September 29, 2004 Techtalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY ‘Genius’ Grants Go to Four Miters

Volume 49 – Number 4 Wednesday – September 29, 2004 TechTalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY ‘Genius’ grants go to four MITers

Elizabeth Thomson tion, Belcher has “demonstrated a proclivity for develop- News Office ing new techniques for manipulating systems that straddle the boundary of organic and inorganic chemistry at the molecular scale. In her most recent work, she has geneti- Two MIT engineers, a scientist and an alumna have cally modified viruses (strains that only attack bacteria won 2004 MacArthur Fellowships, commonly known as and are harmless to humans) to interact with solutions of “genius” grants. They were honored for coaxing viruses to inorganic semiconductors, yielding self-assembling metal manufacture microelectronic devices, inventing inexpen- films and wires” with diameters only billionths of a meter sive technologies to solve problems in developing coun- across. tries, developing potential treatments for diabetes and “The ability to control this self-assembly process may unraveling the secrets of bacterial infection. one day lead to the next generation of microelectronics or Associate Professor Angela Belcher of the Depart- other nanoscale machines,” the Foundation said. Belcher ment of Materials Science and Engineering and the Bio- is excited to further extend her work “to medical applica- logical Engineering Division, Edgerton Center Instructor tions with some of the materials we’re developing,” she Amy Smith (S.M. 1995), Broad Institute associate Vamsi said, and has also recently become interested in energy- Mootha, and Julie Theriot (S.B. 1988) will each receive efficient batteries and lighting. $500,000 in no-strings-attached support. Belcher received the B.S. (1991) and Ph.D. (1997) from MacArthur Fellows—this year there are 23—are select- the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a pro- ed for their “originality, creativity and potential to do more fessor at the University of Texas, Austin, before joining the in the future,” according to the MacArthur Foundation. MIT faculty in 2002 as the John Chipman Career Develop- Candidates are nominated, evaluated and selected through ment Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engi- a confidential process; no one may apply for the awards, neering and Biological Engineering. nor are any interviews conducted. Helpful inventions Coaxing viruses Amy Smith, 41, is dedicated to using technology to Belcher, 37, got the news early last week in her MIT solve problems in the developing world. Smith said the office. She knew something exciting was happening, she MacArthur award “is pretty exciting, though a little scary. said, because “the person who called said, ‘Are you sitting I’ve always operated on a shoestring. It’ll be odd to do it down? Are you by yourself?’” differently for a change.” Although she’s still getting used to the news (“I was Smith is a mechanical engineer and inventor who very shocked and very surprised,” she said), Belcher said designs “life-enhancing solutions and labor-saving technol- she foresees using the award in two ways. “It will be a cat- ogies for people at the far end of dirt roads in the world’s alyst for exploring new ideas in my lab and, equally impor- most remote societies—people facing crises that erupt in tant, let me contribute more to my community through health clinics with no electricity and in villages with no PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY science outreach to kids.” See MACARTHUR Angela Belcher, shown here in her lab at MIT, is a MacArthur According to a biography from the MacArthur Founda- Page 3 Fellow. DeFrantz taps across the water Student writes versity of Singapore and Nanyang Techno- aspect of the arts should be included. Sarah H. Wright logical University in a collaborative gradu- The new series is conceived as a prac- Patriots’ news News Office ate education and research program. tice-dialogue on the arts and a genuine “Until now, SMA has focused entirely See TAP on aspects of engineering education. But in Mandarin Three MIT dancers in tap shoes and to truly represent an MIT education, some Page 7 Sasha Brown street clothes transformed the soundproof News Office Ford Room (9-152) into an international conversation exploring movement, culture, passion and technology’s role in teaching in an event sponsored by the Singapore- Tian He has always been interested MIT Alliance (SMA) on Tuesday, Sept. 14. in integrating the two pieces of his Over the course of 90 lively minutes, life—one spent in China and the other the trio in Cambridge exchanged perfor- in the United States. mances and instruction with a group of As the official Mandarin transla- dancers in Singapore via video conference. tor for the New England Patriot’s web Thomas DeFrantz, associate professor of site, the electrical engineering and music and theater arts, presented a tap computer science junior may have sequence with two student dancers, James found a way. Tolbert, a senior majoring in computer “I’ve always been a football fan,” science, and Bradford Backus, a graduate said He, who was born in Beijing and student in the Harvard-MIT Program in moved to the United States in 1993. Health Sciences and Technology. His family settled in Knoxville, Tenn., Singapore choreographer Patrick Loo where his father studied at the Ten- and six student dancers performed hip- nessee Technological University. hop movements to Indian music. Initially, He knew little English, but Called “Moves Across the Water: Tap as his language skills grew, so did his and Hip-Hop,” the SMA dance dialogue interest in other bits of Western cul- with the National University of Singapore ture, primarily football. (NUS) is the first in a new series, said Alan Though he didn’t play varsity foot- Brody, provost for the arts, in his opening PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY comments. See MANDARIN The Singapore-MIT Alliance is a pro- Professor Thomas DeFrantz follows moves by a group of dancers in Singapore in a video Page 3 gram that engages MIT, the National Uni- conference dance class sponsored by the MIT-Singapore Alliance.

