The MIT Edgerton Center helps students build confidence and camaraderie through hands-on challenges. “Working towards something bigger than ourselves is a big part of our motivation,” says Megan Gupta-She of MIT Motorsports, one of the many clubs supported by the center.

A new device uses tiny wireless antennas to detect electrical signals emitted by cells. Because the signals are converted to light, biologists can use a conventional optical microscope — common in many labs — to study how cells communicate with each other.

Researchers fabricated a 3D chip with semiconducting layers grown directly on top of each other, without bulky silicon substrates in between. The advance enables faster computation and “opens up enormous potential for the semiconductor industry,” Jeehwan Kim says.

Physicists have created a new and long-lasting magnetic state in a material, using only light. They used a terahertz laser to stimulate atoms in antiferromagnetic materials, which could advance information processing and memory chip technology.

At D-Lab, students innovate to help solve challenges in communities worldwide. “Students are coming from every major, and we really are providing them with tools to think about interdisciplinary complex problems,” Libby Hsu says.

In the vast universe of MIT club sports, thousands of individuals compete for the love of the game. A complement to 33 intercollegiate varsity sports, MIT’s 34 club sports range from archery, badminton, and cricket to triathlon and ultimate frisbee.