Travel

Now THAT’s a Bachelorette Party—Alumnae Bond on Overseas Trips

by Amy Marcott on October 31, 2012

in Alumni Life, Travel

Guest blogger: Alice Waugh, Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) communications director

Dannielle Sita, Christie Simpson, Wendy-Kay Logan, Liron Azrielant, and Natallia Pinchuk in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

Dannielle Sita, Christie Simpson, Wendy-Kay Logan, Liron Azrielant, and Natallia Pinchuk in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.

There are class reunions, and then there are reunions with your classmates, which sometimes happen in surprising ways. Such was the case for several women from the MIT LGO Class of 2011 who’ve gotten together in far-flung locales not once but twice, first in Israel and last summer in Russia.

It all started when Liron Azrielant and some of her classmates took a trip to her native Israel shortly after graduation. It seemed like a natural thing to do, “because we’d gone on so many trips during the course of LGO experience, and we loved traveling together and seeing things,” said Emily Edwards. “On the last night, we were talking about how everyone’s scattering to the four corners of the world, and wouldn’t it be nice to do this every year.”

Last spring, Edwards spoke to classmate Min Hsieh, who was engaged to be married, “and Min said sort of as a joke, ‘Why don’t we go to Moscow for a bachelorette party?’” recalled Edwards, who was also engaged. The resulting July trip wound up including Azrielant, Karla Krause, Wendy-Kay Logan, Tabassum Rahman, Dannielle Sita, Christie Simpson, and Belarus native Natallia Pinchuk as well as Hsieh and Edwards.

In Moscow's Red Square, Karla Krause, Natallia Pinchuk, Dannielle Sita, Emily Edwards, Min Hsieh, Tabassum Rahman, and Christie Simpson leap into action.

In Moscow’s Red Square, Karla Krause, Natallia Pinchuk, Dannielle Sita, Emily Edwards, Min Hsieh, Tabassum Rahman, and Christie Simpson leap into action.

“Natallia did a great job organizing. She sent us a survey to get an idea of what activities we were interested in, and she even sent us a detailed Excel spreadsheet with booked events highlighted for each day prior to the trip—but I would expect no less from an LGO,” Azrielant said with a laugh. Pinchuk’s attention to detail even included having T-shirts made that said “LGO’s Devichnik” in English and Russian lettering (a devichnik is a bridal shower).

On a tour of the ornate Moscow subway system, “I thought we were going into a theater—the intricate detail, the marble work, the statues were beautiful,” Edwards said. When told by a guide that almost 10 million people ride the Moscow subway each day, “the first question someone asked was if that number was unique riders or the total number of rides. Only an LGO would know to ask that question,” Rahman said.

On a side trip to St. Petersburg, the women visited the summer palace of Peter the Great and visited a banya, where they experienced a traditional Russian steam bath, a dunk in a cold pool, and a massage with a birch broom (“‘massage’ is a very loose term,” Edwards said).

Wendy-Kay Logan, Dannielle Sita, Emily Edwards, Natallia Pinchuk, Min Hsieh, Christie Simpson, Liron Azrielant, Tabassum Rahman, and Karla Krause on a bridge over the Moscow River.

Wendy-Kay Logan, Dannielle Sita, Emily Edwards, Natallia Pinchuk, Min Hsieh, Christie Simpson, Liron Azrielant, Tabassum Rahman, and Karla Krause on a bridge over the Moscow River.

The highlight of the trip was the bachelorette party itself. After an elegant dinner at a rooftop restaurant, the women traveled by limousine to the Moscow River. “Following Russian tradition, Emily and Min released two doves over the river and wrote their names and their fiancés’ names on a pink heart-shaped lock, placed it on a ‘lock tree,’ and threw the keys into the river,” Rahman recounted.

Afterwards, the limo drove the women all over Moscow. At one point, they unexpectedly encountered a tour group of retired Israelis. “They took pictures of us and wanted to know everything we could tell them—where we went to school, how we all knew each other, where we work—and ‘Would you like to meet my son?’” Azrielant said.

