Cambridge, MassachusettsThe future of ultrafast tubular travel may be partly shaped in this room on the third floor of MIT’s Edgerton Center, where a team of graduate students huddle in front of computers.

They’ve done calculations and simulations to design a levitating pod that could transport people at hundreds of miles an hour. Chris Merian, chief engineer, holds in his hand a model of their concept, which won first place in the initial round of a groundbreaking global contest.

Now the MIT students have to build it. They plan to start early next month. This summer, they’ll test their magnet-embedded, bobsled-like prototype at the grand finale of the Hyperloop Pod Competition, hosted by Elon Musk’s SpaceX—a rocket company that encourages teams