thesis mit

MIT Thesis FAQ: Student Frequently Asked Questions

• New Degree Candidates
• Thesis Checklist
• Creating an Accessible Thesis
• Saving Your Thesis as a PDF/A-1
• Student Frequently Asked Questions
• Access and Availability Questions

Preparing my thesis

Starting with February 2022 degrees, students no longer need to pay a thesis fee to MIT Libraries.

Journal publishers usually acquire the copyright to scholarly articles through a publication agreement with the author. Their policies then determine what authors can do with their work. Visit Theses and Article Publishing to see if your publisher's policy is already listed.  If your publisher is not listed or if you have any questions about a listed publisher, contact [email protected]  

Each student is responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions for including previously published materials as part of the thesis. Visit Scholarly Communications for additional information.  If permission is given, published material can be used in its original typeset form as long as the thesis formatting requirements are met.  

Styles of quotations, footnotes, and bibliographic references may be prescribed by your department. If your department does not prescribe a style or specify a style manual, choose one and be consistent.

Listing thesis readers is not a thesis requirement. If you would like to list thesis readers or extra committee members, you can do so on the second page of your thesis like in this example.

Supplemental material that may be submitted with your thesis is the materials that are essential to understanding the research findings of your thesis, but impossible to incorporate or embed into a PDF. Contact [email protected] early in your thesis writing process to determine the best way to include supplemental materials with your thesis.

You may also have other research data and outputs related to your thesis research that are not considered supplemental material and should not be submitted with your thesis. Research materials should be deposited in appropriate research data repositories and cited in your thesis. You may consult the MIT Libraries’ Data Management Services website for guidance or reach out to Data Management Services (DMS)( [email protected] ), who can help answer questions you may have about managing your thesis data and choosing suitable solutions for longer term storage and access.

Students can use this Overleaf Template . Please contact [email protected] with any questions about the template.

There are nuances to accessibility with different thesis formats, and there often isn't one perfect solution. If your thesis is in the form of a graphic novel or comic strip and alt text for images feel cumbersome, you could forgo alt text in favor of an Appendix with transcripts or long descriptions for the story(ies) depicted in graphics. Here are a couple of resources you can view for more information:

"Accessible Comics???" by Abby Kingman, LastCallMedia.

"Alternative Descriptions for Graphic Novels" from the University of Illinois, Accessible IT.

Starting with the June 2023 degree period and as reflected in the MIT Thesis Specifications , all students retain the copyright of their thesis.

For theses prior to 2023, MIT generally holds ownership of the copyright to MIT theses. To request permission to republish contact [email protected]

You may optionally choose to apply a Creative Commons License to your thesis. The Creative Commons License allows you to grant permissions and provide guidance on how your work can be reused by others. If you choose to apply a CC license to your MIT thesis please follow these guidelines .

The copyright year on the thesis title page is the same year your degree is issued. For example, if you are graduating in February 2014 but submit your thesis to the Institute Archives and Special Collections during the fall of 2013, your copyright date will be 2014.

The student is authorized to post electronic versions of the student’s own thesis, in whole or in part, on the internet. If it is an older thesis where the copyright is held by the Institute, students and third parties should contact the [email protected] to obtain permission to reuse thesis content in other publications.

Access to my thesis

The two offices authorized to temporarily restrict access to theses are the Office of Graduate Education (for government restrictions, privacy and security) and Technology Licensing Office (for patent claims).

For information about requesting a temporary publication hold on your thesis from the OGE:  https://oge.mit.edu/gpp/degrees/thesis/restrictions-on-thesis-publication/

Request for temporary holds must be submitted prior to graduation

There is currently no policy on removing theses from public view after degrees are granted. Thesis publication online is considered part of the process of completion of the MIT degree. Each thesis is part of the legal and scholarly record of work completed at MIT, and neither the paper copy nor the electronic copy can be removed from public viewing.

If your thesis is available in DSpace here , you can download the thesis free of charge. Otherwise, a request can be made through the Distinctive Collections Request System here , or contact the Department of Distinctive Collections [email protected]

Holds, errata, and page substitutions

Request for temporary holds must be submitted prior to graduation.

Thesis holds are temporary restrictions on the distribution of theses, which may be granted from the Technology Licensing Office (TLO) or the Office of the Vice Chancellor (OVC). Holds can be authorized by the TLO for MIT-initiated patent applications. The Office of the Vice Chancellor (OVC) can grant holds for student-initiated patents, business pursuits, government restrictions, organization reviews, privacy and security, and scholarly journal and book publication.

For more information on requesting OGE temporary thesis publication holds:   https://oge.mit.edu/gpp/degrees/thesis/restrictions-on-thesis-publication/

Once certified by your thesis supervisor, accepted by the chair, and transferred to the MIT Libraries, all thesis content becomes part of the formal record. Changes, including the excision of content or the correction of significant errors in content, must be approved by the thesis supervisor or department chair and by the Vice Chancellor or their designee, in consultation with the Vice President for Research & Associate Provost.

Both errata and page substitutions require approval. When the purpose is to correct significant errors in content, the student should create an errata sheet using the form and instructions and obtain approval from both thesis supervisor or program chair and the Vice Chancellor or their designee.

If the purpose of change is to excise classified, proprietary, or confidential information, the student should fill out the application form and have the request approved by the thesis supervisor or program chair and the Vice Chancellor or their designee. Students and supervisors should vet thesis content carefully before submission to avoid both scenarios whenever possible.

Types of questions

Preparing your thesis

Access to your thesis

Holds and changes to your thesis

Access and availability

Scanned theses in DSpace@MIT

Quick links

• Thesis Specifications
• Distinctive Collections
• Scholarly Publishing@MIT
• About DSpace@MIT
• Dissertation/Theses

Have questions?

Contact us at [email protected] .

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PhD Thesis Guide

This phd thesis guide will guide you step-by-step through the thesis process, from your initial letter of intent to submission of the final document..

All associated forms are conveniently consolidated in the section at the end.

Deadlines & Requirements

Students should register for HST.ThG during any term in which they are conducting research towards their thesis. Regardless of year in program students registered for HST.ThG in a regular term (fall or spring) must meet with their research advisor and complete the  Semi-Annual PhD Student Progress Review Form to receive credit.

Years 1 - 2

• Students participating in lab rotations during year 1, may use the optional MEMP Rotation Registration Form , to formalize the arrangement and can earn academic credit by enrolling in HST.599. 
• A first letter of intent ( LOI-1 ) proposing a general area of thesis research and research advisor is required by April 30th of the second year of registration.
• A second letter of intent ( LOI-2 ) proposing a thesis committee membership and providing a more detailed description of the thesis research is required by April 30th of the third year of registration for approval by the HST-IMES Committee on Academic Programs (HICAP).
• Beginning in year 4, (or after the LOI-2 is approved) the student must meet with their thesis committee at least once per semester.
• Students must formally defend their proposal before the approved thesis committee, and submit their committee approved proposal to HICAP  by April 30 of the forth year of registration.
• Meetings with the thesis committee must be held at least once per semester. 

HST has developed these policies to help keep students on track as they progress through their PhD program. Experience shows that students make more rapid progress towards graduation when they interact regularly with a faculty committee and complete their thesis proposal by the deadline.

Getting Started

Check out these resources  for finding a research lab.

