Volume 52, Number 11 Wednesday, December 5, 2007 TechTalk S e r v i n g Th e MIT Co mm u n i t y

Muhammad Yunus, MIT radar technology microcredit pioneer, is Commencement speaker fights breast cancer Anne Trafton News Office Allyson T. Collins the effectiveness of the chemotherapy,” said Dr. William C. News Office Correspondent Dooley, director of surgical oncology at the University of Oklahoma and the principal investigator of the study. “The Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace tumors shrank faster and died faster using the additional Prize, will deliver MIT’s 2008 Commencement address on Treating breast cancer with a type of heat therapy microwave hyperthermia on top of the chemotherapy.” June 6. derived from MIT radar research can significantly increase According to the National Cancer Institute, some Yunus won the Nobel Prize for pioneering the micro- the effectiveness of chemotherapy, according to results 178,000 women and 2,000 men were diagnosed with breast lending movement, which seeks to improve the lives of the from the fourth clinical trial of the technique reported cancer in 2007. An estimated 40,000 women and 450 men poor by offering credit without online Nov. 25 in the journal Cancer Therapy. will die of the disease this year. collateral. The bank he founded, In this study, large tumors treated with a combination In the latest clinical trial, 15 patients received two Grameen Bank, has provided of chemotherapy and a focused microwave heat treatment microwave heat treatments, known as thermotherapy, credit to 7.3 million poor people shrunk nearly 50 percent more than tumors treated with along with four rounds of chemotherapy before surgery. in villages in Bangladesh. chemotherapy alone. The microwave treatment is based The goal was to shrink tumors sufficiently to enable a “Muhammad Yunus has on technology originally developed at MIT in the late See RADAR given thousands of people 1980s as a tool for missile detection. struggling in poverty the tools “It appears that heating the tumors drastically increased Page 6 to transform their lives. In the process, he has proved viv- idly that economic empower- ment is essential to promoting peace and human rights,” said MIT President Susan Hock- field. “Like so many members Muhammad Yunus of the MIT community itself, Dr. Yunus is a practical visionary. Our graduates will be inspired to hear how social entrepreneurship and techni- cal expertise can, together, change the world. I can think of no better choice for our 2008 MIT Commencement speaker.” Yunus started making personal loans to poor basket weavers in Bangladesh in the mid-1970s, and in 1983 he founded Grameen Bank, which now operates in nearly 80,000 rural Bangladeshi villages. Ninety-seven percent of the bank’s clients are women, and their rate of repayment is 98 percent. In announcing his 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee wrote, “Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries.” GRAPHIC COURTESY / MIT LINCOLN LABORATORY “I am thrilled with the selection of Dr. Muhammad Yunus as MIT’s Commencement speaker,” said Eric Grim- The image at left shows the process of detecting and destroying an enemy missile using MIT targeted radar. Microwave son, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and energy is fixed on a missile while simultaneously nullifying enemy jammers. On right, microwave energy is aimed at a Computer Science and chair of the Commencement Com- cancerous tumor with a deep focused beam while simultaneously nullifying any energy that would overheat surrounding mittee. “I believe his message that technical innovations healthy tissue. can be used to impact the daily lives and future well-being of people around the world is one that will resonate strong- ly with our students. I hope that his speech challenges our graduates to seek opportunities to use their MIT educa- MIT forges new ties with India tion to make an impact on the lives of others.” Yunus received a Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt University in 1970 and taught at Middle Tennessee Uni- Anne Trafton between India and MIT: We both place a premium on ana- versity from 1969 to 1972. After returning to Bangladesh, News Office lytical thinking. We both prize academic excellence. And he joined the University of Chittagong as head of the eco- we both celebrate the kind of positive, entrepreneurial nomics department. spirit that makes new ideas come alive,” Hockfield said. He also holds honorary doctorate degrees from dozens President Susan Hockfield led an MIT delegation on a Hockfield, the first MIT president to visit India while of universities around the world. historic trip to India Nov. 16-24, meeting with key govern- in office, met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dur- Phi Ho, president of the senior class, said Yunus is a ment and business leaders and strengthening ties between ing her trip. She also met with business leaders, including perfect choice to address the graduates. the Institute and the world’s largest democracy. steel industry magnate Sir Ratan Tata, Infosys Non-Exec- “Graduates of MIT are global leaders who will, no MIT and India have a long history of shared ventures. utive Chairman and Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy, doubt, go on to catalyze and create impact across many The first Indian student entered MIT just 15 years after Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani, and industries. No one else embodies these ideals of global the Institute opened its doors at the end of the U.S. Civil Biocon Chair and CEO Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. leadership and social commitment more than Dr. Yunus,” War. Today, more than 33 MIT faculty members collabo- The delegation hosted a symposium in New Delhi titled said Ho. rate with colleagues in India, and 229 students from India “India and MIT: A Conversation About the Future,” attend- Martin Holmes, president of the Undergraduate Asso- are enrolled at MIT. ed by 150 alumni and leaders from industry, academia and ciation, agreed. “Dr. Yunus’s development of microcredit In a talk, “Universities and the Global Knowledge the media. The symposium was webcast and is now avail- has had a tremendous impact by elevating the world’s Economy,” delivered at a meeting of the Confederation of able at web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/india-tt1114.html. poor—giving opportunity to those who need it most. His Indian Industries in Mumbai and attended by about 125 “The visit provided an excellent opportunity for the contributions to society perfectly align with MIT’s core business leaders, Hockfield said she sees the partnership MIT delegation to highlight many of the ongoing interac- mission and values, and he, like the students of MIT, is a between MIT and India as a natural one. tions between MIT and India, and to explore new avenues “MIT and India have a great deal to build on, starting with a century of friendship. I believe the strength of that See INDIA See YUNUS friendship springs from some important cultural parallels Page 3 Page 6

NEWS RESEARCH ARTS

HOLLER FOR THE SCHOLAR PASS THE REMOTE BLOWIN’ IN THE WOODWIND Ali Alhassani wins prestigious Marshall Scholarship. Scientists remotely control nanoparticles to release Bassoonist alum performs with MITSO this Friday. Page 2 drugs into tumors. Page 7 Page 4 $200K for CLEAN ENERGY MASTER BLASTER New prize encourages energy entrepreneurship. MALARIA HYSTERIA MIT-spawned “Howtoons” teaches kids hands-on Page 6 Parasites in their natural environment reveal science and engineering. surprises. Page 8 Page 5 PAGE 2 December 5, 2007 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Marshall Scholar will study medicine, health policy Sarah H. Wright boy wounded in Iraq and flown to Bos- Technology, on angiogenesis and cardiac News Office ton’s Spaulding Hospital for urgent medi- drug delivery. Last summer, he interned cal treatment. at the World Health Organization under Alhassani’s frequent visits to the hos- the assistant director-general for health Ali Alhassani, an MIT senior who dis- pital inspired him to pursue a career in action in crises, compiling crisis-analysis covered his passion for medicine and medicine and in advocacy for humanitar- profiles. This semester he is co-leading health policy through the friendship of a ian aid, he told Linn Hobbs, professor of a freshman seminar on AIDS in the 21st war-injured Iraqi boy, has been awarded a materials science and of nuclear engineer- century. Marshall Scholarship for 2008. ing, and chair of the MIT Committee on Alhassani has also served as a Mus- Alhassani, a Boston native whose par- Foreign Fellowships. lim leader for the Addir Fellowship, an ents are Iraqi, is majoring in mechanical “Alhassani has a record of dedicated interfaith group sponsored by the U.S. engineering