NEWS PEOPLE ARTS

LINING UP FREE AT LAST Student groups sponsored a Rock the Vote event on Faculty members received tenure over the summer. STAGING SCIENCE campus to register voters. Pages 4-5 Playwright Alan Brody turns his pen to Isaac Page 2 Newton. Page 7 WELL HEELED CHAIR HOLDERS LIST OF THREE Alumni apply engineering and business know-how Sixteen holders of named professorships are to give high-heel wearers some relief. announced. Screenings, readings, photos and exhibitions make up the List Center’s fall trio. Page 6 Page 4 Page 7 PAGE 2 September 29, 2004 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Voting experts list 7 steps to ensure all votes count Voting experts from MIT and the California Institute of Technology say that American voters can take seven crucial steps to ensure that their votes are counted in the Nov. 2 presidential election. In the 2000 presidential election, as many as six million votes were lost, including three million due to voter registration mix-ups. Two million additional votes were lost due to faulty voting equipment and confusing ballots, and another one million, as the result of polling-place problems. Researchers with the Caltech-MIT Voting Technology Project made the announcement Sept. 21 after studying U.S. elections for four years. MIT President Charles M. Vest and Caltech President David Baltimore initiated the voting technology project in December 2000, following the election fiasco the previous month. The group, composed of both political scien- tists and engineers, is charged with evaluating the current state of reliability and uniformity of U.S. voting systems, establishing uniform attributes and quantitative guidelines for performance and reliability of voting systems, and pro- PHOTO / LAURA WULF posing specific uniform guidelines and requirements for reliable voting systems. Senior Ben Wagner (center) helps graduate student Sian Kleindienst (foreground) register to vote during a Rock the Vote The researchers recommend the following seven steps. event on Kresge Oval Friday. 1. Make sure you are registered. Look on the Internet or call the local election office to find out if you are are on the precinct’s list of registered voters and if you need to bring identification. Rockin’ event registers voters 2. Get a sample ballot from your local elections office. Sasha Brown “I am voting for Kerry, absolutely,” said Williams. “But 3. Bring your sample ballot to help you in the voting News Office it is obviously not the norm in Texas.” booth. Greg Dennis, a graduate student studying computer 4. Try to vote between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or allow extra science, was helping to register people. Though he is a time for long lines. The times before work, during the member of the MIT Green Party, he was not trying to lunch hour, and after work are especially busy, so if you In an attempt to draw more young voters to the polls, can avoid voting at these times, you should try to do so. MTV came up with Rock the Vote 14 years ago. Thanks to sway voters. “I am non-partisan here,” said Dennis, who said he’d 5. Know your rights and ask for help if you need it. You a number of campus groups, Rock the Vote came to MIT can obtain information beforehand from your local elec- on Friday, Sept. 24. never seen so many people register at a single campus event. “There’s a lot at stake in this election,” he said. tion office, but don’t be afraid to ask officials at the polling Rock the Vote is unique in its approach. The organiza- site for help. tion uses pop culture and other entertainment to appeal In fact, the numbers of MIT students voting in the last election are significantly higher than the nationwide aver- 6. Don’t leave the polling place without casting your to voters aged 18-24, a group traditionally showing low vote. You have a right to vote if you are registered in your numbers at the polls. age for the 18-24 age group. According to an editorial in the New York Times on Sept. 28, the national average precinct, even if your name does not appear on the list. Offering free lunch, loud music, dancing and even salsa Rules vary across the nation, so ask the poll workers in lessons, the event drew a steady stream of students to voter turnout for that age group in the last presidential election was about 37 percent. your precinct if you can cast a “provisional” or “fail-safe” Kresge Oval through the afternoon and into the evening. vote. In some parts of the country, if you cast a provisional Students could register to vote and apply for absentee bal- City of Cambridge records from the 2000 presidential election indicate that the two MIT precincts reported 45 ballot in the wrong precinct, your vote may not get count- lots in their home states. Fifteen organizations, including ed, so be certain you vote in the precinct in which you are the MIT Arab Student Organization, MIT Black Graduate percent and 52 percent turnout. (Average voter turnout in Cambridge was 64 percent.) These numbers belie the fact registered. Student Association, MIT College Republicans and MIT 7. Double-check that your ballot reflects how you want College Democrats, sponsored the outdoor event. that many more students vote by absentee ballot in their home state. to vote before you turn it in. Common problems include Freshman Zandile Williams of Houston, Texas, was a unintentionally voting for more than one candidate for an registered voter, but applied for an absentee ballot. Toyya Pujol-Mitchell, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, applied for an absentee New York ballot on Fri- office, accidentally not voting for a candidate or a measure “I was just out here buying plants in the Student Center and forgetting to vote both the front and back of a two- and saw this,” said Williams. “It seemed like the best time day. “I am a New Yorker,” she said. “And I want to vote in New York.” sided ballot. If you make a mistake, ask a poll worker for a to go ahead and do it.” new ballot. Though Rock the Vote is a non-partisan organization, She was not alone. Of the 184 forms filled out Friday, 60 percent were out-of-state forms and requests for absentee This information, as well as information about local elec- most of the students already knew who they were going to tions, has been compiled at http://www.vote.caltech.edu. vote for this year. Williams thought it important that she ballots, said graduate student Shihab Elborai, president of vote in Texas, home of President George W. Bush. the Arab Student Organization. Aero/astro’s Unified Engineering is largest on OCW site Jon Paul Potts marks a major publishing milestone for OCW and a major building the site using Dreamweaver [a popular web- MIT OpenCourseWare opportunity for the aero/astro department to share its publishing software], and if you look at our current site unique pedagogical approach with the world. and compare it to what is on OCW, it is fairly similar. We “Unified Engineering is the signature course for aero/ tended to organize each discipline as a matrix, with each Say the words Unified Engineering or Course 16.01 in astro at the undergraduate level and it embodies the lecture topic and the corresponding homework, tests and the hallways of NASA’s headquarters or the Jet Propulsion essence of aerospace engineering education at MIT,” said problem sets,” said Hall, who took a much lower-tech ver- Lab in California, and at least a few heads will turn. Professor Wesley L. Harris, the head of the aero/astro sion of Unified as a student in 1978-79. “We always had the Mention this famous course from MIT’s Department of department. “The opportunity afforded us to publish Uni- philosophy that the course would be open to the world, Aeronautics and Astronautics to any of the department’s fied through OCW brings benefits to the students, to the and OCW lets us do that.” alumni of the last 30 years and you are certain to get a faculty involved in the teaching of the materials, and to Unified has been a requirement for Course 16 students response. others outside of the department and beyond MIT. We are since 1973, and nearly 2,500 students have struggled The challenging course is the bane of sophomore better equipped to continuously improve Unified Engineer- through its problem sets. The new course site features year for aero/astro majors. It combines the disciplines of ing now that it is so easily accessible to all our faculty.” more than four times the volume of educational materials materials and structures, computer programming, fluid Professor Steven R. Hall, a 2002 MacVicar Faculty Fel- of a typical one-semester MIT course—about 1,500 differ- mechanics, thermodynamics, propulsion, signals and low, is a lead instructor on the course. He and professors ent files, including video course introductions by Coleman systems, and systems and labs, into a year-long course Charles Coleman, Mark Drela, Kristina Lundqvist, Mark and Waitz, lecture notes, assignments and video footage of designed to introduce the systemic nature of aerospace Spearing, Ian Waitz and Peter Young contributed material the semester project. engineering. to the online course. The publication of Unified on Sept. 17 brings the total And it is by far the biggest course ever published on “Starting three or four years ago, we really began to number of courses available to 906. the MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) site. It’s inclusion transition to an almost web-only system. We had been

