Volume 50 – Number 5 Wednesday – October 19, 2005 TechTalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY MIT cheers new Nobelist Chemistry set Prof. Richard really pays off Schrock wins Elizabeth A. Thomson News Office 2005 prize Richard Schrock was 8 when his broth- Elizabeth A. Thomson er gave him his first chemistry set, a gift News Office that piqued a passion that would ultimately lead to Schrock’s sharing the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry. MIT Professor Richard R. Schrock has At a wide-ranging MIT press confer- won the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry for ence on Oct. 5, the new laureate described the development of a chemical reaction why chemistry is so compelling for him, now used daily in the chemical industry what it was like to get “the call” at 5:30 in for the efficient and more environmentally the morning, and much more. friendly production of important pharma- “I was shaking so hard I could hardly ceuticals, fuels, synthetic fibers and many hold the phone,” said the Frederick G. other products. Keyes Professor of Chemistry, describing Schrock, the Frederick G. Keyes Pro- his conversation with representatives of fessor of Chemistry at MIT, shares the the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. prize with Yves Chauvin of the Institut Later he called his soon-to-be 92-year- Français du Pétrole and Robert H. Grubbs old mother. “I told her I’d won a Nobel of Caltech “for the development of the Prize, and she said, ‘A what?’ She’s a little metathesis method in organic synthesis.” hard of hearing.” Once she understood, Metathesis was discovered in the however, “she was very excited, and happy 1950s by industry researchers, but was to hear that she’ll visit Stockholm for the not understood until 1971. That was when first time.” (The laureates will receive Chauvin proposed a mechanism for the their prizes in Stockholm in the company reaction, in which double bonds are bro- of their families on Dec. 10.) ken and made between carbon atoms in The new laureate expressed his heart- ways that cause atom groups to change felt thanks, particularly to his wife, Nancy places, much like a dance in which the F. Carlson, “who married me in 1971 when couples change partners. This happens my stock was real cheap.” He also talk- with the assistance of special catalyst mol- ed about how much he loves MIT. “I’m ecules. overjoyed to be a faculty member at MIT, Once the “recipe” for metathesis was and that joy has not diminished.” This is known, the next step was to develop the Schrock’s 30th year on the faculty. catalysts. In 1990, Schrock was the first to “There aren’t any colleagues in the do this. Two years later Grubbs developed PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY See CHEMISTRY MIT Professor Richard R. Schrock learned early on Oct. 5 that he had won the Nobel Prize See NOBEL Page 6 in chemistry for work he did developing a key chemical reaction. Page 6

PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY An enthusiastic crowd cheers for Professor Richard R. Schrock at the talk he gave Oct. 5 Chemistry Professor Richard R. Schrock explains the work that won him a Nobel Prize in on the work for which he won the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry. chemistry at his Nobel lecture, held in Room 10-250 on Oct. 5. MIT alumnus Aumann wins economics Nobel Sarah H. Wright Aumann, who received the S.M. in about conflict and cooperation. sis is now a staple of social science, politi- News Office 1952 and the Ph.D. in mathematics in Using logic and mathematics to parse cal and corporate practices. 1955, shares the 2005 Nobel with Thomas the options for cooperation available to Aumann’s fellow laureates in game the- Schelling. Both are pioneers in game theo- people who face the same conflicts over ory include an economist and a mathema- MIT alumnus Robert J. Aumann is ry. The Nobel citation describes their work and over again, he showed that coopera- tician affiliated with MIT. the co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize as having “enhanced our understanding of tion increases when strategic situations Joseph Stiglitz, who received the Ph.D. in economics. Aumann is the third MIT- conflict and cooperation through game- are repeated. Even when there are imme- from MIT in 1966, co-won the Nobel Prize affiliated Nobel laureate whose models for theory analysis.” diate and pressing conflicts of interest, in economics in 2001 for his work on deci- understanding conflict and decision-mak- A professor at the Center for Rational- individuals have more opportunities to sion-making in situations in which players ing – known as game theory – have been ity at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in build cooperation if they expect to be deal- recognized with the famed $1.3 million Israel, Aumann contributed the analysis ing with the other side repeatedly in the See AUMANN prize. of “repeated games” to strategic thinking future. Aumann’s “repeated games” analy- Page 6 PAGE 2 October 19, 2005 NEWS MIT Tech Talk