The Thesis Committee: Roles and Responsibilities

Students perform doctoral thesis work under the guidance of a thesis committee consisting of at least three faculty members from Harvard and MIT (including a chair and a research advisor) who will help guide the research. Students are encouraged to form their thesis committee early in the course of the research and in any case by the end of the third year of registration. The HST IMES Committee on Academic Programs (HICAP) approves the composition of the thesis committee via the letter of intent and the thesis proposal (described below). 

Research Advisor

The research advisor is responsible for overseeing the student's thesis project. The research advisor is expected to:

• oversee the research and mentor the student;
• provide a supportive research environment, facilities, and financial support;
• discuss expectations, progress, and milestones with the student and complete the  Semi-Annual PhD Student Progress Review Form each semester;
• assist the student to prepare for the oral qualifying exam;
• guide the student in selecting the other members of the thesis committee;
• help the student prepare for, and attend, meetings of the full thesis committee, to be held at least once per semester;
• help the student prepare for, and attend, the thesis defense;
• evaluate the final thesis document.

The research advisor is chosen by the student and must be a faculty member of MIT* or Harvard University and needs no further approval.  HICAP may approve other individuals as research advisor on a student-by-student basis. Students are advised to request approval of non-faculty research advisors as soon as possible.  In order to avoid conflicts of interest, the research advisor may not also be the student's academic advisor. In the event that an academic advisor becomes the research advisor, a new academic advisor will be assigned.

The student and their research advisor must complete the Semi-Annual PhD Student Progress Review during each regular term in order to receive academic credit for research.  Download Semi Annual Review Form

*MIT Senior Research Staff are considered equivalent to faculty members for the purposes of research advising. No additional approval is required.

Thesis Committee Chair

Each HST PhD thesis committee is headed administratively by a chair, chosen by the student in consultation with the research advisor. The thesis committee chair is expected to:

• provide advice and guidance concerning the thesis research; 
• oversee meetings of the full thesis committee, to be held at least once per semester;
• preside at the thesis defense; 
• review and evaluate the final thesis document.

The thesis committee chair must be well acquainted with the academic policies and procedures of the institution granting the student's degree and be familiar with the student's area of research. The research advisor may not simultaneously serve as thesis committee chair.

For HST PhD students earning degrees through MIT, the thesis committee chair must be an MIT faculty member. A select group of HST program faculty without primary appointments at MIT have been pre-approved by HICAP to chair PhD theses awarded by HST at MIT in cases where the MIT research advisor is an MIT faculty member.**

HST PhD students earning their degree through Harvard follow thesis committee requirements set by the unit granting their degree - either the Biophysics Program or the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

** List of non-MIT HST faculty approved to chair MIT thesis proposals when the research advisor is an MIT faculty member.

In addition to the research advisor and the thesis committee chair, the thesis committee must include one or more readers. Readers are expected to:

• attend meetings of the full thesis committee, to be held at least once per semester;
• attend the thesis defense; 

Faculty members with relevant expertise from outside of Harvard/MIT may serve as readers, but they may only be counted toward the required three if approved by HICAP.

The members of the thesis committee should have complementary expertise that collectively covers the areas needed to advise a student's thesis research. The committee should also be diverse, so that members are able to offer different perspectives on the student's research. When forming a thesis committee, it is helpful to consider the following questions: 

• Do the individuals on the committee collectively have the appropriate expertise for the project?
• Does the committee include at least one individual who can offer different perspectives on the student's research?  The committee should include at least one person who is not closely affiliated with the student's primary lab. Frequent collaborators are acceptable in this capacity if their work exhibits intellectual independence from the research advisor.
• If the research has a near-term clinical application, does the committee include someone who can add a translational or clinical perspective?  
• Does the committee conform to HST policies in terms of number, academic appointments, and affiliations of the committee members, research advisor, and thesis committee chair as described elsewhere on this page?

[Friendly advice: Although there is no maximum committee size, three or four is considered optimal. Committees of five members are possible, but more than five is unwieldy.]

Thesis Committee Meetings

Students must meet with their thesis committee at least once each semester beginning in the fourth year of registration. It is the student's responsibility to schedule these meetings; students who encounter difficulties in arranging regular committee meetings can contact Julie Greenberg at jgreenbe [at] mit.edu (jgreenbe[at]mit[dot]edu) .

The format of the thesis committee meeting is at the discretion of the thesis committee chair. In some cases, the following sequence may be helpful:

• The thesis committee chair, research advisor, and readers meet briefly without the student in the room;
• The thesis committee chair and readers meet briefly with the student, without the advisor in the room;
• The student presents their research progress, answers questions, and seeks guidance from the members of the thesis committee;

Please note that thesis committee meetings provide an important opportunity for students to present their research and respond to questions. Therefore, it is in the student's best interest for the research advisor to refrain from defending the research in this setting.

Letters of Intent

Students must submit two letters of intent ( LOI-1 and LOI-2 ) with applicable signatures. 

In LOI-1, students identify a research advisor and a general area of thesis research, described in 100 words or less. It should include the area of expertise of the research advisor and indicate whether IRB approval (Institutional Review Board; for research involving human subjects) and/or IACUC approval (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; for research involving vertebrate animals) will be required and, if so, from which institutions. LOI-1 is due by April 30 of the second year of registration and and should be submitted to HICAP, c/o Traci Anderson in E25-518. 

In LOI-2, students provide a description of the thesis research, describing the Background and Significance of the research and making a preliminary statement of Specific Aims (up to 400 words total). In LOI-2, a student also proposes the membership of their thesis committee. In addition to the research advisor, the proposed thesis committee must include a chair and one or more readers, all selected to meet the specified criteria . LOI-2 is due by April 30th of the third year of registration and should be submitted to HICAP, c/o Traci Anderson in E25-518.

LOI-2 is reviewed by the HST-IMES Committee on Academic Programs (HICAP) to determine if the proposed committee meets the specified criteria and if the committee members collectively have the complementary expertise needed to advise the student in executing the proposed research. If HICAP requests any changes to the proposed committee, the student must submit a revised LOI-2 for HICAP review by September 30th of the fourth year of registration. HICAP must approve LOI-2 before the student can proceed to presenting and submitting their thesis proposal. Any changes to the thesis committee membership following HICAP approval of LOI-2 and prior to defense of the thesis proposal must be reported by submitting a revised LOI-2 form to HICAP, c/o tanderso [at] mit.edu (Traci Anderson) . After final HICAP approval of LOI-2, which confirms the thesis committee membership, the student may proceed to present their thesis proposal to the approved thesis committee, as described in the next section.

Students are strongly encouraged to identify tentative thesis committee members and begin meeting with them as early as possible to inform the direction of their research. Following submission of LOI-2, students are required to hold at least one thesis committee meeting per semester. Students must document these meetings via the Semi- Annual PhD Student Progress Review form in order to receive a grade reflecting satisfactory progress in HST.ThG.

Thesis Proposal and Proposal Presentation

For MEMP students receiving their degrees through MIT, successful completion of the Oral Qualifying Exam is a prerequisite for the thesis proposal presentation. For MEMP students receiving their degrees through Harvard, the oral qualifying exam satisfies the proposal presentation requirement.

Proposal Document

Each student must present a thesis proposal to a thesis committee that has been approved by HICAP via the LOI-2 and then submit a full proposal package to HICAP by April 30th of the fourth year of registration. The only exception is for students who substantially change their research focus after the fall term of their third year; in those cases the thesis proposal must be submitted within three semesters of joining a new lab. Students registering for thesis research (HST.THG) who have not met this deadline may be administratively assigned a grade of "U" (unsatisfactory) and receive an academic warning.

