Spreading Valentine’s Day love, MIT-style

by Jay London on February 14, 2012

in Alumni Life,Arts,Campus Culture,Design,Modern Geekhood

John's "scientific" category winner (Click to send.)

Last week, the MIT Alumni Association asked for your help in creating a MIT-themed Valentine’s Day e-postcard. We designed the card and needed your MIT-inspired copy. Submissions were judged on creativity, originality, humor, and a connection to MIT.

After a week’s worth of entries, ranging from original poetry to mathematical equations, the Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences is happy to announce two winners: John Springsteen in the “scientific” category and Brandy in the “romantic” category.

John’s won for his entry, “01000010 01100101 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01110110 01100001 01101100 01100101 01101110 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100101 00100001,” or, translated from binary code, “Be my valentine!”

The code-inspired text topped the list of technical-themed sentiments, which also included:

My x = 16 sin^3 t; y = 13 cos t – 5 cos (2t) – 2 cos (3t) – cos (4t) is yours. [graph translation] – Todd

Brandy's "romantic" category winner (Click to send.)

Brandy’s entry, “You’ve got root access to my heart,” got the nod from the Alumni Association cupids for its touch of romanticism.  Other nerd-quixotic entries included:

I am, I am, I am, I am, I am an engineer
When you and I superimpose, we really interfere
No physicist, a bond like ours, could ever try define
So two weeks after IAP, please be my valentine?
- Murthy

I went to MIT and earned a degree,
I am glad that I met you in 18.03,
but even with all my HASS D,
I am still no good at writing poems.
- John

Will you be my Valentine
At 2.14159?
- George

The winning cards are permanently located in the ePostcards section of the Alumni Association site. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, these cards can be sent to that special Engineer (or non-Engineer) in your life. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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The Technologists: a Historical Thriller Set at MIT

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 13, 2012

in Remember When...

The author will answer questions at the Feb. 21 book launch at the MIT Museum.

The author will answer questions at the free Feb. 21 event at the MIT Museum.

The Technologists, Matthew Pearl’s new historical thriller, is set at MIT during the Institute’s founding era. The book feels authentic—Pearl spent long hours in the MIT archives—and he has created engaging fictional portrayals of MIT founder William Barton Rogers, early faculty, and students including Ellen Swallow Richards. It’s also a page turner that makes MIT history feel personal, even against a backdrop of mayhem and mystery.

Dive into the book yourself at the  MIT Museum’s book launch on Feb. 21, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Hear a reading by Pearl, a bestselling novelist and Cambridge resident, and buy the book at the event or the museum store.

Inexplicable disasters—Boston Harbor is in flames after ships collide when their instruments simultaneously fail and a terrifying incident when glass windows melt out of State Street buildings—mean the police need help. First they turn to Professor Agassiz at Harvard, but eventually the upstart Institute for Technology takes a role. A secret group of students, who are about to become the Institute’s first graduating class,  step in to apply new-fangled scientific methods to untangle the mystery.

Students also illustrate the struggle between privilege and merit. The protagonist, Marcus Mansfield, is a Civil War veteran, former machinist, and charity scholar. His powerful character and insights illuminate the path to the solution. Technology itself is a topic—viewed with suspicion by the established university up river and labor unions who fear it will take their jobs.

Want more? Random House, the publisher, even offers a prequel. For 99 cents, you can buy or download a short story titled The Professor’s Assassin. Set in 1840, Rogers is still a science professor at the University of Virginia when a colleague is brutally slain and he becomes a man of both words and deeds to capture the killer. History and murder, oh my!

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IAP Externships: The Value Proposition for Student and Sponsor

by Amy Marcott on February 12, 2012

in Alumni Life,Design,Energy,IAP,Student Life

This is part of a series of posts from MIT students and alumni who were involved in the 2012 Student/Alumni Externship Program, which connected current students to alumni in workplaces worldwide during MIT’s Independent Activities Period. Alumni, learn how to get involved.

Guest blogger: Stephen J. T. Murphy SM ’87, Principal of Acquisitions, Campanelli Companies (commercial real estate development and construction firm)
Externs: Steve Bonelli and Mike DiMinico, grad students in the Center for Real Estate

MIT externs Steve Bonelli (center) and Mike DiMinico (right) with Partner Steve Murphy and his son, Dylan Murphy (left).

