Nancy DuVergne Smith

The Phoenix Faces Cardboard Boat Regatta

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 20, 2012

in Campus Culture,Modern Geekhood,Student Life

Guest Blogger: Casey Wessel ’15

Guest blogger Carey Wessel and the Masseeh Create Team built The Phoenix.

Guest blogger Casey Wessel and the Maseeh Create Team built The Phoenix.

I wasn’t doing a lot over this IAP. I was taking a five-day, intro to electronics course, and planning on starting a build project with one of my friends. I’m a freshman living in Maseeh Hall, (the old Ashdown building, now turned into undergraduate housing) and I’m course 8 and 6-1, but I love building all kinds of things. I was in my room one night when one of my friends asked me if the Maseeh Create Club was entering Head of the Zesiger.

Head of the Zesiger is a cardboard boat regatta held every year in the Z Center pool. The only allowed materials are corrugated cardboard, paper tape, caulk, and a polyurethane water sealant. The boat must hold three people in a race around the pool.

We worked each night on the boat, reinforcing the insides of the pontoons, designing a structured deck, and putting the whole thing together.

The Phoenix, completed and ready for the Z pool race.

The Phoenix, ready for the Z pool race.

We decided to name the boat The Phoenix because the phoenix has become the unofficial mascot of Maseeh.

On Sunday, afternoon we carried our boat to the Z Center, and we got the first look at our competition. A couple looked decent, but most looked like they would barely float. We thought we had the competition in the bag.

We took our boats into the pool deck. The judges came by to judge our boats for the “Best Design” award. We looked in the stands, and they were filled with Maseeh residents ready to watch our boat.

We placed our boat in the water, and our friends, who we recruited to row the boat, edged their way onto the deck of the boat. All three members of our crew made it on the boat, but the second they paddled away from the pool deck, one of the pontoons snapped. The guys did a great job and kept paddling as long as they could. The boat slowly started falling apart as each piece became water logged. Eventually they were just swimming with the pieces of our boat trying to make it to the finish line. The pool deck was roaring with laughter.

The Phoenix collapsing...

The Phoenix collapsing...

It was heart-wrenching seeing our project go down in the Z Center pool, but we did a great job building it and that’s where the fun was. It turns out we actually won the award for Best Design. Like everyone else, they thought it looked the best, but there was a weak spot in one of the supports that collapsed, and the rest of the boat went with it.

Overall it was a great experience. We learned a lot, had a good laugh, and got a free dinner at the Asgard with the gift card we won.

 

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MITx Kicks Off: Sign Up for the Pilot Class–6.002x Circuits and Electronics

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 17, 2012

in Classroom,Learning

Professor Anant Agarwal, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, leads the course.

Professor Anant Agarwal, who teaches the campus course, leads the MITx course as well.

Don’t know what lumped circuit abstraction has to do with Maxwell’s equations? MITx can fix that. Starting in the world of physics with the electron, you can travel through the digital gates of new devices thanks to MIT’s new educational venture–MITx.

Just announced in December, MITx aims to stimulate research and platform development of interactive online learning tools while offering the world’s independent learners a focused course that can result in an MITx certificate.

You can sign up now to take the pilot, 6.002x Circuits and Electronics, which is based on a core electrical engineering and computer science course taught to engineering students on campus.

Here’s how it will work:

To access the course, registered students will log in at mitx.mit.edu, where they will find a course schedule, an e-textbook for the course, and a discussion board. Each week, students will watch video lectures and demonstrations, work with practice exercises, complete homework assignments, and participate in an online interactive lab specifically designed to replicate its real-world counterpart. Students will also take exams and be able to check their grades as they progress in the course. Overall, students can expect to spend approximately 10 hours each week on the course.

Check the course description to learn what physics and math you need to be successful, watch a short introductory video, and enroll. The course, which runs March 5-June 8, is free but you must register and complete the assignments to earn an MITx certificate.

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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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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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Apps for Academics

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 3, 2012

in Campus Culture,Modern Geekhood

Presentation apps range from Keynote Remote to SyncPad.

Presentation apps range from Keynote Remote (control slide presentations) to SyncPad (create a shared whiteboard).

The MIT Libraries, contemporary arbiters of the information tsunami, are offering tips on useful apps for smartphones and devices. These suggestions are not just for faculty, of course. Any knowledge-working, game-playing, device-loving user of phones, tablets, and more can benefit from the info offered via Apps for Academics. And many apps are free.

Highlights:

Productivity

  • DropBox: sync files online and across computers
  • LogMein Ignition: remotely access your computer from anywhere

Reading

  • Instapaper: read saved web pages on the go
  • Papers: organize, notate, and share articles and PDFs

Taking Notes

  • Evernote: input text, photos, video
  • JotNot Scanner: converts your iPhone camera into a portable multi-page scanner

Other gems: SkyFire: allows Flash viewing on iPhones; TuneIn Radio: hear 40,000 radio stations on your Apple devices; WolframAlpha: quick search for scientific data and diagrams.