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Roger Donaghy MIT Tech Talk NEWS September 29, 2004 PAGE 3 MACARTHUR Continued from Page 1 devices and field incubators for biologic move forward a lot faster now. There’s reported a discovery that suggests a new testing, each reflecting her inordinate cre- so much to do in Haiti, it’s really nice to treatment for adult-onset diabetes. Specifi- clean water,” according to the MacArthur ativity and ingenuity,” the biography said. have the resources to keep these projects cally, they found a gene that revs up the Foundation biography. “I currently have very little funding for going, and start new projects, too.” energy-produc- “Striking in their simplicity and effec- my projects, so this gives me a lot more Smith said she often meets people in the ing ability of tiveness, her inventions include grain- flexibility,” said Smith, who is working countries where she works who have ideas muscle cells. grinding hammer mills, water-purification on two projects in Haiti. “I will be able to for projects of their own, but no resources. Doing so could “Now I’m in the position where I can help lessen the with those resources, which is pretty cool,” harmful effects she said. of the disease. Smith received the S.B. (1984) and S.M. Mootha was (1995) from MIT; between undergradu- also honored ate and graduate school, she was a Peace by the MacAr- Corps volunteer in Botswana. In 2000 she thur Founda- joined the staff of the MIT Edgerton Cen- tion for pio- ter, where she co-founded the MIT IDEAS neering “pow- Competition (Innovation, Development, erful, adaptable Enterprise, Action, Service) for students computational who developed designs to solve community strategies for problems. mining data She teaches a class at MIT called D- collected in Lab that combines many of her inter- laboratories throughout the world, provid- ests—teaching, international development, ing an efficient means to hunt down gene invention and design. interactions that lead to a wide variety of “I think we’ve worked out a pretty nice diseases.” model, where we start by teaching about Mootha received a B.S. (1993) from international development and appropriate Stanford University and an M.D. (1998) technology and begin working with com- from Harvard University Medical School munity partners in developing countries. through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences Then we travel to work with these part- Technology Program. He completed his ners in the field, spending the Indepen- internship and residency in internal medi- dent Activites Period implementing some cine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital of what we learned in the class, and iden- (1998-2001). tifying additional projects to work on back In September 2004, he completed a at MIT during the next semester,” said postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Smith. Students working on the projects Institute for Biomedical Research and the are often able to go back to the field in the Broad Institute, as well as an instructor- summer for the next round of fieldwork, ship in medicine at Brigham and Women’s supported by the IDEAS Competition or Hospital. MIT Public Service Center fellowships. Understanding bacteria Treating diabetes Julie Theriot Vamsi Mootha, 33, told the Boston (S.B. 1988) was Globe that he initially thought the call cited by the from the MacArthur Foundation was a foundation for prank. “It was a very odd, surreal conver- “unraveling the sation,” said Mootha, who in addition to secrets of bac- being an associate member of the Broad terial infection Institute of MIT and Harvard is also an by illuminating assistant professor of systems biology at basic biophysi- Harvard Medical School and an assistant cal processes professor of medicine at Massachusetts underlying General Hospital. movement of According to the foundation, Mootha is cells and the PHOTO / DAN SHERIZAN converting the “promise of new technolo- pathogens that gies such as genomics and proteomics invade them.” One of Amy Smith’s projects is to help prevent deforestation in Haiti by using agricultural into tangible, important insights regarding Theriot, 36, is waste to make cooking fuel. “If they can make their own cooking fuel from agricultural basic biological processes and the sources an assistant waste, they don’t need to cut down trees to make charcoal,” said Smith, who is shown of human diseases.” professor of biochemistry, microbiology above teaching Haitian boys how to make charcoal out of waste sugar cane. Earlier this year Mootha and colleagues and immunology at Stanford University.

MANDARIN NEWS YOU CAN USE Continued from Page 1 ball—he ran cross-country throughout high school—He and his friends organized games of tackle football every Better rates for MIT calling cards other weekend. These were no light games, he said. In Information Services and Technology (IS&T) has one game, a player burst his spleen. “I guess we played negotiated a new calling card contract with Qwest pretty rough,” he said with a laugh. that has significantly lower rates than those available But for He, football is about more than brute force. through AT&T. New Qwest calling cards have been “It’s a beautiful sport,” he said. “Each play is skillfully activated for every member of the community who thought out.” has an MIT AT&T or Verizon calling card. Until 1997, his experience of football was limited to Effective Oct. 1, the new Qwest calling cards will watching college games. But that year, he turned on the use the 1-800-6GETMIT number, and that number television to watch the New England Patriots play the will no longer work for AT&T calling cards. To use Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. New England the AT&T calling card, dial 1-800-CALLATT. How- lost, but that day in late January, a Pats fan was born. ever, IS&T encourages those with MIT calling cards “They are a great franchise,” said He. to use the new Qwest cards instead. For details, see After coming to MIT two years ago, He expected to the IS&T web site. watch the Patriots, but never to get as close as he is now. Last summer, he was living on campus when he received Awards nominations due a group e-mail noting that the Patriots were looking for someone to translate their news into Chinese. The deadline for nominating co-workers for the 2004-05 MIT Excellence Awards is Wednesday, Oct. After two Super Bowl wins, the team was looking to expand globally, said Fred Kirsch, director of interactive 13. This is a great opportunity to recognize peers media for the team. and colleagues for their exceptional contributions in When Kirsch received He’s audition tape—an audio five categories: Bringing Out the Best, Work/Life recording of He translating the Patriot’s video news into Balance, Going Above and Beyond, Creating Con- Mandarin—he knew He was right for the job. nections, and Innovative Solutions. Go to the Human “With a local resource like Tian available to us, offer- Resources web site for details on award criteria, use- ing our first non-English translation of Patriots.com to a ful tips for writing a nomination and to get a nomina- Chinese audience was a no-brainer,” said Kirsch. tion form (online and downloadable forms are avail- Each day, He gathers news from Patriots.com and com- able). Contact Kande Culver, Rewards & Recognition piles it into his own words, for which he is well paid. “Let’s program administrator, at 253-5986 or rewards@mit. just say it pays better than your average UROP,” he said. edu if you have questions. His parents log on regularly to see what’s new. “They always wanted me to find a way to keep up my Chinese,” Gallery seeks student art He said. Students are welcome to apply to put up an exhibit Though he has no plans to go into sports writing (“I PHOTO / LAURA WULF of their artwork in the Wiesner Student Art Gallery on think I’ll stick with the technical side,” he said), this has Tian He, who writes Patriots’ news in Mandarin, strikes a the second floor of the Student Center. Call the Office been a great opportunity for He to fulfill some dreams. “I of the Arts at 253-7019 for more information. was always interested in finding a way to connect the East Tom Brady-like pose during an intramural football game on and West,” he said. Briggs Field. PAGE 4 September 29, 2004 MIT Tech Talk FACULTY PROMOTIONS Corporation awards tenure to associate professors effective July 2004 School of Science

Angelika Amon Alexander Deepto Chakrabarty van Oudenaarden Biology Physics Physics Education: B.A. 1989 and Education: S.B. 1988 (MIT), Ph.D. 1993 (both from Univer- Education: M.S. 1993 (materi- M.S. 1992 and Ph.D. 1996 sity of Vienna, Austria). als science), M.S. 1993 (phys- (both from California Institute ics), Ph.D. 1998 (all from Delft of Technology). Joined MIT faculty: 1999 University of Technology). Joined MIT faculty: 1999 Joined MIT faculty: 2000 (Promoted from assistant pro- (Promoted from assistant professor without tenure to asso- fessor without tenure to associate professor with tenure.) ciate professor with tenure.) A leader in the field of mitotic cell cycle regulation, Chakrabarty works in several areas of high-energy Amon has discovered regulatory networks that govern Van Oudenaarden has two main research interests astrophysics and X-ray astronomy, in particular study- and ensure the fidelity of chromosome segregation dur- within biophysics. His group focuses on the importance ing the spin and magnetic evolution of neutron stars. In ing mitosis and meiosis. Deciphering the networks that of noise in the expression of genes and also on under- 2001, he was awarded both an Alfred P. Sloan Research ensure accurate chromosome segregation is vital to standing how small-scale biochemical interactions gen- Fellowship and the Buechner Teaching Prize in Physics. understanding normal cell division as well as the abnor- erate large-scale organization and cellular structure, a mal events that lead to cancer and birth defects. central problem in cell biology.