with a minor in biomedical service aimed at fostering a better world Department of Homeland Security, notes engineering and economics. As a Mar- through mutual understanding and per- Kimberly Benard, program advisor for the shall Scholar, he will study health policy, sonal ministration. With his impressive Office of Study Abroad and Foreign Schol- planning and financing at the University academic record and his genuine and arships. of London’s School of Hygiene and Tropi- diligent drive to help others, he is a rare The Foreign Scholarships Commit- cal Medicine before attending medical young man,” said Hobbs. tee comprises 17 members of the faculty, school. Ali’s parents came to the United States student body and academic staff, most “I am excited about studying in the from Iraq in order to pursue a better edu- of whom are former holders of Marshall, United Kingdom, and every day I am cation. They have lived in the Boston area Rhodes, Fulbright and other major for- thankful for all of the opportunities MIT and in Morocco, and Alhassani continues eign scholarships or who administer MIT has provided for me in pursuing my aca- to study Arabic at Harvard. programs abroad. Additional information demic and extracurricular interests,” he At MIT, Ali helped found Ascent, a is available at web.mit.edu/scholarships. said. Harvard and MIT student magazine about Marshall Scholarships, first awarded in Ten years from now, Alhassani intends Islam and the West. He has worked as a 1954, are named for Gen. George C. Mar- to be a practicing physician as well as an research intern for the Accelerated Cure shall, architect of the European Recovery advocate for health policies both domesti- Project, a national nonprofit whose goal Act. The scholarships constitute Britain’s cally and abroad, he said. is to help find a cure for multiple sclero- official “thank you” for U.S. assistance fol-

PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY His plans for the future came into sis, and as a research assistant for Elaz- lowing World War II. Forty scholarships sharp focus in 2005, when he volunteered er Edelman, Thomas D. and Virginia W. are awarded annually to U.S. citizens, ten- Ali Alhassani to serve as a translator for a 12-year-old Cabot Professor of Health Science and able at any U.K. university. Zwierlein wins physics award AWARDS AND HONORS Six MIT faculty members have been Ochsendorf is collaborating with Italian named fellows by the Institute of Electrical preservationists to identify assessment for discovery in superfluidity and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This methods and repair strategies for historic distinction recognizes important contribu- masonry vaulting. Worked with MIT Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle tions to the advancement or application Earll Murman, Ford Professor of Engi- of engineering, science and technology, neering, Emeritus, in the Aeronautics and Martin Zwierlein, assistant professor than 5 percent of its energy production bringing the realization of significant value Astronautics Department and Engineering of physics, was recently awarded one of through frictional losses in the transport to society. The IEEE fellows are: Systems Division, has been named to pres- Germany’s premier awards for young sci- of current—in the U.S.A. it is even about Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande, pro- ent the SAE International/American Insti- entists. twice as much,” calculates Zwierlein, fessor of electrical engineering, for contri- tute of Aeronautics and Astronautics William The 100,000 euro Klung-Wilhelmy- a native of Bonn, Germany. “This lost butions to the development of digital self- Littlewood Memorial Lecture at the annual Weberbank Prize for physics energy would be sufficient to aligned gate technology and vacuum micro- AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and was presented to Zwierlein at power entire countries. The electronic Exhibit. This a ceremony on Nov. 16 at the exchange of normal wires devices. honor recog- Free University of Berlin. with superconductors would Emery nizes an indi- Zwierlein, 30, was honored thus allow enormous sav- Brown, a vidual “who for work he did in atomic phys- ings.” professor has made ics as an MIT graduate student. Ketterle, winner of the in the Har- significant Working with MIT physics pro- 2001 Nobel Prize for physics, vard-MIT contributions fessor Wolfgang Ketterle, Zwi- delivered the laudatio (lauda- Division of to the field of erlein discovered a new form tory speech) at the award cer- Health Sci- air transport of superfluidity in ultracold emony, describing the work ences and engineering.” gases, in which pairs of atoms that led to Zwierlein’s prize. Technology A team of can flow without any friction. The Klung-Wilhelmy- and in the MIT Sloan The scientists observed Weberbank Prize is annually Department and LFM superfluidity in a gas of lithium Martin Zwierlein awarded to a top young Ger- of Brain and (Leaders for atoms, a million times colder man scientist, alternating Cognitive Akintunde I. Akinwande Judy Hoyt Manufactur- than interstellar space and a million times between a physicist and a chemist. Five of Sciences, for ing) M.B.A. thinner than air. the previous awardees have since received contributions to state-space algorithms for students took first place at Carnegie Mel- The substance serves as a valuable the Nobel Prize: The physicists Theodor point processes and applications to neuro- lon University’s 12th Annual International model system for superconductors and W. Hänsch, Gerd K. Binnig, Horst L. science data. Operations Case Study Competition, held spurs hopes for a material that can trans- Störmer and Johann Georg Bednorz, and Judy Hoyt, professor of electrical engi- in Pittsburgh. The team members were port current at room temperature without the chemist Hartmut Michel. neering and computer science, for contri- Mike Beaser and Steve Rulison from the usual energy loss. Indeed, scaled to The prize is sponsored by the Otto- butions to silicon-based heterostructure Sloan and David Larson, Pete Frys and the density of electrons in a metal, the new Klung Foundation at the Free University of devices and technology. Laurel Hoffman from LFM. form of superfluidity would occur already Berlin, the Dr. Wilhelmy Foundation and Roger Mark, distinguished profes- Teams were judged on the soundness far above room temperature. the Society for the Promotion of Science of sor of health science and technology, for of their reasoning, their analysis of the “Germany loses at the moment more the Weberbank Actiengesellschaft. development of physiologic signal data­ problem and the strength of their business bases and automated arrhythmia analysis. assessment. The Institute team—the third Muriel Medard, associate professor of from MIT that has won first place—took electrical engineering and computer sci- home a prize of $10,000. ence, for contributions to wideband wire- Conor Walsh and Nevan Hanumara, CORRECTIONS less fading channels and network coding. both graduate students in mechanical engi- Jacob White, Cecil H. Green Professor neering, reached the finals of this year’s Col- of Electrical Engineering and Computer legiate Inventors Competition, organized by Due to an editing error in the Nov. Due to incorrect figures supplied to Science, for contributions to simulation the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foun- 14 issue of Tech Talk, Kai von Fintel, the MIT News Office, an article in the tools for RF circuits, electrical intercon- dation. They were honored for their work professor of linguistics, was incor- Nov. 28 issue of Tech Talk contains an nects and micromachined devices. on a device that makes needle biopsies less rectly listed among assistant and error. The article, “MIT study shows Structural engineer John Ochsendorf, invasive. Their machine, called Robopsy, associate professors granted tenure families do more than care—they are Class of 1942 Career Development Profes- is a lightweight plastic device that holds this year. Granted tenure in 2001, von caregivers,” said Massachusetts resi- sor in the Department of Architecture, is a biopsy needle and can sit on a patient’s Fintel was promoted from associate dents spend 697 million hours a year a winner of the 2007-08 Rome Prize Com- chest during a CT scan. The device could professor with tenure to full profes- providing care at an annual market petition sponsored by the American Acad- make lung biopsies easier and less time- sor, effective July 1, 2007. Tech Talk value of $6,914,000. The actual market emy in Rome. He is the first engineer to consuming. Robopsy won the grand prize regrets the error. value should be $6,914,000,000. be awarded a Rome Prize by the Academy. for business venture in the MIT $100K Currently in residence in Rome, Entrepreneurship Competition in May.

