RLE at MIT - Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT

🎓 Congratulations, MIT Class of 2026!

Today we celebrate your curiosity, creativity, perseverance, and impact. We can't wait to see what you'll discover, build, and inspire next.

A New Advance in Photonics and Lidar Technology! 🔬

Photonics advance could enable compact, high-performance lidar sensors. Researchers at MIT created a new integrated antenna array design that overcomes a longstanding challenge in chip-based lidar systems: unwanted crosstalk between antennas.

By reducing this interference, the new design could allow lidar chips to scan a wider field of view while maintaining low-noise performance. The advance may support future applications in robotics, autonomous navigation, and sensing technologies. 📡✨

🔗Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/42rzSUA

🏛️It has been 80 years since RLE was founded by Dr. Julius Adams Stratton!

The author of one of the most influential textbooks in electromagnetic theory, Professor Stratton was one of the first staff members of the MIT Radiation Laboratory.

In addition to founding the Research Laboratory of Electronics in 1946, he served as the 11th president of MIT from 1959 to 1966, transforming the school into a top-tier research university🔬

His impact continues to inspire a new generation of thinkers, pushing the boundaries of what is possible💫

🎨 Illustration by Amy Pan

Congratulations to Yoel Fink on this distinguished recognition 🌍

We are pleased to share that Professor Yoel Fink of Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been awarded the Andrei Sakharov Prize by the American Physical Society.

This prestigious honor recognizes scientists who demonstrate exceptional leadership in defending human rights and upholding academic freedom. Named after Andrei Sakharov, the award reflects the enduring importance of integrity and openness in scientific research.

Professor Fink’s recognition highlights the critical role of protecting independent inquiry as a foundation for scientific advancement and global collaboration.

We extend our sincere congratulations on this distinguished achievement!

🔗Read more: https://bit.ly/4uBfrBj

Can wireless networks make AI more energy efficient? 📡

Researchers at Research Laboratory of Electronics developed WISE, a new architecture that performs key machine learning operations directly at radio frequency.

The result: scalable edge intelligence with over 10× greater energy efficiency than traditional digital computing.

🔗Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3MDgeRc

🏛 The Great Dome at MIT under construction, 1916.

What began as scaffolding and steel became a symbol of enduring discovery.

Today at RLE, we continue building - not in stone, but in science. Advancing research at the intersection of physics, computation, and engineering to shape what comes next.

Innovation has always had a home here.

🌐 Learn about our lab: www.rle.mit.edu

🚀 A new way to train reasoning AI models faster and more efficiently!

Researchers at MIT and collaborators have developed Taming the Long Tail (TLT), a method that uses idle computing time to significantly speed up large language model training.

The system adaptively trains a smaller model to assist the larger reasoning model, reducing computational waste and preserving accuracy. When tested across multiple reasoning LLMs, the method doubled training speed without loss of performance.

🔗 Read the full story on MIT News: https://bit.ly/4qTnBBR

Prof. Luis Fernando Velásquez-García and MIT researchers develop a multi material 3D-printing platform for electric machines! ⚙️

Using an integrated extrusion system, the team fabricated a fully functional electric linear motor in hours with minimal post-processing.

The research advances rapid, distributed manufacturing of complex electromechanical devices and highlights the potential of multi material additive fabrication 🔬🏭

Read more: https://bit.ly/4aAlMVP

What if attention lapses aren’t weakness - but biology?

New research led by Laura Lewis at RLE reveals that during sleep deprivation, the brain briefly shifts into a maintenance state, trading focus for critical internal cleanup.

Published in Nature Neuroscience and featured in The Wall Street Journal, this discovery reshapes how we understand sleep, cognitive performance, and long-term brain health.

Read the full WSJ story:https://on.wsj.com/3ZGILYZ

Sleep isn’t downtime — it’s protection.