Gabriel Mahia

The Mobility Systems Center (MSC), one of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)’s Low-Carbon Energy Centers , will fund four new research projects that will allow for deeper insights into achieving a decarbonized transportation sector. "Based on input from our Mobility Systems Center members, we have selected an excellent and diverse set of projects to initiate this summer,” says Randall Field , the center’s executive director. “The awarded projects will address a variety of pressing topics including the impacts of Covid-19 on urban mobility, strategies for electric vehicle charging networks, and infrastructure and economics for hydrogen-fueled transportation.” The projects are spearheaded by faculty and researchers from across the Institute, with experts in several fields including economics, urban planning, and energy systems. In addition to pursuing new avenues of research, the Mobility Systems Center also welcomes Jinhua Zhao as co-director. Zhao serves alongside Professor Wil...

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended educational systems around the world, from kindergartens through graduate schools. Classes with students packed into seats and a teacher giving lessons from the front were suddenly transformed into some combination of online Zoom lessons, home instruction by parents, or solitary work. When things eventually stabilize and return to “normal,” what will that normal be? Sanjay Sarma, MIT’s vice president for open learning, sees this unprecedented upheaval as a moment to get rid of outmoded methods with little pedagogical basis, and replace them with new approaches based on the latest scientific research on how learning works. In a new book called  “Grasp”  Sarma has drawn on his years of experience directing MIT’s many online learning systems, including  MITx  and  OpenCourseWare . With lessons from the use of these platforms and from ongoing research on cognitive science, he offers a vision of how teaching and learning can be rad...

Astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala has been named the new dean of MIT’s School of Science, effective Sept. 1. She will succeed Michael Sipser, who will return to the faculty as the Donner Professor of Mathematics, after six years of service. Mavalvala, the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics, is renowned for her pioneering work in gravitational-wave detection, which she conducted as a leading member of LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. She has received numerous awards and honors for her research and teaching, and since 2015 has been the associate head of the Department of Physics. Mavalvala will be the first woman to serve as dean in the School of Science. “Nergis’s brilliance as a researcher and educator speaks eloquently for itself,” says MIT President L. Rafael Reif. “What excites me equally about her appointment as dean are the qualities I have seen in her as a leader: She is a deft, collaborative problem-solver, a wise and generous col...

In news that’s surprisingly not bad, a lot of Nintendo Switch games are on sale. from Wired https://ift.tt/3hlVw34 via Gabe's Musing's

These motor-powered desks aren’t all hype. They actually do make you feel better—physically and mentally. from Wired https://ift.tt/3j8FgDj via Gabe's Musing's

SafeBoda is a ride-hailing app which ensures access to contraceptives during the Covid-19 pandemic. from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/3j1I0Cj via Gabe's Musing's

The event occurred the day after the former VP accepted the Democratic nomination for President. Byron Allen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and George Clooney co-hosted a virtual fundraiser Friday (Aug. 21) for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, raising $7 million from about 25 Hollywood Democratic donors. The intimate virtual event was organized by consulting firm GLS, and featured appearances from Biden, running mate Kamala Harris , and their spouses.  Allen and his wife Jennifer Lucas co-hosted the event with Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn , Mayor Eric Garcetti , Ellen Bronfman Hauptman and Andrew Hauptman , and Clooney and his wife Amal , Deadline reports.  Read More: Biden vows to defeat Trump, end US ‘season of darkness’ In a statement, Quibi founder Katzenberg said , “We are in the home stretch now. There is no question this is the most consequential election of our lifetime.” (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Allen, the founder and CEO of Entertainment Studi...

The report found only 3.1 percent of top staff positions are held by Black people. Diversity among top Senate staffers in Washington offices remains overwhelmingly white, which continues to receive scrutiny amid the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 crisis.  While people of color make up 40 percent of the American population, only 11 percent of top staff in Senate offices represent this group, according to a new study conducted by LaShonda Brenson of the  Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, nonpartisan think tank.  Brenson defines “top staff” in Senate offices of the chief of staff, legislative director and communications director. Overall, the report found only 3.1 percent of top staff positions are held by Blacks, 3.8 percent are Latinos and Asian American/Pacific Islanders makeup 2.7 percent, per the New York Times .  Read More: Senate details Trump campaign’s contact with Russia, draws final conclusion Seven senators reportedl...