The written proposal should be no longer than 4500 words, excluding references. This is intended to help students develop their proposal-writing skills by gaining experience composing a practical proposal; the length is comparable to that required for proposals to the NIH R03 Small Research Grant Program. The proposal should clearly define the research problem, describe the proposed research plan, and defend the significance of the work. Preliminary results are not required. If the proposal consists of multiple aims, with the accomplishment of later aims based on the success of earlier ones, then the proposal should describe a contingency plan in case the early results are not as expected.

Proposal Presentation

The student must formally defend the thesis proposal before the full thesis committee that has been approved by HICAP.

Students should schedule the meeting and reserve a conference room and any audio visual equipment they may require for their presentation. To book a conference room in E25, please contact Joseph Stein ( jrstein [at] mit.edu (jrstein[at]mit[dot]edu) ).

Following the proposal presentation, students should make any requested modifications to the proposal for the committee members to review. Once the committee approves the proposal, the student should obtain the signatures of the committee members on the forms described below as part of the proposal submission package.

[Friendly advice: As a professional courtesy, be sure your committee members have a complete version of your thesis proposal at least one week in advance of the proposal presentation.]

Submission of Proposal Package

When the thesis committee has approved the proposal, the student submits the proposal package to HICAP, c/o Traci Anderson in E25-518, for final approval. HICAP may reject a thesis proposal if it has been defended before a committee that was not previously approved via the LOI-2.

The proposal package includes the following: 

• the proposal document
• a brief description of the project background and significance that explains why the work is important;
• the specific aims of the proposal, including a contingency plan if needed; and
• an indication of the methods to be used to accomplish the specific aims.
• signed research advisor agreement form(s);
• signed chair agreement form (which confirms a successful proposal defense);
• signed reader agreement form(s).

Thesis Proposal Forms

• SAMPLE Title Page (doc)
• Research Advisor Agreement Form (pdf)
• Chair Agreement Form (pdf)
• Reader Agreement Form (pdf)

Thesis Defense and Final Thesis Document

When the thesis is substantially complete and fully acceptable to the thesis committee, a public thesis defense is scheduled for the student to present his/her work to the thesis committee and other members of the community. The thesis defense is the last formal examination required for receipt of a doctoral degree. To be considered "public", a defense must be announced to the community at least five working days in advance. At the defense, the thesis committee determines if the research presented is sufficient for granting a doctoral degree. Following a satisfactory thesis defense, the student submits the final thesis document, approved by the research advisor, to Traci Anderson via email (see instructions below).

[Friendly advice: Contact jrstein [at] mit.edu (Joseph Stein) at least two weeks before your scheduled date to arrange for advertising via email and posters. A defense can be canceled for insufficient public notice.]

Before the Thesis Defense 

Committee Approves Student to Defend: The thesis committee, working with the student and reviewing thesis drafts, concludes that the doctoral work is complete. The student should discuss the structure of the defense (general guidelines below) with the thesis committee chair and the research advisor. 

Schedule the Defense: The student schedules a defense at a time when all members of the thesis committee will be physical present. Any exceptions must be approved in advance by the IMES/HST Academic Office.

Reserve Room: It is the student's responsibility to reserve a room and any necessary equipment. Please contact imes-reservation [at] mit.edu (subject: E25%20Room%20Reservation) (IMES Reservation) to  reserve rooms E25-140, E25-141, E25-119/121, E25-521. 

Final Draft: A complete draft of the thesis document is due to the thesis committee two weeks prior to the thesis defense to allow time for review.  The thesis should be written as a single cohesive document; it may include content from published papers (see libraries website on " Use of Previously Published Material in a Thesis ") but it may not be a simple compilation of previously published materials.

Publicize the Defense:   The IMES/HST Academic Office invites the community to attend the defense via email and a notice on the HST website. This requires that the student email a thesis abstract and supplemental information to  jrstein [at] mit.edu (Joseph Stein)  two weeks prior to the thesis defense. The following information should be included: Date and time, Location, (Zoom invitation with password, if offering a hybrid option), Thesis Title, Names of committee members, with academic and professional titles and institutional affiliations. The abstract is limited to 250 words for the poster, but students may optionally submit a second, longer abstract for the email announcement.

Thesis Defense Guidelines

Public Defense: The student should prepare a presentation of 45-60 minutes in length, to be followed by a public question and answer period of 15–30 minutes at discretion of the chair.

Committee Discussion:  Immediately following the public thesis presentation, the student meets privately with the thesis committee and any other faculty members present to explore additional questions at the discretion of the faculty. Then the thesis committee meets in executive session and determines whether the thesis defense was satisfactory. The committee may suggest additions or editorial changes to the thesis document at this point.

Chair Confirms Pass: After the defense, the thesis committee chair should inform Traci Anderson of the outcome via email to tanderso [at] mit.edu (tanderso[at]mit[dot]edu) .

Submitting the Final Thesis Document

Please refer to the MIT libraries  thesis formatting guidelines .

Title page notes. Sample title page  from the MIT Libraries.

Program line : should read, "Submitted to the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the the requirements for the degree of ... "

Copyright : Starting with the June 2023 degree period and as reflected in the  MIT Thesis Specifications , all students retain the copyright of their thesis.  Please review this section for how to list on your title page Signature Page: On the "signed" version, only the student and research advisor should sign. Thesis committee members are not required to sign. On the " Accepted by " line, please list: Collin M. Stultz, MD, PhD/Director, Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology/ Nina T. and Robert H. Rubin Professor in Medical Engineering and Science/Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

The Academic Office will obtain Professor Stultz's signature.

Thesis Submission Components.  As of 4/2021, the MIT libraries have changed their thesis submissions guidelines and are no longer accepting hard copy theses submissions. For most recent guidance from the libraries:  https://libguides.mit.edu/mit-thesis-faq/instructions  

Submit to the Academic Office, via email ( tanderso [at] mit.edu (tanderso[at]mit[dot]edu) )

pdf/A-1 of the final thesis should include an UNSIGNED title page

A separate file with a SIGNED title page by the student and advisor, the Academic Office will get Dr. Collin Stultz's signature.

For the MIT Library thesis processing, fill out the "Thesis Information" here:  https://thesis-submit.mit.edu/

File Naming Information:  https://libguides.mit.edu/

Survey of Earned Doctorates.  The University Provost’s Office will contact all doctoral candidates via email with instructions for completing this survey.

Links to All Forms in This Guide

• MEMP Rotation Form (optional)
• Semi-Annual Progress Review Form
• Letter of Intent One
• Letter of Intent Two

Final Thesis

• HST Sample thesis title page  (signed and unsigned)
• Sample thesis title page  (MIT Libraries)

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Your MEng thesis describes the original research that you contributed to your MEng project. Though the document itself is not due until the end of your MEng, you should be working towards your thesis each semester that you are a registered MEng student. You can read more about what comprises a thesis at the Office of Graduate Education’s website .

Getting Help with Your Thesis

Throughout your MEng, you should be in continual conversation with your thesis research advisor about your progress as well as the thesis itself. For additional support, consider some of the following resources:

• Writing and Communication Center
• EECS Communication Lab
• Phoebe Ayers , the EECS Librarian, for help with research
• Additional workshops hosted by OGE

If you are struggling to make progress on your thesis, you are also welcome to meet with someone in the EECS Undergraduate Office .

