Next stop: Kendall Square
In 2010, researchers from MIT and Harvard University found that while new communication technologies have transformed the way collaborations can be made around the world, physical proximity “continues to play a critical role in predicting the impact of scientific research.” This bodes well for MIT’s neighborhood, Kendall Square, home of the densest cluster of technology and biotechnology research in the world. The area is within a short bus or subway ride of some of the largest research hospitals in the world: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, among others. These medical centers are where many future therapies are tested and validated, providing a direct pipeline from the lab to the clinic. Martin Schmidt, MIT’s associate provost and professor of electrical engineering, says that easy access to world-class resources is particularly helpful for startups. Schmidt himself has founded several companies, and says...