Collection
Beavers, air sickness bags, counterfeit currency, carved birds. MIT alumni collect eclectic mementos that reflect their passions and life journeys. Learn about treasures under wraps at the MIT Museum, highlights from the Institute Archives, campus charity fundraisers, and research involving data mining, solar energy collection, and a registry of standard biological parts.
Alumni Collectors
Two winning entries in Virgin Atlantic's 2004 Design for Chunks contest, which selected 20 designs for in-flight sick bags and randomly distributed them on every flight for a limited period. Left: design by Mark Suppelsa/Mowconcepts; right: design by Greg Vezon. Images courtesy Steve Silberberg '83, SM '84.
The art of motion sickness
In a recent Boston Globe article, Steve Silberberg '83, SM '84 estimates he owns the tenth largest collection of air sickness bags in the world (see two above), which he displays on his virtual museum.
What kinds of things do Tech alums like to surround themselves with? Quick Take asked a group of alumni what they've collected throughout their lives.
—At one point I was the largest collector of counterfeit Confederate currency in the country with hundreds of pieces, but I sold the collection five years ago.
—Currency from the Colonial and Revolutionary periods
—Model trains
—Confederate and railroad bonds (one is signed by J.P. Morgan)
—Confederate and U.S. postage stamps
—Carved birds, roosters, and chickens
—Art from Cape Ann artists (my wife is an artist)
—Bees (I have 150,000–250,000 in five hives)
Henry N. McCarl '62
—Stamps from the U.S. and United Nations
—Coins from the U.S. (1900 to date) and foreign pocket change
—Books on aviation, the Civil War, and Martha's Vineyard and the island's Campmeeting Association
—Beer mugs
Walter P. Frey '56
Carved birds acquired in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Canada, Belize, Argentina, and Chile.
Mel Gardner '50
—Paper! For years my wife and I have been clipping articles and buying books on topics of interest to both of us, mostly subsets under the general topic of change, as in society, technology, government/politics, health care, finance, and cooking.
—American crafts
—Art prints
Vicky and Dick Bergman '55, SM '56
They make beavers out of that?
Many alumni own extensive collections of beaver memorabilia. Here, highlights from two.
—A gorgeous needlepoint canvas that will eventually be a pillow for my family room (it's still a work in progress).
—A stuffed animal with a leather tail.
—A sterling silver charm I had created for a cross stitch piece I designed (it's my current favorite because it's so much like the beavers found on Brass Rats.)
—A real beaver lodge and dam that's in my yard in New Hampshire.
—I think this one will be my favorite...it's coming from Canada and is a beaver carved into granite. It should be here any day.
Kim Hunter '86
—Antique Italian print of a castore
—Original small sculpture of a Beaver by a Canadian artist
—The pair of original Audubon prints of "American Beaver" (from the Quatro and Octavo editions of "Rodentia")
—A beaver made of pine cone petals made by a craftswoman in Copperstown, NY
—My father's Silver Beaver award from the Boy Scouts of America
—American Indian talismen
Bob Warshawer, '54
Amassing Knowledge
Synthetic biologists tap unique collection
The international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGem) competition showcases teams designing and building engineered biological systems using standard, interchangeable bits of DNA called BioBricks from the MIT-based Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Also watch Drew Endy, MIT assistant professor of biological engineering and iGem cofounder, discuss the implications of synthetic biology on MIT World.
New Facebook advertising system raises privacy concerns
Facebook's Beacon, which notifies a user's friends when he or she buys something from or puts an item on a wish list on a Beacon-enabled site, provokes questions about how companies collect and share data.
Crowd Farms gather energy from 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, by converting footsteps into electricity.
What your phone knows about you
MIT Professor Sandy Pentland views reality mining, in which data about people's activities and interactions is collected by cell phones, as a way to help solve social problems large and small.
Do-it-yourself IAP 2008
Tap into the spirit of January's Independent Activities Period (IAP) via this collection of DIY IAP. Learn new life skills, watch lectures on an emerging field, or review an OCW course. All on your own time.
Witness the genius of stroboscopic photography
View films created by Harold E. "Doc" Edgerton (1903-1990), an MIT electrical engineering professor and photography pioneer.
Harnessing solar energy
Propelling solar beyond silicon
Scientists at the new Center for Self-Assembling Materials for Energy work to develop innovative energy storage devices such as solar-powered fabrics and fuel cell components that build themselves.MIT's solar panels power up
MIT's biggest array of solar panels kicked into service in December and will produce an estimated 50,000 kWhs annually in clean energy—equivalent to removing 65,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.MIT professor's inventions advance solar energy viability
Emanuel Sachs, who developed String Ribbon technology, a method that halves the amount of expensive silicon required in manufacturing photovoltaic panels, is now working on high efficiency multi-crystalline solar cells, thanks in part to a 2007 grant from the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. The new approach could allow solar energy to become more financially competitive with grid electricity.Enhancing solar energy research
MIT and Italian energy company Eni have teamed up to develop advanced solar technologies, from novel photovoltaic materials to the design of solar power plants.