All graduate theses are required to be submitted to Institute Library where they are available to the public. Theses classified by the government as ‘Confidential’ or ‘Secret’ for reasons of national security, or ‘Company Confidential” by a company for proprietary reasons will not be accepted. Theses completed in classified sections of 6-A companies, Lincoln Laboratory or Draper Lab must be deemed unclassified by the government. If you are working with one of these companies, be sure to discuss thesis copyright with your research advisor early in your MEng.

Formatting and Submission

MIT Libraries maintains formatting guidelines for all MIT theses. It’s especially important to make sure your title page and abstract look exactly like the examples shown there. Many students start by using the Unofficial Thesis template , but remember to double-check against the official formatting guidelines. Check out the Thesis Checklist from the Libraries to help keep on track.   Submit your title page information . This is important for ProQuest selections and for speeding up thesis processing for the MIT Libraries.

For EECS MEng theses

• Make sure to include your SB degree information (see the title page example ), even if you’re getting SB and MEng concurrently. Include double major, if applicable.
• The department is “the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science”
• The degree is “Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science” unless you are part of the 6-7 MEng program, in which case it’s “Master of Engineering in Computer Science and Molecular Biology” or the 6-14 program which is “Master of Engineering in Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science”. (Note, in all cases, “Master” not “Masters”)
• The degree date for this term is May 2024 no matter what month you submit your thesis. The only possible degree date months are May, September, and February.
• The author hereby grants to MIT a nonexclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to exercise any and all rights under copyright, including to reproduce, preserve, distribute and publicly display copies of the thesis, or release the thesis under an open-access license.
• The name/title for the “Accepted by” line on the title page is “Katrina LaCurts, Chair, Master of Engineering Thesis Committee”

For the electronic submission, your title page should include no signatures ; not even your own, and no lines for signatures . When you are ready to submit your thesis, you can do so here ; the deadline for submission is set by the registrar each semester (see here ). 6-A students must also submit a thesis release letter that matches this template . These letters should be sent to [email protected] .

Thesis Holds

Under certain circumstances – most commonly for issues related to patents or security clearances – you can arrange for a brief delay of the official publication of your thesis in the MIT Libraries. Please see The Office of Graduate Education’s page for more information.

Guidelines for the use of ChatGPT when writing your EECS thesis (MEng, SM, PhD)

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that assists with the composition of text, such as text found in emails, essays, and code. Text is also found in the thesis that is required as one deliverable of an advanced degree in EECS. The EECS Department views a “thesis” as a compilation of the contributions made to the field by the author, or a discussion of the knowledge acquired in answering the research questions. The student is the authority of the material contained or described in the thesis and is the sole author. The EECS Department expects the author of the thesis to compose original drafts of the text to convey accurately and completely the work accomplished for the advanced degree in EECS. Once a final draft of the thesis is obtained, ChatGPT may be used to improve the grammar or to provide a manner of proofreading of the draft. The EECS Department does not allow the use of ChatGPT to compose text starting from bulleted text or from an arrangement of phrases. If ChatGPT is implemented in the creation of a final thesis, that is submitted to DSpace for archival storage, the EECS Department requests that the use of ChatGPT to be acknowledged, or referenced, in the submitted thesis manuscript. (Effective April 20, 2023)

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Thesis Preparation

The following information is provided to assist Chemistry graduate students as they prepare their theses. If graduate students have any questions that are not answered by this guide, they should email the Chemistry Education Office (questions about department policies) or MIT Libraries (for questions about thesis formatting, etc.)

Degree candidates must fill out the Degree Application via WebSIS at the start of the term. Important dates and deadlines (including late fees) for the upcoming academic year are listed below.  It is strongly advised that degree candidates apply for the degree list even if there is uncertainty about completing the thesis defense and submission by the  deadline, as there are no penalties for being removed from the degree list.

Students must successfully complete the thesis defense before submitting their final, signed thesis.

**Please note that the Specifications for Thesis Preparation were updated in November 2022. Please make sure you use these new guidelines.**

Important Dates & Deadlines

September 2023 degree list.

• Degree Application Deadline: June 16, 2023 ($50 late fee if submitted after this date, $85 late fee if submitted after July 21, 2023)
• Thesis Title Deadline:July 21, 2023 ($85 late fee if submitted after this date. If your thesis title is not finalized by this date, please enter your current working title and the final title can be updated later)
• Thesis Submission Deadline: August 18, 2023
• Last day of work in the lab: on or before August 31, 2023. If you plan to end your RA appointment earlier than August 31, 2023, please contact Jennifer to review your timeline.
• Your degree will officially be conferred by MIT on September 20, 2023
• Information about the MIT Health Plan and graduation will be available online here.

February 2024 Degree List

• Degree Application Deadline: September 8, 2023 ($50 late fee if submitted after this date, $85 late fee if submitted after December 15, 2022)
• Thesis Title Deadline: December 15, 2023 ($85 late fee if submitted after this date. If your thesis title is not finalized by this date, please enter your current working title and the final title can be updated later)
• Thesis Submission Deadline: January 19, 2024
• Last day of work in the lab: on or before January 15, 2024. If you plan to end your RA appointment earlier than January 15, 2024, please contact Jennifer to review your timeline.
• Your degree will officially be conferred by MIT on February 21, 2024

May 2024 Degree List

• Degree Application Deadline: February 9, 2024 ($50 late fee if submitted after this date, $85 late fee if submitted after April 12, 2024)
• Thesis Title Deadline: April 12, 2024 ($85 late fee if submitted after this date. If your thesis title is not finalized by this date, please enter your current working title and the final title can be updated later)
• Thesis Submission Deadline: May 10, 2024
• Last day of work in the lab: on or before May 29, 2024. If you plan to end your RA appointment earlier than May 29, 2024, please contact Jennifer to review your timeline.
• Your degree will officially be conferred by MIT on May 30, 2024

Scheduling your Thesis Defense

All PhD candidates must have a Thesis Defense. As soon as your defense is finalized, please email the Chemistry Education Office with the date, time, location, and thesis title . Thesis defenses are strongly encouraged to be in-person.  If there are questions or concerns about an in-person defense, please reach out to Jennifer Weisman. When thesis defenses are on campus, we recommend reserving a room once the defense date is finalized, student can reserve department rooms through the online scheduling system or request a classroom via this form .

Degree candidates should provide their advisor with a copy of the thesis at least two weeks before the defense and provide their thesis committee chair and member with a copy at least one week before the defense. However, degree candidates should talk with their advisor, committee chair, and committee member to find out if they need the thesis further in advance or if there are preferred formats. Degree candidates should allow time in between their thesis defense and the submission deadline to make edits and submit the final copies.

Please note that most receiving a PhD degree are required to present a seminar as part of the thesis defense. This seminar is open to the department. The degree candidate is responsible for providing the Chemistry Education Office with information about their thesis defense at least two weeks ahead of time. Following the seminar, the candidate will meet privately with the thesis committee.

Thesis Formatting

The Institute has very specific requirements for thesis preparation, which were updated in November 2022. Specifications for Thesis Preparation is available on the library’s website and should be read very carefully. The MIT Thesis FAQ may answer additional questions and a helpful checklist is also provided. The specifications also include information about copyright and use of previously published material in a thesis . Do  not  rely on any templates or prior theses from your research group – they may not reflect the most current guidelines. We have highlighted some especially important points below.

Font & Spacing

Title page & committee signature page.

