Hacking climate change
MIT is all about making the world a better place. This special report on the Climate Grand Challenges initiative looks at how the Institute’s problem solvers are stepping up to help save the planet from the devastating effects of global warming.

Special Report
MIT Climate Grand Challenges Initiative
Profiles of the five flagship projects
In the summer of 2020, President L. Rafael Reif assigned an ambitious p-set. In launching MIT’s Climate Grand Challenges (CGC) initiative, he asked the faculty to figure out how best to mobilize MIT’s capabilities to address some of the most difficult unsolved problems in adaptation, carbon removal, climate science, climate policy, human impacts, and emissions reduction.
Nearly 400 researchers across 90% of MIT’s departments answered the call, submitting 94 proposals. The Institute gave 27 finalist teams a total of $2.7 million to develop their plans. In April it named five flagship CGC projects that will receive more funding to accelerate them—and fundraising is ongoing for both flagship and finalist projects. Here’s a look at the flagship projects and the teams that will bring them to life.
The five CGC flagship projects:
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google
Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.
Video: Geoffrey Hinton talks about the “existential threat” of AI
Watch Hinton speak with Will Douglas Heaven, MIT Technology Review’s senior editor for AI, at EmTech Digital.
Doctors have performed brain surgery on a fetus in one of the first operations of its kind
A baby girl who developed a life-threatening brain condition was successfully treated before she was born—and is now a healthy seven-week-old.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.