麻省理工学院比特与原子中心是一个探索计算机科学和物理科学边界的跨学科项目。CBA研究如何将数据转化为事物，再将事物转化为数据。它管理设施，运行研究项目，监督学生，与赞助商合作，创建创业公司，并进行公共宣传。
设施
CBA由美国国家科学基金会于2001年推出，旨在创建一个独特的数字制造设施，收集不同学科和长度尺度的工具，用于制造和测量东西。这些技术包括用于纳米结构的电子显微镜和聚焦离子束探针，用于微结构的激光微加工和x射线微断层扫描，以及用于宏观结构的多轴加工和3D打印。这些都是由用于处理和表征材料和设备的仪器支持的。CBA的工具可以24小时为它的用户提供集成这些功能的项目。
研究
CBA的项目包括与麻省理工学院和世界各地的研究人员合作。CBA的工作人员参与了比特和原子边界的进展，包括使用分子中的核自旋进行的第一个完整的量子计算；介观光散射实现的物理单向密码函数微流控气泡逻辑，比特传输材料和信息；异步逻辑自动机，使硬件与软件保持一致；智能基础设施，提高能源效率；重新编码基因组，创造合成生命；编码折叠，在编程方面；以及功能数字材料的增材组装。
学生
CBA的学生通过相关的学术部门申请参与研究小组的工作，包括MAS，以及EECS，物理，机械工程和建筑。我们的大多数研究生都是由研究助理奖学金全额资助的，本科生则是由麻省理工学院的UROP项目资助的。
著名的CBA校友包括TR35创新者Nadya Peek, Facebook的基础设施副总裁Jason Taylor, Twitter的前工程副总裁Raffi Krikorian, MacArthur Fellow Saul Griffith, TED Fellow Manu Prakash, Formlabs创始人Max Lobovsky, NIPS Test of Time的获奖者Ben Recht和Project Ara的Ara Knaian。
MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms is an interdisciplinary initiative exploring the boundary between computer science and physical science. CBA studies how to turn data into things, and things into data. It manages facilities, runs research programs, supervises students, works with sponsors, creates startups, and does public outreach.
Facilities
CBA was launched by a National Science Foundation award in 2001 to create a unique digital fabrication facility that gathers tools across disciplines and length scales for making and measuring things. These include electron microscopes and focused ion beam probes for nanostructures, laser micromachining and X-ray microtomography for microstructures, and multi-axis machining and 3D printing for macrostructures. These are supported by instrumentation for processing and characterizing materials and devices. CBA's tools are available around the clock for its users working on projects that integrate these capabilities.
Research
CBA's projects involve collaborations with researchers from across MIT's campus and around the world. CBA personnel have participated in advances at the boundary between bits and atoms including what were among the first complete quantum computations, using nuclear spins in molecules; physical one-way cryptographic functions, implemented by mesoscopic light scattering; microfluidic bubble logic, with bits that transport materials as well as information; asynchronous logic automata, to align hardware with software; intelligent infrastructure, for energy efficiency; recoding the genome and creating synthetic life; coded folding, for programming matter; and the additive assembly of functional digital materials.
Students
CBA's students apply to work in participating research groups through associated academic departments, which include MAS, as well as EECS, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Architecture. Most of our graduate students are fully funded by research assistantships, and undergraduate students are supported through MIT's UROP program.
Notable CBA alums include TR35 Innovator Nadya Peek, Facebook's VP of Infrastructure Jason Taylor, Twitter's former VP on Engineering Raffi Krikorian, MacArthur Fellow Saul Griffith, TED Fellow Manu Prakash, Formlabs founder Max Lobovsky, NIPS Test of Time recipient Ben Recht, and Project Ara's Ara Knaian.