OpenCourseWare
Photovoltaic Solar Energy Systems
A class studying the design and behavior of stand-alone photovoltaic solar energy systems.Intelligence and National Security
A political science course that examines, among other issues, intelligence gathering from technical and human sources.American Consumer Culture
A history course exploring how and why twentieth-century Americans came to define the good life through consumption, leisure, and material abundance.
Viewing cholesterol buildup in the heart
Researchers have designed a new MRI-detectable imaging molecule that can highlight cholesterol buildup in blood vessels.
Students get charge out of pedal power
Can't find an outlet? MIT students have devised a way to recharge laptops by pedaling an electricity-producing exercise bicycle.
MIT Press books edited by Sherry Turkle
Falling for Science: Objects in Mind (2008)
Scientists and students reflect on how objects fired their scientific imaginations.Evocative Objects: Things We Think With (2007)
Essays by scientists, humanists, artists, and designers that trace the power of everyday things.
What's Quick Take?
A bimonthly feature created by the MIT Alumni Association relating contemporary topics to personal life, work, and MIT culture. View the archive.
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Archives & Special Collections
A few gems from the MIT vaults.
MIT entrance exam, 1869-70
See how well you know your English, geometry, algebra, and arithmetic. Then, take the test from 1876.
Pork byproducts and fancy purses
See the silk purse created from 100 pounds of sows' ears by the chemists at Arthur D. Little, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company founded by Arthur Dehon Little, who graduated from MIT in 1884. Learn more about the Arthur D. Little collection, which was donated to MIT by his family and an alumni group.
MIT's smallest books
The mini tomes, only 13/16" high and 9/16" wide, are part of a series of presidential miniatures and include The Addresses of Abraham Lincoln in two-point type.
A whimsical map of MIT, 1944-45
A cartoon map designed by MIT Professor Frederick K. Morris that offers a playful commentary on the Institute's labs, departments, and activities. It depicts such images as an employee in the Electrical Measurement Lab attempting to weigh a lightning bolt on a mechanical scale.
Photograph of giant squid used in nerve cell research, 1965
Institute Professor Francis O. Schmitt headed a distinguished research program on the biophysics and biochemistry of nerves and studied the squid because of its large nerve fibers from which he extracted the inner core for chemical analysis. Also read Schmitt's notes about the use of squid for nerve research.
Building immortalization
Learn about the historical figures whose names are engraved on the buildings around Killian Court and read letters describing how they were chosen.
Balloon Prints
View images from significant episodes in the progress toward balloon flight, donated by Theodore N. Vail in 1912. Prints include an 18th century engraving of a flying vessel designed in 1670.
Send comments and questions to:
quicktake@mit.edu
The MIT Museum has one of the best collections of American-made slide rules in the world, including those pictured above. Click the photo to view a slide show of other hidden gems from the museum's collections. Check the museum's Web site for collections access procedures for research.
Behind the Scenes at the MIT Museum
Quick Take asked MIT Museum curators to list interesting pieces not currently on display.
Science & Technology
- More than 600 historic slide rules manufactured by Keuffel & Esser. The museum now has one of the best collections of American-made slide rules in the world.
- MIT Radiation Laboratory negative collection
- Rand McNally air globe from the Ralph M. Eastman Aviation Collection
- 1:600 scale model of Battery Park City, built by staff of the MIT Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel and used to test the impact of wind on proposed NYC buildings, 1975
Hart Nautical Collection
- A rare first-edition book published in 1536 about Roman naval science, clothing, decorated metal vessels, and color by Baif de Lazare (1485-1547) and Antonius Thylesius.
- Over 75 engravings, such as maps, dating from 1511 to 1595
- More than a dozen mid-16th century maps
- Hand-colored engraved print of King Henry VIII's ship Great Harry (of 1514) published in 1767
- A late 18th century scroll featuring a Japanese whale boat
- Print showing sea serpent sighted in Gloucester harbor, dated 1817
Architecture & Design
- Brooks collection of architectural toys from the 1930s
- Rendering of Monsanto House of the Future, Disneyland, 1957
- A 16th century Italian drawing of a palace, attributed to Baldassare Peruzzi
- Drawings by Henry Bacon, designer of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, 1890s
- Renderings, plans, and models of the 1965 Lincoln House in Lincoln, MA, by Mary Otis Stevens, one of the most important female architects in the Northeast during the 1960s and 1970s
- Drawings of Robert C. Spencer, a member (along with Frank Lloyd Wright) of the Prairie School, 1890s
Travel Souvenirs
Quick Take asked MIT Alumni Travel Program participants what they collect on their trips.
"A small item representative of the location that can be used as a Christmas tree ornament. During MIT's November trip to Tanzania we located a miniature carved and painted zebra mask. A few weeks later it graced our Maine Christmas tree joining a lamb from Scotland, a kiwi bird from New Zealand, a violin from Verona, Japanese origami cranes, and many other tiny mementos of our 20 trips with the excellent MIT Travel Programs."
