Volume 49 – Number 14 Wednesday – January 12, 2005 TechTalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY

Reaching out in wake of tsunami Reduction in Students, staff raise money to help rebuild Southeast Asia chemo doses Denise Brehm your family members and your friends. Let has seen at MIT. “When we see students and us know if we can help in any way.” donating a crumpled dollar bill dug from Sasha Brown The MIT Alumni Association has set the pocket of their jeans, it is really touch- is a real News Office up an electronic message board for alumni ing, because it perhaps represents their and other community members to gain lunch money,” said Jonnalagadda, adding information about friends and family from that some people have been very emo- possibility MIT has about 300 students and South Asia. tional, which has been especially moving. many other researchers and alumni from Community groups have also initiated “Really, it is not the dollar amount of the Christina Yoon India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and fund-raising campaigns to send money to donation that is so touching, it is the con- Center for Cancer Research other countries in Southeast Asia where the regions hardest hit to support humani- cern that they show,” she said. coastal areas were destroyed by the tsu- tarian relief efforts following the tragedy. AID is planning a dinner and silent auc- nami. Many of these members of the MIT tion to be held in Walker Memorial on Jan. MIT biologists may have found a community may have been visiting their Student groups join together 20 at 7 p.m. All proceeds will go towards way to decrease the dose of chemo- homes when the tsunami crashed onto Working together, three student orga- tsunami relief. AID-MIT has also set up a therapeutic agents needed to tackle land Dec. 26. nizations at MIT—the Association for web site to post updates from the volun- cancer, a feat that would also reduce Like countless families around the India’s Development-MIT (AID-MIT), San- teers at their Chennai branch. Donations toxic side effects. world, MIT is taking pains to contact stu- gam, and South Asian American Students can be made via the Sangam web site. Cancer cells are unique because dents and other community members who (SAAS)—set up donation collection booths they divide faster than ordinary cells; were in the area during the disaster. in Lobby 10 and the Student Center begin- Sri Lankan students pitch in this also makes them susceptible to The International Students Office sent ning Jan. 3, collecting donations to aid sur- Additional funds are being collected chemotherapy. While chemotherapy an e-mail to students from affected coun- vivors of the tsunami that is estimated to by the Sri Lankan Student Association is an effective treatment against fast- tries on Dec. 29, asking them to “let us have killed more than 156,000 people in 11 (SLSA), which has raised nearly $1,400 in growing tumors, it is also associated know that you are okay.” Just over 80 of different countries. donations they collected at a booth in the with toxic side effects because of the those students have responded to date, The groups have raised close to $2,000. lobby of Building E25. They will continue high doses required to be effective. according to Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, They plan to use some of the funds to to collect money over the coming months Researchers from MIT’s Center director and associate dean for internation- purchase a community fishing boat, to help with the reconstruction effort, said for Cancer Research have suggested al students. She anticipates hearing from along with a supply of nets. The supplies former SLSA president and postdoctoral a new approach to achieving the same many more students as phone and com- would be donated to a fishing cooperative associate Sanith Wijesinghe, who received response using a lower dose of che- puter service is slowly restored to those so many fishermen would benefit. With his Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics motherapy, thereby limiting the harm- areas. estimates from AID’s contacts in Chen- in 2003. He is from Colombo, Sri Lanka, ful side effects of the drugs. Their “Though we are tremendously dis- nai, India, they expect the total cost to be just under 15 miles from the coast; he approach involves making cancer cells tressed as we see the rise in casualties and around $3,000, said AID’s Vidya Jonnal- planned to travel to his country on Jan. 6 more sensitive to these agents. the horrific photos of the devastation, our agadda, a postdoctoral associate in biologi- to assess the situation himself and report In a paper published in the Jan. 7 deepest hope is that a natural disaster of cal engineering who is from Hyderabad in back to the SLSA on his findings. issue of Molecular Cell, a research this scale presents an opportunity for all southern India. See CHEMO nations to work together to assist their fel- Jonnalagadda, who has been collecting See TSUNAMI low human beings in need,” the letter said. donations in Lobby 10, said she felt over- Page 5 Page 4 “Our thoughts and prayers are with you, whelmed by the generosity and caring she MIT Museum measures up

The MIT Museum now has more than 600 historic slide rules in its permanent collection, representing a major resource for scholars and collectors. After several months of negotiations, InteliCoat Tech- nologies of South Hadley, Mass., selected the museum to be the permanent repository of the Keuffel & Esser Com- pany Slide Rule Collection. Through a series of mergers, InteliCoat, which man- ufactures coated papers, films and specialty substrates, acquired the remaining assets—including the slide rule collection—of Keuffel & Esser of Hoboken, N.J., the most significant manufacturer of slide rules in the U.S. Inteli- Coat executives Robert Champigny and Charles E. Quin- by decided to find an appropriate home for the collection and selected the MIT Museum. “We feel there’s no better place than MIT, one of the world’s premier engineering schools, for this historic col- lection,” said Quinby, director of quality, commercializa- tion and technical support. “And we are very excited that it will be preserved and accessible. Visitors, especially younger people such as my children, will learn to appreci- ate the slide rule’s role in shaping our world.” “It is a privilege to serve as the first steward of this col- lection,” says Deborah Douglas, the museum’s curator of science and technology. “It has a strong emotional appeal PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY to the MIT community, but to be provocative, one could Deborah Douglas, curator of science and technology for the MIT Museum, studies some of the 600 historic slide rules argue that the slide rule is the most important technology recently donated to the museum. Douglas is demonstrating a seven-foot slide rule that was used for teaching. of the 20th century that historians have not studied.”