Looking back on the trip, the women agreed that the camaraderie and collaborative spirit of LGO haven’t dimmed in the slightest. “It was fantastic, like no time had passed,” Edwards said.

“Even though we’re pursuing careers in different industries and locations, we’ve been able to maintain the strong bond created from the transformational experience that makes LGO such a unique program,” Logan said.

“I think it’s the type of relationship that could grow only in a close and collaborative program such as LGO,” Azrielant added.

Read other stories about the women of LGO.

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A Trip Down Memory Lane, Using a GPS

by Jay London on June 22, 2012

in In the News, Modern Geekhood, Remember When..., Transportation, Travel

The Etak Navigaot. Photo: LiPo Ching.

The pre-GPS (global positioning system) days when drivers relied on maps and verbal directions are long gone. For most trips, an in-car navigation system has evolved from a luxury to a necessity, and to some, an afterthought.

While GPS popularity is a phenomenon from the past decade, the first publicly available automobile-navigation system, the Etak Navigator, first came to market in the mid-1980s. Over 25 years later, it’s believed that only one functioning Navigator still exists.

It’s located in the Toyota Camry of Jon Landes, a former Etak software engineer, who installed it in his car in 1989. Alongside Tristan Thielmann, an MIT visiting associate professor, Landes recently took the Camry for a spin, using the Navigator to guide its journey. According to Landes and Thielmann, the Navigator’s direction was accurate and precise.

View a slideshow of their journey from The Mercury News.

To call the Atari-looking Navigator–which retailed for about $1,500 in the late 1980s–a GPS would be a misnomer, as it does not use satellites to position itself in space.

From The Mercury News:

“Instead, it uses ‘dead reckoning,’ comparing the car’s location to a fixed spot. Landes’ system includes a compass affixed in the rear of the car, a central-processing unit about the size of a large loaf of bread, a series of cassette tapes that contain the digitized maps, and a choice of two green vector monitors, one large and one small. Inside the rim of the wheels is a series of magnetic beads that feed information to the computer about how fast the car is going, when it is turning, and so on.”

Thielmann, who studies mapping and media and is writing a book on the rise of navigation systems, recorded their journey in hope that the footage will be part of the evolution of media technology.

Does anyone remember the Etak Navigator, or know anyone who paid $1,500 to have it installed in their car? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook.

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Two Grad Students Help Make a City Walkable

by Amy Marcott on April 30, 2012

in IAP, Student Life, Transportation, Travel

Guest blogger: Joseph Cutrufo, program coordinator, WalkBoston

Mariko Davidson at work on the Spicket River Greenway.

Mariko Davidson at work on the Spicket River Greenway.

This past January, two local nonprofit organizations enlisted the help of MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning graduate students Mariko Davidson and Jocelyn Drummond to work on a project aimed at making Lawrence, Massachusetts, more walkable. Davidson and Drummond, along with the pedestrian advocacy organizations WalkBoston and Groundwork Lawrence, which builds healthy communities through environmental and open-space improvements, developed a plan that addresses pedestrian safety issues and increases walkability around the Spicket River Greenway, which is currently under construction.

Lawrence was established as one of the earliest planned industrial cities in the mid-1800s with a thriving industry based on textile mills. Today, it is one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts and has the highest rate of obesity and diabetes in the Commonwealth. On the surface, the Spicket River Greenway is a recreational path where residents can walk, run or bike. But Davidson and Drummond learned that this particular greenway means so much more than that to Lawrence. In addition to creating a linear park, this three-mile long “emerald bracelet” connects a variety of open spaces and neighborhoods, helps the community achieve the dual goals of riverfront restoration and neighborhood revitalization, remediates a contaminated brownfield, and reduces chronic flooding. Now Groundwork Lawrence and WalkBoston are working to link this area’s schools and major employers to the new Greenway. Without sidewalks or crosswalks, it will be difficult and potentially dangerous for pedestrians to access the path.

