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MIT Volunteer View

February 2008

Dear Volunteers   MIT By the Numbers Research at MIT • MIT research expenditures in FY07: $598.3 million • Percent of this from internal MIT sponsors: 1 ($8.9 million) • Percent from industry: 13 ($79.7 million) • Percent from federal government: 79 ($464.5 million) • Government agency providing the most research dollars (35 percent) to MIT: Department of Health and Human Services, $201.6 million IAP is over, classes have resumed, and career recruiting has hit a fevered pitch on campus. The current emphasis on student leadership development has made students eager to establish ties with alumni. And alumni have responded warmly. Indeed, our externship participants, both alumni sponsors and student externs, netted double-digit gains this year. Other alumni have served as career advisors, internship sponsors, or advisors to campus groups, such as the fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups. Your important work is showcased in a new brochure we passed out at Charm School detailing Alumni Association services. As our enthusiastic students gain a stronger appreciation for everything alumni do for them, we expect hits to the Online Alumni Directory to increase and connections between students and alumni to flourish. If you're interested in becoming involved in students' lives, the Top Seven list below offers diverse opportunities. And of course, it's never to early to start planning next year's January externship! Thanks to all of you who devote time mentoring and encouraging students. Your dedication inspires and influences the next generation of leaders and keeps our alumni network strong. Keep up the good work. Sincerely, Beth Garvin HM

Spotlight Story Externship Hosts Provide Invaluable Experiences Thanks to the 148 alumni who hosted 269 students for a diverse array of January externships! Students helped research, design, and build an interactive, live-action spy challenge with 5 Wits Productions; worked on computer vision in radiation oncology at Mass General Hospital; and analyzed and tested advanced composite aircraft structures at Aurora Flight Sciences (pictured). Read blogs from externs in the entertainment, business, and financial industries. Photo: Eric Schmiedl '09.

Featured Volunteer Hollie Schmidt '87, SM '92 Always positive and upbeat, Hollie offers a voice of experience, enthusiasm, and encouragement in all of her volunteer endeavors. She is often on campus for a variety of entrepreneurial activities and relishes opportunities to connect with students through the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP), the Student/Alumni Externship Program, and as a career advisor. She currently sits on the Enterprise Forum Board and offers important outreach within the MIT entrepreneurial community. She has also chaired the Technology Day Committee and committees for the Association of MIT Alumnae (AMITA).

Volunteer Initiatives

Educational Counselors Needed to Aid Admissions, Recruitment

The MIT Educational Council is looking for alumni to assist the Admissions Office. Discover and recruit potential students, interview applicants, and serve as a community resource. Volunteers are especially needed in central and southern Illinois, Pittsburgh, Ft. Lauderdale, southern Vermont, Malaysia, Bangladesh, the Caucasus, and India. Interested? Contact the Educational Council Office at 617-253-3354 or ecquestions@mit.edu.

Don't Forget to Vote—Polls Close Feb 15!

Vote now to elect four new members to the National Selection Committee, the group responsible for selecting top alumni leaders to serve on the Alumni Association Board of Directors and as alumni nominees to the MIT Corporation. Committee members serve at large, so all alumni vote for candidates in all districts. Cast your vote today.

Missed ALC? Watch Videos from the Conference

View highlights from the 2007 Alumni Leadership Conference (ALC), including President Hockfield's Institute update to MIT volunteers, faculty-student panels, and tips for persuasive communication.

MIT10 Alumni: Let Your Voices Be Heard

Martin Tang's $100,000 challenge has encouraged 43% of the undergraduate MIT10 alumni to participate in the Power of Participation to date. Donors are also entitled to vote on where Martin's money should go, so please make your gift today, and be sure your voice is heard! Visit the Web site to check progress to date, learn more about the challenge, and sign up for the March 19 Happy Hour in Boston.

What Kind of World Would You Make?

Discover how virtual communities are changing the way people relate at a March 12 global broadcast hosted by the Alumni Association. The event features Professor Henry Jenkins, director of the Comparative Media Studies Program, and Beth Coleman, assistant professor of writing and new media. Dean for Graduate Students Steven R. Lerman '72, SM '73, PhD '75, who also directs the Center for Educational Computing Initiative, will moderate. Please market the opportunity to your club, class, or group in upcoming communications.

And the Winner Is...

A round of applause to the Club of Boston, winner of this year's Toast to IAP quiz. The club, which now enjoys a year's supply of bragging rights, scored the victory over 36 other clubs. In all, some 740 alumni enjoyed Toasts this year.

Talking Points

High-Level Panel Encourages MIT Energy Approach

The MIT Energy Initiative received critical input, advice, and insights in the first meeting of its External Advisory Board, which is chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. The board emphasized the importance of an international focus, continuing public discourse about energy issues, and increasing research attention on improvements in efficiency, especially in building design.

New MIT Tool Probes Brain Circuits

Researchers at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory report that they have created a way to see, for the first time, the effect of blocking and unblocking a single neural circuit on learning and memory in a living animal.

Pumping Up Desert Agriculture

Thanks to a new venture set up by two MIT students, subsistence farmers on the edge of the Sahara desert in Sudan will soon get a chance to improve their crops and their livelihoods using inexpensive, treadle-powered water pumps.

MIT and Colombian Company Form Logistics Center

MIT's Center for Transportation and Logistics and the Colombia-based company LOGyCA have signed an agreement creating the Center for Latin-American Logistics Innovation to lead research and education in supply chain and logistics in Latin America.

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About MIT Volunteer View

Volunteer View, a monthly e-newsletter for MIT volunteers, is available in HTML and text-only formats. To receive the text-only format, please email mitalum@mit.edu.

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