PEOPLE RESEARCH ARTS

PROFESSORIAL HONORS DOING QUALITY WORK CELEBRATED FAILURE Charles Stewart is the new head of political science. Plastics help environmentalists monitor the health of St. Louis’ infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing project is the John Dower of history receives the prestigious Mellon Boston Harbor. subject of MIT exhibit. Distinguished Achievement Award for scholarship. Page 4 Page 7 Page 2 THE FINAL FRONTIER TIPPING THEIR WORLD SCIENCE STUDENTS MAKE MARKS Giant telescope eyes other solar systems while Alumna dancer returns to campus to tilt the dance Senior wins national math prize, and physics scientists monitor spacetime warp. floor beneath performers. students represent the U.S. at historical conference. Page 5 Page 7 Page 2 PAGE 2 January 12, 2005 PEOPLE MIT Tech Talk Stewart will head Dower awarded political science dept. Mellon prize Professor Charles Stewart III, a politi- moment I first walked into the place, over Sarah H. Wright rial Prize in Japan. cal scientist with expertise in legislative 20 years ago, I’ve known it to be support- News Office In 1986, he was executive producer politics, American political development ive of the unique strengths of each of its of “Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshi- and voting procedures and technology, students and faculty. ma,” a documentary film that was nomi- was named the new head of the MIT “We have a history of department heads John W. Dower, the Ford Internation- nated for an Academy Award. His 1979 Department of Politi- who have nurtured this sup- al Professor of History, has been award- book “Empire and Aftermath: Yoshida cal Science, effective portive environment, which ed a Mellon Distinguished Achievement Shigeru and the Japanese Experience, Jan. 1. is unusual among major Award in recognition of scholarship that 1878-1954,” became a bestseller in Japa- In making the research-oriented political has contributed decisively to the study nese translation. announcement, Philip science departments. My of history and promises to influence Dower’s recent and planned proj- S. Khoury, the Kenan only hope is that I can keep teaching and learning in the humanities ects move from the printed page to the Sahin Dean of the this tradition alive, to help at large. interactive and visually lively screen. In School of Humanities, support the intense curiosity Dower was formally notified on Dec. 2002, he and Shigeru Miyagawa, MIT Arts and Social Sci- of the people who have come 17 that he had won the prestigious professor of linguistics and Japanese, ences (SHASS) and a to work and study here,” he humanities award, which provides developed several projects, including an professor of history, said. funds of up to $1.5 million to deepen online course and an exhibit on Com- said he was “extreme- His courses include Intro- and extend humanis- modore Perry’s “black ly pleased. duction to Congressional tic scholarship over a ships,” which makes “Having worked Politics, The Political Sci- three-year period. The use of text wrapped with Charles in recent ence Laboratory and Public funds will be granted around visual materi- years in his capacity as Policy Seminar for Washing- to, and overseen by, als. associate dean of the ton Interns. MIT. “Our course, ‘Visu- School of Humanities, Since 2000, Stewart has Philip S. Khoury, the alizing Cultures,’ will Arts and Social Sci- been a participant in the Kenan Sahin Dean of be the model for this ences, I am sure that Caltech/MIT Voting Tech- the School of Humani- new way of using tech- he will bring the same nology Project, in which he ties, Arts and Social nology to present com- excellent leadership to Charles Stewart III has concentrated on analyz- Sciences and professor plex academic mate- the department that ing the policy implications of history, said, “John rial,” said Dower. “I’d he has exercised on behalf of the school,” of the rise of absentee and early voting in Dower is so deserving like to see this work Khoury said. the United States, in addition to estimating of the Mellon Distin- made accessible in the Stewart, who served as associate dean the number of votes that go uncounted in guished Achievement public realm; I’d like it of SHASS since February 2001, came presidential elections due to shortcomings Award. He is widely to become a new way to MIT in 1985. He received the Everett in voting technologies. considered the most of doing public educa- Moore Baker Memorial Award for Excel- He has served on the HASS Over- distinguished historian tion.” lence in Undergraduate Teaching in 1989, view Committee and chaired the Work- of modern Japan and of The Mellon funds was elected to the second class of MacVic- ing Group on the HASS Requirement. He Japanese-U.S. relations will be especially help- ar Faculty Fellows in 1993 and received served on the Institute’s Task Force on in the West.” ful in offsetting the a Class of 1960 Innovation in Education Student Life and Learning, chaired the The Mellon funds John W. Dower costs of developing the Award in 2000. He has been the under- Committee on the Undergraduate Pro- come “right at the point “Visualizing Cultures” graduate officer in political science since gram, and was associate chair of the Presi- when it looks like we can take off with a project, which had received internal 1993 and has been the faculty director of dential Task Force on the Undergraduate project to wed humanities at MIT with MIT support through the d’Arbeloff the MIT Washington Summer Internship Educational Commons. new technological opportunities and Fund for Excellence in MIT Education, Program since he helped found it in 1994. Khoury acknowledged his personal change the way we talk about and teach Dower noted. “This work is expensive. Along with his wife, Kathryn M. Hess, gratitude to Joshua Cohen, the Goldberg historical materials,” Dower said. It’s exciting to be able to take it to the Stewart has been housemaster of McCor- Professor of Humanities and a professor Dower specializes in the history of next level,” Dower said. mick Hall since 1992. of political science and philosophy, “for his Japan. He is the author of “Embracing Dower, 66, came to MIT in 1991. A “I’m excited by this opportunity to eight years of inspired leadership of the Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War Fellow of the American Academy of help lead a great department of interna- department.” II,” winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize Arts and Sciences, he received the B.A. tional standing,” said Stewart. “From the –Sarah H. Wright and the National Book Award, among from Amherst College and the M.A. and other prizes. His other books include Ph.D. from Harvard University. At MIT, “War Without Mercy: Race and Power he was the Henry R. Luce Professor of in the Pacific War,” winner of the 1986 International Cooperation from 1991-96 National Critics’ Circle Award for non- and the Elting E. Morison Professor of Students represent U.S. at fiction and the Masayoshi Ohira Memo- History from 1996-2003. historic physics conference Senior wins math prize Three MIT undergraduates and a proved the existence of atoms and mol- recent alumna will represent the United ecules, validated the emerging field of Reid Barton, a senior in mathematics pattern research in combinatorics, an area States at a conference in Paris this week quantum mechanics, and developed the at MIT, has been awarded the 2004 Frank of considerable current interest. Com- where Nobel laureates and other eminent theory of special relativity, which led to and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstand- mentators consider Barton’s paper the scientists, and 500 outstanding students the most famous equation ever written, ing Research in Mathematics by an Under- best paper so far on packing densities, and from 80 countries will discuss the future of E=mc2. graduate Student. praise it for its clarity, new techniques, and physics, the impact of physics on daily life, The United Nations has officially This prize, presented annually by the new results.” and the importance of physics research for declared 2005 the International Year of American Mathematical Society, the Math- Barton has won other competitions socio-economic development. Physics, and more than 30 nations are ematical Association of America, and the in math as well as computer program- “We are very proud of these students’ participating in the year-long celebrations Society for Industrial and Applied Math- ming. When still a freshman, he led an achievements. We are delighted that they with public lectures, museum exhibits and ematics was presented Jan. 6 at the Joint MIT team to a second-place finish in the chose to study physics here at MIT where educational projects. Mathematics Meetings in Atlanta, Ga. prestigious William Lowell Putnam inter- they have taken advantage of the breadth The four students affiliated with MIT Barton was honored for his paper collegiate mathematics competition. In of our research opportunities and the flex- received scholarships from U.S. phys- “Packing Densities of Patterns.” The prize 2004, the MIT team took first place in ibility of our programs,” said Thomas J. ics organizations to attend the historic citation states: “After resolving the basic the Putnam contest, the first time since Greytak, associate head of the Department meeting. They are Chintan Hossain, a conceptual issues elegantly, Barton delves 1979. Barton was on the MIT teams that of Physics. sophomore double major in physics and into the study of packing densities for won the ACM’s (American Computing The Jan. 13-15 Physics for Tomorrow brain and cognitive sciences; Benjamin specific families of layered patterns. He Machinery) regional computer program- conference officially launches the World Schwartz, slated to graduate in 2006 with proves several important results, some ming competitions in 2002 and 2003. The Year of Physics 2005. This international a degree in physics with electrical engi- generalizing earlier results by [other 2002 team placed second in the world at celebration is timed to coincide with the neering and math; Sean Markan, a junior mathematicians], some opening up new the ACM’s International Collegiate Pro- 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s studying physics, math and computer sci- vistas. gramming Contest that year. Barton also “miraculous year,” when he revolutionized ence; and Natalia Toro (S.B. 2003, physics “Barton also outlines a possible pro- placed third in Google’s 2004 Code Jam, much of science with three groundbreak- and math), who is now a physics graduate gram to tackle open questions and for- the company’s annual programming com- ing advances. student at Harvard. mulates new conjectures. This is all in all petition. One hundred years ago Einstein —Elizabeth Thomson a remarkable debut paper in the area of –Elizabeth Thomson

News Office Staff Tech Talk is published by the News Office on Wednesdays during term time except for HOW TO REACH US Director ...... Arthur Jones most Monday holiday weeks. See Production Schedule at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/ News Office Publisher Senior Communications Officer ...... Patti Richards techtalk-info.html. The News Office is in Room 11-400, Massachusetts Institute of Arthur Jones News Manager/Editor ...... To be appointed Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139-4307. Telephone: 617-253-2700 Associate Editor/Writer ...... Denise Brehm Postmaster: Send address changes to Mail Services, Building WW15, Massachusetts E-mail: [email protected] Interim Editor Assistant Director/ Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Science and Engineering News .... Elizabeth Thomson Denise Brehm Subscribers may call 617-252-1550 or send e-mail to [email protected]. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice Communications Officer ...... Kristen Collins Photojournalist Assistant Director/Photojournalist ...... Donna Coveney TechTalk is distributed free to faculty and staff offices and residence halls. It is also avail- Senior Writer ...... Sarah Wright able free in the News Office and the Information Center. Office of the Arts Donna Coveney Web Developer/Editor ...... Lisa Damtoft Domestic mail subscriptions are $25 per year, non-refundable. Checks should be made http://web.mit.edu/arts Reporter/Writer ...... Sash a Brown payable to MIT and mailed to Business Manager, Room 11-400, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Production Operations/Financial Administrator ...... Myles Crowley Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Roger Donaghy Administrative Assistant II ...... Mary Anne Hansen Administrative Assistant II ...... Patti Foley Periodical postage paid at Boston, MA. Permission is granted to excerpt or reprint any Printed on recycled paper material originated in Tech Talk. Computer Support Assistant ...... Roger Donaghy MIT Tech Talk NEWS January 12, 2005 PAGE 3

