Rollerama, a pop-up roller skating rink at Kendall Common, has become a “corner of liveliness” this summer, providing the public with free fun and art in the form of a new mural by Massiel Grullon, reports Izzy Bryars for The Boston Globe. “We thought it could help people do something fun together, and start to give people a sense of what the Kendall Common build out will be like,” says Sarah Gallop, director of MIT’s Office of Government and Community Relations.
Forbes reporter Katie Jennings spotlights Phillip (Terry) Ragon '72, and his philanthropic efforts focused on curing HIV. “Ragon’s approach has been to bring together scientists who don’t typically collaborate, including doctors, engineers, physicists, mathematicians and virologists,” writes Jennings.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Emma Friedman visits Rollerama, a free, outdoor pop-up roller skating rink that’s “all about bringing the community together and having fun in the space.” Now open for the summer in Cambridge's Kendall Square, Friedman reports that Rollerama at Kendall Common was put together by MIT's real estate group to bring the community to the newly-acquired space on the corner of Broadway and Third Street. “It’s been such a hit,” exclaims Sarah Gallop, director of government and community relations. "Over the last decade, MIT's been focused on bringing increased vibrancy to Kendall Square."
The Engine Ventures' CEO and Managing partner Katie Rae talks to Forbes’ Alex Knapp about its recent round of fundraising for investments in startups focused on sustainability, health and infrastructure. Rae also sees opportunities in quantum computing and other new hardware, saying “power and climate and compute all go together.”
Katie Rae, CEO and managing partner of the Engine Ventures, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Aaron Pressman about The Engine Ventures’ third investment fund, which remains focused on “helping early-stage startups develop and commercialize ‘tough tech,’ which can include anything from fusion power generators to cement made without fossil fuels.” Rae notes: “You see this dynamism not just for climate, but for all things manufacturing, whether it’s biotech, whether it’s AI chips, it is about as an exciting moment as you could get for what we do.”
Boston Globe reporter Janelle Nanos visits The Engine Accelerator to learn more about their focus on providing tough tech startups with lab spaces and equipment. “We created this sort of ecosystem with support resources,” says Knight of the inspiration for the Engine Accelerator. “Where we are today was born out of those early needs, interviewing all these scientists and technologists, that were willing to work in a shared faculty but had different needs than existed.”
Boston Globe reporter Mark Feeney spotlights “Drawing After Modernism,” a new exhibit at the MIT Museum that showcases various architectural sketches in different mediums. “There are some 50 items on display, not just artworks but also colored pencils, an airbrush, and exhibition cards for a 1977 exhibition at New York’s Leo Castelli gallery,” explains Feeney. “The MIT show is pretty much an ideal size: small enough for a visitor to comfortably take everything in, big enough to be varied and wide-ranging.”
Boston.com reporters Zipporah Osei, Alex Svenson, Annie Jonas, and Kristina DaPonte spotlight the MIT Press Bookstore in their guide to independent bookstores in the Greater Boston area. “In the heart of Kendall Square, MIT Press Bookstore is ‘one of the only retail bookstores owned and operated by a university press,’” they write. “Part of the MIT Kendall Gateway, you’ll also find the MIT Museum, which ‘seeks to demystify some of the school’s opaque inner workings.’”
Milena Pagán '11 speaks with Boston.com reporter Linda Laban about re-opening her bagel shop, Rebelle Bagels, in Kendall Square. Pagán, who earned a degree in chemical engineering before diving into the culinary world, explains that she felt it was a natural transition from engineering to food. “It’s not a traditional path, but they do have a lot in common,” Pagán explains. “Making bagels feels a lot like engineering.”
The Engine Accelerator, a spinoff from The Engine, is a new unit designed to help early startups “get off the ground with a deeper level of support, including office and lab space,” reports Aaron Pressman for The Boston Globe. “Real estate is actually a big need of a company that is doing tough tech, but they need different types of real estate,” says Emily Knight, president of the Engine Accelerator.
Boston Globe reporter Malcom Gay writes that Michael John Gorman, “a museum professional who has created and run several organizations devoted to science and the arts,” has been named the next director of the MIT Museum. At the MIT Museum, "Gorman inherits a dynamic new cultural venue replete with gallery space, forum areas, learning labs, a public maker hub, and collection of some 1.5 million objects,” Gay writes.
Architectural Record senior editor Leopoldo Villardi spotlights the new Kendall/MIT MBTA gateway. “Falling under the jurisdiction of the MBTA are three precisely canted volumes—one enclosing a staircase, another accommodating an escalator, and the last housing an elevator—that peek up above the ground plane and lead to the station below," writes Villardi. "But beyond these access points, the street level is ostensibly MIT’s campus. A sleek, streamlined canopy, supported by a field of 26-foot-tall columns, hovers over the three prismatic kiosks to unify the composition.”
Boston Globe reporter Macie Parker spotlights the new John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Kendall Square, the first building to open in MIT’s redevelopment of the 14-acre Volpe site that will ultimately include “research labs, retail, affordable housing, and open space, with the goal of not only encouraging innovation, but also enhancing the surrounding community.” Parker highlights the green technology included in the new Volpe Center: solar panels; triple-paned glass; electric vehicle charging stations; a rainwater reclamation and reuse system; and green and cool roof technology to lower energy use.
Fortune has named Katie Rae, CEO of The Engine, as one of the top 13 seed stage, climate tech VCs to watch, reports Lucy Brewster for Fortune. “Rae tops venture firm The Engine, which beyond being a fund, is an investing arm that spun out of MIT,” explains Brewster. “Yet Rae invests in an array of companies and sources founders from beyond just university walls.”
Chronicle visits the new MIT Museum, highlighting a number of exhibits, including one exploring the research behind the hunt for gravitational waves and another that examines the impacts humans are having on the environment. “We try to be a window, going both ways, between MIT and the rest of the public,” explains Prof. John Durant, director of the MIT Museum. “We’re also trying to get people to have a glimpse of how a world-class research institution actually works.”