Alumnus makes 3 major endowments DIGITALK: WHERE IT’S AT Virus protection to support MIT Poverty Action Lab There’s been a steady increase in the volume of MIT last week announced that the lab is to translate research into vate independent distributor of Toyota incoming e-mail that carries alumnus Mohammed Abdul Latif action that helps the lives of the poor and Lexus vehicles in the world with potential computer viruses. Jameel has committed a substantial in their communities. It is the only operations in the Middle East, Africa, To minimize security risks, gift in support of the Poverty Action research center in the world devoted Europe, Japan and China. The com- IS&T strongly encourages all Lab in the Department of Economics. to combating global poverty by rigor- pany’s activities also cover the areas Windows users in the MIT com- The gift will endow a professorship, ously testing the effectiveness of pov- of electronics, technology ‘startup’ munity to install and use VirusScan Enterprise two fellowships, and a research and erty programs through the use of ran- investments, real estate development, 8.0i. This anti-virus program can detect and teaching fund, all in the areas of pov- domized evaluations. The lab applies financial and marketing services. remove viruses and prevent scripts from per- erty alleviation and development eco- the same level of rigor to the measure- ALJ employs more than 9,800 people forming malicious actions. It runs on Windows nomics. All three endowments will be ment of poverty alleviation programs worldwide and this year is celebrat- XP computers and on Windows 2000 Server named in honor of Jameel’s late father, that is routinely used to test the effec- ing 50 years of association with the and Windows Server 2003. The MIT-installed Abdul Latif Jameel. tiveness of medications. Toyota Motor Corp. version of VirusScan Enterprise 8.0i is con- MIT President Susan Hock- “The lab is already having a big Jameel is a dedicated philanthropist figured to perform daily scans and updates. field said, “We are deeply grateful to impact in the field of development eco- who supports many programs related to For details, see the VirusScan at MIT page at Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel for nomics,” said Professor Bengt Holm- poverty alleviation, job creation, eco- itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=644. his extraordinary commitment to strom, head of the economics depart- nomic development and efforts to pro- For Macintosh OS X users, the recom- MIT. His support will ensure that the ment. “With this very generous gift, mote understanding among different mended anti-virus program is Virex. The cur- Poverty Action Lab can fulfill its great I feel confident that the lab will end cultures and religions. rent version is 7.2.1; IS&T is ramping up a potential to make a significant differ- up being one of the great initiatives at In 1994, ALJ made a donation to MIT release effort for Virex 7.7. For more informa- ence in the international fight against MIT.” to establish the Abdul Latif Jameel-Toy- tion, visit the Virex at MIT page at itinfo.mit. poverty.” Hockfield also announced Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel ota endowed scholarship fund to honor edu/product.php?vid=579. that MIT plans to mark this generous received his S.B. in civil engineering the company’s founder. To honor the gift by naming the Poverty Action Lab from MIT in 1978. He is president long-standing relationship between Toy- Spam screening enhanced for Jameel’s father. of the Abdul Latif Jameel Co. (ALJ), ota and the late Abdul Latif Jameel, stu- Located in the Department of Eco- which was founded by his father in dents receiving the scholarship are called Only about half of the community is mak- nomics, the Poverty Action Lab at 1945. In 1955, the company was Jameel-Toyota scholars. The scholarship ing use of MIT Spam Screening (web.mit. MIT was founded in 2003 with startup granted sole distributorship for Toy- provides financial aid to undergraduates edu/ist/services/email/nospam/) on their funds from the economics department ota vehicles in Saudi Arabia, which from 28 Middle Eastern and Asian coun- post office servers. This service gives users and the School of Humanities, Arts, the company has maintained ever tries who could not attend MIT without of MIT e-mail the option of screening incom- and Social Sciences. The mission of since. Today, ALJ is the largest pri- financial assistance. ing messages for spam. Once mail is identified as spam, it can be filtered to avoid cluttering a user’s inbox. If you use an IMAP e-mail client, such as WebMail, Outlook Express, Outlook or Apple Mail, you can enable automated purging of your Spamscreen folder. In response to cus- tomer requests, IS&T has added a new set- ting that lets IMAP users purge spam mes- sages faster than the default of 21 days: The automatic purge threshold can now be set for anywhere from 1 to 31 days. To update your MIT Spam Screening settings (certificates required), see nic.mit.edu/cgi-bin/spam- screen. MIT PressLog launched The MIT Press has unveiled a weblog at mitpress.mit.edu/presslog to keep readers informed of breaking news on its books and authors. The MIT PressLog features the per- spectives of MIT Press authors, including MIT Professors Thomas Kochan, Eric von Hippel and Yossi Sheffi; the political philosopher Jur- gen Habermas; the artist Louise Bourgeois; economist William Easterly; and many others on matters of current interest. Recent posts have discussed copyrights and patents; the “Scopes II” trial in Dover, Pa.; the perils and pitfalls of choice in our society; and how soft- PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY ware development resembles extreme sports. Massive march The MIT Press is working on a podcasting feature for author interviews and readings. Circus elephants parade down Memorial Drive past the Great Dome of MIT on Oct. 6. The Asian elephants, who arrived in Cambridge area by rail, were en route to their gig at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, where they performed Database development in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Oct. 7-16. In August, IS&T announced a new offer- ing: database development services, which provides departments with help in database design, development and more. The new Faculty meeting slated Vest urges federal science push Departmental Consulting and Application A regular meeting of the faculty will A report released last week by the National Academies concludes that “a Development (DCAD) Team will coordinate take place Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 3:30 p.m. comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster these efforts: DCAD was formed by expand- in Room 32-141. The agenda includes: U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence” in science and technology. ing on IS&T’s web communications services The congressionally requested report was written by a 20-member com- team. •Vote on changes to the “Rules and mittee that included former MIT President Charles M. Vest, CEOs, Nobel After an initial free consultation, DCAD will Regulations of the Faculty,” Section 1.11 Prize-winners and former presidential appointees. either work with the department or refer the and Section 1.72 The report cites several reasons why action is needed, including the rela- client to recommended vendors. DCAD pro- •A report from the Special Commit- tively high cost of hiring American scientists. “For the cost of one chemist or vides the following fee-based services: the cre- tee to Review the Discipline System and one engineer in the United States, a company can hire about five chemists in ation of requirements documentation, project a proposal to change Section 1.73.7 of the China or 11 engineers in India.” management, database development and appli- “Rules and Regulations of the Faculty” Another reason cited is that in 2001, U.S. industry spent more on tort liti- cation support and maintenance. For more •An update on MIT finances from Pro- gation than on research and development. information, visit web.mit.edu/ist/dcad/, or vost L. Rafael Reif The committee’s recommendations center on attracting exceptional stu- contact the team at [email protected] or x3-3500. •Remarks from President Susan Hock- dents to math and science teaching careers and investing more in basic field research. Digitalk is compiled by Information Services •Topics arising and questions for the For the full report, visit www.nationalacademies.org/morenews/20051012. and Technology. president, the provost and the chancellor html.