• The title page of the first copy will be digitally signed by the author, advisor, and Professor Adam Willard. The title page should contain the title, name of the author, previous degrees, the degree(s) to be awarded at MIT, the date the degree(s) will be conferred (May, September, or February only), copyright notice, and appropriate names and signatures. Degrees are awarded in Chemistry, regardless of your specific research area. Regardless of when you defend or submit your thesis, the date of degree conferral must be May/June, September, or February.
• As noted above, the title page will be signed by you, your advisor, and Professor Willard. You do not need to have Professor Willard digitally sign the thesis before you submit it, we will arrange to have him sign it. If your advisor has a title (ex., Firmenich Professor of Chemistry) it should also be included under their name. If you are not sure if they have a title, you can consult the Faculty Directory . Professor Willard should have the following listed under his name, on two separate lines: Professor of Chemistry; Graduate Officer
• Each student should place the appropriate copyright notice on the thesis title page. Copyright notice consists of four elements: the symbol “c” with a circle around it © and/or the word “copyright”; the year of publication (the year in which the degree is to be awarded); the name of the copyright owner; the words “All rights reserved” or your chosen Creative Commons license. All theses should have the following legend statement exactly: The author hereby grants to MIT a nonexclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to exercise any and all rights under copyright, including to reproduce, preserve, distribute and publicly display copies of the thesis, or release the thesis under an open-access license. Please carefully review the copyright information to determine the appropriate copyright ownership.
• The date under Signature of Author should be the date the final thesis is signed and submitted to the department.
• The title page is always considered to be page 1, and every page must be included in the count regardless of whether a number would be physically printed on a page. We recommend that you do not include the page number on the title page.
• There is also a signature page that will be digitally signed by your entire thesis committee. Your advisor will digitally sign your thesis twice, on the title page and signature page. The signature page is right after the title page.
• More details about digital signatures are provided below.

Table of Contents

Final thesis submission, general submission process.

Please carefully review the details below, including the file naming format . There are two steps to the final submissions process:

1. Submit the following documents to the Department of Chemistry:

• An electronic copy of your thesis in PDF/A-1 format (with no signatures)
• A PDF of the digitally signed title page and committee signature page (using DocuSign to obtain signatures)

Please send an email to your advisor, Jennifer Weisman, and William McCoy, which includes the 2 PDFs above and the following text:

“Dear Professor/Dr X: Attached is the final version of my thesis. Please use reply-all to this message to indicate your acceptance of my thesis document and your recommendation for certification by my department.”

**Note: if your thesis document is too large to send via email, your email can include a link to access the document via Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.**

2. Submit your thesis information to MIT Libraries here . Choose to opt-in or opt-out of ProQuest license and publication.  Include the same copyright and license information that is on your thesis title page. Note: this does not involve submitting your actual thesis.

Details for Thesis Submission Process

• After the defense, the student and thesis committee reach agreement on the final thesis document.
• Students should follow the format specifications as stated in the Specifications for Thesis Preparation . Do not print or physically sign pages.
• Students will have the thesis signed electronically through DocuSign. This process is described in detail in the section below.
• The title page is always considered to be page 1, and every page must be included in the count regardless of whether a number is physically printed on a page. The entire thesis (including title page, prefatory material, illustrations, and all text and appendices) must be paginated in one consecutive numbering sequence. Your committee signature page should be page 2. Please see the  Sample Title Page and committee signature page for reference.
• You will still include the title page and committee signature page in the full thesis PDF, they just won’t have any signatures.
• The digitally signed title page and committee signature pages should be in one PDF, separate from the thesis document. This avoids a DocuSign tag at the top of each page of the full thesis. Please use the following naming convention: authorLastName-kerb-degree-dept-year-sig.pdf (ex., montgomery-mssimon-phd-chemistry-2021-sig.pdf).
• Students should save their final thesis document as a PDF using the following file naming convention: authorLastName-kerb-degree-dept-year-thesis .pdf (ex., montgomery-mssimon-phd-chemistry-2021-thesis.pdf).
• Students should not deposit the PDF of their thesis via the Libraries Library’s voluntary submission portal.
• Please send an email to your advisor, Jennifer, and William which includes the final thesis document and file with the digitally signed title/committee signature pages with the following text:

Please also complete the MIT Doctoral Student Exit Survey and your Laboratory Safety Clearance Form .

Digital Signatures

Please see here for a full guide (with screenshots) to using DocuSign to obtain digital signatures

Required Signatures:

These should be everyone’s uploaded digital signatures in their own handwriting, not one of the pre-formatted signatures created by DocuSign.

• Your signature on the thesis title page
• Your advisor’s signature on both the title page and committee signature page
• Your thesis committee chair’s and member’s signatures on the committee signature page
• You do not need to have Adam Willard sign your title page, the Chemistry Education Office will take care of that
• Full thesis with no signatures (including unsigned title page and thesis committee signature page)
• Title page and committee signature page with signatures via DocuSign

Accessing DocuSign

Thesis Hold Requests

Details about requesting a thesis hold are available here and the requests are made to different offices based on the type of request. Please note that planned or pending submissions to scholarly journals related to thesis work will not be considered for thesis holds.

Written notification of patent holds and other restrictions must reach the MIT Libraries before the thesis in question is received by the MIT Libraries. Theses will not be available to the public prior to being published by the MIT Libraries. The Libraries may begin publishing theses in DSpace@MIT one month and one week from the last day of classes.

Graduate Student Exit Interviews

In order to best serve the educational, scientific, and social needs of graduate students in the Chemistry Department, it is critically important that Departmental leadership be appropriately informed of issues of importance to graduate students, ideally on an ongoing basis. Graduate student exit interviews provide information that alert the Department to acute issues that affect graduate students and provide data for longitudinal assessments of graduate student experience within the program.Graduate exit interviews are administered to all graduate students departing the Chemistry Department. The exit interview applies equally to graduate students departing with completed degrees (Ph.D. and M.S.) and without degrees.

• Graduating students will be sent a list of interview questions by the Chemistry Education Office when the student joins the degree list. Instructions about scheduling a time for the in-person or virtual discussion will be included with other informational correspondence from the Chemistry Education Office regarding degree completion. Graduating students will perform their exit interview after the thesis defense so as to avoid making the interview an additional burden.
• For students departing the program without a degree, the interview questions and instructions for scheduling an in-person discussion will be sent by the Chemistry Education Office at the point in time that a date for termination of their appointment in Chemistry is determined.
• For the majority of departing students, this interview coincides with the end of the semester, but a rolling schedule of surveys is anticipated.

Postdoctoral/Research Specialist Appointments

If you plan to transition to a postdoctoral/research specialist appointment within the Department of Chemistry at MIT, please contact Jennifer Weisman and  Chemistry HR as soon as possible. Your final signed thesis must be submitted before a postdoc appointment can start. If you are an international student, it is extremely important that you start this process early to allow sufficient timing for visa processing. In addition to talking with Jennifer and HR, please consult with the International Students Office .

MIT Libraries home

Thesis submission at mit libraries.

Students - this tool allows you to review and submit your thesis information. This information will help us to more quickly catalog and make your thesis available in DSpace.

Review & submit your thesis information

Department Administrators - this tool allows you to transfer your department or program’s theses to the MIT Libraries. (Prior authorization required)

Transfer theses

Contact us with any questions: [email protected]

The thesis comprises an original investigation, including a written document on a subject approved by a departmental or interdepartmental graduate committee prior to the beginning of the research. Thesis credit cannot be granted for work done prior to registration as a graduate student at the Institute, nor for work initiated without prior approval by the department of registration. The thesis must be completed while in residence, except as noted below.