John W.M. Bush Daniel A. Spielman Sebastian Seung

Mathematics Mathematics Brain and cognitive sciences Education: B.Sc. 1986 and Education: B.A. 1992 (Yale M.Sc. 1988 (University of University), Ph.D. 1995 (MIT). Education: B.A. 1986 and Toronto), Ph.D. 1993 (Har- Ph.D. 1990 (both from Har- vard University). Joined MIT faculty: 1996 vard University).

Joined MIT faculty: 1998 Joined MIT faculty: 1998 (Promoted from associate professor without tenure to full professor with tenure.)

Bush is a fluid dynamicist whose recent work has Spielman’s research bridges discrete mathematics Seung is a computational neuroscientist whose focused on problems in interfacial phenomena and biolo- with a wide range of studies in theoretical computer sci- research focuses on two fundamental questions about comotion. He has worked on bubble dynamics, the tears ence. He has been especially influential through his con- neural networks, namely: how do they use synaptic feed- of wine, the form and stability of fluid jets and sheets, structions of error-correcting codes and his introduction back loops to compute and how do they use synaptic and recently, the locomotion of water-walking creatures. of smoothed analysis. plasticity to learn?

Sloan School of Management

Kristin Forbes Leonid Kogan Roberto Rigobon

Education: B.A. 1992 (Wil- Education: M.Sc. 1993 (Mos- Education: E.E. 1984 (Univer- liams College), Ph.D. 1998 cow State University), Ph.D. sidad Simon Bolivar, Venezu- (MIT). 1995 (Cornell University), ela); M.B.A. 1991 (Instituto de Ph.D. 1999 (MIT). Estudios Superiores de Admin- Joined MIT faculty: 1998 istracion), Ph.D. 1997 (MIT). Joined MIT faculty: 2001 (Promoted from assistant pro- Joined MIT faculty: 1997 fessor without tenure to associate professor with tenure.)

Forbes is an empirical economist in the area of inter- Kogan’s research interest is in the general area of Rigobon is a researcher in international economics national economics whose research focuses on financial asset pricing, focusing mainly on the links between whose publications stand out in three fields: internation- crises, capital controls, contagion, income distribution observed asset prices, firms’ technology and investment al finance, monetary economics and econometrics. and economic growth. decisions and the preferences and beliefs of market par- ticipants. Holders of named professorships announced Several MIT faculty members have lished by de Florez (S.B. 1938), recog- Career Development Professor for a Jacobs will hold the Class of 1947 Career been appointed to named professorships. nizes Jenkins’ devotion to the study of three-year term. Development Professorship for a three- All appointments are effective July 1, comedy in media. Professor Nancy Kanwisher of brain year term. 2004. Assistant Professor Eric Hudson of and cognitive sciences will hold the Ellen Associate Professor of Design and Assistant Professor Jongyoon Han of physics will hold the three-year Class Swallow Richards Professorship for a Computation John Maeda of media electrical engineering and computer sci- of 1958 Career Development Professor- five-year term. The Professorship was arts and sciences is the next holder of ence (EECS) is the next holder of the ship, established by the class at its 25th established in 1973 to honor MIT’s first the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor- three-year Karl Van Tassell Career Devel- reunion. woman graduate and first woman teach- ship for a five-year term. E. Rudge Allen opment Professorship, established by Assistant Professor Matthew Lang er. (S.B. 1948, S.B. 1949) was a member of Van Tassell (S.B. 1925) in 1986. of mechanical engineering and biologi- Professor Barbara Imperiali of the MIT Corporation at the time of his Assistant professors Marc A. Baldo cal engineering will hold the W.M. Keck chemistry will be the Class of 1922 Pro- death in 1990. of EECS and Daniela Pucci de Far- Career Development Professorship for fessor for a five-year term. Assistant Professor J. Meejin Yoon ias of mechanical engineering each will three years. The professorship was estab- Assistant Professor Fiona Murray of of architecture will hold the Class of hold the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton lished by the Keck Foundation to aid the Sloan School will hold the Class of 1948 Career Development Professorship Professorship for a three-year term. The work in science, engineering and medical 1922 Career Development Professorship for a three-year term. The professorship professorships were established in 1973 research. for three years. was established by the class at its 40th by the MIT Corporation to honor the Assistant Professor Sarah O’Connor Jared Curhan, assistant professor of reunion. Edgertons. of chemistry will hold the three-year organization studies at Sloan, will hold Assistant Professor Martin Culpep- Professor Henry Jenkins of the lit- Latham Family Career Development Pro- the Mitsui Career Development Profes- per of mechanical engineering will be erature section in the School of Humani- fessorship, established by Allen Latham sorship for a three-year term. The profes- the next Rockwell International Career ties, Arts and Social Sciences will hold Jr. (S.B. 1930) and his wife Ruth. sorships were established in 1980 by the Development Professor for a three-year the Peter de Florez Professorship for a Assistant Professor Christopher Mitsui Group in 1980. term. The professorship was endowed in five-year term. The professorship, estab- Burge of biology will be the Whitehead Assistant Professor of History Meg 1985 by Rockwell International Corp. FACULTY PROMOTIONS MIT Tech Talk September 29, 2004 PAGE 5 Corporation awards tenure to associate professors effective July 2004 School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Daniel Fox Thomas F. DeFrantz Edward Steinfeld

Linguistics and philosophy Music and theater arts Political science

Education: M.A. 1993 (Tel Education: B.A. 1988 (Yale Education: B.A. 1988, M.A. Aviv University), Ph.D. 1998 University), M.A. 1989 (City 1993, Ph.D. 1996 (all from Har- (MIT). College of New York) Ph.D. vard University). 1997 (New York Joined MIT faculty: 2001 University). Joined MIT faculty: 1996

Joined MIT faculty: 1997

Fox’s main research specialty is the interface As a dance scholar and historian, DeFrantz’ areas of The author of “Forging Reform in China,” Steinfeld between syntax and semantics. His publications con- inquiry range from ballet to all forms of modern and is a sinologist and comparativist whose focus is Chinese tain important new linguistic data, and his claim that popular dance. A gifted tap performer, DeFrantz uses political economy. His research aims to show that to quantifier scope and pronoun binding are governed by this genre to explore the history of movement and of function successfully, markets depend on their institu- optimization principles initiated a whole new research music. He also has challenged MIT dance students to tional and cultural setting as well as on privatization and program in the field. perform at a new level of sophistication and creativity. deregulation.