NEWS YOU CAN USE Political reporter will Arts fellowships The application deadline for the 2005 List Founda- tion Fellowship is Monday, Jan. 24. The fellowship speak at MLK breakfast offers an award of up to $5,000 for an MIT sophomore or junior for a year-long project in the performing, lit- erary, visual or media arts. The program is geared Political reporter Gwen Ifill will be the keynote speaker newscast, Ifill is a familiar presence as both a correspon- toward students who want to explore their personal, for MIT’s 31st annual celebration of the life and legacy of dent and a moderator. She helps provide its trademark racial and cultural identity through an exploration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in-depth coverage of current events with a unique mix of traditional and non-traditional art forms. During the The theme for this informed debates, comprehensive interviews and expan- fellowship, the student can work with a mentor with a year’s celebration is sive feature stories. Ifill spent several years as a Washing- background in their art form. Applicants must be U.S. “Justice and Equal- ton Week panelist before assuming the moderator’s chair citizens or permanent residents and remain in good ity for All: America’s in 1999. academic standing throughout the project. Interested Moral Dilemma.” Prior to joining PBS, Ifill served at NBC News for five students should e-mail [email protected] to set Ifill will deliver her years as chief congressional and political correspondent. up an appointment to discuss their application. More remarks at the cel- While at NBC she covered national political stories for information is available online at arts@mit. ebratory breakfast in NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Today, Meet the Walker Memorial’s Press and MSNBC. Arts grants available Morss Hall on Thurs- Ifill also worked as a reporter at papers such as The Friday, Jan. 28. is the deadline for the second day, Feb. 3 at 7:30 a.m. New York Times, where she covered the White House round of arts funding through the 2004-05 Council MIT President Susan and politics, The Washington Post, where her focus was for the Arts Grants Program. All students, faculty and Hockfield will host the national and local affairs, The Baltimore Evening Sun and staff may apply. Forms are available in the Office of breakfast. The Boston Herald American. the Arts (Room E15-205) or online at arts@mit. Ifill holds two Ifill grew up in New York City and lives in Wash- of the most highly ington, D.C. She is a graduate of Simmons College in respected posts in her Boston and has received eight honorary degrees. She MIT book catalog published field. She is moderator serves on the board of the Harvard Institute of Politics The MIT Press has created a new catalog exclu- and managing editor and the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College sively for the MIT community, featuring its MIT and of Washington Week, of Journalism. MIT-related titles. The catalog brings together for the the longest-running The breakfast honoring Martin Luther King is open first time new books, familiar books, and some less Gwen Ifill public affairs program to students and other members of the MIT community. well-known titles that MIT readers may enjoy dis- on public television, Space is limited and reservations must be made by Tues- covering. Titles range from MIT histories and social and senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim day, Feb. 1. To request an invitation, go to the MLKing commentaries to the entertaining “Nightwork,” a his- Lehrer. web site. tory of student hacks, and illustrated books about For Washington Week, Ifill selects each week’s stories Previous keynote speakers for the annual event include MIT and on Boston/Cambridge topics. The new cata- to examine, chooses each panel of leading Washington economist Julianne Malveaux (2004), NAACP chairman log—MIT @ The MIT Press—offers a special dis- D.C.-based news correspondents and moderates the lively Julian Bond (2003), commentator and author Tavis Smiley count on bulk purchases to encourage readers to buy Q&A format on air. Ifill is also frequently asked to moder- (2002), civil rights attorney and law professor Lani Guinier copies as gifts for campus visitors, family and others. ate debates in national elections, most recently the Vice (2001), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley To request a copy of the catalog, contact Erika Val- Presidential debate during the 2004 election. Ann Jackson (2000) and NAACP former president Kweisi enti at 258-0582 or [email protected]. On The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS’s nightly Mfume (1999). CDO will blend computation methods with design Sasha Brown approved officially at the Dec. 15 faculty lead the way,” Freund said. two restrictive electives, one unrestricted News Office meeting. Though CDO will be part of the The CDO degree program has been in elective and a thesis. School of Engineering and will report to the works “in earnest” for two years, build- Additionally, the program will serve the office of the Dean of Engineering, it ing on ideas for similar program propos- doctoral students whose research relies As people grow more dependent on will have its own admissions and will be led als that have been discussed by faculty for on computational methodologies. Such conveniences like the Internet, cellular by co-directors Freund and Jaime Peraire, the past 10 years. Alan Edelman, professor students will have the opportunity to earn telephones and air travel, there is a greater professor of aeronautics and astronautics. of applied mathematics; Dimitris J Bertsi- a dual degree to both gain and certify their need to make those systems run as effi- The inter-departmental program will draw mas, the Boeing Leaders for Manufactur- knowledge for future employers. ciently as possible. on a variety of courses from engineering, ing Professor of Management; Professor “Today and tomorrow the high tech- MIT’s new S.M. program in Computa- mathematics and the Sloan School. Anthony Patera of mechanical engineer- nology sector will demand engineers and tion for Design and Optimization (CDO) “Through creating this program, MIT is ing; Professor Gilbert Strang of mathemat- scientists who understand how to do effi- will prepare graduates to understand the recognizing CDO as a key element of engi- ics and Professor Jacob White of electri- cient computation on the problems in their key computational methods and issues in neering education now and in the future,” cal engineering and computer science all domain,” said Freund. With applications both the design and operation of complex said Freund, who credited the ease with worked with Peraire and Freund to bring ranging from computational biology to engineering and scientific systems. “Engi- which the new program passed through the program to fruition. airline scheduling to telecommunications neering education needs to change as the the Institute’s approval process to CDO’s For the first few years, the program design and operations, “there is just a huge world changes,” said Robert Freund, the immediate relevance. “It is an idea whose will be small, accepting only 20 to 25 stu- demand for these skills right now,” he said. Theresa Seley Professor of Management time is now,” he said. dents. Eventually, it may accept as many The degree program has already begun Science at the Sloan School of Manage- MIT will be one of the first institutions as 35 students. Freund expects it will take accepting applications. The deadline to apply ment and co-director of the new CDO to have such a program though similar between 12 and 24 months for students is Feb. 15. For more information, please see degree program. programs are in the works at other univer- to complete the program. Degree require- the website http://web.mit.edu/cdo-program The program begins this fall; it was sities. “We anticipate that this program will ments will consist of three core classes, or contact Laura Rose at [email protected].