Davidson and Drummond developed a plan that highlights safe pedestrian routes and proposes design solutions to connect people by foot from throughout Lawrence to the Greenway. This plan is a critical component in the partnership between WalkBoston and Groundwork Lawrence, and it will help direct future initiatives of the City of Lawrence’s Mayor’s Health Task Force.

After meeting with the WalkBoston and Groundwork Lawrence staff, they assessed the existing conditions of routes connecting schools and other key institutions, such as Lawrence General Hospital, with the Greenway. Then they identified problem areas—dangerous intersections and places where sidewalks are in disrepair—and mapped them. They also created a list of recommendations that will improve access to and from the Greenway.

Davidson and Drummond are also working on interpretive signage for the Greenway to enhance trail users’ experiences by telling stories about sites along the Greenway. They conducted research at the Lawrence History Center, combing through achives, newspaper articles, photos, postcards, and oral archives to develop signage that will be located at sites including the Arlington Mills and the former location of the Oxford Paper company.

Moving forward, the work Davidson and Drummond have produced will help guide WalkBoston’s work with Groundwork Lawrence in making Lawrence a more walkable, livable community.

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What If a Highway Ran Through the Infinite Corridor?

by Jay London on April 23, 2012

in Economics, In the News, Remember When..., Research, Transportation, Travel

The proposed route of Interstate 695. Photo: Cambridge Historical Society

As the United States’ most walkable city (not to mention the bikes), it’s difficult to envision an eight-lane highway running through Cambridge. But had some city planners and politicians gotten their way about 50 years ago, Interstate 695 would have created an inherently different Cambridge–and MIT campus–than what exists today.

Interstate 695, better known as the Inner Belt, was a planned highway that would begin at Route I-93 in Somerville, run though Cambridge in Central Square, Cambridgeport, and the outskirts of Kendall Square, and eventually connect with the Central Artery to encircle much of Greater Boston.

The Inner Belt was first proposed in 1948 as the post-World War II population left cities for the suburbs. To combat population outflow, city politicians sought highways to provide temporary construction jobs and long-term access to city businesses.

From Wicked Local Cambridge:

“The project would have displaced 1,541 households in Cambridge, 1,606 in Boston, 589 in Somerville, and 83 in Brookline. In Cambridge, it would have cut down Elm Street and Brookline Street before heading south over the Charles River.

In Cambridge, the city was divided. People who lived in the way of the proposed highway opposed the project, but the Planning Board, Harvard University, and MIT were all in favor, according to Tunney Lee, an MIT professor emeritus who provided technical assistance to the project’s opponents.”

Wicked Local also notes that a Cambridge City Council-proposed alternative included moving the highway southeastward, which MIT opposed for “national defense” reasons.

According to the Cambridge Historical Society, opposition to the highway began in Cambridge and united towns and neighborhoods throughout Greater Boston. In 1970, Massachusetts Governor Francis Sargent ’39 ordered a three-year review of the plan, which would produce the first Environmental Impact Study in the United States. Sargent officially rejected the Inner Belt in 1971 and, using part of the proposed funds for the highway, approved plans to extend the MBTA Red Line from Harvard Square to Alewife in 1973.

While the Inner Belt wouldn’t have made it as far as the Infinite Corridor, had it been built, modern-day Cambridge might be a radically different place. Would MIT and Harvard still be as successful as they are today? Can you imagine a Red Line that ends at Harvard Square? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook.

For more information on the Inner Belt’s history, the Cambridge Historical Society is hosting “The Legacy of the Inner Belt,”part three of a three-part series, on Wednesday, April 25. Cambridge residents can also view past Inner Belt symposia on Cambridge Community Television.