A thesis may not be presented on research work done at the Institute while on academic, administrative, research staff appointment, or hourly payroll at MIT (including Lincoln Laboratory), the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, or other affiliated research entities. Supervision by a faculty member of the Institute or a staff member approved by the department is a fixed requirement for doctoral, engineer’s, and master’s theses. Preliminary plans for pursuing an approved thesis may be required by thesis advisors according to the requirements and time schedules of the departments. A thesis advisor may, at his or her discretion, require progress reports in oral or written form as deemed necessary. Before the final written document is submitted, a draft may be required for editorial comment. An oral examination of the doctoral thesis will be held after the thesis has been submitted. The thesis process is not complete until the thesis document is signed, and therefore accepted formally, by the department.

Nonresident doctoral thesis research status

Details and expectations for non-residential doctoral students. Students must have passed the qualifying examination to be eligible to request this status.

Holds and restrictions on thesis publication

Information on thesis hold requests related to patent protection, pursuit of business opportunities, government restrictions, privacy and security, and book publication

Copyright and intellectual property policy

Information on the Institute’s policy concerning ownership of copyrights and rights to intellectual property

Preparation of graduate theses

Information for preparing a thesis

Joint theses

Details and expectations for collaborative research

Thesis research in absentia

Details and expectations for students conducting research off-campus. Students in both master’s and doctoral programs, at any stage in their studies, are eligible to request this status.

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Master of science in art, culture and technology (smact), special instructions for smact thesis students.

Thesis is taken in conjunction with 4.390, Art, Culture and Technology Studio, which is taken each term, and 4.389, SMACT Thesis Tutorial, which is taken the final two terms. Thesis reviews are scheduled within the forum of 4.390, which is restricted to SMACT students.

Fall 2023 Thesis Deadlines

Formatting, specifications & thesis submission.

Important : Consult the Formatting & Specifications and Thesis Submission information page.

Spring 2024 Thesis Deadlines

Second week in january 2024.

• MIT Library hosting "Tools & Tips for Thesis Authors" ( link forthcoming )

First week of term ( exact date TBD )

• Last day to submit thesis committee form (this includes a working thesis title and signatures; it does not include an abstract)
• Thesis Committee (advisor and readers) must meet with the student in the first 2 weeks of the semester to agree on a thesis plan.

Friday, February 9, 2024

• Registration for thesis, 24 units of 4.THG
• Thesis Committee Form due by 9am to ACT Academic Associate, Claudine Monique
• Degree list: Put yourself on the May degree list by applying for a degree
• Thesis committee (advisor and readers) must meet with the student in the first 2 weeks of the semester to agree on a thesis plan
• Last day to put yourself of the May degree list by applying for a degree on WebSIS
• Earliest date to begin OPT authorization process
• I t is important to plan ahead as processing times for F-1 Post-Completion OPT, by application with USCIS, can take on average 90 days for USCIS to process.  J-1 Academic Training requires that a student secure a training position/job that begins within 30 days of degree completion in order to apply for AT authorization.

Week 7 of term ( exact date TBD )

• Public Midterm Review: ACT and departmental faculty invited to attend

Friday, March 8, 2024: Add Date

• Penultimate draft of thesis due to thesis committee via email

Friday, April 12, 2024

• Last date to change thesis title via WebSIS
• You must return to the online site of your application and add or make a change to your thesis title by this deadline. The title on your final thesis must be an exact match of the one you submit on your Application for Degree. If you add your title after this date, you will be charged a late fee.

Week 11 of term, arranged by student and thesis committee

• Thesis Defense/Penultimate Review: Closed (thesis advisor and committee members only)

Tuesday, April 23, 2024: Drop Date

• Submit digital information and images about your thesis for the Final Review Pamphlet to TBA by 9am.

Monday, April 29, 2024: 9am — deadline to submit your thesis to the Department Thesis Submission Tool

(choose "Single Sign On" and log in with your MIT email address)

• Note: Your final thesis book must be reviewed and approved by thesis advisor(s) before submission to the department portal.
• This is for the purpose of making certain the document is in compliance with MIT archive requirements. You will be contacted quickly if adjustments are needed. Please do not email separately.

Friday, May 10, 2024

• All theses must be cleared by each department (multiple departments for dual degrees) and submitted to the Institute.
• If a thesis is not approved by this point, the student may be pulled from the May degree list.

Week 15 of term ( exact date TBD )

• Final Reviews: open to the public and includes external critics

Week 17 of term ( exact date TBD )

• Thesis show opens two weeks after the thesis review

Last week of May 2024

• TBA Tuesday–Friday – Architecture Department's End of Year Celebration / Awards Ceremony
• Spring 2024 Thesis students' degree award date
• 11am, Thursday, May 30 – SA+P Advanced Degree Ceremony in Kresge Auditorium
• 3–4:30pm, Thursday, May 30 – OneMIT Ceremony on Killian Court for all graduates
• More details, as they become available, will be posted on https://commencement.mit.edu/

SMACT Thesis Contacts

• SMACT Director: Azra Akšamija
• SMACT Thesis Preparation: Azra Akšamija
• ACT Academic Associate: Claudine Monique
• Architecture master's degree administrator: Kateri Bertin
• SMACT thesis submission: Claudine Monique , Kateri Bertin , and Tonya Miller
• ACT Administrative Officer: Scott Tirrell

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Forging her own path

Press contact :.

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Turning a problem upside down comes naturally to senior Amber Velez. She’d trained in trapeze and aerial circus arts for several years, but buying her own circular aerial hoop, called a lyra, was prohibitively expensive. 

Instead, as a sophomore, Velez decided to make an affordable lyra herself in a lab on campus. There, staff showed her how to use a tube roller tool to form the lyra’s curved shape. “MIT is a community where everyone is generally very willing to help everyone else,” she discovered there.

Next, she took an introductory metalsmithing course at the Merton C. Flemings Materials Processing Laboratory . After passing a safety test, Velez had free rein to experiment independently in the popular space where students have been forging since 1892. At a school known for pioneering the next technical advances, she forged a sword with a dragon hilt using ancient technology over simple open flame.

Velez moves her lyra between favorite spots on campus, suspending it from columns or trees. “More importantly than teaching you how to make things at MIT, you learn that you have the ability to gain the skills to figure out what you want to do and to make it happen,” she reflects.

A creative approach

After taking a gap year backpacking through Europe and gathering her thoughts, Velez arrived at MIT with a plan. Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, she watched helplessly as climate change hit the surrounding Sonoran Desert hard. She wanted to make a difference through activism, STEM studies, and writing fantasy fiction about how the world could be different and better. 

After assembling an engine by hand in an introductory mechanical engineering (MechE) course, she declared her first major and forged a career path. She explains, “I love making things — and that was something I had never realized until coming to college and trying engineering.” Her research focuses on clean energy and decarbonization. 

Velez built her second major by hand, too. Creative Writing in History is an interdisciplinary program sponsored through the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS). 

Velez took three history classes each semester of her sophomore year before realizing she had accumulated enough credits for a major. When she learned that a history thesis would be the capstone requirement, Velez decided that she would prefer to do a creative writing thesis instead — and fold in some literature courses, as well.

“Activism and politics, for me, have always been grounded in history. I enjoy setting my fantasy in historical periods,” she says. After submitting some paperwork with the support of a faculty sponsor, she received approval from the SHASS registrar. “The process was very straightforward.” 

Since then, Velez has taken three courses with her thesis advisor, Joaquin Terrones , including 21L.504 (Race, Gender, and Secret Identities in U.S. Superhero Comics). She says, “His classes have made me think a lot about representation in fiction and how I want to contribute toward it.” 