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Greg Frost Tech Talk is distributed free to faculty and staff offices and residence halls. It is also avail- Administrative Assistant II ...... Mary Anne Hansen Office of the Arts Production able free in the News Office and the Information Center. Carol Demers Director, Media Relations...... Patti Richards Senior Science & Domestic mail subscriptions are $25 per year, nonrefundable. Checks should be made web.mit.edu/arts payable to MIT and mailed to Business Manager, Room 11-400, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Engineering Editor...... Elizabeth Thomson Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Writer...... Anne Trafton Printed on recycled paper Senior Writer...... Sarah Wright Periodical postage paid at Boston, MA. MIT Tech Talk NEWS December 5, 2007 PAGE 3 Gibson details faculty Preset patterns discovered in neuronal renewal proposal At the Oct. 17 faculty meeting, Asso- ciate Provost Lorna Gibson outlined stem cells could complicate therapy proposals being considered for a faculty renewal program. Below is a Q&A with Deborah Halber Gibson that provides more information. News Office Correspondent Q: What exactly is the Faculty Renew- al Initiative? A: This initiative focuses on support- Stem cell therapies for the brain could ing the transition of retirement-ready be much more complicated than previous- faculty (and those beginning to think about ly thought, an MIT research team’s latest retiring) to open up tenure-track slots finding suggests. for recruiting In a study published in Public Library junior faculty. of Science (PloS) Biology on Nov. 13, By continually MIT scientists reported that adult stem “renewing fac- cells produced in the brain are prepro- ulty,” MIT will grammed to make only certain kinds of be better able connections—making it impossible for a to respond to neural stem cell originating in the brain changing fields to be transplanted to the spinal cord, for of education instance, to take over functions for dam- and research aged cells. and will be Some researchers hope to use adult able to move stem cells produced in the brain to replace more quickly neurons lost to damage and diseases such in building a as Alzheimer’s. The new study calls this into question. Lorna Gibson diverse faculty. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY In addition, “It is wishful thinking to hope that adult the initiative will provide opportunities for stem cells will be able to modify them- Carlos Lois and colleagues have found that adult stem cells produced in the brain are pre- retired faculty to continue their valuable selves so that they can become other types programmed to make only certain kinds of connections. Lois is an assistant professor of contributions to research, teaching and of neurons lost to injury or disease,” said neuroscience in MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. student-development activities. Carlos E. Lois, assistant professor of neu- Q: How will it work? roscience in MIT’s Picower Institute for tions. This means that a given neuronal ments of brain and cognitive sciences and A: The details are still being devel- Learning and Memory. stem cell can have only limited use in biology found that the stem cells give rise oped, but in general the program would In developing embryos, stem cells give replacement therapy. to neurons that become a very specific be voluntary and faculty who have rise to all the different types of cells that “A stem cell that produces neurons neuronal type that is already prespecified reached normal retirement age (65) and make up the body—skin, muscle, nerve, that could be useful to replace neurons in to make a defined set of connections and have accumulated a certain number of brain, blood and more. Some of these the cerebral cortex (the type of neurons not others. years of service at MIT would be eligible stem cells persist in adults and give rise lost in Alzheimer’s disease) will be most Even if the stem cells are transplanted to participate. The program is expected to new skin cells, stomach lining cells, etc. likely useless to replace neurons lost in to other parts of the brain, they do not to provide a menu of options and ­services; The idea behind stem-cell therapy is to use the spinal cord,” said Lois, who also holds change the type of connections they are under consideration are postretirement these cells to repair tissue or organs rav- an appointment in MIT’s Department of programmed to make. resources and support as ways of con- aged by disease. Brain and Cognitive Sciences. “Moreover, “This suggests that we will have to tinuing connections with MIT; transi- To realize this potential, the stem cells because there are many different types of know much more about the different types tion planning services; posttenure title; have to be “instructed” to become liver neurons in the cerebral cortex, it is likely of neuronal stem cells, and to identify the financial incentives; gradual reductions cells, heart cells or neurons. The MIT that we will have to figure out how to pro- characteristic features of their progeny,” in workload leading to retirement; and study, which looked only at adult neural gram stem cells to become many different Lois said. “We may need to have access financial counseling. stem cells, suggests it will be necessary types of neurons, each of them with a dif- to many different types of ‘tailored’ stem Q: When can I find out specifics and to learn how to program any kind of stem ferent set of prespecified connections.” cells that give rise to many different types when will this program begin? cell—embryonic, adult or those derived “In the stem cell field, it is generally of neurons with specific connections. In A: It is hoped that the details will be through other means—to produce specific thought that the main limitation to achieve addition, we may need a combination of announced sometime in spring 2008; at types of functioning neurons. Without this brain repair is simply for the new neu- several of these tailored stem cells to even- that time comprehensive materials will be special set of instructions, a young neu- rons to reach a given brain region and to tually be able to replace the different types available. The program itself is expected ron will only connect with the partners for ensure their survival. Once there, it has of neurons lost in a given brain region.” to take effect around July 1, 2008. which it was preprogrammed. been assumed that stem cells will ‘know Lois’ colleagues are Picower Institute Q: Didn’t something like this take The adult brain harbors its own popula- what to do’ and will become the type of postdoctoral fellow Wolfgang Kelsch, lead place about 10 years ago? tion of stem cells that spawn new neurons neuron that is missing. It seems that is not author of the work, biology undergraduate A: In 1996, MIT offered the Early for the duration of its life. The MIT study the case at all. Our experiments indicate Colleen P. Mosely and brain and cognitive Retirement Incentive Program, which shows that a neural stem cell is irrevers- that things are much more complicated,” sciences graduate student Chia-Wei Lin. was a one-time voluntary program that ibly committed to produce only one type Lois said. This work is supported by the National provided funds and other financial ben- of neuron with a preset pattern of connec- Lois and colleagues from MIT’s depart- Institutes of Health. efits for faculty who decided to retire. Unlike the 1996 program, the Faculty Renewal Initiative is intended to be an ongoing and sustainable program. INDIA Q: Can staff participate in the Faculty Continued from Page 1 Center for Technological Innovation, Renewal Initiative? which funds innovative research and helps A: No. This program applies only to for future engagement. It also created an guide new technologies to the market. faculty. Faculty typically have different opportunity for leaders in academia, indus- “I 3 provides a streamlined organiza- modes of transition to retirement than try and government in India to initiate a tional umbrella to strengthen the innova- staff and often different postretirement dialogue with MIT that could potentially tion ecosystem at MIT by applying the goals. There are a finite number of facul- lead to expanded interactions between best practices of the Deshpande Center to ty slots across the Institute and therefore MIT and India,” said Subra Suresh, dean our international activities,” said Suresh. a dynamic process is necessary to make of engineering, who accompanied Hock- He also announced the appointment of sure there are sufficient openings for new field during this trip. Suresh received his Charles Cooney, faculty director of the hires. undergraduate degree in 1977 from the Deshpande Center and Robert T. Haslam Q: Who is heading up the Initiative? Indian Institute of Technology Madras. (1911) Professor of Chemical Engineering A: This is a cross-campus initiative led MIT unveiled two new initiatives during as the faculty director of I 3. by Associate Provost Lorna Gibson in col- the weeklong trip: I 3 (International Inno- “I 3 will allow us to apply what we have laboration with Vice President of Human vation Initiative), which will fund emerg- learned about converting early-stage sci- Resources Alison Alden. To ensure that ing technologies, and a partnership with ence and technology into useful solutions the program will cover the needs of retir- the new Translational Health Science and to real-world problems,” added