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Is There Room In Your Garage For A Flying Car?

by Jay London on April 11, 2012

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

Credit: Terrafugia

Are you thinking about purchasing the Transition® Roadable Aircraft, the two-seat flying car developed by a group of MIT alumni? If so, it’s important to remember one thing: retract the wings before pulling into the garage.

From The Associated Press via NPR:

Woburn, Mass.-based Terrafugia Inc. said (April 2) that its prototype flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle–dubbed the Transition–has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so that it can be driven like a car. Last month, it flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes.

If you’re having visions of George Jetson, think again. The Transition lacks some amenities (no cup holders) and won’t help you avoid traffic–it needs a 1,700-foot runway to get off the ground. But it will give pilots the ability to use the same vehicle to fly in the air and drive on the road, potentially reducing the expensive costs and travel limitations that many personal aviation pilots face.


The Transition, which was introduced at the 2012 New York International Auto Show on April 5, currently retails at $279,000, reaches approximately 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air, and runs off a 23-gallon tank of regular automotive fuel.

Terrafugia’s beginnings trace back to MIT. Co-founder and CEO Carl Dietrich ’99, SM ’03, PhD ’07 won the 2006 Lemelson Student Prize for Innovation for developing the Transition’s concept. Additional co-founders include Dietrich’s wife, Anna Mracek Dietrich ’04, SM ’06, the company’s COO and acting CFO; Samuel Schweighart SM ’01, PhD ’04; Alex B. Min ’91, MBA ‘07; and Arun Prakash MBA ’07. Roughly half of Terrafugia’s 20-person workforce is MIT alumni.

What’s your take? Is there a market for a flying car? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments section below.

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You Never Know What’s Lurking Around The Corner. Well, Until Now…

by Jay London on March 28, 2012

in Authors, Design, Engineering, In the News, Modern Geekhood, Research, Travel, Uncategorized

The Media Lab’s Camera Culture group, led by associate professor Ramesh Raskar and postdoctoral researcher Andreas Velten, has designed a camera that can see around corners. The research was published in a March issue of Nature Communications.

The camera’s system is similar to a periscope but, rather than using angled mirrors to redirect light, it uses a femtosecond laser and opaque surfaces.  To peer into a room outside of a camera’s line of sight, the laser emits quick bursts of light (measure in quadrillionths of a second) against the wall opposite an open doorway. The light reflects off the wall and into the doorway, bounces around the unseen room, and re-emerges.

From geek.com:

“MIT Media Lab utilizes a laser pulse to bounce photons off surfaces to see what the camera can’t. If the photons hit an object, they bounce back and reach the camera. In so doing, the camera can measure how far away the unseen object is.

The unit MIT labs has used has a time resolution of two picseconds, which means it can detect how far light has traveled with an accuracy of 0.6 millimeters.”

Video courtesy of Nature

The system is repeated several times, bouncing light off different spots on the wall and entering the room at various angles before returning to the camera. By comparing the times at which the light returns to the camera, the system can deduce the distance traveled by the laser. The end result is a low-resolution three-dimensional image that shows the geometry of the unseen area. The current prototype takes several minutes to form an image, but the Media Lab team is working to reduce it to less than 10 seconds.

The Camera Culture team also made headlines in December 2011 when they relased a trillion-frame-per-second video of a burst of light traveling the length of a plastic bottle.

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Do Not Read This While Driving. In Fact, Don’t Even Think About It.

by Jay London on March 20, 2012

in Engineering, Health, In the News, Modern Geekhood, Research, Transportation, Travel

Photo: Fort Rucker, MIT AgeLab

Lawmakers met in Washington earlier this month to debate guidelines that limit driver distractions and simplify electronic devices installed in vehicles, but new research at MIT suggests that drivers don’t need to text, Tweet, or program a GPS to potentially cause havoc on the road.

A group led by MIT AgeLab research scientist Bryan Reimer found that a driver’s ability to focus on a surrounding environment varies depending on the “cognitive demand” of a non-driving activity. Essentially, if a driver’s mind is focused on a non-driving topic, be it an electronic device or an argument at home, the driver’s mind scans the surrounding area for potential hazards much less frequently.