MIT externs Steve Bonelli (center) and Mike DiMinico (right) with Partner Steve Murphy and his son, Dylan Murphy (left).

For several years, Campanelli has participated in the MIT Externship program. Campanelli is the second largest commercial development firm in Massachusetts and this year, we have two exceptional students from the Center for Real Estate spending their time with us: Steve Bonelli and Mike DiMinico.

When we first decided to participate, we knew the potential for real value for both our firm and the students would depend on how focused we could make the students’ experience.  After all, IAP is only about three weeks long, and real estate projects can take years to complete. So how could the students really get a chance to engage?

We realized, however, that there are always many issues that could benefit from a deeper exploration but get left on the sidelines for lack of time or resources.  Yet these same topics, if properly assessed, could help clarify or alter some larger decisions on a project. We decided to take advantage of the research skills and intellectual curiosity of our externs to investigate these topics.

Each year, we design a discreet topic of investigation that can be researched and evaluated within the three-week timeframe.  About a week is devoted to data collection, a week to analysis, and a week to developing conclusions.  Steve and Mike then presented their findings to the firm. In past years, we have covered topics ranging from age-restricted housing to inter-municipal service agreements for projects that straddle community boundaries.  In each case, the topic is directly relevant to a project we are considering or have underway, and the findings have always contributed to our decisions affecting the project.

This approach also gives the externs the opportunity to learn about a topic that is both new to them and relevant in their field of study.  The topics have even served eventually as the bases for student theses.  This year, Steve and Mike collaborated on two somewhat interrelated topics: state and local incentives available to attract industrial enterprises, including those involved in renewable energy, to a particular site in Massachusetts and the incentives available to promote private development of renewable energy installations, such as solar and wind power. Campanelli is committed to exploring sustainable alternatives in their buildings and will utilize this information to pursue installing solar on some of our currently owned properties.

As a sponsor, we see a great value proposition for Campanelli in participating in the externship program.  We get to explore new areas of interest, we get to work with talented young people who bring new ideas and a fresh perspective, and we support the mission of MIT.

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Photo of the Week by Owen Franken ’68—Feb. 11, 2012

by Amy Marcott on February 11, 2012

in Franken Photo of the Week

A couple at the bar of Le Kube Hôtel, Paris (© Owen Franken/photographed for the New York Times, April 7, 2006).A couple at the bar of Le Kube Hôtel, Paris (© Owen Franken/photographed for the New York Times, April 7, 2006).

Curious about Owen Franken? View more of his work via the Franken Photo of the Week category, learn more in this profile, read a What Matters opinion column he wrote called “Life in Brownian Motion,” or visit his website.

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Hack the Tubes, Class of ’16!

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 10, 2012

in Hacks,Modern Geekhood,Student Life

The 91,000 foot view.

View from the top.

A Youtube video that shows an MIT acceptance letter tube orbiting Earth in near space, dangling from a high-altitude balloon, has gone viral. That’s Erin King’s response to the Admissions Office challenge:

“2012 is the anniversary of an old MIT balloon hack, so we put a letter in all of the Early Action admit tubes telling them we wanted them to hack the tubes somehow, and set up http://hackthetubes.mitadmissions.org to collect responses,” says Chris Peterson, Admissions office counselor, as reported on BoingBoing. “Lots of them are great, but this one, from Erin King (MIT ’16) in Georgia, is the best.”

Erin King after a successful launch and recovery.

Erin King after a successful tube recovery.

Thanks to some help from her father and the Columbus, GA, amateur radio club, she sent her tube on a two-hour adventure that reach 91,000 feet and landed in a nearby pine tree. King used GPS-equipped ham radio transmitters with two call signs (hers and her dad’s) to track the position from the ground and captured the whole thing on HD video. Watch the video and get the technical details.