Cooney. ing faculty, all faculty have been invited Technology Institute of India (THSTI), Cooney, who sits on the board of direc- to give input. Focus groups of senior fac- which will be modeled after the Harvard- tors of Indian biotechnology firm Biocon ulty from all five schools were organized MIT Division of Health Sciences and Tech- and has visited India at least once a year and have met, with the assistance of the nology (HST). for the past 15 years, said he learns new Faculty Policy Committee. Funded by the Indian government, things every time he visits. Q: “Retired” means different things THSTI will be a multidisciplinary, multi- Last month’s trip offered the MIT del- to different people. What does it mean in professional research and training cen- egation “a chance to see what it’s like to this case? ter with close ties to HST. HST will help operate in India, from the difficulties of A: Each retiree will make the transi- recruit and train new faculty members for moving around in heavy traffic, to the tion from tenure to retired in his or her THSTI, and research and educational col- absolutely staggering opportunities in own way, and according to different time- laborations are being planned between the companies like Infosys and Biocon, where COURTESY / OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA tables. The Faculty Renewal Initiative is two schools, said director of HST Martha they have amazing facilities,” Cooney Susan Hockfield, the first MIT president to committed to providing retired faculty Gray, who was part of the MIT delegation. said. with opportunities to remain connected visit India while in office, met with Prime “In the past few years, the attention Alumni Vinay Rai ’70, Adi Godrej ’63 Minister Manmohan Singh during her trip. with the MIT community—by continuing of MIT’s faculty and students has been and Vikram Kirloskar ’81 hosted recep- to teach, write and pursue research—or increasingly turning towards having a tions and dinners for the delegation and graduate students; Ram Sasisekharan, pro- by participating in other activities, such global impact, and you can’t have a global area alumni in New Delhi, Mumbai and fessor of biological engineering and health as student life, mentoring or community impact if you don’t have global partners,” Bangalore, respectively. sciences and technology; Philip Khoury, service programs. Options such as access Gray said. In addition to Suresh, Gray and Cooney, associate provost; O’Neil Outar, director to campus parking and the Internet are Similarly, I 3 will enhance MIT’s inno- the delegation included Esther Duflo, the of institutional initiatives; Tuli Banerjee, being explored. In addition, office space vation efforts around the world through Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty director of the MIT-India Program; and partnerships with institutions in India and Alleviation and Development; Arvind, the Desh Deshpande, founding donor of MIT’s See GIBSON other countries. Johnson Professor of Computer Science Deshpande Center for Technological Inno- Page 6 I 3 will be modeled on MIT’s Deshpande and Engineering; Steven Lerman, dean for vation. PAGE 4 December 5, 2007 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk Sculpted 3-D particles could aid diagnostics, tissue engineering

Anne Trafton size and shape of the particles, is part of Professor of Materials Science and Engi- tify DNA and other molecules. News Office the technique reported last year by Doyle neering and head of the Department of Other applications for the particles and his students. The second mask, Materials Science and Engineering. “Pro- include tissue engineering. For example, which is based on MIT professor Edwin fessor Doyle was controlling the overall they could form a scaffold that would MIT engineers have used ultra- Thomas’ work in multibeam lithography, shape, and now what we’re doing is con- both provide structural support for grow- violet light to sculpt three-dimensional adds three-dimensional texture and other trolling these inner labyrinth networks.” ing cells and release growth factors and microparticles that could have many physical traits, such as porosity. Adding inner texture is desirable other nutrients. The particles can be applications in medical diagnostics and The collaboration sprung from a con- because it increases the particles’ sur- designed so diffusion occurs in a particu- tissue engineering. For example, the par- versation between Ji-Hyun Jang, a post- face-to-volume ratio, which means if the lar direction, allowing researchers to con- ticles could be designed to act as probes doctoral associate in Thomas’ lab, and particle is loaded with probes, there are trol the direction of nutrient flow. to detect certain molecules, such as DNA, Dhananjay Dendukuri, a recent Ph.D. more potential binding sites for target Alan Hatton, the Ralph Landau Profes- or to release drugs or nutrients. recipient in Doyle’s lab, who are also molecules. sor of Chemical Engineering Practice, is The new technique offers unprec- authors on the paper. In a paper published in Science ear- also an author on the paper. edented control over the size, shape and “It’s very easy to integrate the (sec- lier this year, Doyle and MIT graduate This research was funded by the U.S. texture of the particles. It also allows ond) phase mask into the microfluidic student Daniel Pregibon showed that the Army Research Office through the MIT researchers to design particles with spe- apparatus,” said Thomas, Morris Cohen particles can be used as probes to iden- Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. cific chemical properties, such as poros- ity (a measure of the void space in a mate- rial that can affect how fast different mol- ecules can diffuse through the particles). “With this method, you can rational- ly design particles and precisely place chemical properties,” said Patrick Doyle, associate professor of chemical engineer- ing. Doyle is one of the authors of a paper on the work that appeared in the Dec. 3 issue of the journal Angewandte Che- mie, published by the German Chemical ­S o c i e t y . The research team started with a method that Doyle and his students reported in a 2006 issue of Nature Mate- rials to create two-dimensional particles. Called continuous flow lithography, this approach allows shapes to be imprinted onto flowing streams of liquid polymers. Wherever pulses of ultraviolet light strike the flowing stream of small monomeric building blocks, a reaction is set off that forms a solid polymeric particle. They have now modified that method to add three-dimensionality. This process can create particles very rapidly: Speeds range from 1,000 to 10,000 particles per second, depending on the size and shape of the particles. The particles range in size from about a millionth of a meter to a millimeter.

The team’s new process works by shin- PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY ing ultraviolet light through two transpar- ency masks, which define and focus the From left, Edwin Thomas, Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Patrick Doyle, associate professor of chemical light before it reaches the flowing mono- engineering, and materials science postdoc Ji-Hyun Jang. The researchers have designed a technique to control the size, shape and texture mers. The first mask, which controls the of microparticles. Remote-control nanoparticles deliver drugs directly into tumors

Elizabeth Dougherty makes it possible Harvard-MIT Division of consists of tiny Health Sciences and Technology particles (bil- lionths of a meter in size) that are MIT scientists have devised remotely controlled nano- superparamagnet- particles that, when pulsed with an electromagnetic field, ic, a property that release drugs to attack tumors. The innovation, reported causes them to in the Nov. 15 online issue of Advanced Materials, could give off heat when lead to the improved diagnosis and targeted treatment of they are exposed cancer. to a magnetic field. In earlier work, the team, led by Sangeeta Bhatia, an Active molecules, associate professor in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health such as thera- Sciences and Technology (HST) and in MIT’s Department peutic drugs, are of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, devel- tethered to these IMAGE COURTESY / BHATIA/VON MALTZAHN, MIT; DERFUS, UCSD oped injectable multifunctional nanoparticles designed particles. These dark gray nanoparticles carry different drug payloads (one red, one green). A remotely gener- to flow through the bloodstream, home to tumors and Exposing the ated, five-minute pulse of a low-energy electromagnetic field releases the green drug. A five-minute clump together. Clumped particles help clinicians visual- particles to a low- pulse of a higher-energy electromagnetic field releases the red drug, which had been tethered using ize tumors through magnetic resonance imaging. frequency electro- a DNA strand twice as long as the green tether, as measured in base pairs. With the ability to see the clumped particles, Geoff von magnetic field Maltzahn, Bhatia’s co-author in the current work, asked causes the particles the next question: “Can we talk back to them?” to radiate heat that, in turn, melts the tethers and releases results confirm that without the pulse, the tethers remain The answer, the team found, is yes. The system that the drugs. The waves in this magnetic field have frequen- unbroken. With the pulse, the tethers break and release cies between 350 and 400 kilohertz—the