Mary and Dean Zeilon '55
"Ideas. I'm always amazed at how other people and cultures look at the same things differently. Recently I have also started taking pictures of signs indicating veterinary hospitals. Our daughter Sarah '02 is graduating from Tufts veterinary school in May, and I am collecting pictures for a graduation present. I make no extra effort to seek them out and am often surprised at their location and at the great variety of these signs."
Mike Perlmutter '73, EE '75, SM '75
"Photos, for my own memories and for sharing with family and friends. Experiences, to open my mind to new customs, cultures, ideas, and to make me more understanding and tolerant. Knowledge of geography, local fauna and flora, history, language, and culture, just for the fun of learning and to make me a better-rounded person. Friends and contacts for the future."
Yvonne M. Perlmutter '74, SM '77
"Mostly memories, new friends, and lots of pictures and video."
Fran and Sam San Miguel
'58
"Our kitchen wall is covered with remembrances of where we've been—from Antarctica to China, Australia, New Zealand, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and more. They are small but significant reminders of a good time and include small paintings, ceramic plaques, pressed flowers, and a crew-made remembrance of the Russian ship on which we cruised through Antarctica."
Beverly and Bob Rosen SM '54
"Aside, from photographs and an occasional memento, such as jewelry for my wife or a local handicraft, we will usually return home without a major purchase. Occasionally we do purchase something substantial: tanzanite earrings from Tanzania, a rug from Morocco, etc."
Joe Rocchio '57 and Mary Crosson
Collecting for Causes
Big Screw contest honors 'challenging' people
The popular annual charity fundraiser sponsored by the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega awards a left-handed, four-foot aluminum wood screw every April to the faculty or staff member who students feel has screwed them over most. Members of the MIT community cast one-cent votes, and the winner selects a charity to receive all money collected. See who holds the 2007 title.
Hang up your phone the right way
Learn ways to recycle mobile phones, pagers, or PDAs in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Help bridge the digital divide
The Imara project, an effort launched in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, seeks to empower domestic and international communities through sustainable technology and education. Donate old computers to the cause.
Doing good on campus and beyond
Annual campus fundraisers include book fairs and a 5 percent dining day with sales benefiting the Community Service Fund. Members of the MIT community can also donate to scores of causes and nonprofits through the Community Giving campaign.
Students reap benefits of giving
See how donations to MIT benefit students and others in their own words. Want to give? Donations can be designated to a wide variety of programs, initiatives, and departments. Check out a list of student groups and memorial funds.
Power of Participation rocks the vote
Last year, the number of undergraduate MIT10 alumni donors increased significantly, earning them $100,000 in challenge funds from former Alumni Association President Martin Tang SM '72. Can they repeat the achievement? If 3,500 MIT10 donors make a gift by June 30, Tang will donate another $100,000—and donors vote on how it will be spent.
Friendly competition fuels senior gift
The Class of 2006 reached 50 percent participation, the Class of 2007 52 percent, and now the Class of 2008 seeks to reach an unprecedented 55 percent participation. Will they succeed? MIT Alumni Association President Harbo Jensen PhD '74 has pledged to donate up to $25,000 depending on the final participation rate.
Honor with Books celebrates seniors
Parents of MIT seniors can recognize their students' achievements with a special bookplate placed in a new book purchased by the MIT Libraries. Sponsored by the MIT Parents Association.
Serving the MIT community
The MIT Women's League sponsors many projects that benefit MIT and the community at large including sales of daffodils in support of the American Cancer Society and donations of bicycles and interview clothing for students.
Underclass students leave bills for goodwill
The second year of the pilot Underclassmen Giving Campaign, which raises funds for student public service work abroad, is thriving with 21 percent of undergraduates donating to date and another round of giving planned for the spring.
Enter a new society
The William Barton Rogers Society, MIT's new leadership giving society, was created to recognize the Institute's most loyal and generous supporters. Learn more about the society and William Barton Rogers himself.
Eclectic Arrays
Tech Challenge Games poetry
Thirteen year's worth of theme-related haiku and limericks written for the annual contest held during Tech Reunions. Gems include:
One gas guzzler, please!
Would you like it supersized?
Sure, I LOVE the heat!
A log of the Logs
Watch the MIT Logarhythms and Logs alumni in spirited a capella performances.
Tech Model Railroad Club
A haven for collectors and enthusiasts.
Combining creativity, collaboration, capitalism
OPENSTUDIO members create and modify artworks using a simple drawing tool, set prices and licenses, exchange and exhibit work, and commission one another.
Rekindle digital memories
Vintage-computer hobbyists can order replica kits of a variety of rare and classic computers, such as the Apple I, MITS Altair, and the Enigma coding machine, and construct their own fully functional models.
Look familiar? Help identify MIT lab photos
Ready to be transported back in time? View photos of MIT labs taken by Scott Globus '84 in the early '80s and share your stories, reminiscences, and observations on the Discussion Network.
