News + Media

	News Release November 3, 2021 Evan Lieberman named faculty director of MISTI, MIT's hub for global experiences Center for International Studies In this new role, Evan Lieberman, Total Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa, will continue to steer and nurture MIT’s international research and teaching opportunities for current students and into the future. MIT's primary international program, MISTI is a pioneer in “applied international studies”—a distinctively MIT concept. MISTI helps MIT undergraduate and graduate students experience the world while advancing knowledge, tackling tough challenges, and preparing for lives of impact, service, and leadership in an interconnected global society.
	In the News November 2, 2021 Satellite images appear to show China is making significant progress developing missile silos that could eventually launch nuclear weapons Kylie Atwood and Jennifer HanslerCNN Quoted:"China may fill these out eventually but in the interim, when they are not all filled out, would the US be able to distinguish with certainty which silos are filled and which aren't and would we have to commit to destroying all of these no matter what? If that is the case then the US has to commit maybe twice the number of warheads to all of the silos," said Vipin Narang, a professor of political science focusing on nuclear proliferation and strategy at MIT. "If you are the US this forces you to re-think nuclear planning," he said.
	In the News October 29, 2021 Education in Latin America after the pandemic Brigid McMahanMIT News In early 2020, Covid-19 forced countries across Latin America to take measures to keep children, young people, and adults away from schools. Many countries have declared educational quarantines as part of efforts to stop the pandemic, but more than a year-and-a-half later, governments are already thinking, what is next?
	In the News October 28, 2021 US general says China's hypersonic missile test is 'close' to a Sputnik moment WBUR Here and Now Here & Now security analyst and MIT Security Studies expert Jim Walsh joins host Scott Tong to discuss how the US views China's reported test of a hypersonic missile last summer. In an interview on Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley called it a "very concerning" development.
	In the News October 26, 2021 Dragging your feet? Lack of sleep affects your walk, new study finds Jennifer ChuMIT News Good sleep can be hard to come by. But a new study, funded in part by a grant from the MIT Brazil Program, finds that if you can make up for lost sleep, even for just a few weekend hours, the extra zzz’s could help reduce fatigue-induced clumsiness, at least in how you walk.
	In the News October 25, 2021 China amps ups military pressure, but victory is not assured ANIAsian News International (ANI) Quoted: Vipin Narang, the Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science at MIT, offered some thoughts: "At some point in the past several years, China woke up and decided it needed to compete with the US on nuclear weapons in ways it hadn't for decades previously. It is investing in a lot more survivability and a lot more penetrability." Narang offered this conclusion: "I doubt it is because China seeks to conduct a bolt-out-of-the-blue first strike against the US." He said that would amount to suicide because of the USA's fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines. "Instead I lean toward another hypothesis: China estimates that the risk of a conventional war with the US is higher now than ever, and it needs to stalemate the US at the nuclear level - escape US nuclear coercion - in order to open space for more aggressive conventional options." He added, "So the take-home risk with all these developments isn't the risk of nuclear war with China - though that obviously goes up - but the risk of a really nasty conventional war where China unloads its massive arsenal of conventional missiles in theater without fear of US nuclear escalation. This isn't a new logic. This is, in fact, exactly the stability-instability paradox. China is seeking to shore up its side of strategic stability in order to potentially open up greater offensive options at the conventional level, in a war it starts or one that comes to it."
	Analysis + Opinion October 24, 2021 What is nuclear China up to? Kunal SinghHindustan Times The possibility of a US-China conflict is much higher now, or at least the leadership in Beijing thinks so. If there is a conventional conflict between the US and China, over, say, Taiwan, it can escalate to nuclear levels.
	In the News October 22, 2021 China’s hypersonic glider weapons test threatens to drive new arms race Julian BorgerThe Guardian Quoted: “In the last couple years China woke up and realized the risk of a conventional war with the US was higher than it’s probably been since the 1950s or 60s, and the US had a massive nuclear advantage it can use to prevent China from conventionally escalating a conflict,” said Vipin Narang, a professor of political science and expert on proliferation at MIT. “China realised it needed to compete with the US in order to stalemate us at the strategic nuclear level, to have a capability that could give the US pause before the US used nuclear weapons first in a conventional conflict.”...“It empowers those who are looking for continuity and/or expansion of missile defence or nuclear forces,” Narang said. “It’s hard to make the argument, when Russia and China are expanding, that the US should roll anything back.”
	News@E40 October 22, 2021 Ben Schneider is among MIT's 2021-23 Committed to Caring honorees Daniel KorsunOffice of Graduate Education Through a process driven by graduate student involvement, from the submission of nomination letters to the selection of honorees, the Committed to Caring (C2C) program at MIT recognizes faculty members that go above and beyond in their mentorship of graduate students. In light of their exceptional efforts, 15 MIT faculty members have been recognized by the C2C program for the 2021-23 cycle, joining the ranks of 60 previous C2C honorees.
	Analysis + Opinion October 19, 2021 Is US foreign policy too hostile to China? Eric Heginbotham and Shivshankar MenonForeign Affairs Foreign Affairs asks the experts about US foreign policy toward China and whether it has become too hostile. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level in their opinion. Eric Heginbotham, a principal research scientist at the MIT Center for International Studies and Shivshankar Menon, a former CIS Robert E Wilhelm Fellow, were asked to weigh in.