same range as the drugs into the surrounding tissue. radio waves. These waves pass harmlessly through the The experiment is a proof of principle demonstrating body and heat only the nanoparticles. For comparison, a safe and effective means of tunable remote activation. microwaves, which will cook tissue, have frequencies However, work remains to be done before such therapies measured in gigahertz, or about a million times more become viable in the clinic. powerful. To heat the region, for example, a critical mass of The tethers in the system consist of strands of DNA, injected particles must clump together inside the tumor. “a classical heat-sensitive material,” said von Maltzahn, a The team is still working to make intravenously injected graduate student in HST. Two strands of DNA link togeth- particles clump effectively enough to achieve this critical er through hydrogen bonds that break when heated. In mass. the presence of the magnetic field, heat generated by “Our overall goal is to create multifunctional nanopar- the nanoparticles breaks these bonds, leaving one strand ticles that home to a tumor, accumulate and provide cus- attached to the particle and allowing the other to float tomizable, remotely activated drug delivery right at the away with its cargo. site of the disease,” said Bhatia. One advantage of a DNA tether is that its melting point Co-authors on the paper are Austin M. Derfus, a grad- is tunable. Longer strands and differently coded strands uate student at the University of California, San Diego; have bonds that require different amounts of heat to Todd Harris, an HST graduate student; Erkki Ruoslahti break. This heat-sensitive tunability makes it possible for and Tasmia Duza of the Burnham Institute for Medical a single particle to simultaneously carry many different Research in La Jolla, Calif.; and Kenneth S. Vecchio of the types of cargo, each of which can be released at different University of San Diego. times or in various combinations by applying different fre- The research was supported by grants from the David PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY quencies or durations of electromagnetic pulses. and Lucile Packard Foundation and the National Can- HST graduate student Geoffrey von Maltzahn and Professor To test the particles, the researchers implanted mice cer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Derfus Sangeeta Bhatia examine a medium containing iron oxide with a tumor-like gel saturated with nanoparticles. They was supported by a GREAT fellowship from the Univer- particles. Bhatia is leading a team using electric fields to placed the implanted mouse into the well of a cup-shaped sity of California Biotechnology Research and Educational remotely release drugs from nanoparticles inside the body. electrical coil and activated the magnetic pulse. The ­Program. MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH December 5, 2007 PAGE 5 MIT identifies proteins key to brain function Anne Trafton News Office

In work that could lead to new treatments for brain injury and disease, MIT researchers have identified a family of proteins key to the formation of the communi- cation networks critical for normal brain function. A team led by Frank Gertler, professor in the Depart- ment of Biology, found that a certain family of proteins is necessary to direct the formation of axons and den- drites, the cellular extensions that facilitate communica- tion between neurons. The work focuses on cellular outgrowths called neu- rites, which are the precursors to axons and dendrites. Understanding how neurites form could eventually lead to therapies involving stimulation of neurite growth, said Gertler. “You could use these insights to help repair injuries to the top of the spinal column or treat brain injuries or neurodegenerative disorders,” he said. The researchers developed the first model that allows for study of the effects of this protein family, known as the Ena/VASP proteins. The team reported aspects of their work in the Nov. 11 issue of Neuron and the Nov. 18 online edition of Nature Cell Biology. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY The majority of neurons in the cerebral cortex have a single axon—a long, thin extension that relays informa- Biology professor Frank Gertler leads a team that has uncovered new insights into the early development of the nervous tion to other cells—and many shorter dendrites, which system. receive messages from other cells. The interconnec- tion of these axons and dendrites is essential to create a functional neural circuit. In their study, the researchers found that mice with- out the three Ena/VASP proteins did produce brain cells, but those neurons were unable to extend any axons or dendrites. It was already known that Ena/VASP proteins are involved in axon navigation, but the researchers were surprised to find that they are also critical for neurite formation, Gertler said. Ena/VASP proteins are located in the tips of a neu- rite’s filopodia, which are short extensions that receive environmental signals and translate them into instruc- tions for the cell. Those instructions tell the cell whether to continue extending the filopodia by lengthening actin protein filaments, or to stop growth. Without the Ena/VASP proteins, neurites cannot form, and no connections are made between neurons. The researchers believe that Ena/VASP proteins control the growth of filopodia by regulating actin fila- ments’ interactions with microtubules in the cell (which form part of the cell skeleton). One theory is that the microtubules might be delivering materials or send- ing signals to the filopodia through the actin filaments, Gertler said. Lead authors of the Neuron paper are Adam Kwiat- kowski, an MIT Ph.D. recipient, and graduate student Douglas Rubinson. Lead author of the Nature Cell Biol- IMAGE / ADAM KWIATKOWSKI, DOUG RUBINSON, FRANK GERTLER, COURTESY NEURON ogy paper is former MIT postdoctoral fellow Erik Dent. The research was funded by the National Institutes of This image of axons in a mouse embryo was taken after 16.5 days of gestation. In a normal mouse, left, axons (red) extend Health and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research from the cortex upwards toward a part of the brain known as the internal capsule. In a mouse lacking Ena/VASP proteins, at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. right, the axons fail to grow. Genomic study of malaria reveals MIT team discovers bacterial surprise: distinct classes of parasites a DNA shift never before seen in nature Nicole Davis response, presumably related to the body’s Anne Trafton would bacteria conserve this system which Broad Institute inflammatory reaction to the parasite. News Office requires five enzymes, each with different This physiological diversity was previ- co-factors?” ously unknown and may help explain the He theorizes that the modification The malaria parasite has been stud- widely varying course of the disease in dif- A team of MIT researchers and others system might serve as either protection ied for decades, but surprisingly little is ferent patients, from mild, flu-like illness to has discovered that bacteria employ a type against foreign (unmodified) DNA, or as a known about how it behaves in humans coma and even death. of DNA modification never before seen in “bookmark” to assist with transcription or to cause disease. Now an international “For the first time, we have glimpsed nature. replication of DNA. team, which includes scientists at the the biology of the malaria parasite in one The researchers, led by Peter Dedon, The researchers found that the sulfur Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has of its most important environments— professor of biological engineering, and Zixin was incorporated as a phosphorothioate for the first time mea- humans,” said co- Deng at Shanghai Jiaotong University in about every several thousand base pairs sured which of the senior author Aviv China, published their results in the Novem- in the bacterial genome, but they are not parasite’s genes are Regev, a member ber issue of Nature Chemical Biology. sure why it appears in those specific loca- turned on or off dur- of the Broad Insti- For several decades, researchers have tions. They found the sulfur in many dif- ing actual infection in tute and an assistant known that it is possible to modify synthet- ferent strains of bacteria, and they believe humans, unearthing professor of biol- ic oligonucleotides (short strands of DNA) the gene cluster can be passed between surprising behaviors ogy at MIT. “Our by adding sulfur to the sugar-phosphate bacteria, much like genes for antibiotic and opening a win- unique computation- DNA backbone as a phosphorothioate. resistance. dow on the most criti- al approach holds Researchers often use such modifications Other MIT authors of the paper are cal aspects of parasite promise not only in the laboratory to make DNA resistant to lead author Lianrong Wang, a visiting grad- biology. for understanding nucleases (enzymes that snip DNA in cer- uate student in the Department of Biologi- The work is the malaria patho- tain locations) as a step toward gene and cal Engineering; Shi Chen, a postdoctoral reported in the Nov. IMAGE COURTESY / CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL gen, but likely other antisense therapies of human diseases. scientist in the Department of Chemistry; 28 advance online edi- important microbes Dedon said he and his co-workers were Koli Taghizadeh, a research scientist