About the SHED

The SHED serves as a multidisciplinary laboratory dedicated to prototyping, fabrication, and scientific discovery at MIT, offering equitable access to advanced technologies for the broader community. By integrating an interdisciplinary framework with domain-specific expertise, the SHED accelerates the progression of education, foundational and applied research, and systematic adoption of emerging technologies while ensuring scientific advancement is both rapid and conducted with the highest standards of safety and efficacy.

Mission

The SHED proactively integrates research, applied problem-solving and core Environment, Health and Safety expertise to develop knowledge and processes that accelerate safe and broad access to advanced technologies that empower members of the MIT community in furtherance of the Institution’s mission.

Core Principles

Advanced Technology

Engage researchers to determine their needs for advanced technology, solve access challenges, enable, and accelerate community adoption.

Thought Leadership

Perpetuate MIT’s leadership in cultivation of people, rigorous refinement of processes, and the purpose-driven generation of knowledge and content.

Efficiency & Safety

Advance operational efficiency, occupational safety, human health, environmental protection via knowledge generated through targeted research and applied problem solving.

Interdisciplinary Discovery

Conduct progressive interdisciplinary studies to shape the safe integration of advanced technologies in education and research, catalyzing scientific advancement.

Leadership

Tolga Durak
Founding Director, Principal Investigator
Martin Culpepper
Faculty Advisor
Moungi Bawendi
Faculty Advisor
Anne White
Faculty Advisor
Peter Dedon
Faculty Advisor
Susan Silbey
Faculty Advisor

The Community

The vibrant ecosystem of stakeholders dedicated to scientific curiosity, collaboration, impact, and inclusivity.

Collaborators

The SHED Network is an ever-growing consortium of like-minded departments, organizations, and researchers from across the globe, coming together to share ideas and resources.
Learn More About the Network

Mentors

Student and researcher mentors are the SHED’s community leaders, from designing trainings to hosting events and open hours to determining future direction and priorities for the space. They represent every area of interest and are prepared to support users in the intricacies of every equipment, tool and process.
Become a Mentor

Afghah, Ferdows
Bai, Jane
Barakat, Layal
Beatie, Richard
Bawa, Maheera
Chen, Allen
Chen, Andrew
Chih, Hazel
Forsgren, Bryce
Gazdus, Hannah
George-Akpenyi, Jesse
Greene, Andre
Haile, Rose
Hines, Alayah
Jebran, Mujtaba
John, Anand
Ladd, Ava
Lin, Spring
Macon, Malachi
Marschner, Annika
McCoy, Vera
Mohammed, Rachel
Ortiz, Shantelle
Qu, Andi
Reyes, Lindsay
Rupani, Vaneeza
Sawhney, Anhad
Schwendeman, Laura
Tang, Crystal
Tjong, Win Win
Ye, Farrah
Yong, Charles
Zhang, Eileen
Zhu, Gloria

MIT EHS

The SHED is supported by the wide-ranging subject matter expertise of MIT Environment, Health and Safety. EHS continually strives to develop practical, efficient, sustainable, and adaptable solutions that identify, assess, and minimize risk, we continually strive to meet new challenges to support innovation in the research community.

Aalaei, Iraj
Casavant, Alec
Eads, Kyle
Greenfield, Jack
Kalil, Andy
Kirby, Bob
MacLeod, Joe
Marketon, Melanie
Sain, Chris

Users

Diverse group of individuals who seek to advance knowledge across various disciplines leveraging SHED’s resources and expertise to achieve their research and innovation goals.
Safety Health Environmental Discovery Lab
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA, USA
SHED@mit.edu