DIGITALK: WHERE IT’S AT West campus phone connection. You can download the VPN client for your MITnet upgrade boosts external platform from the MIT software download site at http:// outage web.mit.edu/software. Certificates are required. connectivity For one to two hours on Friday, To learn more about VPN, go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/ IS&T recently reconfigured its external Internet con- Jan. 14, beginning at 11:59 p.m., product?name=vpn. If you need assistance installing or nections, lowering costs and effectively doubling MIT’s IS&T must take out of service all using it, contact the Computing Help Desk at computing- commodity Internet bandwidth. Three communications MIT phones in buildings west of [email protected] or 253-1101. vendors—Sprint, Level 3 and Cogent—now provide Massachusetts Avenue, as well as MIT’s external connectivity, so if one link goes down, N42, N52, N51 and N57 to perform a EHS transactions move to SAP the Institute will still have Internet access through the critical repair to switch module equipment in NW12. Two Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) trans- other two vendors. The increased bandwidth includes Crucial lines, such as those for Campus Police and for actions are now available in SAP: Principal Investigator new one-gigabit Ethernet connections to Level 3 and housemasters and dormitory front desks, will be tem- (PI) Space Registration and Substance Authorization and Sprint. porarily rerouted to operate out of mid-campus during Reauthorization Act (SARA) reporting. PI space regis- These new connections are routed via the Boston the outage. tration focuses on the PI and the space for which he or Area Metro Fiber Ring, which MIT, Harvard, North- she is responsible. This application lets authorized users eastern University and Boston University recently What’s a virtual private network? identify hazards, safety equipment, and room roles such acquired. In addition, IS&T continues to maintain its existing network connections to Comcast, Northern A virtual private network (VPN) provides a solution as emergency contacts, EHS representatives and SARA reporters. CrossRoads (Boston area Gigpop), Abilene (Internet2) to work through various port blocks and other things and the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet). that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do to prevent SARA reporting, previously a paper-based process, spam, virus outbreaks and other forms of network now includes a custom worksheet and online submis- abuse. These preventative measures often interrupt or sion transaction. Listings of SARA substances can be IAP provides computing insights prevent legitimate work. The MIT VPN—developed to copied from the previous year, updated and submitted Once again, IS&T is offering a flurry of IAP assist MIT clients with connectivity off campus—can to the EHS office during the SARA submission period. events. Informative sessions for the second half of help resolve a number of problems associated with e- MIT’s Data Warehouse provides a custom dashboard January focus on topics such as home networking, mail, Windows file sharing and other network-based for EHS PI space registration and SARA reporting with best practices in web publishing, and MIT’s evolving applications. more than a dozen reports providing data analysis for EHS e-mail system. For a complete listing, see the IAP IS&T recently released VPN 4.6. It is supported on lead contacts and coordinators. web site. Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms and includes To access the EHS transactions, go to http://web.mit. a profile that makes it easy to establish an MIT VPN edu/ehs-ms or http://web.mit.edu/sapweb. Digitalk is compiled by Information Services and Technology. PAGE 4 January 12, 2005 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk Plastic packaging helps monitor ocean pollutants Andrea Cohen Marie Accardi-Dey (Ph.D. 2003) discov- MIT Sea Grant ered that predictions of chemical levels using animal samplers were off by a factor of 40. (Accardi-Dey did her graduate work When Phil Gschwend exclaims “plas- in the joint program between MIT and the tics!” it’s hard not to think of the career Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.) advice given to Dustin Hoffman’s charac- Since animals are iffy indicators of ter in “The Graduate.” But Gschwend’s what’s around them in mud and water, enthusiasm for the material isn’t about various researchers decided to put out a financial profit; he’s using plastics to better material that would absorb the chemical understand chemicals in the environment. of interest. Gschwend describes the first In a project funded in part by MIT material chosen as “little bags of fat,” plas- Sea Grant, Gschwend, a professor in the tic bags filled with the triglyceride triolein. Department of Civil and Environmental Rachel Adams, a Ph.D. student in civil and Engineering, is using plastic to collect data environmental engineering, found that on levels of organic pollutants in Boston the bags often broke and lost the triolein. Harbor waters and sediments. The data Eventually researchers realized that the can be used to determine which areas plastic alone could do the job. pose risks to the animals living there—and That plastic, Gschwend points out, is the humans who eat them—and to make cheap, strong, easy to clean, and can be decisions about which areas should be tar- placed in air or water or mud for a short geted for cleanup efforts. time to collect molecules of interest. “Any- The traditional method for measuring body who’s ever had milk go rancid in a chemicals in sediments and waters is to plastic milk bottle knows you can’t rinse look at chemical levels in animals such as out the plastic,” he said. “It’s going to stink clams and mussels. But the levels accu- for a long time because the smelly com- mulated by the animals do not correspond pounds have diffused into it.” to researchers’ models, Gschwend said. Working in Quincy and Dorchester The levels in the animals were much lower Bay, Gschwend and colleagues insert plas- than expected. tic strips into the mud and water column In part that mismatch was due to the to accumulate chemicals for a day or two. presence of soots and chars. Collectively Back in the lab, they analyze the strips to referred to as black carbons, these solids identify and quantify the chemicals. include diesel soot from buses and cinders Thus far, Gschwend says that the from forest fires. Black carbons get car- amount of pollutants indicated by the plas- ried by wind or washed out by rainwater tic samplers is less than what would have and end up in places like Boston Harbor. been expected, reinforcing the inferences There, says Gschwend, they mix with of the model calculations. Another find- the mud and grab hold of many organic ing is that certain chemicals are being dif- PHOTO / PHIL GSCHWEND chemical pollutants, making it harder for fused from mud into water, while others the pollutants to move out of the muds and appear to be moving from water into the Ranier Lohmann, a former postdoctoral associate at MIT’s Parsons Lab, takes samples in into animals. mud. Boston Harbor to assess levels of toxic organic compounds. Taking that process into account, Amy- Team identifies genetic link in CHEMO Continued from Page 1 and also divide much faster. The discovery that the MAPKAP ovarian and endometrial cancers Kinase-2 pathway coordinates cell division and the DNA damage-repair process is remarkable in its similarity to other path- Christina Yoon Daniela Dinulescu, a postdoctoral fel- ways involved in the response to other Center for Cancer Research low in the Jacks lab and first author of the types of DNA damage, Manke said. study, found that mutation in the K-ras In fact, clinical trials are under way to oncogene or the Pten tumor suppressor test the effectiveness of combining a drug A new study from the MIT Center for gene in the mouse ovary resulted in the that blocks the DNA damage-response Cancer Research provides the first mouse development of ovarian endometriosis-like with chemotherapy to see if lower doses models of endometriosis and endometrioid lesions. She went on to show that perito- of chemotherapeutic agents may be used. ovarian cancer, two major gynecologic dis- neal endometriosis could be induced in The results of this MIT study suggest yet eases that are frequently associated with mouse models through activation of onco- another new approach for improving a each other in women. genic K-ras mutations. patient’s response to chemotherapy. The work was reported in an online The key discovery was made when Other researchers include postdoctor- publication in Nature Medicine on Dec. Dinulescu showed that the combined al fellows Daniel Lim and Mary Stewart, 26. mutation of K-ras and Pten in the ovarian former postdoctoral fellow Anhco Nguyen Endometriosis is a gynecologic disease surface epithelium gave rise to endometri- PHOTO / YAFFE LAB and graduate student Andrew Elia of the characterized by the presence of functional oid ovarian tumors. Both genes are com- Center for Cancer Research. uterine tissue outside the uterus. This dis- monly mutated in human ovarian cancer. Cells with damaged DNA in their nuclei Support for this work comes from the ease is extremely prevalent in the general “The combined mutation of K-ras and (gray dots) normally stop dividing. However, Jane Coffin Childs Foundation, the Nation- population and is a major cause of infertil- Pten in the ovaries gives rise to an ovarian the two cells for which MAPKAP Kinase-2 al Institutes of Health and the Burroughs- ity; moreover, women with a long history cancer that is extremely aggressive and activity has been inhibited still undergo cell Wellcome Fund. Manke is supported by a of endometriosis are also at an increased widely metastatic, and is highly reminis- division (red stain), even in the presence of Koch Graduate Fellowship. risk for developing endometrioid ovarian cent of the human disease,” said Jacks, DNA damage (green stain). cancer, a subtype of epithelial ovarian can- who is also the David H. Koch Professor cer. Ovarian cancer is the most deadly of of Biology and an Investigator for the How- team led by Michael Yaffe, the Howard S. gynecological cancers, due to the difficul- ard Hughes Medical Institute. and Linda B. Stern Associate Professor of ty of early detection and lack of effective Other MIT CCR researchers include Biology, reports that blocking the function therapies. technical assistant Sarah Shafer and of the protein MAPKAP Kinase-2 increas- “Not only did we create new mouse research affiliate Denise Crowley. Tan es the sensitivity of cancer cells to certain models for two important gynecologi- Ince and Bradley Quade of Brigham and types of cancer treatment. cal diseases, but also this research pro- Women’s Hospital also contributed to this “MAPKAP Kinase-2 had been previ- vided evidence for a genetic link between work, which was supported by grants from ously studied and was thought to be pri- endometriosis and ovarian cancer and the National Cancer Institute and the How- marily involved in inflammation,” said may explain why some women who have ard Hughes Medical Institute, the Ameri- Yaffe, who is also a member of the Depart- endometriosis also develop ovarian can- can Cancer Society, the Shoreline Circle ment of Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess cer,” said Tyler Jacks, leader of the MIT of Hope and the Anna Fuller Fellowship Medical Center. “But our work shows that team and director of the Center for Cancer Fund. MAPKAP Kinase-2 also integrates DNA Research. damage-signaling responses and cell-cycle arrest in mammalian cells.” “This result is particularly exciting as several drug companies are already devel- oping MAPKAP Kinase-2 inhibitors for use in inflammation,” said Yaffe. “Our hope is that we can use drugs already in develop- ment as anti-cancer agents.” Normal cells have a remarkable ability to sense when their DNA has been dam- GRAPHIC COURTESY / YAFFE LAB aged and will repair the problem before continuing to copy their DNA and divide. A single molecule, MAPKAP Kinase-2, Using RNA interference (RNAi) to appears to be important in controlling both inhibit the activity of MAPKAP Kinase- the response of cells to inflammation and 2, biology graduate student Isaac Manke their response to some types of DNA dam- showed that cells no longer sense DNA age. Drugs against MAPKAP kinase-2 that PHOTO / CENTER FOR CANCER RESEARCH damage caused by ultraviolet light. were originally intended as anti-inflam- In these endometrioisi lesions from the mouse model of endometriosis, both endometriotic Instead, he found the cells are more sensi- matory agents may possibly be used as glands (bottom arrow) and stroma (top arrow) are shown. tive to the killing effects of ultraviolet light cancer-treatment agents. MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH January 12, 2005 PAGE 5 Spacetime wave orbits black hole