in tion of Nature. By observing the malaria parasite in its nat- as well.” surprised to discover that a group of bacte- the Center for Environmental Health Sci- The study’s con- ural environment—humans—MIT research- In its natural state, rial genes, known as the dnd gene clus- ences; and John Wishnok, senior research clusions spring from ers have made surprising discoveries. the malaria parasite, ter, gives bacteria the ability to employ the scientist in the Department of Biological the genomic analysis Plasmodium falcipar- same modification on their own. Engineering and the Center for Environ- of parasites in their natural state, derived um, leads a complicated life. It proceeds “It turns out that nature has been using mental Health Sciences. directly from patients residing in Senegal, through a series of distinct developmen- phosphorothioate modifications of DNA all The work was funded by the Nation- and also from the researchers’ use of inno- tal stages in humans and mosquitoes, along, and we just didn’t know about it,” al Institute of Environmental Health vative computational approaches to inter- the main vector for disease transmission. he said. ­Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, pret their results. These computational Malaria researchers typically circumvent The discovery raises many new ques- the Ministry of Science and Technology of methods helped to identify three distinct this complexity by studying the parasite in tions. China, the National Science Foundation of biological states of the malaria parasite: “To find that bacteria do it naturally China, the Ministry of Education of China See MALARIA an active growth-based state, a starvation opens up a whole new set of issues to deal and the Shanghai Municipal Council of response and an environmental stress Page 6 with,” Dedon said. “What is it doing? Why ­Science and Technology. PAGE 6 December 5, 2007 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Interdisciplinary cancer study cited MALARIA Elizabeth Thomson benign counterparts from the same fluid Continued from Page 5 ond innovative approach: systematically News Office sample. comparing P. falciparum—whose genes Suresh, who wrote an accompany- cultured cells. Yet in this artificial setting, and genome are poorly understood—to ing commentary to the UCLA paper in few differences have been found in the baker’s yeast, an organism that has been A UCLA cancer study reported in this Nature Nanotechnology, describes such genes that are turned on or off in various extensively characterized at the genetic month’s Nature Nanotechnology validates a nanomechanical approach as a poten- strains of P. falciparum. That uniformity is level. Since the malaria parasite and bak- earlier work by MIT engineers and is tially powerful means for detecting cancer surprising, because it fails to explain the er’s yeast are both single-celled eukary- emblematic of an explosion in research at along with other tools currently used for drastically different courses experienced otes, it is possible they may share some the intersections of engineering, the life ­diagnosis. by malaria patients. of the same cellular machinery and could sciences and medicine, according to MIT “This is a good example of an inter- To explore the basis for these differ- also respond in some similar ways to their Dean of Engineering Subra Suresh. section of engineering with life sciences ences, the scientists set out to observe P. surroundings. Since about 2002, Suresh and col- and medical practice,” Suresh, who is also falciparum in its natural environment: the In the end, the researchers were able leagues have applied state-of-the-art tech- the Ford Professor of Engineering, told human circulatory system. Using small to describe three different classes of para- niques for the study of nanoscale mechani- the News Office in an interview. “We’ve samples of blood collected from more than sites, one of which displayed features asso- cal properties of materials to the study of brought tools that the medical community 40 malaria patients in Senegal, the team ciated with a well-known form of parasite the physical characteristics of living cells, is not generally aware of to probe a human worked meticulously to devise a method metabolism. The other groups, however, with a particular emphasis on infectious disease, in this case cancer.” for isolating genetic material from para- were very unusual, reflecting modes of diseases and cancer. In several papers The UCLA and MIT work toward a sites, allowing them to determine which parasite behavior that had never before over the past three years, they have shown potential new diagnostic method for can- of the nearly 6,000 P. falciparum genes been described. that metastatic, or spreading, pancreatic cer is just one example of what can be are switched on or off during infection in “For decades, our knowledge of the cancer cells are significantly softer (less achieved when engineers and scientists humans. Importantly, all of the patients parasite has been driven solely by stud- stiff) than their benign and nonmetastatic work together on the study of human involved in the study harbored similar- ies in cultured cells, not in humans,” said counterparts. The results paved the way diseases, Suresh said, adding that such looking parasites, yet their symptoms var- co-author Dyann Wirth, a professor at the for a potential new diagnostic test for the collaborations between engineers and ied widely. Harvard School of Public Health and co- disease. researchers in the life sciences are part of From the parasites in patients’ blood, director of the Broad Institute’s Infectious The UCLA work takes the research an a rapidly growing trend. the researchers simultaneously measured Disease Initiative. “Our work underscores important step further. Those researchers, As an example, he cited MIT’s recent the activity level, or “expression,” of every the importance of studying the malaria led by James K. Gimzewski, analyzed live announcement of plans to build the David P. falciparum gene. parasite in its natural environment and will cancer cells taken from body cavity flu- H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer The key to interpreting these results lay hopefully spark novel approaches to malar- ids from the lung, breast and pancreas of Research, which will bring together sci- in two computational tools first developed ia drug discovery.” patients with suspected metastatic cancer. entists and engineers under one roof to to study the genomics of human cancer Additional authors of this study are from Among other things, fluid samples contain develop new and powerful ways to detect, cells. By adapting these tools for malaria, the following organizations: Brigham and both benign and metastatic cells for direct diagnose, treat and manage cancer. the researchers were able to identify dis- Women’s Hospital; University of California, comparison. “The recently announced Koch Insti- tinct groups of parasites, each marked by Riverside; Novartis Research Foundation; Using biomechanical techniques simi- tute … will provide a forum to develop characteristic sets of active and inactive Le Dantec Hospital, Cheikh Anta Diop lar to those of the Suresh team, ­Gimzewski many such interactions among faculty genes. University, Dakar, Senegal; the Whitehead and colleagues found that cancer cells members from the schools of engineering The biological underpinnings of these Institute for Biomedical Research; and the were nearly four times softer than their and science,” he said. groups were made clearer through a sec- Scripps Research Institute. Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize launches The MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneur- The semifinalists and finalists from the RADAR competition will present and defend a full ship Prize of $200,000, announced Nov. 28, Continued from Page 1 early-stage tumors and noticed that after kicks off a program to help develop and business plan before a distinguished panel the surgical removal, none of the patients motivate the next generation of energy of clean-energy industry experts and ven- breast-conserving lumpectomy procedure had tumor cells remaining at the edge of entrepreneurs. The nationwide competi- ture capitalist judges for the awarding of instead of the expected, and more invasive, the incision. This is important because tion is sponsored by MIT, NSTAR Electric the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship mastectomy. Surgeons concluded that 14 additional breast surgery and/or radia- and Gas Corp., and the U.S. Department Prize and runner-up prizes in May. of the tumors shrunk enough for this to be tion therapy are often recommended of Energy (DOE). “DOE is proud to support the work of possible. for patients that have cancer cells close Assistant Secretary of Energy for America’s best and brightest on one of our In 1990, Dr. Alan J. Fenn, a senior staff to the edge of the lumpectomy surgical Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy most important and pressing challenges— member at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, margin. Alexander Karsner and NSTAR Chair- clean energy,” said DOE’s Karsner. adapted the thermotherapy treatment from The treatment centers for the latest man, President and CEO Tom May joined “Our customers are looking to meet a system that used focused microwaves to study, which focused on larger tumors, President Susan Hockfield in making the their energy needs in the cleanest, most detect missiles