September 2011

LEX Appeal: MIT Rides Super Villain to Week One Victory

by Amy Marcott on September 30, 2011

Guest post: Cornell Alumni Affairs Lex Luthor

Some say it was over before it even began. The first match-up in the MIT vs. Cornell Fictional Alumni tournament has been decided as MIT’s Lex Luthor handily defeated Cornell’s Ling Woo.

Considering Luthor’s status as a comic icon, not many people gave the sitcom lawyer much of a chance. In the end, Luthor’s dedication to developing innovative methods for ransacking the planet far outweighed Woo’s knack for snazzy attire and ability to maneuver the choppy waters of inter-office politics.

MIT had a strong sea of support right out of the gates. The Engineers showed an impressive mixture of comic knowledge and skill in the art of finding the good in a man whose sole goal in life is to take over the world. Here are a few of the many comments that pushed Lex over the top.

“Luthor, hands down. Not many humans can punk the “Man of Steel” and live to tell the tale.” —Dolio

“Lex hands down. With strictly his brain power he maintains the cosmic balance of good and evil against the man of steel. Arch-nemesis of Superman… for an evil character I can’t think of a more prestigious position… Not to mention that he is hope to evil, balding nerds everywhere of what we to can aspire to achieve. I obviously thought about this way too much.” —RamyK

“Well Lex Luthor, obviously. Even though he is evil, he is a genius. I mean he’s such an evil genius that I bet he could figure out a way to mid-control every MIT alum through their brass rat, so when he decides the time is right he will have a legion of geniuses under his control.” —Holly

“Lex, on the other hand, is the classic underappreciated geek who really can change the world. Sure, that gleaming dome is sexy (I mean, MIT has thing for gleaming domes, after all), and he’s the CEO of a huge multi-national, but remember, he’s been head of it for 40+ YEARS now (no take-it-and-run parachute for him!), and really does care. I mean, you have to care to put in all those hours plotting and scheming world domination—it’s damned hard work, and you can’t just get by on a nice butt or a snarky comment!” —Eric T.

“Lex teaches kids math.” —David $Lex Luthor teaches math$

While Ling Woo failed to pull off the upset, that doesn’t mean they weren’t some brilliant, hilarious, and creative validations offered up by the Cornell community. Here are a few of the judges’ favorites:

“Ling Woo by a long shot. Lex Luthor took 40 cakes. And that’s terrible.” —David

“The man that writes luthor is named cornell. if cornell can write him, cornell can destroy him.” —@eeljm

“Ling Woo would contribute more positively to society. The Art of Seduction wins over Evil/Money.” —@Aw269Cornell

“Anyone who can kick ass in heels deserves to win! By default, she works twice as hard as Lex!” —Emily

“In our society hair = power. Think of the millions of dollars spent and made in the hair restoration/wig business and you’ll realize that hair is the ultimate symbol of authority. So, when examining our two contestants, one must weigh their follicle ferocity and in doing so, Ling Woo’s gorgeous locks stand tall above the reflecting baldness sported by Luthor. He may have been President, but he didn’t have the foresight to ALSO be a client.” —Keith

Both sides performed admirably in week one, but you can’t help but feel this was just a light appetizer for the feast that will be served over the coming weeks. There are still several “big name” alumni lying in the weeds on both sides of the institutional aisle that are sure to generate a plethora of spirited debate.

The week 2 matchup will be announced on Monday, October 3rd. Check your respective Facebook page and twitter for the big unveiling.

MIT-Cornell Fictional Alumni Face-Off website

Twitter hashtag: #MITCU

Cornell Facebook: http://on.fb.me/kOEvxp

MIT Facebook: http://on.fb.me/w1qwP

Cornell Alumni Affairs

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Young Scientists and Babies: Alumni Go to Bat

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on September 30, 2011

in In the News,Public Service

The recent White House press conference looked a little like an MIT reunion—but its purpose was to announce the new National Science Foundation (NSF) Career-Life Balance Initiative, a 10-year plan to provide greater work-related flexibility to women and men in research careers.