The promise of equality, liberty, and justice underscored the 2020 Democratic National Convention this week. The four-day virtual event featured a number of establishment leaders, Party favorites, celebrity performances, and testimonies from everyday people struggling in Trump’s America. From race relations to immigration to climate change to women’s rights, the convention stressed how these issues are being exacerbated under the Trump administration. The speakers also emphasized how the White House has failed to protect Americans from the global COVID-19 pandemic  while highlighting the calls for justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor . The DNC culminated in a final acceptance speech from Joe Biden, who opened with a quote from civil rights activist Ella Baker. “Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: Give people light and they will find a way,” he said. “Give people light. Those are words for our time. The current president has cloaked...

Waiel ‘Wally’ Yaghnam allegedly conspired with the victim’s uncle, Timothy Norman, in the murder scheme.  A St. Louis record producer behind Nelly’s 2002 hit album “Nellyville” has been indicted in connection with the murder-for-hire plot to kill the grandson of Sweetie Pie’s owner Robbie Montgomery . Federal prosecutors say Waiel “Wally” Yaghnam , 42, a music producer-turned insurance agent, worked with Timothy Norman , 41, Montgomery’s son, to fraudulently obtain a life insurance policy on his nephew, 21-year-old Andre Montgomery Jr . , St. Louis Dispatch reports. Yaghnam worked as Norman’s insurance agent, and faces one charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud after he allegedly made false statements on life insurance applications for Montgomery, prosecutors allege. Read More: Sweetie Pie’s owner charged in murder for hire plot in nephew’s death theGRIO previously reported, Norman and his alleged co-conspirator, Terica Ellis , were arrested on federal charge...

The announcement for a nation riven by violence since 2011 is hailed by the UN. from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/34jH2NJ via Gabe's Musing's

When you work remotely—as so many people are doing in the age of COVID-19 —there’s no natural boundary between your workday and the rest of your life. Jackie Gaines, an award-winning senior executive with more than 40 years of sustained leadership experience, shows you how to build and maintain greater work/life balance so work doesn’t take over everything else. According to a recent report , the average “pandemic workday” is 48.5 minutes longer than before. It also shows we are attending about 13% more meetings and sending 1.4 more emails per day to our colleagues. But this uptick in productivity has a downside: It’s destroying many people’s work/life balance. “Our work/life balance is already in jeopardy thanks to the impact of COVID-19,” says Gaines, author of Wearing the Yellow Suit: A Guide for Women in Leadership . “Extended workdays only intensify the situation. We are all working hard at our jobs while trying to homeschool our kids, keep the household in order, and still car...

A treatment made from the blood of recovered Covid-19 patients seemed promising in March. Today … well, it’s still just promising. from Wired https://ift.tt/3hkv0ap via Gabe's Musing's

A Long Island search marketer found a way to exploit Google search ads and spread misinformation about candidates. The company pledges to fix the issue. from Wired https://ift.tt/2QdFuMR via Gabe's Musing's

These tools don't just keep your accounts safe and secure. Here's how you can use them to streamline your whole online experience. from Wired https://ift.tt/2QaaNYY via Gabe's Musing's

On the brink of a breakup, a JPL engineer computed a relationship prediction formula. It eventually became a dating app—and its value is rising in the midst of a pandemic. from Wired https://ift.tt/3j29R5e via Gabe's Musing's

Crowds cheered the ousting of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta but regional allies are not happy. from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/3l5tmvH via Gabe's Musing's

Fears of a ventilator shortage inspired doctors and engineers to improvise new designs. Inside the race to build a cheap, reliable machine. from Wired https://ift.tt/3j2tASw via Gabe's Musing's