Enjoy the other creative takes on tube hacking:

  • Embalming the Tube—one of two hacks submitted by Miranda from Indiana involves ancient rituals with an Egyptian flavor. [video]
  • Sabrina turned it into a musical instrument. [video]
  • Xavier in Texas offered a photo of what came in his tube, a play on Harry Potter-esque interior spaces.
  • Stilt shoes from Catherine in Chicago, made she says, from “90 percent tape and 10 percent hope.” [video]

 

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IAP Externships: Learning the Immunology of Autoimmune Diseases

by Amy Marcott on February 9, 2012

in IAP,Student Life

This is part of a series of posts from MIT students and alumni who were involved in the Student/Alumni Externship Program, which connects current students to alumni in workplaces worldwide during MIT’s Independent Activities Period. Alumni, learn how to get involved.

Guest blogger: Isra Shabir ’14
Host: Dr. Leonard Chess ’64

Lunch with Dr. Chess. From left: Isra Shabir '14, Leonard Chess '64, Judy Deng '14

Lunch with Dr. Chess. From left: Isra Shabir '14, Leonard Chess '64, Judy Deng '14

My name is Isra Shabir, and I’m a current sophomore at MIT. I’m spending my IAP in New York City at Columbia University’s Medical Center, immersing myself in the specific aspect of biology and clinical research known as immunology. Heard of type I diabetes? Familiar with what causes it? The answer, which I shall explain in a bit, is surprising and unknown to most people.

On my first day at the Medical Center, I was slightly nervous but excited at the same time to be walking among so many world-class doctors and researchers. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Judy Deng ’14 also happened to be externing with me, and we were both ecstatic to do this program. Our mentor, Dr. Leonard Chess ’64, has served as a medical researcher and division head of rheumatology at Columbia for 26 years. Incredible? Yes. What’s more, he’s the most amiable professor-like figure I have ever worked with. Soon after we all met up at the highly secured gates, Dr. Chess gave us a tour of the Medical Center and spent some time talking about its history. Later, we settled at his office and exchanged fun facts about each other’s lives. Professor Chess also made it clear to us that in the next one month, we were to learn a lot, but of course, in a fun way. He then let us off with some lunch money—sweet, right?

So what goes on at the Chess Lab? Dr. Chess and his team are working on finding a clinical cure to autoimmune diseases.  These diseases are initiated when our body’s immune mechanism begins to attack and destroy self-cells as opposed to just attacking foreign matter. Type I diabetes is an example of an autoimmune disease.  It’s caused when the pancreas is attacked and can no longer produce insulin for the maintenance of blood glucose level. Dr. Chess’s lab has been testing various mechanisms to fight autoimmunity causing type I diabetes in mice. Remarkably, there has been immense success in this research. And now, their focus is to make advancements in clinical research in order to treat the disease in humans.

Cell culturesThat’s some background information on what the lab does. Judy and I have been spending our time studying immunological concepts and, in detail, autoimmune diseases. Every day, we go over a different topic with Dr. Chess and discuss it. Later in the day, we are allowed into the lab to shadow some of the ongoing research procedures as well as assist the researchers. For example, we started off culturing cells and counting them upon growth.  On the left is a picture of what Judy and I called our “baby” cells (after all, we fed them and took care of them).

After spending two weeks at this externship, we have already learned quite a bit about autoimmune diseases. We will be spending the next two weeks learning more about clinical protocols of research as well as gaining insight into how biological research can be extended to patients and normal human beings. We will also get to spend one entire day shadowing a medical doctor and acquaint ourselves with the work life of a general practitioner.  Both of us are excited about this opportunity!

Oh, did I forget to mention that we’ve been exploring NYC too? Judy and I love shopping and eating. So we’ve been trying the different food carts NYC offers, as well as window shopping to our hearts’ desires. We’re planning on hitting up some museums soon, too. And the complicated subway system is now second nature to both of us. Life’s good!

I must say that even though there’s only so much one can gain from a monthlong period, it’s the experience that counts and makes it worthwhile. I am getting to learn concepts one-on-one with an accomplished teacher while also developing my knowledge in areas I might not have otherwise. I have found an awesome friend in Judy, and I am getting to know New York City as much as possible. If someone wants to gain in-depth knowledge in something completely new, find out about a career, and have some fun at the same time, the MIT Student/Alumni Externship Program is the way to go!

At least this is my opinion. You’ll have to believe me.