Norvin W. Richards III Helen Elaine Lee Linguistics and philosophy Writing and humanistic AWARDS AND HONORS studies Education: B. A. 1993 (Cor- nell University), Ph.D. 1997 Education: B.A. 1981 (Har- Charles M. Oman, director of the Man Vehicle (MIT). vard University), J.D. 1985 Lab in MIT’s Center for Space Research, has been (Harvard Law School). elected a Corresponding Member of the Interna- Joined MIT faculty: 1999 tional Academy of Astronautics (IAA). Oman, who Joined MIT faculty: 1997 is a senior lecturer and senior research engineer in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has served as the principle investigator for shuttle/ spacelab and International Space Station projects, headed the neurovestibular research section of the Richards, who is well known for his ability to learn Lee is a highly regarded author whose general sub- National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and languages, has taken over the field methods course ject, the lives and families of African-Americans, has chairs the NASA Advisory Council Space Station formerly taught by Ken Hale. Richards’ main research come vividly to life in two well-received novels, “The Utilization Advisory Subcommittee. He is one of focus is on issues of movement in syntactic theory, and Serpent’s Gift” (1994) and “Water Marked” (1999). An only 11 individuals worldwide elected to IAA Life he has made important breakthroughs in the field. Rich- inspired teacher and mentor at MIT, Lee has also served Science Section membership this year. IAA fos- ards has also devoted significant time to preserving as fiction editor of “Callaloo,” a major literary journal, ters the development of astronautics for peaceful endangered languages such as Lardil (Australia) and and as a volunteer writing teacher in Boston-area cor- purposes and enables its members to contribute Wampanoag (New England). rectional facilities. to international endeavors and cooperation in the advancement of aerospace science.

The Sloan School of Management Buck Weaver Award was presented on Sept. 11 to David Aaker, professor emeritus at the Hass School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Engineering at a conference at MIT in his honor. The award, which is sponsored by General Motors Corp., was William H. Green, Jr. William T. Freeman established last year to honor individuals who have made important contributions to the advancement Chemical engineering Electrical engineering and of theory and practice in marketing science. Aaker computer science is the author of 13 books and 100 articles, focusing Education: B.A. 1983 primarily on the field of branding. (Swarthmore College), Ph.D. Education: B.S. and M.S. “David Aaker has been a pioneer in preaching 1988 (University of California, 1979 (both from Stanford the doctrine of brand equity. He has brought a rare Berkeley). University), M.S. 1981 (Cor- blend of analytical thinking and practical insight nell University), Ph.D. 1992 and recommendations to the field of marketing Joined MIT faculty: 1997 (MIT). strategy,” said Professor Glen Urban of Sloan. Members of the selection committee also noted his Joined MIT faculty: 2001 (as leadership in the marketing community. associate professor without tenure). Professor Stanford Anderson, head of the An expert in chemical kinetics, Green uses detailed Department of Architecture, was presented the chemistry, quantum mechanical calculations and Freeman’s current research interests include 2004 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Archi- advanced numerical methods to build accurate simula- machine learning applied to computer vision and inter- tecture Education by the American Institute of tions. These make it possible to predict chemical kinet- active applications of computer vision. His previous Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate ics even when no experimental data are available, and research topics include steerable filters and pyramids, Schools of Architecture. The Topaz Medallion hon- thus to design rationally new engines, fuels and chemi- color constancy, and computer vision for computer ors an individual who has made outstanding con- cal manufacturing processes. games. He holds 18 patents. tributions to architectural education for at least 10 years. Anderson founded the Ph.D. program in architecture and has taught for more than 40 years, concentrating on history and architecture. The AIA Saman Amarasinghe cited Anderson’s “intellectual and institutional lead- Tommi Jaakkola ership. He has made history and theory relevant to Electrical engineering and practice and education. Graduates of the MIT pro- computer science Electrical engineering and gram practice, teach and govern all over the world.” computer science Education: B.Sc. 1988 (Cor- Cisco Systems presented the Cisco Achieve- nell University), M.S. 1990 Education: M.Sc. 1992 (Hel- ment Program Award to Varun Parmar, a gradu- and Ph.D. 1997 (both from sinki University of Technol- ate student in the Systems Design and Manage- Stanford University). ogy), Ph.D. 1997 (MIT). ment program. Parmar, who has an internship at the company while conducting his thesis research, Joined MIT faculty: 1997 Joined MIT faculty: 1998 received the award for his contribution to the re- design of Cisco’s optical technology supply chain. “Varun has gone way beyond the level of performance expected of an intern by challenging the sta- Amarasinghe specializes in the areas of programming tus quo of our business and initiating fundamental languages and compilers. His chief interests are com- Jaakkola’s primary research areas include statistical changes in the way we do business in the optical piler optimizations, computer architectures, software inference and estimation, machine learning and compu- networking group,” said Andrew Buckley of Cisco. engineering and parallel computing. Amarasinghe is tational biology. “Cisco could not have made many of these men- currently working with some of his students on a solu- tal leaps without his tremendous understanding of tion to the Internet worm problem. supply chain principles and his outstanding ability to influence.” PAGE 6 September 29, 2004 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk Alumni make heels for pain-free fashion Dave Enders Alumni Association