Astronomers have seen evidence of ticularly in the innermost regions of the hot iron gas riding a ripple in spacetime accretion disk. Near the black hole, grav- around a black hole. This spacetime wave, ity is intense, but light still can muster an if confirmed, would represent a new phe- escape by climbing out of the black hole’s nomenon that goes beyond Einstein’s the- gravitational well, losing energy during the ory of general relativity. climb. These observations, presented Jan. 10 Miller and Homan, for the first time, at a meeting of the American Astronomi- found a connection between two important cal Society in San Diego, confirm one characteristics of black hole observations: important theory about how a black hole’s quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) and the extreme gravity can stretch light. The broad iron K line. QPOs refer to the way data also paint an intriguing image of how the X-ray light seems to flicker. The broad a spinning black hole can drag the very iron K line refers to the shape of a spike on fabric of space around with it, creating a a spectrogram, a tool used to analyze light choppy spacetime sea that distorts every- characteristics such as energy. Light from thing falling into the black hole. iron atoms emitted at a specific frequency Jon Miller of the Harvard-Smithson- creates a bright line in the spectrogram. ian Center for Astrophysics and Jeroen The line is broadened to lower energies, Homan of MIT’s Center for Space because the light loses energy as it climbs Research observed the phenomenon with out of a gravitational well. NASA’s Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Miller and Homan studied a black hole “Black holes are such extreme objects named GRS 1915+105, about 40,000 light that they can actually warp and drag the years away in the constellation Aquila. fabric of spacetime around with them as They noticed that a low-frequency QPO of ILLUSTRATION / DANA BERRY/CfA/NASA they spin,” said Miller, who is the lead 1 to 2 hertz was tied to changes in the author on an article to be published in The broad iron K line. The fact that the two Astronomers have discovered evidence for physics beyond Einstein’s theory of general Astrophysical Journal Letters. “Gas whip- signals were in synch and were unaffect- relativity. This artist’s conception shows a galactic black hole being orbited by a ripple in ping around the black hole has no choice ed by other phenomena—such as black spacetime—a distortion in the fabric of space itself. but to ride that wave. Albert Einstein pre- hole jet activity—strongly suggests that dicted this over 80 years ago, and now we both are occurring very close to the black QPO flickering is caused by the fabric of tary increase in surface area, “flickering” are starting to see evidence for it.” hole. And this, the scientists say, rules out space itself churning around the black at a frequency of 1 to 2 hertz, could explain A black hole is a region in space where a theory stating that broad iron lines are hole in a wave. This is known as Lense- the repetitive changes observed in the iron gravitational forces are so great that not created in black hole winds far from the Thirring precession, which evolves out of K line. Each time the hot iron gas encoun- even light can escape. Gas and dust fun- black hole itself. Einstein’s theory of general relativity. ters the spacetime warp, the light gets a nel towards a black hole in an accretion This discovery raised the question of Imagine the accretion disk as a music jolt and the broad iron K line changes its disk, swirling around and into the void what could be causing the connection. CD. The wave produced by the spacetime appearance. like water down a drain. This process of Miller and Homan say that the slower warp would increase the surface area of Miller and Homan caution that this is only accretion generates copious amounts of QPO could be the frequency of a space- the flat disk. The broadness of iron K lines one explanation of their observation, and that light—predominantly X-ray radiation, par- time warp. In that case, the low-frequency depends on surface area. So, this momen- other explanations may be possible. Giant telescope will keep an eye on planets in other solar systems Elizabeth Thomson Slated for completion in 2016 at Carnegie’s Las Cam- primary mirrors arranged in a floral pattern. It builds on News Office panas Observatory in Chile, the GMT will have 10 times the successful heritage of the two 6.5-meter Magellan tele- the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope enabling a scopes, the first of which began science operations in early variety of new projects and observations. 2001. “The same individuals involved in the building of MIT astrophysicists and their colleagues are excited “At the very top of that list would be the direct observa- Magellan constitute the core of the GMT design group,” about the latest milestone toward developing a giant tele- tion of exo-planets around nearby stars and observation of Schechter said. scope that among other things will allow direct observa- objects yet younger (and therefore more distant) than the What role do ground-based telescopes play in the era of tions of planets orbiting stars in solar systems beyond youngest objects observable today,” said Paul Schechter, satellite telescopes like the Hubble? For one, said Schech- ours. the William A. M. Burden Professor of Astrophysics, who ter, “ground-based telescopes can be much bigger, which On Dec. 13 the Carnegie Observatories of the Carn- leads the MIT group that is part of the eight-member con- is important because a telescope’s light-gathering power egie Institution signed an agreement with the University sortium developing the GMT. is proportional to the square of its diameter. The Hubble is of Arizona’s Steward Observatory Mirror Lab to produce Other members are Carnegie Observatories, Harvard only 2.4 meters in diameter, and the next-generation space the first mirror for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Uni- telescope, which ought to be finished at about the same The telescope will have a diameter of about 25.4 meters or versity of Arizona, University of Michigan, University of time as the GMT, will be smaller than the present Magel- 83 feet—making it about as wide as an eight-story build- Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M University. lan telescopes.” ing is tall. The new telescope will be composed of seven, 8.4-meter TSUNAMI Continued from Page 1 engaged in reconstructing communities A board of directors representing vari- assured that every dollar of your contribu- this summer,” said Susnowitz. This past ous religious traditions has been appoint- tion is benefiting the victims directly,” said “The immediate need for medicine is a year, Evan Freund, a graduate student in ed to supervise and monitor the efficiency Priyadarshi, who will go to Sri Lanka to priority,” said Wijesinghe, who said he was urban studies and planning who is involved of the work and present a report after- help with these relief efforts. He asks that grateful that his own family in Colombo is with the PSC, spent time on a fellowship in ward, according to Tenzin L. Priyadarshi, contributions be sent to MIT-Prajnopaya, safe. He will spend the next month with Unawatuna, a Sri Lankan village that was the Buddhist chaplain at MIT. which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, them while he looks at funding more long destroyed by the tsunami. “One of the issues that always concerns at 60 Hartwell Road, Carlisle, MA 01741, term help in Sri Lanka such as rebuilding “We feel a very personal connection,” us is whether our contribution reaches or to MIT-Prajnopaya in Room W11-004. houses and buying fishing boats and nets said Susnowitz. “With 150,000 dead and those who are suffering. You can be to ensure an ongoing source of income for missing, I think we all appreciate the the many people whose livelihoods were chance to feel that there’s at least some wiped out by the tsunami. “There is a need way we can help the survivors and try to to better protect children who are addition- assist them to rebuild their lives and liveli- ally vulnerable in disaster environments,” hoods.” he said. Wijesinghe plans to help allocate funds where he sees the greatest need. Support staff hold bake sale Support staff at MIT will hold bake Public Service Center organizes sales and raffles each Friday in January to Since so many countries were affected raise funds for relief efforts of the Sewalan- by the tsunami, the MIT Public Service ka Foundation and UNICEF. Assorted pas- Center (PSC) has been encouraging a tries, cookies and cakes contributed by variety of groups to collect funds, allowing members of the MIT community will be those who donate to choose where to send sold in Lobby 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on money. “It makes a lot of sense for people Jan. 14, 21 and 28. Raffle tickets for special to raise funds for the organizations they cakes and pies will cost $1. The winning know or the communities that hold the ticket will be drawn each Friday at 1:45 strongest importance for them,” said Sally p.m. Susnowitz, assistant dean and director of the PSC, which has also been collecting MIT Buddhist community raises funds money both in their office (Room 4-104) as The Buddhist Community at MIT (MIT- well as in Lobby 10. Prajnopaya) has formed a direct alliance In addition to funds raised for affect- with the Sri Bodhiraja Foundation in Sri ed communities, the PSC is also raising Lanka to collect funds for construction of money for a public service fellowship to 1,000 houses for the population in the vil- send MIT students to Sri Lanka this sum- lages regardless of their religious affiliation mer to help with rebuilding. “The cre- or ethnic background. This collaborative PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY ativity and technical knowledge of MIT effort has already raised about $200,000 Aparna Jonnalagadda (left), a senior in mechanical engineering, and her mother, Vidya students will be extremely valuable to internationally. The construction of one Jonnalagadda, a postdoctoral associate in biological engineering, sell calendars made by the community organizations that will be house can be provided for about $1,200. students in India. Together they collected donations for tsunami relief in Lobby 10. PAGE 6 January 12, 2005 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Vacant looks could be Eureka! moments Nearly 20 percent of American adults say they think their daily commute was conducive to creative thinking,” listening to music (1 percent) were the least likely to lead most creatively in their cars, according to the 2005 said Lemelson-MIT Program Director Merton Flemings. to creative thoughts. Lemelson-MIT Invention Index study, which gauges “But when you stop to think about it, it makes sense. Americans spend more than 1,000 hours each year, or Americans’ attitudes toward invention and innovation. So Daily commutes in this country are getting longer each 11 percent of the year, in front of television sets, according don’t think of your commute as being stuck in bumper-to- year and the car may be one of the last environments in to a 2004 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. By contrast, bumper traffic; think of it as a potential breeding ground which we can escape from our over-stimulated lives and Americans spend an average 260 hours each year for your next creative breakthrough. just be alone with our thoughts.” commuting, according to a 2004 U.S. Census study. Survey respondents said the ideal conditions for Other settings that fared well in the Lemelson-MIT “Television has an important place in our culture,” Vacant looks on commuters’s faces creative thinking are solitude (66 percent) and quiet (47 Invention Index were workplaces and schools (20 percent); Flemings commented. “However, our society faces percent), although 24.5 percent said while working with in bed while falling asleep, waking up or dreaming (16 significant challenges that will require fresh and others, and 23.3 percent said that being under pressure percent); and outdoors (14 percent). Respondents also imaginative ideas. Young people, especially, need to gain creates the ideal condition for creativity. cited bathing or showering (5 percent) and exercising (5 real-world experiences and be exposed to environments “Many Americans feel they spend half their lives in the percent) as conducive to creativity. that are conducive to creative thought. That means turning could indicate Eureka! moment car, but we were surprised by just how many people felt By contrast, watching television (2 percent) and off the TV every so often.” Burned-out but diligent, TA gets help from students