Check out all of the MIT Libraries guides for quick links to exciting and useful information;  some are reserved for the MIT community but many are public.

 

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DIY IAP: Beyond Voting–Join the Legislative Advocacy Network

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on January 31, 2012

in Public Service

Has the incessant drumbeat of campaign news got you thinking about what you can do—besides vote—to improve the political functioning of the country? MIT can help. Really. Join the new Alumni Legislative Advocacy Network to keep abreast of policy initiatives pertinent to science, technology, and education—and get an alert to act when proposals are at critical decision points.

Read the NewScience Policy blog for weekly news.

Read the NewScience Policy blog for weekly news.

The network, launched in December to inform and empower interested alumni, is a joint initiative of the MIT Alumni Association and the MIT Washington DC office, established in 1991 to advocate for education and research. MIT does not lobby for itself, but it does provide a host of data to Congress and share information with MIT constituents. Earlier this month, for example, the DC office posted a new item in its Innovation Policy section, a 20-page report on the future of manufacturing, and it annually publishes the MIT Briefing Book, which profiles the Institute’s major research programs.

The Washington office also publishes a weekly blog titled NEWScience Policy, written by Abby Benson MNG ′05, SM ′05, assistant director. Yesterday’s post commented on the President’s State of the Union address, pointing out the themes of affordable college education, investment in the manufacturing and energy sectors, and tax code reform. The post links to the Blueprint for an America Built to Last, released by the White House with in-depth information on proposed policies.

The blog also tips readers to news by the day—from a Department of Defense press event about the proposed cut of $259 billion in defense spending to a Government Accountability Office report on the overlap in current and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs. The blog also notes upcoming hearings.

Where is the action in advocacy? According to a talk by Benson on campus last fall, network participants can expect to be contacted by the Washington Office  two-five times a year to, for example, contact their representatives about particular policy initiatives. Of course, network volunteers are not obligated to advocate for any specific policy positions—it’s entirely a volunteer effort.

So how can you take action? Just log in to the MIT Alumni Infinite Connection, navigate to the Alumni Legislative Advocacy Network, and sign up to connect with alumni who want to speak out.

Editor’s note: In honor of MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January, Slice is focusing on activities you can do yourself and on the experiences of students serving this month as externs with alumni in their workplaces. Stay tuned!

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DIY IAP: Celebrate MIThenge

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on January 27, 2012

in Campus Culture,Remember When...

MIThenge evokes ancient rituals.

MIThenge evokes ancient rituals.

MIThenge, among the time-honored rituals of campus life, is as close to sun worship as the campus community gets. In mid-November and late January, the circular path of the sun crosses the axis of the Infinite Corridor. The setting sun can then be viewed from the far end of the corridor, evoking the mysterious wonder of Stonehenge. It’s a little bit of campus magic—and it has rolled around again.

The next sighting of this seasonal phenomenon is set for this Monday and Tuesday. If you are nearby, swing by the Infinite Corridor and see it in person.

  • January 30, 2012: from 4:46:00 p.m. to 4:52:30 p.m.
  • January 31, 2012: from 4:47:30 p.m. to 4:53:30 p.m.

For others, here’s how to celebrate from afar.

Visit the revised MIThenge site webpage, originally prepared by Ken Olum PhD ’97, now a Tufts faculty member, and maintained by Keith Winstein ’04, MNG ’05, back on campus as a CSAIL grad student. Go the site for viewing tips, get an update on the azimuth controversy, and see photos from the November 2011 sighting as well as older images.

Read the Slice of MIT post to find out how MIThenge got its start. Hint: the phenomenon was only discovered, calculated, and publicized in 1975-76.

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DIY IAP: MIT Gaming from the Inside Out

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on January 24, 2012

in Learning,Media,Modern Geekhood

Games are more than fun at MIT. One place to get a bead on the action is the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a five-year collaboration between MIT and the government of Singapore that is exploring gaming as an academic and commercial medium. A video featuring Philip Tan ’01, SM ’03, the U.S. executive director, describes the lab’s mission.

GAMBIT develops and studies games.

GAMBIT develops and studies games.

One product is a stream of games that you can download and play for free. Play a Gambit game—there are four featured games for download and 30 more prototypes to toy with.

Another result is understanding what is intriguing about games. Watch a recent video titled Marc LeBlanc’s eight kinds of fun to learn about psychology of gaming.

During IAP, GAMBIT held a session to introduce this year’s MIT Mystery Hunt, an annual puzzle competition, and hosted a night of problem solving. Relive the 2012 Mystery Hunt—and see the problems and the solutions.