Reimer told USA Today:

“In the past, the emphasis was on whether you’re distracted or not distracted. This is too simple of a categorization. There are levels of cognitive demand, and those levels are statistically distinguishable. The level of thought going on has a relationship to how much a driver is aware of the driving environment.”

The AgeLab research team studied 108 volunteers in ages ranging from 20 to 69 driving a midsize sport utility vehicle on Massachusetts’ Route 93 north. They were given three cognitive memory tasks of varying difficulty. The researched was published in Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in February.

From Wired:

The AgeLab’s test car was fitted with sophisticated sensors that made it possible for researchers to analyze a driver’s cognitive load. Reimer envisions cars of the future equipped with similar technology that can instantly recognize when a driver is in over his or her head. If a car can sense that a driver is exhibiting “tunnel vision,” a car could cue the driver to end a hands-free phone call.

Part of the Engineering Systems Division, MIT AgeLab works to transform technologies into practical solutions that improve how products are designed and services are delivered. In addition to the driving study, the AgeLab has created AGNES (a suit that approximates the motor, visual, flexibility, dexterity, and strength of a person in their mid-70s); AwareCar (a vehicle that monitors driver state); Miss Daisy (a driving simulator used for evaluating cognitive distraction and the effects of disease and medication); and Miss Rosie (a Volkswagen Beetle that evaluates a driver’s capacity for vehicle operation), among others.

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Living the Dream by Shaping Dreams

by Amy Marcott on March 19, 2012

in IAP, Student Life, Travel

Guest blogger: Cole Shaw, grad student in Engineering Systems Division
Externship* host: Josh Schuler SM ’00

Blind users testing out a prototype for a bus-stop improvement

Blind users testing out a prototype for a bus-stop improvement as part of the product design workshop Imagínate.

They say that your dreams change as you get older. When I was (much) younger, I dreamed of retiring early and spending many years lying on the beach working on my tan. As I got a little older and got hit by a small dose of reality, I thought, early retirement at forty does not seem common; maybe I should find a job where I get to sit on the beach a lot, like a travel writer.  A stronger dose of reality later, I am still chasing my ever-changing dreams—but I actually got pretty close during my IAP externship.

My externship this year was with the Lemelson-MIT office. No, they did not move to beachfront property (they are, sadly, still in Building 10). I actually did my externship work from Mexico. ¡¡MÉXICO!! Okay, I was not at the beach, but it was warm and a step in the right direction.

One hundred thousand US dollars. This is the value of the Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation…not my externship stipend. My job was to perform due diligence research on the five finalists for this prestigious award—I verified the global impact of their work and tried to anticipate the questions that would come from a national jury. I honed my research skills and dug into their various fields of work. Along the way, I learned a lot about international development, and I was impressed by each and every one of the finalists.

Luckily, given the nature of my externship, the Lemelson-MIT office allowed me to work remotely. But I was not in Mexico on vacation, and I did not work on my tan. I was actually juggling two other projects—work for my research advisor and running a product design workshop for university students.

In the product design workshop, called Imagínate, our international team of facilitators helped shape the dreams of 17 Mexican university students from four local universities. In one week, these students worked through a user-oriented product design curriculum, which included two visits each to two user communities (a school for the blind and a marginalized community) and professional development workshops from multinationals GE Mexico and Mabe. At the end of the workshop, three teams presented their prototypes and work to an audience of 60 people. Everyone had a blast—students said they had never done anything similar before, the audience was impressed, and we look forward to running a longer workshop in the summer!