The announcement was made Sept. 26 by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John P. Holdren ’65, SM ’66; National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh ScD ’81, former dean of the MIT School of Engineering; and a White House official.

Gregg and Suresh pictured at the White House press conference. Kate Huntington PhD 06, CAREER Fellow, was among the 14 outstanding early career scientists invited to the event.

Gregg and Suresh pictured at the White House. Another MIT alum, Kate Huntington PhD '06, was among the 14 outstanding early career scientists invited to the event.

The policy effort was spurred by a young scientist who was the first NSF Postdoctoral Fellow to use a no-cost extension of a fellowship for maternity leave—Trish Gregg PhD ’08.

“This inspired my NSF program director to ask what practices were in place to aid early career scientists during these exciting life moments,” says Gregg. “And because of this, the NSF Postdoctoral solicitation and many of the CAREER grant solicitations now have specific language allowing scientists (male or female) to request no-cost extension and extended start dates for family leave. This is just one excellent example of the exciting work that is being done.”

Gregg needed some flexibility. She and her husband were commuting between the coasts after graduation—she had a post-doc at Columbia University to better understand magmatic processes within the crust at continental volcanoes and he was at Oregon State University. When they found out they were to become parents, Gregg was able to move her post-doc to Oregon, where she had colleagues, and get the fellowship flexibility. Her daughter, Liona, was born in 2009. Gregg recently joined the OSU faculty as an institutional research association. “I am continuing our exciting work on super-eruptions, and also spinning up new projects to better understand the evolution of volcanic systems on other planets such as Mars, Venus, and Mercury.”

The White House effort aims to help make science, technology, engineering, and math careers more attractive to young people, particularly to women. “Too many young women scientists and engineers get sidetracked or drop their promising careers because they find it too difficult to balance the needs of those careers and the needs of their families,” said Suresh. “This new initiative aims to change that, so that the country can benefit from the full range and diversity of its talent.”

Perhaps Gregg is sharing important career lessons with her daughter already. “Our daughter loves volcanoes, too, and thinks that my studying volcanoes means that I actually know how to make them erupt. I’ll explain it to her when she is a little older.”

Learn about the new policy and about Gregg’s current research.

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Chomsky: Scholars and Experts Conform Too Easily

by Liv on September 29, 2011

in Campus Culture,Events

More than 40 years ago Noam Chomsky wrote, “The Responsibility of Intellectuals,” an essay about scholars and the Vietnam War. He revisited the topic in a lecture last week and again lamented intellectuals’ willingness to overlook inconsistencies in U.S. policies–specifically those related to climate change efforts and the promotion of democracy overseas.

“The official line is that we promote democracy,” said Chomsky, who is an Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics (emeritus) at MIT. However in practice, he claimed, the U.S. “supports democracy if and only if it conforms to strategic and economic interests.” Chomsky said that rather than challenging inconsistencies, many scholars and experts adopt safe and “responsible” views that serve to perpetuate the status quo.

The lecture was part of MIT’s “Ideas Matter” series, which is sponsored by MIT’s Department of Political Science and The Boston Review.

View video of the lecture below or check it out on TechTV.

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Photo Exclusive: Alumni Volunteers Make Valuable Connections at ALC

by Amy Marcott on September 28, 2011

in Alumni Life,Events

The Alumni Leadership Conference (ALC) is always a fun weekend, full of wonderful alumni who help keep MIT the vibrant, compelling place that it is. MIT relies on volunteers to plan their class reunions; raise much-needed funds for scholarships, fellowships, and the Institute as a whole; organize club and group events around the world; interview and recruit prospective students; serve as a voice within the MIT Corporation; and much, much more.

On Sept. 16-17, some 400 attendees descended on campus for a weekend of networking, idea-sharing, and learning what’s in store for the Institute. Here are just a few photos.

Find two other galleries, download select session presentations, and view videos on the ALC site.