Sasha Brown believe it was a fire, but he gathered up his six-month old Austin’s unit was spared from the fire, but the extensive News Office kitten, Maya (“she tried to hide behind the couch, but I water damage ruined photos, furniture and appliances. dragged the couch out and got her,” said Austin) and he Later, looters stole his standing mixer, video game unit, and his roommates headed outside. “When I looked back some clothing and other things. When chemistry teaching assistant Wes Austin showed there were flames coming out,” he said. Chiang and other volunteers received dozens of checks up for his office hours on Dec. 1 after spending the night It took firefighters 12 hours to extinguish the blaze. and cash, including one check from an alumna. They also watching his home burn and most of his possessions Though he had not slept and was still reeling, Austin received offers of furniture and other items to donate to ruined in a fire, his students were touched by his diligence. showed up for office hours the next morning. “There was Austin, who is currently renting an apartment in the same A week later the freshmen in general chemistry (5.111) nothing I could do at the apartment,” he said. “I couldn’t area. Though Austin was insured, he needs to pay for all the presented Austin with cards signed by each of them and fix it so I might as well be at work.” new items up front. “It will be okay eventually and everything more than $400 in cash they had collected to help him get One of his freshman students, Stephanie Chiang, saw irreplaceable was saved,” he said. “But this helps a lot.” back on his feet. Austin that morning. Immediately, she knew something “It was wonderful to see how appreciated he is by his “I started to cry,” said Austin. “It was absolutely was wrong. “He looked exhausted,” she said. When she students,” said Catherine Drennan, an associate professor awesome and wonderful.” learned of the fire, Chiang sprung into action, e-mailing of chemistry who teaches 5.111 and watched the Dec. 8 The cause of the fire that devastated the 10-unit the class, her dorm (McCormick Hall), even alumni on presentation. “It was also heartwarming to observe the apartment building in Cambridge’s Central Square is still the dorm’s mailing list. In just one week, she had gathered generosity of spirit of this freshmen class.” unknown. enough funds to present to Austin on the morning of the Though thrilled to be able to help, Chiang said she Austin, a Ph.D. candidate who bought his condominium last class of the semester. “He has been a really good was not surprised by the kindness in her fellow students. in July, was home at 10:30 p.m. when he heard the fire TA, always open to us all,” said Chiang. “It was time for “The MIT community really feels like a community,” said alarm. Being a veteran of many false alarms, Austin didn’t someone to help him out.” Chiang. “We all help each other out.”

Poetry explored daily during January

The IAP series, Pleasures of Poetry, science and technology.” now in its 8th consecutive season, offers The series began last week (Jan. 3) a daily one-hour session of reading and with Professor Stephen Tapscott, on discussing poems that are selected John Clare; Professor Howard Eiland, on and presented by members of the MIT Tennyson; and Professor James Buzard on literature faculty, staff and students. The T.S. Eliot. Rabbi Ben Lanckton moderated sessions, which are open to the public, are a discussion of selected psalms. held in Room 14E-304 weekdays from 1 to In each session, lively discussion 2 p.m. through January. followed a brief presentation of This year’s selection—available in a biographical information and a reading packet from the literature department— of the poems. Participants explored use offers a range of poems, from ancient to of rhyme, meter, setting and tone in each contemporary, and a range of presenters poem; the relevance of historical and including the MIT rabbi and Episcopal cultural influences; and the ever-engaging chaplain. question, what is a poem anyway? Professor David Thorburn, head of the Upcoming sessions include literature section and director of the MIT presentations by professors of literature Communications Forum, is the series’ David Evett on works by Yeats (Jan. organizer. 12); David Thorburn on Michael Ryan “The pleasures of poetry are diverse, (Jan. 24); Wyn Kelley on Puritan poems powerful and subtle. Perhaps this explains and Noel Jackson on Keats (Jan. 28). the success of our annual adventure in Presentations by other enthusiasts include poetry during IAP, for diversity, intellectual Anne Hudson, administrative assistant, on power and subtlety are also quintessential works by Bob Dylan (Jan. 18); Chaplain MIT virtues,” said Thorburn. “This Amy McCreath on selections from the year’s roster is especially rich, I think, a Book of John (Jan. 20); Julian Wheatley, PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY testament to the range of interest among senior lecturer in foreign languages and our moderators and also, of course, to the literature, on poems from the Chinese and No need to fly south amazing reach of poetry as an art. The Burmese (Jan. 25); and Stephen Pepper, series is inspiring to me for many reasons, administrative assistant in academic An igloo of unknown origin appeared Jan. 3 on Briggs Field. MacGregor House not least because it reminds us of the services, on Barry Spacks (Jan. 26). rises in the background, while geese feed nearby. intimate, enduring friendship of poetry, —Sarah H. Wright