Love the look of high heels, but can't stand the pain? MIT alumni Brian G.R. Hughes (S.B. 1977) and Paul Rudovsky (S.B. 1966) believe a long overdue injection of high-tech engineering called Insolia® may be just what the foot doctor ordered. “It's classic MIT approach. This is a fundamental problem to which people have assumed there is no solution,” said Hughes. Hughes and Rudovsky met while serving on the MIT Corporation in 1996, and neither of the former Alumni Association presidents expected to be involved in the fashion industry. Hughes’ resumé includes building the first private trans-Atlantic telecommunication system and running his own hybrid rocket development company. Rudovsky has served as CFO of several public and private companies as well as CEO of a clothing manufacturer. Ironically, it was Hughes, the former rocket builder, who approached Rudovsky about investing in HBN Shoe, makers of shoes that contain Insolia, a “weight-shift” technology invented by a New Hampshire-based podiatrist. By 2002, HBN (named after partners Howard Dananberg, the podiatrist, and MIT alumni Beth Marcus and Nick Soloway) had switched from a grassroots marketing strategy to a technology licensing strategy and Rudovsky had signed on as CFO. Currently, Insolia is already utilized in women's shoes sold in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Cana- da and the Czech Republic. The ramp of pain PHOTO / AMBER NOVAK All podiatrists know the problem with high heels. Stan- Alumnus Brian Hughes, chairman of Insolia shoe company, explains the engineering used in his product to make high dard construction of the shoes creates a “ramp effect”— heel shoes more comfortable. the foot slides toward the toe box, creating continuous pressure on the digits and ball of the foot. Bunions, hammer toes and a painful thickening of the nerves between the contact area and reduces the peak force by 50 percent. May in Amalfi brand high heels. Only the Insolia logo on the toes as well as ankle, knee and back pain often result. It creates the very strong illusion that you are wearing a the sole or trying them on will reveal the cup-and-bump But what if the ramp could shift more weight back to heel that is about half the height of the one you are actu- technology, Hughes noted. the heel? Using F-Scan, a flexible computer pressure map- ally wearing.” “My working definition of success will be when I walk ping system, Dananberg created Insolia—insole boards High-heeled shoes with Insolia technology look out- into Saks Fifth Avenue and watch somebody look at a pair that put the foot in optimal position at various specific heel wardly just like their punitive kin. But inside—a world of of shoes and the first thing they do is look on the bottom heights. for our logo,” said Hughes. The Insolia formula combines a heel cup with a precise- difference awaits. Blind studies commonly result in Insolia ly located mid-sole bump. As Hughes explained it, “about wearers describing a “thick, wonderful padding. But there 25 percent of the weight that would have slid down to the is no padding. It’s all geometry,” said Hughes. A version of this article appeared on the MIT Alumni toe remains back at the heel. Cupping the heel increases Insolia made its American debut in Nordstrom stores in Association’s web site. I-Teams course readies technologies for market Lauren Clark “MIT is so big when it comes to innova- ogy to market. In the process, the students ship Center also provide support for the School of Engineering tion. I wanted to experience it myself by experience the “intangible human element teams. Course instructors are Zolot; Pro- doing it,” said Darrel Quah, a student in of entrepreneurial team formation,” said fessor Charles Cooney, faculty director of the Systems Design and Management pro- Zolot. the Deshpande Center; and Edward Rob- Graduate students who dream of bring- gram who is involved in a project develop- In the next phase of the course, each erts, the David Sarnoff Professor of Man- ing technologies from the test tube to the ing low-cost X-ray systems. team tests and re-tests its commercializa- agement of Technology. market can learn how to do it in a new The syllabus is designed to reflect the tion strategy. Guided by the labs’ principal I-Teams projects for the fall semester hands-on course called “i-Teams.” The way early entrepreneurship works. “You investigators, faculty from MIT's Entre- are: course kicks off officially tonight (Sept. don’t spend all semester thinking about preneurship Center and leaders from the • Low-cost X-ray systems: a low-cost x- 29), after a rigorous, three-week team- your grand vision and then present it. You local business community, the graduate ray imaging system made with off-the-shelf building process. present your grand vision in the second students identify a market for their lab’s consumer digital imaging equipment that I-Teams (short for Innovation Teams) is week and then test it,” said Zolot. “The scientific breakthrough, develop an intel- could be used in the developing world; a joint product of the Sloan School and the most important thing the students do is go lectual property strategy, perform compet- • Microfluidic platform for biological School of Engineering. Each i-Team con- out and talk to potential customers, licens- itive analysis and identify the appropriate assays: a microfluidics-based hybridiza- sists of four to six graduate students who ees, partners, competitors.” business model. tion platform for faster, easier biological develop go-to-market strategies for inno- When they apply for the course, stu- The end result is a go-to-market plan assays; vations created in Institute laboratories dents must show that they have profes- that might actually go somewhere. For • Fuel cell breakthrough: an innovative using grants from the Deshpande Center sional or research experience relevant to example, the members of Active Joint approach to fuel cells and metal-air bat- for Technological Innovation. their chosen lab. Brace, the company that won last spring’s teries that could break the cost barriers “Everybody talks about how MIT They spend the first three sessions $50K Entrepreneurship Competition, cred- impeding mass marketing of these devic- innovation and ingenuity have fueled building teams according to Professor ited their accomplishment to their par- es; the engine of American commerce, but Deborah Ancona’s “X-Teams” philosophy, ticipation in a pilot of the i-Teams course. • Colloidal crystals in minutes: rapid, nobody understands how that happens,” which emphasizes flexibility. They hash Active Joint Brace is developing an electro- cost-effective fabrication that could enable said Ken Zolot, a senior lecturer at Sloan out the roles—leader, technology special- mechanical orthotic device that augments a wide range of new applications, such as who is an i-Team instructor. “How do ist, marketing specialist—that each team physical capability in people with spinal catalysis, drug delivery and photonics; you go from being a scientist in a lab to a member will play as a company founder. cord injuries and other disabilities. • Powering the world’s cellular net- founder of a company, taking raw data and The idea is to put together the most effec- The MIT Venture Capital and Private works: amplifiers based on a new ribbon- figuring out how to benefit society with it?” tive team possible for bringing a technol- Equity Club, and the MIT Entrepreneur- beam vacuum tube technology.