and block out interfering included Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in announcement. efficient way possible and that requires enemy signals. Torrance, Calif., the University of Okla- “Working together with visionary lead- innovation,” said NSTAR’s May. “We want “It’s a very simple idea that can be homa in Oklahoma City, Comprehensive ers such as Tom May and Andy Karsner to help these entrepreneurs get their great applied to the treatment of many different Breast Center in Coral Springs, Fla., St. demonstrates our shared commitment to ideas off the drawing boards and into the cancers, including breast cancer,” Fenn Joseph’s Hospital in Orange, Calif., and catalyzing the development of the next homes and businesses of our customers.” said. five additional sites. Celsion, a Canadian generation of energy entrepreneurs,” said Additional information regarding the The microwaves, delivered by two company, licenses the focused microwave Hockfield. “The ultimate goal of this con- MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize applicators placed near the breast, kill the thermotherapy technology from MIT, and test is to find innovative solutions to trans- and the full competition is available at cancerous tissue while preserving normal has produced 10 clinical systems to date to form today’s energy systems into tomor- http://mitceep.com. Updates on the prog- breast tissue by targeting tumor cells that perform the procedures. row’s sustainable energy future.” ress of teams participating in the competi- contain high amounts of water and ions, The team has applied for approval for The Clean Energy prize was estab- tion will be available on the web site over Fenn explained. When the microwave a large-scale clinical trial from Health lished by building on the very strong base the coming months. energy passes through the tumor, the Canada (the equivalent of the U.S. FDA) of two existing and nationally recognized The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) is a water molecules begin to vibrate and gen- and will be applying for the same approval MIT competitions—the MIT $100K Entre- key driver of the competition. The campus- erate heat through friction. This process from the FDA. Researchers will then test preneurship Competition and the Ignite wide energy initiative is designed to help eventually elevates the cancer cells to a the treatment in a randomized study of Clean Energy Competition. transform the global energy system to “high fever” of at least 108 degrees Fahr- 228 patients who have large breast-cancer Funding for the award is provided by meet the challenges of the future through enheit in most cases, killing them. tumors. Patients will receive either che- NSTAR and the DOE. This expanded com- research, education and outreach activi- “The treatment is well tolerated,” said motherapy alone or chemotherapy plus petition and more significant pool of prize ties. “Meeting the world’s energy needs Dr. Mary Beth Tomaselli, medical director microwave heat treatments at one of six money is designed to accelerate the pace requires much more than great ideas—we at Comprehensive Breast Center in Coral participating medical centers in the United of bringing innovation to market. Entre- also need creative approaches,” said Pro- Springs, Fla., and a surgeon who was also States and Canada. preneurial teams of all backgrounds and fessor Ernest Moniz, director of MITEI. a co-investigator in the study. “The patients “The patients who have the best results experience levels are being encouraged to “This competition provides another tool to who have gone through it had minimal in cancer treatment, at least with breast participate, as the competition is open to meet the enormous challenges of the 21st side effects and positive results.” cancer, are patients who have a sequence both student and nonstudent teams that century.” This is the fourth clinical trial of the of different therapies, including chemo- meet eligibility requirements. Teams will Further support for the MIT Clean Ener- therapy since 1999. In a Phase-I safety trial therapy, surgery, radiation and hormones,” undergo a rigorous mentoring, coaching gy Entrepreneurship Prize and competition using microwave heat alone, researchers said Dr. Hernan I. Vargas, associate pro- and selection process as the competition is provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman found that both small and large breast fessor of surgery at UCLA and lead author progresses. Foundation (www.kauffman.org). tumors could be decreased in size between of the recent study. “Each one of the treat- 30 and 60 percent. In a Phase-II dose- ments adds a little bit. The thermotherapy escalation trial for small tumors, scientists might be one more tool that helps us fight increased the amount of heat until 100 per- this disease.” YUNUS cent of the tumor cells were killed, prior to Dr. Jay K. Harness of St. Joseph’s Hos- Continued from Page 1 U.N. secretary general. He has served the patients’ receiving a lumpectomy. pital in Orange, Calif., was also an author on the Global Commission of Women’s Next, researchers treated similar of the Cancer Therapy article. problem-solver who addresses the world’s Health, the Advisory Council for Sustain- challenging issues with ingenious solu- able Economic Development and the U.N. tions,” Holmes said. Expert Group on Women and Finance. Yunus has won dozens of international In addition to Grameen Bank, Yunus awards, including the Simon Bolivar Prize, has created numerous other companies GIBSON the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, the Seoul in Bangladesh to address poverty and Continued from Page 3 including Brown, University of Chicago Peace Prize and the Freedom Award of the development issues. Those companies are and Stanford. International Rescue Committee. He has involved in a range of industries, including for retired faculty is currently offered Q: Besides the focus groups, how else also been appointed as an International mobile telephony, Internet access, capital in some but not all of the schools. Over can faculty provide input? Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS by the management and renewable energy. the next few years we will work to pro- A: Feedback, comments or questions United Nations and inducted as a member Recent MIT Commencement speakers vide office space for retired faculty in the (which can remain confidential) can be of France’s Legion d’Honneur. have included MIT President Emeritus schools that do not currently provide it. sent to web.mit.edu/facultyrenewal/ From 1993 to 1995, Yunus was a mem- Charles M. Vest, Federal Reserve Chair- Q: Is this an MIT thing or are other comments.html. Faculty input has also ber of the International Advisory Group for man Ben Bernanke, former U.S. Sen. universities doing it? occurred at meetings of the school coun- the Fourth World Conference on Women, George J. Mitchell and National Institutes A: Several of our peer institutions have cils, at a faculty dinner and the October a post to which he was appointed by the of Health Director Elias Zerhouni. established a faculty retirement program, faculty meeting. MIT Tech Talk ARTS December 5, 2007 PAGE 7 Multimedia artist Joan Jonas wears many hats Sarah H. Wright Others include “Songdelay” (1973), filmed in a vacant News Office lot; “Volcano Saga” (1989), with actress Tilda Swinton as a 12th-century Icelandic woman seeking interpretation of four dreams; and “The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Architecture professor Joan Jonas, pioneering perfor- Things” (2004-2007), a representation of the nonlinear mance and video artist, picked up a portapak camera in thoughts of art historian Aby Warburg, then confined to a the 1970s and hasn’t looked back. A sculptor by train- sanitarium. ing, over the past three decades she has forged a unique A Hopi snake dance inspired the head-nurse hat that artistic genre, mixing humans, animals, ancient stories appears in “The Shape, the Feel, the Scent of Things,” she and high-tech imagery into widely acclaimed multimedia says. productions. A Pippi-Longstocking-meets-Medusa affair, it is a lay- “The camera became my pencil,” she says. “My perfor- ered tower of pale rice paper with braids of rope sticking mances are rituals, and I use technology, everything from out at odd upward angles. Amazingly, the snake hat, along a mirror to computers, to develop them.” with its ragged-layered robe costume, seamlessly suits the Jonas has won numerous awards and her video work video work’s mental hospital setting. has been collected by prestigious museums including the So do other elements that Jonas often uses in “Shape,” Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and the though none would seem logically to suit the scene at all. Centre Pompidou in Paris. The Museum of Contempo- These include a stuffed coyote on a low cart (she has cast rary Art in Barcelona features an exhibition of her work each of her dogs, Sappho and Zina, in various works); a through January. metal hoop that recurs throughout her work; images of Jonas is modest about this global reach and about the nature, such as moths; and acts of drawing or painting deep complexity of her work. In a recent interview in her white circles or snakes or animal heads on the ground. office at MIT, she delighted most in discussing the design- These simple, vigorous drawings, inspired by Maya and-build, hands-on part of her work—the way she makes Deren’s films of Haitian voodoo rituals, suggest a ceremo- hats. ny is underway, Jonas acknowledges. Jonas designs and constructs elaborate, abstract hats It is reasonable to see these mysterious acts and objects for her performances, following an intuitive process that as symbols. But the artist has something more free-form results in headdresses that function as hair coverings and in mind, she says. as disguises. “I never use the word ‘symbol.’ I use ‘motifs’ so the “I use Japanese rice paper—it crunches and makes a audience has the freedom to read into the images. I use good sound. To make the hats, I twist it and mash it into and reuse props, things I find around me, like the hoop or layers. I get the right shape. Sometimes I attach the paper blocks of wood or a freighter passing by that gets caught to a straw-hat frame, so I can add rope or wire, so it can by a camera. They don’t refer to any fixed thing outside stand up,” she says, her hands forming a hat in the air as the piece,” she says. she speaks. Her recent and current works include these motifs, and PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Some look like wacky chef’s hats; others, like shaman’s she uses them plus new editing technology to keep prob- gear. Rituals like the Tibetan black hat ceremony and the ing the genre she practically invented. Joan Jonas, grand dame of video art. Hopi snake dance inspired her to build headdresses for Since the late 1970s, her work has delved into litera- her performances, she says. ture, ranging from ancient Icelandic sagas to Irish tales “I’ve got an image from the 1970s of steam rising from “A hat transforms you. It’s like a mask, but more subtle. to an upcoming work exploring and representing Dante’s the street in New York. It’s very inferno-like,” she says. I often use masks—my alter ego, Organic Honey, wore a “Inferno.” As for the costumes and hats—of course there will be mask—to alter my persona. Now, I also wear hats to cover “It’s a majestic work, very concentrated, and very inter- costumes and hats! Maybe a robe like the black rice-paper my hair, so I am not myself in performances,” she says. esting to do in the present time,” she says. winged one Ragani Hass wore in “Shape”? Or a mask-hat “Organic Honey’s Visual Telepathy” (1972), featuring The Dante piece will take more than six months to with wolf ears, like the one in “Shape”? a plastic mask and a feathered headdress, is one of 10 produce. Jonas is already gathering images, circling back Jonas laughs. “Art is spiritual because it gives people works, which include more complex installations and sin- through earlier projects, like a knitter looking for a lost pleasure. Hats, costumes, images, space—they’re all part gle channel videos, in the Barcelona exhibition. stitch. of an ongoing experiment.” MIT alum, principal bassoonist will perform solos with MITSO

Sarah H. Wright Alec Wider, Bernard Rogers and Burrill News Office Phillips. MITSO Music Director Adam Boyles will conduct. Miller describes the pieces he will John Miller, MIT alumnus and play as representative of the American principal bassoon for the Minnesota Neo-Romantic style of the mid-20th Orchestra, will perform a suite of works century. by American composers with the MIT “All three composers were trained at Symphony Orchestra (MITSO) at 8 p.m. the Eastman School of Music and have on Friday, Dec. 7, in Kresge somewhat similar voices. Auditorium. Wilder uses the bassoon in a The first MIT graduate to gently nostalgic way, Rogers be awarded a Fulbright grant is seriously oratorical for music performance and and Phillips is jaunty and to hold a principal chair in a bold. They all chose to set major American symphony the bassoon with string orchestra, Miller (S.B. 1964) instruments so that its soft- is returning to a campus spoken tone could be more he recalls as intellectually effectively showcased,” inspiring and stimulating. Miller said. “My most cherished The MITSO program memory of MIT was the will also include works by palpable feeling of brain Samuel Barber, Ottorino power at work. This unseen Respighi and Jean Sibelius. vibration stimulated me, John Miller Miller received his gave me confidence and early musical training at made me feel smarter and more capable. the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore It was what I loved most about being at and the New England Conservatory in the Institute,” he said. Boston. While in Boston he founded Miller majored in humanities and the Bubonic Bassoon Quartet and made engineering, which gave him the the premier recording of the Hummel flexibility to pursue courses in acoustics Bassoon Concerto, released with the and the chance to study with such Weber Concerto on Cambridge Records. renowned faculty as Amar Bose, who was For more than 20 years he was a then professor of electrical engineering member of the American Reed Trio. and computer science. Among his solo recordings are four As an MIT student, Miller played concertos by Vivaldi and the Mozart and bassoon professionally with groups Vanhal concertos, all conducted by Sir including the New England Conservatory. Neville Marriner on two Pro Arte CDs. His academic and performance One of Miller’s educational activities, commitments left him little free time: He the Nordic Bassoon Symposium, squeezed in his individual practice after begun in 1984 as the John Miller midnight, he said. Bassoon Symposium, has attracted He assumed his present position an international mix of hundreds of as principal bassoon of the Minnesota professional, student and amateur Orchestra in 1971, when he also bassoonists. joined the faculty of the University of Kresge Auditorium, 84 Massachusetts Minnesota. Ave., is handicapped accessible. This On Friday, Miller will perform works event is open to the public, and admission for solo bassoon and string orchestra by is $5 at the door. PAGE 8 December 5, 2007 ARTS MIT Tech Talk

IMAGE / Copyright © 2007 by Howtoons LLC, used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers Howtoons characters Celine and Tucker, wearing safety goggles made from plastic soda bottles, launch a rocket that is also made from an old plastic soda bottle. The scene is the culmination of a set of detailed how-to instructions, which the comic presents in graphic form. ‘Howtoons’ hits bookshelves: MIT’s do-it-yourself for kids

David Chandler local schoolchildren and invited MIT professors to come News Office and bring their families. At these workshops, some of the construction projects that ended up in the book evolved spontaneously as people tinkered and experimented with Splurt! Urgghh! Ping! Thump! Boom boom bap! a variety of simple materials. The impetus for developing It’s not exactly cutting-edge technology, but those the concept into a business plan came when they took a could be the sounds of future scientists and engineers in class in developmental entrepreneurship taught by Lega- the making. tum Center founder and faculty director Alex “Sandy” In a series of colorful, fun-filled comic-book pages, Pentland. cartoon kids Celine and Tucker set up a home work- The projects range from rockets and goggles to sim- shop and then proceed to build a whole series of toys ple electric motors, a marshmallow-shooting blowgun, and gadgets out of leftover items. They are the heroes and a simple way of making homemade ice cream. The of a just-released MIT-spawned book called “Howtoons” materials are mostly everyday items like plastic bags and (HarperCollins,­ 2007), designed to inspire youngsters all bottles, rubber bands and paper clips. over the world with a sense of can-do adventure, and to Bonsen and Griffith enlisted the help of cartoonist teach them a few principles of science and engineering— Nick Dragotta, who has worked for comic-book power- and a sense of the creative possibilities all around them— houses Marvel and DC, to put the projects into visual along the way of just having fun. form. The idea is to make the instructions as visually Howtoons, which also offers a variety of pictorial self-explanatory as possible, so that kids anywhere can home-build projects at howtoons.com, is the brainchild use them without having to read the words (although of Joost Paul Bonsen, program director of MIT’s new the book will also be translated into several languages). Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, Eventually, new versions specifically designed for the and writer and engineer Saul Griffith, who earned his materials, culture and climate of other countries will also Ph.D. at MIT and earlier this year won a MacArthur be produced. Foundation “genius” award. “What we hope is that kids Tucker and Celine were designed to be “realistic kids, everywhere will not look at throwaway stuff the same but drawn in a superhero style,” Bonsen says. The idea way ever again,” Bonsen says. Instead, they will realize was to have them “be able to do anything—fix things, than an old plastic bottle “can be a rocket or a submarine make things,” he says, and thus provide an example for or any number of things.” young readers to adopt the same kind of creative, can-do The idea for Howtoons came about when Bonsen approach to their surroundings. and Griffith were MIT graduate students (Bonsen at the IMAGE / Copyright © 2007 by Howtoons LLC, used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers “We want to inspire them,” Bonsen says, “to think Sloan School of Management and Griffith at the Media about the world around them not as it is, but as it Lab). They helped to organize some workshop parties for The new Howtoons book sprang from a class project. could be.”