From left: Sarah Simon '72, 2011 recipient of the Harold E. Lobdell '17 Distinguished Service Award; Natalie Givans '84, class president, cochair of the Alumni Association's Energy, Environment, and Sustainability Working Group, and member of the Alumni Association Selection Committee; and Bruce Anderson '69, MArch '73, cochair of the Alumni Association's Energy, Environment, and Sustainability Working Group.

Throughout the weekend, alumni have numerous opportunities to talk to current students. Here, Martin Schrage '63, who is chair of his reunion gift committee, has a lively conversation with Philine Huizing '14.

Many of the sessions were interactive. Here, attendees brainstorm as part of the workshop on email marketing.

From left: Vince James '78, regional chair for the Educational Council; Kim Francis '78, Alumni Association Board of Directors VP; and Larry Votta PhD '79, educational counselor, chat during the cocktail reception.

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Cyberbullying: Media Lab and MTV Respond with “Over the Line?” App

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on September 27, 2011

in In the News,Media,Public Service

Media Lab researchers are using the tools of technological innovation to tackle an old problem, bullying, in a new arena, cyberspace.

Watch a video of White House comments on working together to end bullying as an accepted practice and create a safer environment for children

Watch a 14-minute White House video on the joint effort to end bullying as an accepted practice.

In March, Henry Lieberman ʼ75, head of the Media Lab’s Software Agents research group, along with graduate students Karthik Dinakar and Birago Jones, joined President and Mrs. Obama and cabinet members at the White House for a Conference on Bullying Prevention.

One result is a new Web and iPhone app—developed by MTV and the Media Lab—called Over the Line? The software allows young people to share and rate personal stories of how technology is complicating social interactions, according to an Information Week Government article. People can share their stories via the application and others are invited to weigh in on whether the interaction has crossed the cyberbullying line.

“More than 9,000 users have submitted stories that have generated 325,000 ratings, information that stakeholders said is valuable in learning about the digital ethics of today’s youth, according to the [White House blog] post.

“To this end, MIT is using finds from data compiled from Over the Line? to help develop fast and effective responses to cyberbullying and try to prevent incidents before they happen…. MTV and MIT also are encouraging other researchers to learn by studying this data.”

Learn more about Over the Line and Ruminati: Tackling Cyberbullying with Computational Empathy, a research project of the Software Agents website.

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Vote for the MIT-Cornell Fictional Alumni Face-Off

by Amy Marcott on September 26, 2011

in Alumni Life,Modern Geekhood

The tournament has begun. Which school’s fictitious alumni will come out on top? You decide.

Simply answer the following question:

Which person, if real, has the potential to offer the greatest contribution(s) to society?

Cast your vote three ways:

Submit your answer in the comments of this post
Respond via the Cornell or MIT Facebook pages
Tweet using the hashtag #MITCU

Need some inspiration? Learn more about Ling Woo and Lex Luthor.

Representatives from the Cornell and MIT Alumni Associations will be looking for posts that are clever, witty, absurd, and downright ridiculous. The more entertaining we find your comment to be, the more likely it will tip the scale in favor of your alma mater. Voting ends each Friday at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Check out the match-ups (click on image to enlarge). Brackets are updated every Monday.

What’s at stake?
The winning school will take ownership of the soon-to-be-constructed Social Media Cup trophy. More importantly, the losing school will be forced to produce a video that pays homage to both the tournament winner and his or her alma mater and promote the video on their own Facebook page.

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Lettvin

by Patrick on September 25, 2011

in Classroom,Events,Prof. Winston's Ideas

Lettvin discussing frogs in Winston's 6.xxx class

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

Jerry Lettvin died just as the spring term was ending, so his friends gathered together today, when more could attend, in the big lecture hall in the Stata Center, near where Jerry did much of his work in Building 20.

Here is the cover page of the program:

Many stories were told, as Jerry was not only a great scientist, but also one of MIT’s great personalities, and a role model for many of us who were his students in the classroom or laboratory.

