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Tech Connection - A monthly e-newsletter for MIT Alumni

October 2006

	SPOTLIGHTS
		Annual Elephant Walk Travel Bhutan Isaac Newton's Tree

In This Issue:

Alumni Win Nobel Prizes in Physics, Physiology

Two alumni claimed 2006 Nobel Prizes, bringing the MIT community's total to 63. George F. Smoot '66, left, won a joint Nobel Prize in Physics for work that increases understanding of the origin of galaxies and stars. Andrew Z. Fire LI '83 shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of RNA interference--gene silencing by double-stranded RNA.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

• Nanoparticles Aid Brain Imaging
  A McGovern Institute researcher has discovered how to observe what the 10 billion neurons in a person's brain are doing by tracking calcium as it flows into neurons when they fire. To do that, he has developed a new nano-sized calcium-sensing contrast agent.

• New Material Stops Bleeding in Seconds
  MIT and Hong Kong University researchers have shown that simple biodegradable liquids can stop bleeding within seconds, a development that could significantly impact medicine. Doctors currently have few effective methods to stop bleeding without causing other damage.

• Bioengineer Wins MacArthur Genius Award
  Professor Linda Griffith, a noted biotechnologist, won a 2006 MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as a genius grant. Griffith was honored for "shaping the frontiers of tissue engineering and synthetic regenerative technologies."

ALUMNI NEWS

• Alumnae Advance Space Frontiers
  Astronaut Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper '84 became the first MIT alumna to walk in space during the successful space shuttle mission in September. Astronaut Pamela Melroy GY '84 is scheduled to command the space shuttle mission planned for August 2007, making her the second woman to head a U.S. space mission.

• MIT Professor David Vogan MA '76 Goes Solar at Home
  The mathematics professor installed electricity-generating solar panels on his roof three years ago, thanks to cost sharing through an MIT grant. Vogan says he enjoys seeing his electricity meter run backward.

• Silk Road Premieres Alumnus and Faculty Music in Carnegie Hall
  The Silk Road Ensemble, cellist Yo-Yo Ma's multicultural music ensemble, performed new works by two MIT-affiliated composers in New York's Carnegie Hall in September. The pieces were world premieres for MIT composers Evan Ziporyn and Christopher Adler '94.

What Matters: How MIT Alumni Are Contributing to VoIP Advances

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has matured into a bona-fide consumer product. Stacy Swider '89 describes the urgent questions that accompany the development of this new telephone technology and how alumni are building companies to provide answers.

CAMPUS NEWS

• Proposed Undergraduate Curriculum Balances Rigor, Flexibility
  A proposal now under faculty review recommends new requirements that preserve MIT's traditional focus while adapting to 21st century opportunities and advances in knowledge. The task force proposal also supports more international educational experiences for undergraduates.

• Hockfield Establishes Energy Initiative
  President Susan Hockfield moved MIT's energy efforts forward this fall with the establishment of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), which will develop research programs, educational offerings, and campus infrastructure leading to an interdepartmental laboratory. Meanwhile, the Energy Club has mapped campus energy use.

• Endowment Returns 23 Percent
  The MIT Treasurer's Office reports good news for FY2006, ending June 30, including a 23 percent return, bringing the endowment to $8.4 billion. The operating budget rose to $2.14 billion, due primarily to an increase in research monies.

Alex Doonesbury '10 Adjusts to Virtual MIT Life

Read about the comic strip character's freshman year at MIT: her struggle with problem sets, feelings of inadequacy, lotteries for popular classes, and observation about the Stata Center.

Share Your Geeky Delights

Proud to be a geek? Contribute your ideas on the best trivia, sci fi or fantasy work, and game for the November edition of Quick Take, which will focus on modern geekhood. Share your geeky pleasures in a quick, three-question survey.

EVENTS

• Philadelphia: "MIT and the Human Body," Oct. 28
  Join fellow alumni and hear faculty discuss Alzheimer's research, the DNA damage-cancer connection, and biomechatronics at this MIT on the Road program.

• New York: "Global Energy Supply and Climate Change?" Nov. 9
  Physics professor Ernest J. Moniz, director of the MIT Energy Initiative, will discuss the challenges of meeting future global energy demand given likely environmental constraints.

• Boston: "How the Brain Pays Attention," Nov. 14
  Robert Desimone, director of the McGovern Institute, describes recent research on the brain mechanisms of perception, attention, and motor control that are commonly impaired in disorders including schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.

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 tech_connection@mitvma.mit.edu.

Cheers!
Nancy DuVergne Smith, editor