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M-Th 3-7:30 pm, flexible hours. $10- to Porter Square T stop. T1 access, multi- at 978-692-4764 (8-4) or 978-957-2774 (after Goldstone at 617-905-9188 or goldston@mit. 15/hr. [email protected] or Catherine Kostecki media conference room, other amenities. 4:30) or [email protected] edu. at 617-265-7170. MIT Tech Talk ARTS September 29, 2004 PAGE 7 List launches season with trio of shows The List Visual Arts Center launches curator Bill Arning, consists of several its season with three new shows and an installation components including “The opening reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Slide Rule Man,” an MIT audio recording Thursday, Oct. 7. The shows will be on from the 1960s of a man who traveled to view through Dec. 31. Artist talks, film science-based schools inscribing students’ nights and special gallery tours will accom- names on their slide rules. pany the exhibitions. One of Wyn Evans’ pieces, “WMBR Radio Station,” is the original 1960’s wood- The Aging Body paneled broadcast studio from WMBR, “Body Parts: A Self-Portrait by John MIT’s radio station. The piece pays Coplans” showcases a series of 26 large- respect to technologies that were around scale, fragmented self-portraits of the art- before the Internet, when radio was a ist’s aging body taken shortly before his more important tool for communication. death in August 2003. On this equipment, the station explored A noted art critic and curator for most disco and reggae in 1974 and punk in 1976. of his career, Coplans abandoned these “The major themes of Wyn Evans’ work— pursuits in 1980 to become, at age 60, an information, poetry, art, science and com- almost immediately successful photogra- munication—are all incorporated in these pher. Intent on an unusual process of self- exquisite relics,” said Arning. investigation and cultural reflection, he told Art Journal in 1990 that “the principal Filming Israel thing is the question of how our culture Israeli artist Yael Bartana focuses on views age: that old is ugly.” the activities and rituals of everyday life Coplan’s work reveals the tectonics of in Israel. She is particularly interested in physical aging—the wrinkles and sags, rituals that may be unfamiliar to an inter- hairlessness and varicose veins—but in national audience and in uncovering the a way that one critic called “mercilessly underlying themes within them. This solo beautiful.” “I don’t really deal with old age exhibition, organized by Farver, includes per se,” said Coplans. “It’s only a condition three short works, “When Adar Enters” I’m in that I have to make use of the best (2004), “Kings of the Hill” (2003) and “Ad I can.” De’lo Yoda” (2003). PHOTO / COURTESY ANNET GELINK GALLERY, AMSTERDAM The exhibition was organized by Bartana shot “When Adar Enters” Charles Stainback, director of SITE Santa in March 2003 in the Orthodox district A still from the film “When Adar Enters” by Yael Bartana shows a young boy celebrating Purim. Fe, and List Center Director Jane Farver, of Israel’s Jerusalem and Bnei-Brak dur- in collaboration with the artist. ing the holiday of Purim. The Festival of Purim commemorates victory over oppres- Poetry and science sion as recounted in the book of Esther. Welsh artist Cerith Wyn Evans’ new In this film, children celebrate Purim by site-specific projects explore the complex dressing in costumes that reveal Israel’s relationships between image and word, history. By contrast, “Ad De’lo Yoda” Arts provost explores Isaac poetry and science, and spoken and writ- depicts a solitary young man watching ten language. The List Center’s exhibition, others celebrate Purim. “Kings of the Hill” “Cerith Wyn Evans: Thoughts unsaid, now is a single-screen video installation based forgotten…” is presented simultaneously on a time-honored children’s game. Men Newton in new play with a selection of Wyn Evans’ work at the in four-wheel drive conveyances converge Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). Evans will on the dusty coastal hills outside Tel Aviv An alchemist who believed he had oughly medieval mind, a man who may give an artist’s talk on Saturday, Oct. 9 at and attempt to scale the most precipitous unearthed revelation, Sir Isaac Newton well have believed he was the prophet noon at the List Center. slopes in their SUVs. was a genius with a medieval mind in the of God. I realized I needed to deal with The List presentation, organized by beginning of the modern age, obsessed more than the Leibniz controversy to with finding the unity of God’s design begin to explore his rich contradictions,” through science, alchemy and the Bible. he said. Such is the premise of “Small Infini- The Underground Railway Theater in ties,” a new play by Alan Brody, associ- association with the MIT Office of the TAP ate provost for the arts, that explores the Arts will present a stage reading of the Continued from Page 1 life and paradox of the father of modern play on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in decompressor) took outgoing audio and science. Room 10-250. Jon Lipsky will direct the exchange of expertise,” said Brody. video and converted it into bits suitable for “I was originally urged to write a reading, which will feature actor Richard Brody, a playwright and novelist, collab- transmission on a data network. Simultane- play about the Leibniz-Newton contro- McElvain as Newton. orated with Edwin Thumboo, a poet and ously the CODEC reconstructed incoming versy over priority of the invention of The reading will be followed by a dis- director of the Center for Fine Arts at the data and sent it to the large video screens the calculus,” said Brody. “As I began cussion with panelists from the Greater National University of Singapore, to shape and sound system in each room, on which to research the material, I became more Boston theater and science communi- the innovative project. The two men met dancers and audience saw and heard the and more fascinated by Newton, the ties, moderated by physicist/novelist when Brody visited Singapore. proceedings,” Hess explained. man,” he said. Alan Lightman. The choreographers had neither met The network SMA used for the collabo- “Here was the post-renaissance —Mary Haller, Office of the Arts nor e-mailed before Tuesday’s rhythm ration was Internet2, a high-speed version father of modern science with a thor- chat, so they had to rely on the language of the Internet dedicated to research and of dance. DeFrantz’s instructions to Tol- educational uses. bert and Backus and to Loo’s group in Sin- The event also highlighted student gapore were, more or less, “digga-dot-dot. partnerships, as MIT and Singapore stu- Yah-bah, yah-bah, oh! Right foot! Inside dents discussed balancing their studies turn!” and dancing. Both MIT dancers said they Miraculously, across 12 time zones find art and science mutually nourishing. ‘Beyond Exile’ focuses on and 10,000 miles, Patrick Loo smiled, lay New Hampshire native Backus started down his microphone, and reproduced square dancing when he came to MIT and DeFrantz’s tap sequence, more or less, has been tapping for only three years. For creativity in Central Europe with his six dancers in sneakers and satin him, choreography has become a “pas- sweats. sion,” he said. “How could I not dance? Foreign Languages and Literatures Later, DeFrantz, Tolbert and Backus Dancing is healthy and creative. It helps and The Center for Bilingual/Bicultural replicated Loo’s hip-hop sequence. Accord- me in doing science.” Studies are hosting a month-long festival ing to DeFrantz, there is a lot of corre- Tolbert, of Maryland, has been danc- of film, poetry and politics titled “Beyond lation between hip-hop and tapping. “Hip- ing since age two. A believer in “practice Exile: Central European Writing and hop is the rhythm universe. Tap is talking and more practice, since the show must Film.” with your feet. Both a tap dancer and a go on,” Tolbert said he hopes to combine On Monday, Oct. 4, poet, novelist and good rap M.C. must have something to say computer science and dance in graduate essayist Adam Zagajewski, called the “pre- and say it in a jazzy, articulate way.” work. eminent Polish poet of his generation” by Steven Lerman, SMA deputy director The dancers in Loo’s Singapore group The New Republic, will present a reading and professor of civil and environmental balance weekly rehearsals with course at 7 p.m. in Room 32-155 in the Stata Cen- engineering, described the “Moves” dance loads in medicine, science and social sci- ter. exchange as an “example of MIT at its ences, they said. Zagajewski was born in Lvov in 1945, best.” The student dancers in both perfor- a largely Polish city that became a part of “It combined the use of advanced tech- mances used the same gestures to express the Soviet Ukraine shortly after his birth. nologies with our long-standing interest in their feelings while learning new moves— His ethnic Polish family, which had lived weaving the arts throughout our students’ hands on hips for frustration; ‘V’s for vic- for centuries in Lvov, was forcibly repatri- experiences here,” said Lerman. “It also tory and the right hand tapping the heart ated to Poland. His most recent books are linked us with our partners in the Sin- to denote affection, respect and goodwill. “Canvas and Mysticism for Beginners,” gapore-MIT Alliance in a way that went “Moves Across the Water” ended “Two Cities and Another Beauty” and ‘outside the box’ of teaching engineering with the now-global practice of a hurried “Without End: New and Selected Poems,” courses and working collaboratively on exchange of e-mail addresses. which was nominated for a 2002 National research.” The next SMA arts event will be a dia- Book Critics Circle Award. Zagajewski is “Dancers in both locations performed logue on writing and cultural identity with also the author of a book of essays and in specially equipped videoconference Thumboo and Brody reading from their literary sketches. rooms, much like small TV studios, with work. In the spring, George Ruckert will On Tuesday, Oct. 5, Zagajewski will special lighting, remotely controlled TV share his expertise on Indian music with join fellow poets Robert Pinsky, U.S. Poet Politics” at 6 p.m. at Boston University’s cameras and wireless microphones,” said an Indian dance specialist at NUS, and Laureate 1997-2000, and Derek Walcott, Photonics Center (8 St. Mary’s St.). Pinsky Peter Hess, SMA faculty liaison. “Behind MIT’s Gamelan Galak Tika will share its winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for litera- and Walcott are both professors of English the scenes, a CODEC (compressor/ work with the NUS gamelan ensemble. ture, in a conversation titled “Poetry and and Creative Writing at Boston University. PAGE 8 September 29, 2004 CALENDAR MIT Tech Talk

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 3

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY September 29 September 30 October 1 October 2 October 3