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Folding Car to Transform Urban Driving…and Make Parallel Parking Obsolete

by Jay London on February 8, 2012

in Alumni Life,Design,Economics,Energy,Engineering,In the News,Modern Geekhood,Research,Transportation

Looking for a parking space in a major city can make public transportation very appealing. The biggest urban driving hassles usually come not with driving itself, but with the stopping, turning, parallel parking, and the can-I-fit-in-this-space challenges that arise when you’ve reached your destination.

Enter the Hiriko (the Basque word for “urban”), a new compact vehicle designed by the MIT Media Lab whose first fleet of 20 vehicles will debut in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain, in 2013.

From the New York Times:

The pod-like electric vehicle, whose battery pack would be leased, is a two-seater with 4-wheel drive and a range in excess of 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles. Because its wheelbase can collapse, a single parking space can accommodate three vehicles. Driver and passenger enter through a windshield that swings upward.

Instead of a single electric engine, each wheel has an independent dedicated engine, which allows for an amazing degree in control in suspension, steering, and turning. Smaller than a Smart Car, the Hiriko spins and rotates on its axis, a technique that MIT researchers call an “O-turn.” It also moves sideways, making parallel parking obsolete.

Professor Kent Larson leads the car’s Media Lab researcher team. A production model was unveiled before the European Union Commission in Brussels last week. In addition to Spain, future trials are planned in Boston, San Francisco, Berlin, Hong Kong, and Malmo, Sweden. Similar to ZipCar in the United States, the cars will be shared by users who will have access for a few hours at a time. Cars may be sold to individuals in the future, with cost estimates currently ranging around $16,000.

In addition to the Hiriko, a Media Lab team led by doctoral candidates Ryan Chin and William Lark has also created a three-wheel electric vehicle prototype that can function as a bicycle and meets all European bike-lane regulations.

For more information and video on Hiriko (formerly the MIT CityCar), visit the “Changing Places” section on the Media Lab site.

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Join Leading Entrepreneurs at the MIT Global Startup Workshop, March 28–30

by Amy Marcott on February 7, 2012

in Learning,Management,Student Life

Guest bloggers: Grad students Terrence Pong and Maria Telleria on behalf of the GSW 2012 team

Want to find out the latest in innovation strategies? Interested in meeting world-renowned entrepreneurs to discuss the startup landscape and your startup ideas? Looking to expand your network on a global scale?

Then the 15th MIT Global Startup Workshop (MIT GSW) is the conference for you. MIT GSW is the world’s premier workshop dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and building entrepreneurial ecosystems globally. This year, it will be held in Istanbul, Turkey. MIT students, in conjunction with the MIT Enterprise Forum of Turkey and Turkey’s leading Ozyegin and Sabanci Universities, bring you  three days packed with networking opportunities, discussions led by leading entrepreneurs, and the first-ever Startup Showcase. The workshop brings together over 300 participants from over 70 nations; participants include entrepreneurial leaders, executives, next-generation entrepreneurs, professors, financiers, students, and government officials.

MIT Global Startup Workshop in Istanbul, Turkey

The MIT Global Startup Workshop (MIT GSW) was founded in 1997 when the MIT $50K (now $100K) Entrepreneurship Competition received numerous queries from around the world from organizations interested in starting and improving their own business plan competitions (BPCs). The first MIT GSW was held on campus in March 1998 and brought together an international community committed to launching BPCs to stimulate and nurture entrepreneurship worldwide.

A decade later, having helped grow and mature the BPC community, the MIT GSW expanded its mission to include all aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Today we continue to build stronger, more productive entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world and a diverse and dynamic global support network for entrepreneurs.

How Do Students Pull this Off?

Each year, the all-student GSW team organizes panels to address region-specific challenges over three days. As soon as one conference concludes, preparation gets underway for the next GSW. Through a competitive bidding process, organizations, universities, and governments from around the world make their pitch on how the GSW could help to inspire and foster interest in entrepreneurship in their country. The team then travels to the host country to conduct site visits and meet with the local team.

Once the host country has been chosen, the MIT team focuses on the main issues that impact the entrepreneurial ecosystem in and around the host country. They invite keynote speakers, identify promising young entrepreneurs, and mobilize a growing group of active GSW alumni to make the next conference a success. The content is designed entirely by the student-run team with individual graduate and undergraduate students taking charge of organizing panel sessions, case studies, or networking sessions.