CLASSIFIED ADS

Members of the MIT community may submit New tires, battery, brakes, alternator, gas tank. South Boston: compact studio w/ separate one classified ad each issue. Ads can be resub- $2,500/bst. 781-935-4856. entrance, small kitchen, all utilities included. WANTED mitted, but not two weeks in a row. Ads should $685/mo. Security deposit, references required. 1998 VW Jetta GL Sedan, 5-speed manual, 61K, Someone who reads Norwegian and is famil- be 30 words maximum; they will be edited. 2 blocks from beach. Avail. Jan. 617-268-0880. iar with boatbuilding terminology for occa- Submit by e-mail to [email protected] or mail good cond. A/C, keyless entry, power steer- ing, alarm, 6-CD, radio, cassette, alloy wheels. Deeded, life-long time-share week, early May, sional help to model-builder in interpreting to Classifieds, Rm 11-400. Deadline is noon Nordlandsbåt written material. 508-358-4897 Wednesday the week before publication. $5,600/bst. 617-642-4274 or [email protected]. 5-star Westgate Resorts, Kissimmee, Fl. Fully- furnished villa, 2 BR, sleeps 6. Full baths, pool, or [email protected]. hot-tub, health club. Near theme parks. $8,500 FOR SALE HOUSING firm. 617-436-5663 or [email protected]. STUDENT POSITIONS Inman Sq.: furnished room for visiting faculty/ Ethan Allan solid cherry computer cabinet w/ Ocean front summer cabin, Mount Desert Island, ME: 2BDR/1BA w/living/kitchen area; picture postdocs, short-term 1 to 6 months, $250/week, Positions for students with work-study eligibility. fold out desk. Ex. cond. Originally $950. Asking $950 – $1,000/mo. Kitchen, laundry, all utils, $300. 508-668-6742. windows, deck overlooking water; stairway to PositWanted: detail-oriented, meticulous, mature beach. Mins from Acadia National Park, Bar cable and wireless LAN, linens, included. Walk to MIT. References. 617-625-9839. individual. Tasks: assisting development direc- Handsome dog. Black labrador retriever mix. Harbor. $1000/week June-Sept. Steve at 253- tor and business manager with data entry and Male, 1 year old. Playful, friendly, happy. $150. 5757 or [email protected]. 1 BR avail. in 2 BR apt in JP, Feb1-April 30. filing; organizing mailings. Work-study eligibil- Gregor at 617-536-9925. Somerville: 2 BR, $1,300/mo. 2nd floor in 3- 2 blocks from Green St. stop, Orange Line. ity required. Resume and cover letter to Adria Butcher Block kitchen table. 3 foot by 5 foot, fam, LR, DR, kitchen, bath. Near public transpor- New kitchen, bath, W/D, no smoking. Pets ok. Scharf at [email protected]. trestle. 1.75 inch thick top. 10 years old. $450 tation, off st. parking. W/D, refrig. No pets. Avail. $700/mo. Incl. utils. Laura at 617-524-1874 or [email protected]. Boston Learning Center seeks tutors for mid- ($725 new). Pick up in Belmont. Clare at 253- now. 617-623-8398. dle or high school students. Subjects: reading, 7708 or [email protected]. Cambridge: large studio / 1 BR. 10 min. walk East Boston, Eagle Hill: 1 BR, lots of storage, off English, writing, grammar, algebra, geometry, to campus, completely furnished and equipped, st. prkng. Patio, backyard. Near public trans. View calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, Spanish, laundry, enclosed yard. No fee, no security of Zakim Bridge. No pets. Avail. now. $1,050 French, Latin or SAT prep. Previous experience VEHICLES deposit, $975. [email protected] or 781- /mo. 781-608-0182 or wabbikalemba@yahoo. preferred. [email protected]. com. 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix, red, 85K. Good cond. 729-7725. MIT Tech Talk ARTS January 12, 2005 PAGE 7 Exhibit examines origins of infamous housing project St. Louis’s Pruitt-Igoe housing project surrounded by an expanse of tree-lined was a massive high-rise development born plazas. Federal cost-cutting measures, in 1956 out of the post-World War II fed- however, eliminated many of the best eral public-housing program. Originally features of Yamasaki’s design and forced hailed for its architectural innovations, it contractors to cut corners in the construc- was razed in the 1970s following years of tion of the project. Still, it was hailed in the disrepair, vandalism and crime; it is now national press as an innovative application considered one of the most disastrous of modernist design principles to the prob- public housing projects ever built. lem of chronic urban housing shortages. A new exhibition offers a close look at Most families that settled in the project the history of the complex. “Vertical City: regarded their move into Pruitt-Igoe as an The Life and Design of Pruitt-Igoe” is on improvement in their housing conditions. view in the Wolk Gallery (Room 7-338) They worked to establish a playground, through Jan. 28. recreation center, public library branch, The exhibit explores the impact of Boy Scout Troop, day-care center and architectural design through photographs, health clinic. Over time, however, the proj- maps, prints, plans and film and traces the ect fell into decline, and in 1972 the hous- history of efforts to improve the project. ing authority made the historic decision Central to the story are narratives from to tear it down. Today, the reasons for the Image from the video “TILT,” by Paula Josa-Jones and Ellen Sebring, featuring dancers architects and planners, social workers, project’s decline continue to be debated, Alissa Cardone and Ingrid Schatz. housing officials, civic and religious orga- and Pruitt-Igoe has become a symbol of nizations, and the tenants themselves. policy and design failure. Part of a massive urban reconstruction The exhibition is curated by Joseph program, Pruitt-Igoe was one of the largest Heathcott, assistant professor of Ameri- housing projects in the United States. Its can Studies at Saint Louis University, 33 buildings rose 11 stories to tower over along with graduate students in the Ameri- Un-leveling the 57 acres of the city. At its peak, it housed can City Studio. Artifacts and images are some 12,000 people in 2,870 apartments. drawn from the collections of the Mercan- It was designed by the same architect who tile Library, the Missouri Historical Soci- designed New York’s World Trade Center ety, the St. Louis Post Dispatch Archives, towers—Minoru Yamasaki of Hellmuth, St. Louis Public Library General Records, Yamasaki and Leinweber. Washington University Special Collec- playing field The Pruitt-Igoe plan called for a Cor- tions, Western History Manuscript Collec- busien “ville radiuse” of high-rise edifices tion, Saint Louis University Archives and What happens when a choreogra- when gravity is disrupted, the dancers interspersed with garden apartments, all private collections. pher pulls the floor out from beneath are thrown out of balance, evoking new her graceful, agile, well-trained danc- types of dance movement. “We hope to ers? What happens when gravity shifts get some ideas as to how to build a more beneath their feet? sophisticated levitron in the future,” she Employees share artistic talents “TILT,” a new collaboration between said. video artist Ellen Sebring (S.M.VisS Josa-Jones and Sebring have collab- Erika Hartwieg knows a thing or two employees from a variety of departments 1986) and acclaimed Boston choreogra- orated for the past 15 years on a wide about balancing multiple interests and holding a large range of positions. “All pher Paula Josa-Jones, explores that new range of works for dance and film. Most tasks. She’s a research specialist in elec- have a very strong interest and commit- frontier. The performance combines recently, they created a video version of tronmicroscopy, working in the biology ment to art,” said Hartwieg. “I appreciate large-screen video, live dancers, and a “RIDE,” Josa-Jones’ work for dressage department, who is also a potter, having their struggle to honor the demands, regu- gravity-disrupting mechanism called horses and dancers currently under learned pottery with the MIT Student Art lations and routines of the day job in order a “levitron” to discover new realms of development as a Broadway-style pro- Association. She’s a printmaker who is fas- to enjoy the freedom of their spare time movement. duction. “TILT” was shown in video form cinated with the patterns of daily life. She’s and their creativity. Starting Sunday, Jan. 16, the artists at last year’s Dance on Camera Festival a busy woman who takes flute lessons in “This exhibition is not only about art on will conduct a four-day workshop for stu- at Lincoln Center. her spare time. the walls, but is also about the duality of dents to create performance elements for Sebring was a Fellow at the Center Fully aware of the many sides and tal- the lives of the artists behind the desks,” “TILT,” including choreography, lighting for Advanced Visual Studies from 1987- ents of MIT employees, Hartweig is also said Hartwieg. The exhibition includes and a rudimentary levitron designed by 1993 and is currently an research associ- the curator of a new show by members of photography, watercolors, painting with Geoff Benson. The workshop will culmi- ate in the Visualizing Cultures project Artists Behind the Desk titled “Artists by oils, printmaking and computer-art. nate in a lecture demonstration on Sat- under the direction of professors John Night…Administrators by Day.” The exhi- Library hours are Monday-Thursday 9 urday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. in Kresge Audi- Dower and Shigeru Miyagawa. Sebring bition of works by 21 artists is on view at a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat- torium. Performers will include Alissa was selected by the American Film Insti- the Rotch Library (Room 7-238) through urday 1 to 6 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 8 p.m. Cardone and Ingrid Schatz, both mem- tute’s Directing Workshop for Women Jan. 28. —Lynn Heinemann, Office of the Arts bers of Paula Josa-Jones’ dance company to direct a film in Hollywood; she has Artists Behind the Desk is a group of Performance Works, and members of directed more than 30 documentaries on MIT’s Kinaesthetics Lab, a student cho- visual artists, dance and theater. In 2004 reography group. she received a residency to compose The performers will experiment with music for “DIVE,” an interactive video ways to mirror on stage the tilt effect, installation featuring Josa-Jones, which which was created by camera movement also will be screened at the Jan. 22 event in the videotape. Sebring notes that in Kresge.

List Center gets accreditation and grant for Internet work The List Visual Arts Center has as Frank Stella’s “Loohooloo,” which is received a prestigious grant for $98,908 located in a conference room not open to from the federal Institute of Museum and the public. Library Services. With this grant, the The online guide will include a descrip- LVAC will launch “Beyond Ames Street,” a tion of each work, artist/architect biogra- multifaceted approach to using web-based phies and essays by critics and curators. technology to connect with audiences Users will have access to the LVAC’s past more deeply. programs, including talks by artists, cura- The effort to increase online projects tors and critics, exhibition tours and inter- to enhance public participation is an inte- views. gral part of the LVAC’s mission. It parallels “We are delighted that this major grant MIT’s OpenCourseWare, which distributes will help to make our materials, exhibi- Late-Night Speed Viewing MIT course content online. tions and collections available to people The project’s centerpiece will be an everywhere,” said Jane Farver, director of The fast-forward, fugue state of multi- Letterman.” He then wrote code in the interactive online guide to MIT’s collec- the LVAC. tasking gains new meaning in Jason C programming language that generated tion of modern and contemporary art, Salavon’s video artwork, which allows the frame-by-frame mean average of which includes works by Henry Moore, List earns accreditation the viewer to simultaneously watch the pixel values from the shows. The result- Pablo Picasso, Jennifer Bartlett, Louise The List Center has again achieved opening monologues of 64 nights of ing looped triptych projection is accom- Nevelson, Jorge Pardo, Dan Graham, and the highest recognition for a museum— three TV shows in just three minutes, 35 panied by the averaged sound from all of Matthew Ritchie. The guide will feature accreditation by the American Association seconds. Salavon, an American video the programs, resulting in an experience video tours of buildings and art projects of Museums. AAM Accreditation signifies artist, created “The Late Night Triad” by in which the viewer sees and hears all that allow the web user to move through excellence within the museum community. obsessively recording hundreds of hours 192 shows simultaneously. The work can rooms or around a sculpture, and view Of the nation’s nearly 16,000 museums, of programming from “The Tonight Show be seen 24/7 at the Media Test Wall in public works such as Alexander Calder’s only about 750 are currently accredited. with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan Building 56 through January. Watch it if “Great Sail” and lesser-known works such O’Brien” and “Late Show with David you can. PAGE 8 January 12, 2005 CALENDAR MIT Tech Talk

