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Tech Connection - A monthly e-newsletter for MIT Alumni

August 2007

	SPOTLIGHTS
		Travel: Italy's Mountains of Fire Creating Cancer Stem Cells Growing Retirement Wealth

In This Issue:

Self-Guided Robocar Competes in Urban Challenge

An MIT vehicle that effectively drives itself has been selected as a semifinalist in this year's DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition for cars and trucks that run without human help. The MIT vehicle, which faces semifinal competition in October, uses multiple laser range scanners, high-rate video cameras, and automotive radar units to perform autonomous planning and motion control. Watch the obstacle test.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

• Crowd Farms Harness Energy from Human Movement
  Two graduate students at MIT's School of Architecture and Planning want to harvest the energy of human movement in urban settings, like commuters in a train station or fans at a concert. Crowd Farms would turn the mechanical energy of people walking or jumping into a source of electricity.

• MIT Creates 3-D Images of Living Cell
  A new imaging technique developed at MIT has allowed scientists to create the first 3-D images of a living cell, using a method similar to the X-ray CT scans doctors use to see inside the body.

• Maturity Brings Richer Memories, Says MIT Study
  An MIT research team reports that children rival adults in forming basic memories, but adults do better at remembering the rich, contextual details of that information. This study of the neural basis of memory development shows where and why rich memories develop.

What Matters: Don't Be Your Own Worst Enemy

What do successful CEOs have in common? Stephen Baum SM '64 interviewed dozens of prominent business leaders and found 10 archetypal shaping experiences responsible for their personal growth, one of which involves actively overcoming self-defeating attitudes.

GM Plugs In to Battery Technology with MIT Roots

General Motors has selected a company cofounded by Materials Science Professor Yet-Ming Chiang '80, ScD '85 to develop battery cells to power the Chevrolet Volt, a highly anticipated plug-in hybrid car expected to hit the market in 2010.

CAMPUS NEWS

• MIT Baseball Program Hits Home Run for K-12 Learning
  Middle school boys enrolled in the MIT Science of Baseball Program this summer spent their mornings learning how to calculate baseball statistics and predict the flight path of a home run, among other things. Then they hit the playing fields after lunch to apply what they'd learned in the classroom.

• MIT Adds New Graduate Program in Microbiology
  MIT has launched an interdisciplinary graduate program in microbiology, tapping more than 50 faculty members from 10 MIT departments and divisions, to meet the needs of students interested in all aspects of microbiology as well as chemistry, physics, engineering, or computation.

Register for TR's Emerging Technologies Conference--Alumni Discount

Alumni receive 10 percent off registration for Technology Review's 7th annual Emerging Technologies Conference, Sept. 25-27 on the MIT campus, which features Helio CEO Sky Dayton, Intentional Software cofounder and MS Office developer Charles Simonyi, Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, plus keynote executive panels and breakout sessions. Use code MITAlum when you register online.

Bring the Smartest Student Minds into Your Company

Connect with MIT students this January by offering an externship at your workplace during Independent Activities Period as part of the Student/Alumni Externship Program. Externships range from one month to one week, and opportunities in all fields in a variety of locales are needed. Sign up by October 1, 2007.

EVENTS

• Smoot's Ear—The Measure of Humanity: Cambridge, Sept. 25
  Attend a lecture, along with the legendary Oliver Smoot '62, on a new book by a London School of Economics professor on changing attitudes toward measurement throughout the history of western civilization. Hosted by the MIT Club of Boston.

• High Frequency Automated Trading: New York, Sept. 25
  Global electronic markets have revolutionized trading and attracted technology innovators. This MIT Club of New York event features an expert panel of black-box traders, platform creators, and exchange specialists.

• Slip into the Mind of a Successful Entrepreneur: Worldwide, Sept. 27
  The MIT Enterprise Forum partners with Technology Review and its Emerging Technologies Conference for the global broadcast "Entrepreneurship: Success, Failure, Greatness," a chat between entrepreneur and investor Ann Winblad and TR editor in chief Jason Pontin. Set up a viewing site for the live event, Sept. 27 at 11:25 a.m., or participate at a later date with a DVD. Contact EF at mitef@mit.edu or 617-253-0015 for more details.

About Tech Connection

Tech Connection, a monthly e-newsletter for alumni and friends of MIT, is available in HTML and text-only formats. Please email mitalum@mit.edu to request the text-only format or to subscribe.

Please email comments to:
Nancy DuVergne Smith
Editorial Director
MIT Alumni Association