Velez’s thesis will comprise a debut collection of short stories in the fantasy genre. Each piece is based in the Sonoran Desert at different periods in history — some of them imagined. “It’s the only place in the world with really tall cacti that have arms,” she says, visibly excited to talk about the unique, occasionally otherworldly environment. 

She’s seen her writing come together with MechE in surprising ways that have the potential to effect change. Velez says, “I study history to understand what needs to be changed, and I write about our world and the ways it can be better. That guides where I apply my MechE skills, into sustainable energy. On the flip side, my understanding of technology contributes to how I imagine fictional worlds and innovations.” 

Sharing her story

Through her role as a student blogger for MIT Admissions, Velez discovered a community of writers. She started blogging in her first year. “It’s been a really cool playground to see myself mature in,” she reflects. “Coming in as a Latina student and a minority, I put a lot of pressure on myself to show people back home that I deserve to be here and not give anyone fodder to think otherwise.” 

Later that first year, when she enrolled in an advanced physics class without first fulfilling the prerequisite coursework in differential equations, and struggled, that fear ultimately melted away. 

She recalls, “This class was going badly, my ego was suffering, and I was panicking. I wrote this really passionate blog post about dropping the class and prioritizing learning material over my own pride.” 

It was a brave and honest piece, and the community of MIT bloggers and her readers rallied around her in support. 

In the process, something in Velez shifted and strengthened. 

Now, she says, “I’m writing for young high school girls or Latinx students, and I am showing them that you don’t need to be perfect; you just need to be pushing yourself and learning.” 

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Bryan is a designer that works between art, architecture, and landscapes. Graduated at HKU with first class dean's honors, his thesis "Development Detours: Landscape Genealogy Framework for Post-pandemic Ecotourism in northern Laos" has been published in the Landscape Architecture Frontier Journal (LAF). 

His works are exhibited in Rotch Library at MIT, gta Exhibitions at ETH Zürich, Kirkland Gallery at Harvard GSD, the Venice Architecture Biennale, and other galleries across New York, Vilnius and Hong Kong. At MIT, he has instructed an IAP course about mapping architecture and assisted the MArch Core II & III studio. Recently, he was awared with the Julian Bienart Award, the CAMIT Art Grant, and is currently part of the Arts Incubator programme launching project HONMI, which designs pop-up spaces using foraged and invasive materials to connect young local designers with vacant storefronts.

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Unlocking the quantum future

At the mit quantum hackathon, a community tackles quantum computing challenges..

Quantum computing is the next frontier for faster and more powerful computing technologies. It has the potential to better optimize routes for shipping and delivery, speed up battery development for electric vehicles, and more accurately predict trends in financial markets. But to unlock the quantum future, scientists and engineers need to solve outstanding technical challenges while continuing to explore new applications.

One place where they’re working towards this future is the MIT Interdisciplinary Quantum Hackathon, or iQuHACK for short (pronounced “i-quack,” like a duck). Each year, a community of quhackers (quantum hackers) gathers at iQuHACK to work on quantum computing projects using real quantum computers and simulators. This year, the hackathon was held both in-person at MIT and online over three days in February.

Quhackers worked in teams to advance the capability of quantum computers and to investigate promising applications. Collectively, they tackled a wide range of projects, such as running a quantum-powered dating service, building an organ donor matching app, and breaking into quantum vaults. While working, quhackers could consult with scientists and engineers in attendance from sponsoring companies. Many sponsors also received feedback and ideas from quhackers to help improve their quantum platforms.

But organizing iQuHACK 2024 was no easy feat. Co-chairs Alessandro Buzzi and Daniela Zaidenberg led a committee of nine members to hold the largest iQuHACK yet. “It wouldn’t have been possible without them,” Buzzi said. The hackathon hosted 260 in-person quhackers and 1,000 remote quhackers, representing 77 countries in total. More than 20 scientists and engineers from sponsoring companies also attended in person as mentors for quhackers.

Each team of quhackers tackled one of 10 challenges posed by the hackathon’s eight major sponsoring companies. Some challenges asked quhackers to improve computing performance, such as by making quantum algorithms faster and more accurate. Other challenges asked quhackers to explore applying quantum computing to other fields, such as finance and machine learning. The sponsors worked with the iQuHACK committee to craft creative challenges with industry relevance and societal impact. “We wanted people to be able to address an interesting challenge [that has] applications in the real world,” says Zaidenberg.

One team of quhackers looked for potential quantum applications and found one close to home: dating. A team member, Liam Kronman, had previously built dating apps but disliked that matching algorithms for normal classical computers “require [an overly] strict setup.” With these classical algorithms, people must be split into two groups — for example, men and women — and matches can only be made between these groups. But with quantum computers, matching algorithms are more flexible and can consider all possible combinations, enabling the inclusion of multiple genders and gender preferences.

Kronman and his team members leveraged these quantum algorithms to build a quantum-powered dating platform called MITqute (pronounced “meet cute”). To date, the platform has matched at least 240 people from the iQuHACK and MIT undergrad communities. In a follow-up survey, 13 out of 41 respondents reported having talked with their match, with at least two pairs setting up dates. “I really lucked out with this one,” one respondent wrote.

Another team of quhackers also based their project on quantum matching algorithms but instead leveraged the algorithms’ power for medical care. The team built a mobile app that matches organ donors to patients, earning them the hackathon’s top social impact award.

But they almost didn’t go through with their project. “At one point, we were considering scrapping the whole thing because we thought we couldn’t implement the algorithm,” says Alma Alex, one of the developers. After talking with their hackathon mentor for advice, though, the team learned that another group was working on a similar type of project — incidentally, the MITqute team. Knowing that others were tackling the same problem inspired them to persevere.

A sense of community also helped to motivate other quhackers. For one of the challenges, quhackers were tasked with hacking into 13 virtual quantum vaults. Teams could see each other’s progress on each vault in real time on a leaderboard, and this knowledge informed their strategies. When the first vault was successfully hacked by a team, progress from many other teams spiked on that vault and slowed down on others, says Daiwei Zhu, a quantum applications scientist at IonQ and one of the challenge’s two architects.

The vault challenge may appear to be just a fun series of puzzles, but the solutions can be used in quantum computers to improve their efficiency and accuracy. To hack into a vault, quhackers had to first figure out its secret key — an unknown quantum state — using a maximum of 20 probing tests. Then, they had to change the key’s state to a target state. These types of characterizations and modifications of quantum states are “fundamental” for quantum computers to work, says Jason Iaconis, a quantum applications engineer at IonQ and the challenge’s other architect.

But the best way to characterize and modify states is not yet clear. “Some of the [vaults] we [didn’t] even know how to solve ourselves,” Zhu says. At the end of the hackathon, six vaults had at least one team mostly hack into them. (In the quantum world where gray areas exist, it’s possible to partly hack into a vault.)

The community of scientists and engineers formed at iQuHACK persists beyond the weekend, and many members continue to grow the community outside the hackathon. Inspired quhackers have gone on to start their own quantum computing clubs at their universities. A few years ago, a group of undergraduate quhackers from different universities formed a Quantum Coalition that now hosts their own quantum hackathons. “It’s crazy to see how the hackathon itself spreads and how many people start their own initiatives,” co-chair Zaidenberg says.