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS JANUARY 12 - 16

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY January 12 January 13 January 14 January 15 January 16

Science/ Performance Architecture/ Humanities Physics IAP: Knit By Artists by Visualizing IVCF Urban Technology Planning Feynman Films Numbers Night… Physics: Plunge Symmetry in Share knowl- Administrators Transforming A week of Physical Law. edge or learn by Day Science hands-on urban Noon-1:30pm. Room 6- from scratch for an hour Artists Behind the Desk Learning at MIT ministry and volunteer 120. 253-6259. of stitching. Bring proj- exhibition featuring Get an insider’s view of opportunities. All over Music Exhibit Reading Special ect. Also on Jan. 20 and works in a variety of how MIT is redesign- Boston. Interest The Perilous 27. Noon-1:30pm. Room media. 9am-6pm. Room ing the way it teaches Earth: 2-236. 7-238. physics. Noon-5pm. MIT Varsity Men’s Understanding Museum. 253-4444. and Women’s Natural Bridge Bake Sale and Swimming vs. Hazards Tournament Raffle Varsity Springfield Business/ Film Sports Featured Professor Kerry Emanuel Teams-of-four Assorted baked Women’s College Money Event talks about New tournament. goods from Gymnastics 1pm. Zesiger Sports and England’s hurricane risk. Noon-6pm. Room 2-290. Support Staff and other vs. RIC, Fitness Center Pool. 258- Noon. Room 54-915. members of the MIT Ursinus, and Wilson 5265. 253-3382. What can community. Proceeds go 2pm. Du Pont you do with to tsunami relief. Also Gymnasium. 258-5265. International Learn a Bisl a degree in Jan 21 and 28. Sale: Folk Dancing Yiddish science? 10am-2pm. Raffle: 1:45 Beginners / All (participatory) Michael Katz Lecture by Marilyn pm. Lobby 10. 258-7037. Level Tango 8pm. Lobdell discusses the Wilson on the many Classes Dining Hall (2nd floor). origins of the Yiddish career paths open to The Perilous Taste what 253-FOLK. language. 5-7pm. W11 those with science Earth: Argentine Tango is all Hillel Center. 253-2982. degrees. 3-5pm. Room Understanding about. No partner nec- January Object 3-133. 253-4733. Natural essary and no previous of the Month Kokikai Aikido Hazards experience required. 2- Illustration from Come learn Varsity Stephane Rondenay, 4:30pm. Sidney-Pacific Report on Van the modern Women’s Ice Dept. of Earth, Multi-Purpose Room. de Graaff Generator, Japanese Hockey vs. Atmospheric & Planetary 1933. All day. Hallway martial art teaching Salve Regina Science speaks on natu- Milonga: across from 14N-118. coordination of mind and University ral hazards. Noon. Room Social Tango 253-5136. body. 7:15-9pm. Room 7pm. Johnson Ice Rink. 54-915. 253-3382. Night IMAGE / QINGXIONG MA W32-Wrestling Room. 258-5265. Tango music 253-0772. Garden State all night, plenty of “They Look Like Priests” LSC Film. $3. partners to dance with Israeli Folk 7pm. Room and new people to The MIT Student Art Association (SAA) published a Dancing 26-100. 258- meet. Sponsored by 2005 calendar that matches images made by SAA (participatory) 8881. the Graduate Student artists to quotations by Lao Tsu, the sixth-century 8pm. Lobby Council and the Sidney- 13. 484-3267. Pacific House Council. B.C. Chinese philosopher. The calendars sell for $15 9pm. Sidney-Pacific each; $12 for students (bulk discounts are offered). Multi Purpose Room. To order, e-mail [email protected]. “They Look Like Priests” depicts May in the calendar.

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

PSC TSUNAMI 350 YEARS OF “TILT” A RELIEF PROJECT Jan. AMERICAN JUDAISM Jan. 20 VIDEO DANCE Jan. 22 Exhibit chronicling the his- Ongoing fund-raising for Collaboration by video artist Lobby 10 tory and accomplishments W11 Small Dining Kresge Auditorium the Sewalanka Foundation, Ellen Sebring (S.M.VisS ‘86) of American Jews, with lec- UNICEF, and a PSC 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 5:30 p.m. and choreographer Paula 3–5 p.m. ture following. 253-2982. Fellowship in Southeast Asia. Josa-Jones. 253-0742.

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS JANUARY 17 - 23

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 Martin Luther Copyrights, The Perilous Avoiding Cambridge- The Late Night Varsity Men’s King, Jr. trademarks Earth Plagiarism MIT Exchange Triad (2003) and Women’s Holiday and intellectual Daniel Barclay Pitfalls or Program Video work Swimming vs. Institute Closed property talks on under- Who’s Line Is Seniors Henry featuring The Tufts University issues standing natural hazards. It, Anyway? Bergquist and K. C. Tonight Show with 1pm. Zesiger Sports and Introduction to Lawyers Ann Hammersla Noon. Room 54-91. 253- 10:30am-Noon. Room O’Brien who both went to Jay Leno, Late Night Fitness Center Pool. 258- Self Defense and Elizabeth Carlson 3382. 14N-132. Cambridge discuss the with Conan O’Brien, 5265. Skills Course talk about handling intel- program with prospec- Late Show with David Focus on practi- lectual property. 11am. GIS: Tools for tive students. Noon-2pm. Letterman. 24 hours a International cal ground-fighting skills; Room 33-116. 253-1564. Introduction to Communi- Room 6-212. 253-6057. day. Media Test Wall, Folk Dancing self-defense from knife, ArcGIS cating Your Whitaker Bldg 56. (participatory) gun, and blunt weap- Intellectual 2-5pm. Room Recycling Varsity 8pm. Student ons and from multiple Property at MIT 37-312. Message Women’s Ice Varsity Men’s Center: Lobdell Dining attackers. For beginners. Talk on copy- Workshop aimed at Hockey vs. Track vs. RPI, Hall (2nd floor). 253- Dupont Wrestling Room. right issues for Celestial Recycling Ambassadors Bates Club Williams, FOLK. using information. 1pm. Mechanics and other environmental Team Westfield State Garden State Room 4-237. from Newton stewards. Noon. Room 7pm. Johnson Ice Rink. Noon. Johnson Athletic LSC Movie. $3. to Einstein 34-401A, Grier Room. 258-5265. Center. 258-5265. 8pm. Room 26- Two Case Talk by Professor Scott 253-0292. 100. 258-8881. Studies at Hughes.1:30pm. Room Weekly Anime Varsity Launch Vehicle 6-120. 253-8523. Biosphere 2 Screening Women’s Mishaps - Lessons for MIT Anime Club Basketball vs. Colonel Peter Young Why Me? Why Space Travel presents the Smith College discusses the circum- Anyone? The Talk by Dr. best of Japanese anima- 2pm. Rockwell Cage. stances leading to two Problem of Bruno Marino, Science tion. 7pm. Room 6-120. 258-5265. launch vehicle mishaps. Suffering Director, Biosphere 2. 2- 2pm. Room 33-206. 253- Trilogue with members 3:30pm. Room 33-206. 1564. of the Jewish, Lutheran- 253-5340. Episcopal, and Hindu American communities on the Math Jews: meaning and purpose of Department Behaving, suffering. 6:30-8pm. W11 Music Recital Believing, and Main Dining Room. 253- Annual concert Belonging 2982. that gives mathematics Rabbi Ben Lanckton community a chance to speaks on the cur- perform for each other. 3- rent state of American 5pm. Killian Hall. Judaism. 7:10pm. W11 Boardroom. 253-2982.