15+ practical Python projects for beginners. Use these projects to learn to code, build useful apps or build your portfolio. from Codementor Community https://ift.tt/3hiuBp4 via Gabe's Musings Gabe's Musings

‘If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst,’ the Democratic presidential nominee said on Thursday night. WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night with a vow to be a unifying “ally of the light” who would move an America in crisis past the chaos of President Donald Trump ’s tenure. In his strongest remarks of the campaign, Biden spoke both of returning the United States to its traditional leadership role in the world and of the deeply personal challenges that shaped his life. Virtually every sentence of his 22-minute speech was designed to present a sharp, yet hopeful, contrast with the Republican incumbent. “Here and now I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst. l’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America.” Read More: Joe ...

A new website helps travelers plan for trips by collating Covid-19 information related to tourist restrictions, entrance requirements, lockdown limitations, and outbreak details for countries all over the world. from Wealth https://ift.tt/31ekbB2 via Gabe's Musings Gabe's Musings

Kinsa was founded by MIT alumnus Inder Singh MBA ’06, SM ’07 in 2012, with the mission of collecting information about when and where infectious diseases are spreading in real-time. Today the company is fulfilling that mission along several fronts. It starts with families. More than 1.5 million of Kinsa’s “smart” thermometers have been sold or given away across the country, including hundreds of thousands to families from low-income school districts. The thermometers link to an app that helps users decide if they should seek medical attention based on age, fever, and symptoms. At the community level, the data generated by the thermometers are anonymized and aggregated, and can be shared with parents and school officials, helping them understand what illnesses are going around and prevent the spread of disease in classrooms. By working with over 2,000 schools to date in addition to many businesses, Kinsa has also developed predictive models that can forecast flu seasons each year...

Some of the stereotypical differences between the United States and France do check out, according to Antoine Levy: The weather and the food are much worse in New England, he says, and the people are much more welcoming. But for Levy, who is about to start the fifth year of his MIT PhD program in economics, the U.S. is starting to feel like his native France in some ways. “For a long time, I thought France was obsessed by politics and the United States was not,” he recalls. However, his impression has changed over the last five years. In France, from urban neighborhoods to small villages, he says everyone has an opinion on every government minister. Lately, he has felt a transformation around him, and has observed his peers in the U.S. becoming more interested in local politics as well. While this may be a reflection of recent changes in the American political climate, a local perspective on policy is also a key signature of Levy’s research at MIT. Whether in France or the U.S., the ...

Physicians group apologizes for intolerance of its first Black members and pediatricians.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued an apology for the organization’s past racism and intolerance of the first Black members. The formal apology includes quotes from board meetings in the 1940s that highlight the initial rejections of Black doctors, specifically Alonzo deGrate Smith , MD, and Roland Boyd Scott , MD, who were refused membership in 1939 because of their race.  Both men were ultimately accepted in the late 40’s. But they were only allowed to join for educational purposes and could not attend meetings in the South, per New York Times . Read More: Pharrell says ‘We deserve a Black future’ in essay on racism “This apology is long overdue,” said Dr. Sally Goza , the organization’s president, in a press release. “But we must also acknowledge where we have failed to live up to our ideals.”  An excerpt of the minutes from the organization’s 1945 ...

Citing police brutality, the hip-hop star said she did not tell police there was a gun in the car that fateful night. Megan Thee Stallion took to social media on Thursday (Aug. 20) to finally confirm what has long been reported, that fellow rapper Tory Lanez shot her during an argument last month. “Yes, this ni**a Tory shot me,” she said during an Instagram Live session, noting that Lanez “got his publicist and your people going to these blogs lying” about what really went down that night. “I tried to keep the situation off the Internet. But you dragging it,” she added. Read More: Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion gift $1 million via #WAPParty Megan denies reports that she attacked Lanez because he was getting too cozy with Kylie Jenner at a pool party they attended at the home of the reality TV star.  Megan Thee Stallion confirms that Tory Lanez shot her while she was trying to walk away after an argument. He’s done. pic.twitter.com/sqpTAY2pmQ — Ronald Isley (@yoyotrav)...