric aviation
Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That’s a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems. Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell — which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged.
New fuel cell could enable electric aviation
Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That’s a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems. Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell — which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged.
How to solve a bottleneck for CO2 capture and conversion by David L. Chandler | MIT News Boston MA (SPX) May 21, 2025 Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere efficiently is often seen as a crucial need for combatting climate change, but systems for removing carbon dioxide suffer from a tradeoff. Chemical compounds that efficiently remove CO2 from the air do not easily release it once captured, and compounds that release CO2 efficiently are not very efficient at capturing it.
How to solve a bottleneck for CO2 capture and conversion
Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere efficiently is often seen as a crucial need for combatting climate change, but systems for removing carbon dioxide suffer from a tradeoff. Chemical compounds that efficiently remove CO₂ from the air do not easily release it once captured, and compounds that release CO₂ efficiently are not very efficient at capturing it. Optimizing one part of the cycle tends to make the other part worse.
Climate change, climate change mitigation, climate and health
CLIMATE CHALLENGESHow to Solve a Bottleneck for CO2 Capture and Conversion Published 20 May 2025 Today’s carbon capture systems suffer a tradeoff between efficient capture and release, but a new approach developed at MIT can boost overall efficiency. Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere efficiently is often seen as a crucial need for combatting climate change, but systems for removing carbon dioxide suffer from a tradeoff.
How to solve a bottleneck for CO2 capture and conversion
Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere efficiently is often seen as a crucial need for combatting climate change, but systems for removing carbon dioxide suffer from a tradeoff. Chemical compounds that efficiently remove CO₂ from the air do not easily release it once captured, and compounds that release CO₂ efficiently are not very efficient at capturing it. Optimizing one part of the cycle tends to make the other part worse.
Rwanda: A State of Resilience
Rwanda is perhaps the one state in Africa that is internationally recognised for its success in building resilience, moving from the horrors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis to becoming one of the most successful and unified states in the region. In fact, resilience as an approach to governance has been central to the post-genocide regime of President Paul Kagame.
Common catalyst works by cycling between two different forms, upending a long-held supposition
The process of catalysis—in which a material speeds up a chemical reaction—is crucial to the production of many of the chemicals used in our everyday lives. But even though these catalytic processes are widespread, researchers often lack a clear understanding of exactly how they work.
Surprise Discovery Could Lead To Improved Catalysts For Industrial Reactions
By David L. Chandler, MIT News Upending a long-held supposition, MIT researchers find a common catalyst works by cycling between two different forms. The process of catalysis — in which a material speeds up a chemical reaction — is crucial to the production of many of the chemicals used in our everyday lives. But even though these catalytic processes are widespread, researchers often lack a clear understanding of exactly how they work.
For plants, urban heat islands don’t mimic global warming
It’s tricky to predict precisely what the impacts of climate change will be, given the many variables involved. To predict the impacts of a warmer world on plant life, some researchers look at urban “heat islands,” where, because of the effects of urban structures, temperatures consistently run a few degrees higher than those of the surrounding rural areas. This enables side-by-side comparisons of plant responses.
Technology Developed by MIT Engineers Makes Pesticides Stick to Plant Leaves
By David L. Chandler Reducing the amount of agricultural sprays used by farmers — including fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides — could cut down the amount of polluting runoff that ends up in the environment while at the same time reducing farmers’ costs and perhaps even enhancing their productivity. A classic win-win-win. A team of researchers at MIT and a spinoff company they launched has developed a system to do just that.
Technology Developed By MIT Engineers Makes Pesticides Stick To Plant Leaves
By David L. Chandler, With the new system, farmers could significantly cut their use of pesticides and fertilizers, saving money and reducing runoff. Reducing the amount of agricultural sprays used by farmers — including fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides — could cut down the amount of polluting runoff that ends up in the environment while at the same time reducing farmers’ costs and perhaps even enhancing their productivity. A classic win-win-win.