Science/ Performance Architecture/ Humanities Haiti: Moving Telling It Like Voting Fresh Pond Mooncake Technology Planning Forward It Is: Student Technology Clean-Up Festival After Failed Activism at Conference Join Sloan Celebration Transitions MIT during the MIT Votes, alumni in clean- Eat mooncakes Myrtho Bonhomme, Vietnam War Caltech/MIT Voting ing up trails at Fresh and play with lanterns advisor to the Prime Last day for display of Technology Project. Pond in Cambridge. with MIT Singaporean Music Exhibit Reading Special Minister of Haiti. Center posters from the cam- 8:30am-8pm. Room Registration required. students. Dinner provid- Interest for International Studies. pus-wide protest in the 32-141. Picnic lunch provided. ed. 7-10pm. Lobby 10. Noon-1:30pm. Wong 1970s. 10am-5pm. Free 9:30am-1pm. Fresh Auditorium. 253-8306. with an MIT ID. MIT Men’s Varsity Pond, Cambridge. 508- “Fahrenheit Museum. 253-4444. Tennis hosts 858-3140. 9/11” How to ITA New LSC. $3. 7pm. Business/ Film Sports Featured Understand Transportation England Volunteer on Room 26-100. Money Event Syrian Politics: Fair Championship the Esplanade 253-3791. One Historian’s 11am-1pm. Begins 9am Friday, Join the View Lobby 10. 253- Saturday and Sunday. du Graduate Movie Night in Dean Philip Khoury. 9325. Pont Tennis Courts, Carr Student Volunteer Corps the Sukkah Secuity Studies Program. Tennis Bubble, Johnson for a day of painting Bring a jacket Noon-1:30pm. Room Emergency Athletic Center. 258- and pruning along the and blanket E38-615. 452-2542. Room 5265. Esplanade. 10am-2pm. and watch “The Big Overcrowding: Charles River Esplanade, Lebowski” in the sukkah. Why Must An OR Analysis Alumni Boston. 7:30pm. Kresge Oval. Globalization Linda Green. Operations Leadership Be Just? Research Center. 4:15- Conference Varsity International Talk by Frank 5:15pm. Room E40-298. Workshops, Football vs. Folk Dancing Garcia of BC Law 253-7412. networking events and Curry College (participatory) School. 5:30-7pm. Room presentation. $25 admis- Noon. Folk Dance 4-237. 253-3121. Ask a Health sion. Free for MIT staff. Steinbrenner Stadium. Club. Admission $1; MIT/ Educator Noon-9pm. Various cam- 258-5265. Wellesley free. 8-11pm. “The Silences Zan Barry, MIT pus locations. 253-8246. Student Center, Lobdell of the Palace” health educator. Dining Hall. 253-FOLK. 1996 Tunisian 4:30pm. Student Center, Frontiers of film. 6pm. third floor coffeehouse. Biotechnology “Dodgeball: A Room 3-133. 258-8438. 253-3646. Lecture in True Underdog Chemical Story” Serving Engineering LSC. $3. 10pm. Smart City Cars International Douglas Cameron, Room 26-100. 253-3791. Needs BioTDC, Cargill, Inc. An exhibition of images of concept cars for the 21st Find out about talks about the emer- century by the Smart Cities Group at the MIT Media international grant gence of a renew- Laboratory is on view at the Wolk Gallery (Room 7-338) opportunities during able, feedstock-based through Oct. 15. summer and IAP through chemical industry. 3:30- the Public Service 4:30pm. Room 66-110. Center. 7-9pm. Room 253-6500. 4-231. 258-0691.

Go Online! For complete events listings, see the MIT Events Calendar at: http://events.mit.edu. Go Online! Ofﬁce of the Arts website at: http://web.mit.edu/arts/ofﬁce.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

WHAT’S WRONG THE 2004 IG NOBEL WHAT’S THAT HUT? WITH THE VOTING Sept. 30 INFORMAL Oct. 2 Oct. 4 PROCESS? LECTURES Overview of technology and Student Center Brief and high-spirited lec- Room 34-101 Open House at the MIT Kresge Oval logistics in U.S. elections. Mezzanine Lounge tures from the 2004 Ig Nobel Sukkah. Sponsored by MIT 1 p.m. 4 - 6 p.m. Caltech-MIT Voting Project. winners. 253-5249. Hillel. 253-2982. 7 - 9 p.m.

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS OCTOBER 4 - 10

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 October 9 October 10

Mars 30th Artists Behind Black Alumni Weekly Anime Artist’s Talk: Padmashri Settlement Anniversary of the Desk of MIT Screening Cerith Wyn Neeraj Ji Brain- Inter-University Writers Janni Conference MIT Anime Club Evans India’s national storming Committee on Moselsky and 8am-6pm, Oct. presents the Presented in poet reads Help plan the first International Migration Marielle Risse read from 7-10. Various campus best of Japanese anima- conjunction with exhibit from his work and signs permanent settlement Mamphela Ramphele, their work. Noon-1pm. locations. 324-0379. tion. 7pm-midnight, Rm at List Visual Arts Center. books. Sangam. 3-7pm. constructed on another former managing director Killian Hall. 253-9821. 6-120. Noon. LVAC. 253-4680. $10 MIT, $15 others. world. 6-8pm. Bldg 33, of the World Bank, will MIT Chapel first floor. deliver keynote address. The Changing Concert “Faust” Men’s Soccer International 4:30-6pm. Wong Nature of State Leonora Murnau film with vs. Babson Folk Dancing “7 Up South Auditorium. 253-8306. Sponsorship Quartet. Noon. score performed College (participatory) Africa” of Terrorism MIT Chapel. 253-9800. by MIT lecturer Steinbrenner Dance les- Screening Poetry and Daniel Byman, Martin Marks and sung Stadium. 1pm. sons 8-9pm, followed and talk Politics Georgetown Univ. Noon- Brunel Lecture by Professor Ellen Harris. by open dancing until by filmmaker Angus Panelists Robert 1:30pm. Room E38-615. on Complex $15. 7pm. Harvard Univ., “Spider Man 11pm. Students free; Gibson. 7pm. Room 4- Pinsky, Derek 452-2542. Systems Carpenter Center, 24 2” $1 others. Lobdell. 253- 231. 253-2341. Walcott and Adam Dean Thomas Quincy St, Cambridge. LSC. $3. MIT. 7 FOLK. Zagajewski. Part of the Starr Lecture Magnanti speaks on (617) 495-4700. and 10pm. and Poetry “Beyond Exile: Central “Aerosols, “Engineering Engineering Sunday at 10pm. Room Reading European Writing and Clouds, and Systems.” 3:30-4:30pm. “Super Size 26-100. 253-3791. by Adam Film” symposium. 6pm. Climate: Does Room 34-401. 253-9756. Me” Zagajewski Boston Univ., 8 St. a Cooler Past Imply a LSC. $3. 7pm Halloween Ball Part of the “Beyond Mary’s St., Boston. Hotter Future?” Meinrat MIT Women’s Friday and Costumes Exile: Central European O. Andrea. 4-5pm. Wong Chorale Sunday. Room 26-100. encour- Writing and Film” sym- On Production Auditorium. 253-3382. New members 253-3791. aged, but not posium. 7pm. Stata Architecture welcome until required. Dance lesson Center, Room 155. lecture by Marc “Kandahar” Oct 21. 7:45-10pm. Comedy at 7:30pm. Sponsored 253-4771. Angelil. 6:30pm. 2001 Room 10-340. 253-1614. Collage by MIT Ballroom Dance Room 10-250. 253-7791. Afghanistan Professional Team. 8pm-midnight. Music Under movie. 6pm. comedians. Lobdell. $6 students, the Stars “Yizo Yizo” Room 3-133. 258-8438. $3. 7:15pm. Kresge $10 others. An evening Screening and Auditorium. 225-7427. of live music talk by film- “Small and kosher food in the maker Angus Infinities” MIT Sukkah. 8-10pm. Gibson. 7pm. Stata Stage reading Kresge Oval. Open to Center, Room 124. 253- of play about all graduate students. 2341. Isaac Newton by Alan 253-2982. Brody. 7:30pm. Rm 10- 250.