Running the conference exposes the team to wide-reaching experiences that truly live up to the Global Startup Workshop name. In the past, the team has coordinated the conference in South Korea using the local Hangul (Korean) standard keyboards, organized a gala dinner in an ancient Castle in Cape Town, and rubbed elbows with the president of Iceland in the midst of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption.

The theme of the 2012 workshop is Directions for Innovation, and discussions will focus on new technological directions, ways of addressing a global market, and the relationships among entrepreneurs, investors, and supporting organizations. Turkey, situated at the crossroads of civilizations with its own vibrant economy, young population, and a fast-growing consumer market, is poised to be a regional hub for entrepreneurship and investment. Istanbul, spanning East to West, is an inspiring location for this year’s MIT GSW.

Special Application Deadlines

The Startup Showcase is an unrivaled marketing opportunity for startups at all stages and offers attendees the opportunity to highlight their products and services to the entire conference. This is your chance to show your idea to potential customers and investors as well as to receive feedback from fellow entrepreneurs. Applications for a spot in the Startup Showcase are due Feb. 15.

The GSW fellowship is meant to encourage new entrepreneurs to attend the conference by covering the registration and accommodation costs for up to 10 budding entrepreneurs. Applicants must present a compelling story of how they plan to contribute to entrepreneurial development in their region as well as to the GSW community. Applications are due Feb 8.

 “The 2011 MIT GSW was such a turning point, both for my personal life and for my startup life. During the GSW I participated in the Elevator Pitch Contest, and I was able to pitch my idea to students, entrepreneurs, and VCs from all over the world. The connections I made there led me to apply for the startup accelerator MassChallenge and eventually to launch the first beta version of StyleShare for the international community.” —Jay, South Korea MIT GSW attendee

This year’s confirmed keynote speakers include:

  • Iqbal Quadir  (founder and director, MIT Legatum Center)
  • Guler Sabanci (chairman, Sabanci Holding)
  • Rakesh Malhotra (founder, SAR Group Companies)
  • Hüsnü M. Özyeğin (founder, Finasbank)

Join this unique community, experience the dynamic forum, and help build the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Register today.

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Contest: Help Create an MIT-Inspired Valentine!

by Jay London on February 6, 2012

in Alumni Life,Campus Culture,Design,Events,Modern Geekhood

The MIT Alumni Association is creating a MIT Valentine’s Day postcard and we need your help. We’ve designed the card, and we want you to provide the MIT-inspired copy. (Geeks can be quixotic, too.)

Once the submissions are collected, the Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences, will review and debate then announce a winner on Monday, February 13.

The winning words will be added to our valentine, which will be permanently located in the ePostcards section of the Alumni Association site. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the card will be available to send to—and warm the heart of—that special Engineer (or non-Engineer) in your life.

This contest is open to all members of the MIT community. The rules are simple: Keep it clean, keep it 200 characters or less, and keep it MIT-inspired.

Original poetry, geeky pickup lines, or even a simple word or two are fair game. Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality, humor, and their connection to MIT. Being romantic never hurts either!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Submit your MIT-inspired copy in the comments section of this post or on the Alumni Association Facebook page.
  2. The deadline to submit is Sunday, February 12.
  3. The Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences, in conjunction with Alumni Association cupids, will review the submissions and determine a winner, who will be credited on the ePostcard page.
  4. Visit the Association Facebook page on Monday afternoon, February 13, to view the winner and send out the postcard.

Get romantic, get creative, and get to work!

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Laser pointers, viewed as a bad idea

by Patrick on February 5, 2012

in Uncategorized

Professor Patrick Henry Winston ’65, SM ’67, PhD ’70

I was casting about for something new to put into my traditional IAP How to Speak talk when I remembered a talk I had seen recently. The speaker liked to point at his projections with a laser pointer. He was addicted to it.

A student pointed out to me that during extended stretches, all of us in the audience could have left, and the speaker wouldn’t have known.

I don’t like to look at the back of the speaker’s head. It drives me nuts because I think projections ought to decorate a conversation between the speaker and the audience, and without eye contact, there is no conversation. I would throw away my laser pointer, except that I use it as a prop when I demonstrate why using a laser pointer is a bad idea. It think is better to point with words (the second equation) or stick arrows into your projections (the white arrow points at the culprit).

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