The Mystery Hunt, an annual IAP event, draws solvers of all stripes

The Mystery Hunt, an annual IAP event, draws solvers of all stripes. Photo: John A. Hawkinson—The Tech

The GAMBIT website is a cornucopia of game riches:

Listen to a podcast with Terri Brosius and Dan Thron, members of the highly influential Looking Glass Studios, pioneers of 3D first-person narrative game design.

Watch the GAMBIT Summer Summit 2011 closing keynote by Jeff Orkin of the MIT Media Lab and Cognitive Machines titled “Next Generation A.I. & Gameplay: Big Data, Big Opportunities.”

Find out how to take part in the annual Summer Game Development Program For Undergraduates.

Beginning February 20, a new video exploring the origins and processes of developing each project will be posted on Mondays. Watch the trailer.

More about Games at MIT

  • MIT is betting that games will be a key learning tool in the future. A new $3 million grant will support the MIT Education Arcade‘s development of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) to help high school students learn math and biology.
  • Learn how to play the Mercury Game, a negotiation simulation that is designed to teach people about the role of science in international environmental policy making
  • Test your invention IQ with the Lemelson-MIT Program’s interactive Brain Drain game and other games.
  • The Tech reviews The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, released in December.
  • Read earlier Slice posts on Flu Math Games and other Video Learning and Play Platform Wars, a Sloan simulation.

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DIY IAP: Tune In to Xconomy on PBS

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on January 17, 2012

in Economics,Health,In the News,Management

Xconomy has MIT roots. Before starting the business and technology news organization, many key staffers worked and/or graduated from MIT (see below). Their output includes a news website with localized blogs in six major cities, events, and a regular Friday morning update on Boston’s WGBH radio. You can also sign up for their RSS feed or newsletters.

Xconomy online and on air.

Xconomy online and on air.

What stories do they cover? Startups, life sciences, health IT, and clean tech are interest areas. Recent stories include an interview with the CEO of Paris-based biotech giant Sanofi, survey results on tech managers’ salaries for 2011, and Morgenthaler Ventures investments in the fast-growing Silicon Valley startup Evernote.

Localized blogs hail from Boston, Detroit, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. Learn about new social media research expansion at Microsoft Research New England (Boston); Walk Score, an online service that ranks rental properties, cities, and neighborhoods by how pedestrian-friendly they are (Seattle); and funding progress for the Kalamazoo, MI-based startup Axonia Medical (Detroit).

Who is Xconomy? Founder Robert Buderi was a research fellow in MIT’s Center for International Studies and served as editor in chief of MIT’s Technology Review, which also published these folks: Cofounder, COO, Executive Editor Rebecca Zacks worked in an MIT neuroscience lab and was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. Wade Roush PhD ’94 is chief correspondent and editor of Xconomy’s San Francisco bureau. Gregory T. Huang SM ’02, PhD ’99 is national IT editor and editor of Xconomy Boston. Luke Timmerman, a former MIT Knight fellow, is the national biotechnology editor and editor of Xconomy Seattle.

Keep your ear tuned to innovation news at Xconomy.

 

 

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DIY-IAP: Play Platform Wars

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on January 13, 2012

in Learning,Management

Want to turn a fresh idea about video game platforms into a fabulously successful startup? You’ll need some business savvy to do that. You can start building those skills right now with a free, online simulation offered by the MIT Sloan School of Management—Platform Wars: Simulating the Battle for Video Game Supremacy.

MIT Professor John Sterman created Platform Wars.

MIT Professor John Sterman created Platform Wars.

In this real-time simulation, you play the role of senior management of a video game hardware platform producer with a hot new methodology. You will learn about the dynamics of competition in markets that depend not only on a product’s price and features, but also on how many people own it and how many games and applications are available. You plug in numbers, advance, and see how markets react.

The stakes are high, according to MIT Professor John Sterman PhD ’82, an expert in system dynamics who developed the simulation with colleagues. “The first truly successful video game was PONG, the arcade and home versions offered by Atari,” he says in an introductory video. Atari sales jumped from $100 million a year to $200 billion a year in just a few years in the 1970s largely because of their market dominance.

“Platform wars are not restricted to the Internet world, of course,” Sterman notes. “And important example that is playing out now is the competition to become the new standard for automobiles. We have the competition between the dominant platform of internal combustion engines being powered by gasoline or fossil fuels and that is being challenged by a variety of new contenders including plugin electric vehicles, plugin hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and biofuel types of vehicles. So the lessons you can learn in the simulator are application to a variety of other markets.”

Get Started:

Go the Platform Wars page and watch the Student Instruction Video (26 minutes) and then log in to the Platform Wars simulation itself.

For more business savvy, download the 24-page case study “Sony’s Battle for Video Game Supremacy” by Sterman, Khan Jekarl, Cate Reavis.

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