Overall, IAP was a great experience, and sometimes IAP itself felt like a dream. I met interesting and inspirational people; I worked on multiple, exciting projects; I learned a lot. Maybe retirement is not in my immediate future, but right now I do not mind.

caption

The workshop Imagínate was organized by Shaw, MIT alumni, and Peace Corps volunteers in conjunction with the Mexican university CICATA (part of the National Polytechnic Institute). Shown from left: Maria Elena Vazquez, professor at Universidad Politécnica de Querétaro; Mary Masterman '10; Sarah Bruce, Peace Corps Mexico volunteer; Enrique Garcia, professor at CICATA; Cole Shaw, MIT grad student; Drew Zoller, Peace Corps Mexico volunteer; Jorge Huerta, director general of CICATA; and Francisco Valenzuela, student at Nebraska Wesleyan and the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM), a Mexican university.

*Editor’s note: 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. This is just one way for alumni to interact with MIT students. Learn about other opportunities.

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NYT on Cambridge: “Easy to Caricature, but Hard to Dislike”

by Amy Marcott on December 29, 2011

in Remember When..., Travel

The New York Times travel section recently featured Cambridge, Mass., and highlighted the hot spots to hit with a mere 36 hours in town. They also created the abbreviated 36 seconds in Cambridge video below. Not surprisingly, an MIT favorite is listed among the must-see sites.

What are your favorite places in Cambridge?

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MIT Students Bring Clean Water to Remote Ugandan Village

by Amy Marcott on December 12, 2011

in Design, Engineering, Health, Public Service, Student Life, Travel

Guest bloggers: Marisa Simmons ’13 and Steven Pennybaker ’12

EWB Members building prototype tanks. Photo: Steven Pennybaker.

Images this page: Engineers Without Borders members build prototype tanks to aid Ugandan residents. Photos: Steven Pennybaker.

Students from the MIT chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) have helped bring clean, usable water to a remote Ugandan village in an ongoing project that has students and community members working together to achieve the goal.

This past summer, the MIT chapter sent two teams to continue work on rainwater harvesting and alternative energy in Ddegeya, Uganda. This is the third year EWB students have worked in the country, and each year the partnership grows stronger. Last year, a 10,000-liter rainwater harvesting tank was installed in the village. EWB hopes to expand rainwater harvesting in Ddegeya, but in a more economical and sustainable manner. After research and collaboration with other NGOs in the country, EWB decided to pursue a partially underground tank system. This design minimizes the resources and costs associated with the tanks.

In addition to technical design, EWB has worked extensively with the community to develop an acceptable distribution model for the tanks. A Water Projects Board, made up of respected members of the community and established in summer 2010, oversees the existing project and helps EWB work on new endeavors. Initially, local residents were only interested in household tanks, but after discussion about EWB and community resources, Ugandans decided communal tanks would be more effective. Locations were then measured and evaluated.

EWB Members building prototype tanks. Photo: Steven Pennybaker.The different components of the tank, including tank lining, pumps, and first-flush systems were also tested and presented to the community for feedback. Each component was evaluated for ease of manufacture and use.

EWB partnered with students from Uganda’s Makerere University to work with the residents on developing prototypes. While in Ddegeya, this team built both a ferrocement and a clay tank prototype. The ferrocement tank consisted of cement with a steel mesh internal support, while the clay tank was made using local clay. Different types of pumps were also built using materials available in the nearby town of Masaka. The pumps built by the MIT team were significantly cheaper than the consumer water pumps available. Finally, two types of first-flush systems, a way to prevent the dirt from roofs from collecting inside the tank, were also built and tested.

While in Uganda, the MIT-EWB team also determined the best houses to use for rainwater catchment. Dwellings were chosen in terms of roof size, location, and Water Projects Board recommendations. Students spent time getting community feedback in terms of the projects’ cost and benefits to those in Ddegeya.

After all prototypes were made, the students presented them to the community, which provided input as to the usability of the design. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Despite more than 6,000 miles separating Ddegeya and MIT, the two communities continue to work together to implement the changes. EWB hopes to travel back to Uganda in January 2012 to implement the designs and build five systems including a 5,000-liter tank, pump, first flush, and gutters.

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