Astronomers have spotted the most distant comet ever discovered
Comets develop the spectacular long tails that they are known for by approaching the Sun. When they get too close, their icy volatile materials begin to sublimate away, carrying along clouds of dust. But this activity usually only happens relatively close to the Sun, as comets spend most of their time in the outer solar system on highly elongated orbits.
Will neutrons compromise the operation of superconducting magnets in a fusion plant?
Will neutrons compromise the operation of superconducting magnets in a fusion plant? by David L. Chandler | MIT News Boston MA (SPX) Feb 28, 2025 High-temperature superconducting magnets made from REBCO, an acronym for rare earth barium copper oxide, make it possible to create an intense magnetic field that can confine the extremely hot plasma needed for fusion reactions, which combine two hydrogen atoms to form an atom of helium, releasing a neutron in the process.
Will neutrons compromise the operation of superconducting magnets in a fusion plant?
High-temperature superconducting magnets made from REBCO, an acronym for rare-earth barium copper oxide, make it possible to create an intense magnetic field that can confine the extremely hot plasma needed for fusion reactions, which combine two hydrogen atoms to form an atom of helium, releasing a neutron in the process.
Will neutrons compromise the operation of superconducting magnets in a fusion plant?
Will neutrons compromise the operation of superconducting magnets in a fusion plant? by David L. Chandler | MIT News Boston MA (SPX) Feb 28, 2025 High-temperature superconducting magnets made from REBCO, an acronym for rare earth barium copper oxide, make it possible to create an intense magnetic field that can confine the extremely hot plasma needed for fusion reactions, which combine two hydrogen atoms to form an atom of helium, releasing a neutron in the process.
Will neutrons compromise the operation of superconducting magnets in a fusion plant? Original
High-temperature superconducting magnets made from REBCO, an acronym for rare earth barium copper oxide, make it possible to create an intense magnetic field that can confine the extremely hot plasma needed for fusion reactions, which combine two hydrogen atoms to form an atom of helium, releasing a neutron in the process.
For clean ammonia, MIT engineers propose going underground
Ammonia is the most widely produced chemical in the world today, used primarily as a source for nitrogen fertilizer. Its production is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions — the highest in the whole chemical industry. Now, a team of researchers at MIT has developed an innovative way of making ammonia without the usual fossil-fuel-powered chemical plants that require high heat and pressure.
For clean ammonia, MIT engineers propose going underground
For clean ammonia, MIT engineers propose going underground by David L. Chandler | MIT News Boston MA (SPX) Jan 22, 2025 Ammonia is the most widely produced chemical in the world today, used primarily as a source for nitrogen fertilizer. Its production is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions - the highest in the whole chemical industry.
How hard is it to prevent recurring blackouts in Puerto Rico?
How hard is it to prevent recurring blackouts in Puerto Rico? by David Chandler | MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems Boston MA (SPX) Jan 10, 2025 Researchers at MIT's Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) have shown that using decision-making software and dynamic monitoring of weather and energy use can significantly improve resiliency in the face of weather-related outages, and can also help to efficiently integrate renewable energy sources into the grid.
How hard is it to prevent recurring blackouts in Puerto Rico?
Researchers at MIT’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) have shown that using decision-making software and dynamic monitoring of weather and energy use can significantly improve resiliency in the face of weather-related outages, and can also help to efficiently integrate renewable energy sources into the grid.
So you want to build a solar or wind farm? Here’s how to decide where.
Deciding where to build new solar or wind installations is often left up to individual developers or utilities, with limited overall coordination. But a new study shows that regional-level planning using fine-grained weather data, information about energy use, and energy system modeling can make a big difference in the design of such renewable power installations. This also leads to more efficient and economically viable operations.
New solar projects will grow renewable energy generation for four major campus buildings
In the latest step to implement commitments made in MIT’s Fast Forward climate action plan, staff from the Department of Facilities; Office of Sustainability; and Environment, Health and Safety Office are advancing new solar panel installations this fall and winter on four major campus buildings: The Stratton Student Center (W20), the Dewey Library building (E53), and two newer buildings, New Vassar (W46) and the Theater Arts building (W97).
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