The three-day hackathon opened with a keynote from MIT Professor Will Oliver , which included an overview of basic quantum computing concepts, current challenges, and computing technologies. Following that were industry talks and a panel of six industry and academic quantum experts, including MIT Professor Peter Shor, who is known for developing one of the most famous quantum algorithms. The panelists discussed current challenges, future applications, the importance of collaboration, and the need for ample testing.

Later, sponsors held technical workshops where quhackers could learn the nitty-gritty details of programming on specific quantum platforms. Day one closed out with a talk by research scientist Xinghui Yin on the role of quantum technology at LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory that first detected gravitational waves. The next day, the hackathon’s challenges were announced at 10 a.m., and hacking kicked off at the MIT InnovationHQ. In the afternoon, attendees could also tour MIT quantum computing labs.

Hacking continued overnight at the MIT Museum and ended back at MIT iHQ at 10 a.m. on the final day. iQuhackers then presented their projects to panels of judges. Afterward, industry speakers gave lightning talks about each of their company’s latest quantum technologies and future directions. The hackathon ended with a closing ceremony, where sponsors announced the awards for each of the 10 challenges.

The hackathon was captured in a three-part video by Albert Figurt, a resident artist at MIT. Figurt shot and edited the footage in parallel with the hackathon. Each part represented one day of the hackathon and was released on the subsequent day.

Throughout the weekend, quhackers and sponsors consistently praised the hackathon’s execution and atmosphere. “That was amazing … never felt so much better, one of the best hackathons I did from over 30 hackathons I attended,” Abdullah Kazi, a quhacker, wrote on the iQuHACK Slack.

Ultimately, “[we wanted to] help people to meet each other,” co-chair Buzzi says. “The impact [of iQuHACK] is scientific in some way, but it’s very human at the most important level.”

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Max Addae wins first place in the 2024 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition

by Amanda Diehl

March 12, 2024

• #performance
• #creativity
• Max Addae Former Research Assistant
• VocalCords: Exploring Tactile Interaction with the Singing Voice
• Media Lab Research Theme: Cultivating Creativity

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VocalCords : Exploring Tactile Interaction with the Singing Voice , by alum  Max Addae  of the Opera of the Future research group,  received first place  at the 2024 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  VocalCords  was recently featured in Professor Tod Machover's  2023  VALIS  production .

"I am so grateful for my time at the Media Lab, where VocalCords was first conceived in Joe Paradiso's 'Sensors for Interactive Environments' course, and developed further for my master's thesis. This achievement would not have been possible without the support of Tod Machover, the Opera of the Future group, Nina Masuelli (previous UROP and incoming MAS student!), my thesis committee members Joe Paradiso and Akito van Troyer (MAS '18), and the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT)," Addae said.

Professor Machover, head of the Opera of the Future research group, added, "From the very first time that Max showed me the initial concept for VocalCords , I could see that he had found a uniquely powerful and personal way to combine his singing, composing, computing, and performing skills. The mature system is so effective because it unleashes both the expressivity and the fragility of the human voice in ways that are simultaneously simple and profound. I am so proud of Max for winning first prize in the prestigious Guthman Competition, the only award in the world for visionary musical instrument design, and can’t wait to see how he continues to develop VocalCords for his own artistic purposes and also so that others—and especially young people—can experience the joy of vocal creativity and discovery.”

The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition was originally designed to identify the next generation of musical instrumentalists and to expose new technologies and novel ideas to a community of musicians who are natural experimenters. 

IN TENSE DIMENSIONS: A Song Cycle for Voice & Live Electronics by Max Addae

In Tense Dimensions is the premiere live performance of VocalCords, a stretch-sensor based voice controller/processor I have been deve…

VALIS: An Opera by Tod Machover

This brand-new production will give audiences the first opportunity in almost 30 years to experience a live performance of this seminal work

Re-imagining the opera of the future

The iconic sci-fi opera VALIS, first composed by Professor Tod Machover in 1987, reboots at MIT for a new generation.

An AI opera from 1987 reboots for a new generation

At MIT, Tod Machover’s ‘VALIS’ receives its first staged production in over two decades

Community News for the week of March 18, 2024

Week of march 18, 2024.

The following announcements are as of March 15.

Events and Seminars

March 18: Student Seminar: 3:00 p.m., 66-110 – Shuo-Hsiu (Winson) Kuo, “Guided Differentiation of Human-induced Pluripotent Stems Cells toward Pancreatic Lineages Utilizing Endogenous Gene/miRNA Sensors” – Gabriel Sanchez Velasquez, “CoPhMoRe – Molecular Recognition at Carbon Nanotube Interfaces”

March 18: Dialogues Across Difference series, “Islamophobia: A Threat to All” 4:00 p.m. in 45-801. [ Register ]

March 19: Barn Babies for midterms! 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in 201.

March 19: Grad students: Pear VC Pitch Workshop and Mixer, 5:30 p.m. [ Details ]

March 22: ChemE Seminar Series: 3:00 p.m., 66-110 “ Complex Fluid-Fluid Interfaces: From Beer Foam to the Human Lung “, Dr. Jan Vermant, ETH Zürich

March 25: Student Seminar: 3:00 p.m., 66-110 – Jennifer Fang, “Spatial Multiplexing and Quantitative miRNA Detection of Plant Tissue using Nanoliter Well Arrays” – Shakul Pathak, “Intercalation Kinetics in Battery Electrodes: Beyond Butler-volmer”

April 4: C.C. Mei Distinguished Speaker Series, “The Plant Age: Materials for the Future”, Prof. Oded Shoseyov. [ Details ]

June 23-28: The Twenty-Fourth International Conference on the Science and Applications of Nanotubes and Low-Dimensional Materials. [ Details ]

See ChemE calendar for more listing of department events and seminars >>

Thesis Defense

Internships, fellowships, and job opportunities.

MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering, & Science : Paid instructor & TA positions. [ Details ]

MIT Graduate Community Fellow : [ See current positions and apply ]

MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS) : open position for student sustainability researchers. [ Details ]

Search for more faculty positions around the world at PolytechnicPositions.com See listing of upcoming career-related events, workshops, and company info sessions>>

Other Announcements

March 18: Application due for Science Policy Bootcamp – Spring Break 2024 . [ Details ]

March 21: Application due for The Sidney-Pacific (SP) Graduate Residence. [ Details ]

March 31: Application due for Experiential Ethics Summer Course. [ Details ]

MIT Men’s Club Rugby. [ Signup ]

MIT Solve: Apply to help select 2024 Solver Teams. [ Details ]

MIT Energy and Climate Club: Present your energy research at a MITEC seminar. [ Signup ]

PKG Center: Funded Summer Opportunities. [ Details ]

Chancellor’s Innovation Fund: Info sessions and application [ Details ]

MIT Spouses & Partners Connect : Language Conversation Exchange events. [ See Calendar ]

Spring 2024 MIT Energy & Climate Club Launchpad. [ Undergraduate Application ]

D-Lab Energy: Introduction to Energy in Global Development. [ Register now! ]

Food@MIT Guide: How to access healthy & affordable food at MIT. [ Details ]

Student Support Services (S3): Help in an accessible & respectful environment. [ virtual & walk-in locations ]

MIT Alumni Advisors Hub: Signup to connect with MIT alumni for career conversations. [ Details ]

Become an iREFS to offer confidential, peer-to-peer conflict management coaching and support to graduate students at MIT! Email [email protected]

REFS (Resources for Easing Friction and Stress): Feeling stressed? We are here to help. Email: [email protected] | Website: web.mit.edu/refs-x/