I especially like the one about the time when his wife, Maggie, left him at home to mind their three children. When she came home, the children were sitting motionless, staring off into the distance. “What have you done,” she said. It turned out that he had hypnotized them so he could get some work done.

Once, when I was an undergraduate, I screwed up my courage and went to ask him if he had anything I could do. His reply: “Have you read Helmholtz?” Not realizing that this was one of his standard tests of resolve, I dutifully bought the two volumes of Helmholtz and started to read. Because it was more than 1000 pages, I never finished and never became his student.

When I became a Professor, Jerry always called me Tom. I felt twice honored: first that he recognized me consistently; second that he seemed to be confusing me with Tom Knight,whom I much respect.

Years later, when I started teaching my boutique, seminar-style subject on computational accounts of human intelligence, I always invited Jerry in, not to lecture, but rather to answer questions and reminisce about his life as a scientist. The students had just read Jerry’s seminal, 1959 paper, “What the Frog’s Eye Tells the Frog’s Brain.”

One year he told the story of the German Scientists. To me, the story reflected what Jerry was all about: big ideas rather than incrementalism, blue-collar dress rather than sartorialism, meritocracy rather than pedigree.

Here is the story as Jerry told it: He got a call one day from a friend in California. The friend said, “I have some foreign visitors who have not been able to duplicate your frog experiment. They are planning to publish a paper that claims your work is a fraud. Will you come show them the technique?”

“Do they wear white lab coats?” Jerry asked.

“Yes.”

“Are they Germans?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll come.”

Jerry spent some time deciding what to wear. He finally settled on a thoroughly stained yellow dress shirt and grubby, well-worn work pants.

When he showed up, he was escorted into the experiment room. He reported that the place looked more like an operating room for open heart surgery on humans than a place to stick needles into the optic nerves of frogs.

“We have assembled some instruments for you,” said his friend, pointing to an immaculate tray of scalpels, clamps, and other paraphernalia.

“That’s ok,” said Jerry, “I brought my own.” Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of needle-nose pliers and a pair of diagonal cutters.

A minute or two later, with the frog prepared, the German scientists were waiting skeptically to see if anything at all would come out of the speakers attached to the amplifier attached to the needle Jerry had stuck into the frog.

Then, Jerry passed black dot the size of a fly past the frog’s eye.

“Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup.”

Editor’s Note: Read about Jerry Lettvin’s life in an MIT New Office article.

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Photo of the Week by Owen Franken ’68—Sept. 24, 2011

by Amy Marcott on September 24, 2011

in Franken Photo of the Week

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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What OCW Does in the World (Happy Birthday!)

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on September 23, 2011

in Public Service

MIT’s OpenCourseWare offerings are 10 years old—and wow, what an impact this free, online offering of some 2,000 MIT course materials has had. So far OCW has tracked 122 million visits by 87 million visitors from virtually every country.

Executive Director Cecilia d’Oliveira points to the mission: “In a world where the gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ continues to grow, we remain committed to open dissemination of knowledge and educational opportunity for all.” d’Oliveira’s talk at a recent awards ceremony points out OCW’s impact and the need for support.

Meanwhile, here are some stories about how OCW is changing lives:

A high school junior in a small Texas town was struggling with his physics course, when he discovered OCW, which he used to help in both physics and calculus. No one from his town had ever attended MIT but OCW changed that: he is now a freshman.

A Nigerian engineering student is using OCW to supplement his university course, which have been disrupted by local political turmoil. He wants to help others gain access too, so he plans to work with the local radio station to broadcast MIT OpenCourseWare material and to publicize the site.

A researcher at University of Washington’s Polar Science Center is using OCW to bone up on physics and math topics while she travels for weeks at a time conducting water and other direct-observation work in frozen seas. She recently used OCW materials to help her learn about string theory.

A new Florida charter school that emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math Florida launched a year ago—thanks to OCW materials. The principal “started the school’s curriculum from scratch” using free course materials from MIT and students study for class via iPads.