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The Corporation’s Executive Committee approved 25 faculty members for promotion to tenure in May. Here are their profiles:

Max Tegmark Bernhardt L. Trout Eran Ben-Joseph Catherine L. Drennan Physics Chemical Engineering Urban Studies and Chemistry Education: S.B. 1989 Education: S.B. and Planning Education: A.B. 1985 Charles F. Harvey Andras Vasy (Stockholm School of Eco- M.S.CEP 1990 (MIT); Education: B.A. 1982 and (Vassar College); Ph.D. nomics); S.B. 1990 (Royal Ph.D. 1996 (UC-Berkeley) Ph.D. 1995 (both from Environmental Engi- 1995 (University of Michi- Institute of Technology); Joined MIT faculty: 1998 UC-Berkeley); M. Agr. neering Mathematics gan) Ph.D. 1994 (UC-Berkeley) 1986 (National University, Education: B.S. 1986 Education: B.S. 1993 and Joined MIT faculty: Joined MIT faculty: 2004 A leader in molecular Chiba, Japan) (Oberlin College); M.S. M.S. 1993 (both from Stan- 1996 engineering, Trout does Joined MIT faculty: 1998 1992 and Ph.D. 1996 (both ford University); Ph.D. Tegmark’s research research into clean fuel from Stanford University) 1997 (MIT) Drennan uses macromo- focuses on issues related sources, high-sulfur-fuel A major voice in his field, Joined MIT faculty: 1998 Joined MIT faculty: 1999 lecular crystallography to constraining cosmo- emission reduction and Ben-Joseph suggests to investigate metallopro- logical models. His main minimizing degradation new approaches to shap- Harvey is a hydrologist Vasy is the leading teins that achieve some current research interest of therapeutic proteins ing urban development concerned with groundwa- microlocal analyst of his of the more remarkable is cosmology theory and (drugs). in more responsible and ter and the fate and trans- generation. chemical transformations phenomenology. effective ways. port of chemicals in the in living systems. subsurface environment.

Scott R. Manalis Bevin P. Engelward Georgia Perakis Andreas S. Schulz Jesper B. Sorensen Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan Biological Engineering Biological Engineering Sloan School of Man- Sloan School of Man- Sloan School of Man- Education: B.S. 1994 Education: B.A. 1988 agement agement agement Sloan School of Man- (UC-Santa Barbara); M.S. (Yale University); Sc.D. Education: B.S. 1987 Education: Diploma, Education: A.B. 1989 agement 1996 and Ph.D. 1998 (both 1996 (Harvard University) (University of Athens, mathematics 1993 and (Harvard University); Education: B.A. 1992 from Stanford University) Joined MIT faculty: 1997 Greece); M.S. 1988 and Ph.D. 1996 (both from M.A. 1992 and Ph.D. 1996 (Columbia University); Joined MIT faculty: 1999 Ph.D. 1993 (Brown Uni- Technische Universität, (Stanford University) M.S. 1994 and Ph.D. 1997 Engelward’s work is versity) Germany) Joined MIT faculty: 2000 (both from University of Manalis’ laboratory devel- focused on environmental Joined MIT faculty: 1998 Joined MIT faculty: Chicago) ops more efficient meth- and inherited factors that 1998 Sorenson is a top scholar Joined MIT faculty: ods for measuring specific influence human health. A rising star in operations in organizational sociol- 2001 proteins and DNA. Mana- The Engelward labora- research, Perakis is known Schulz is a leader in the ogy. His research lies at lis has played a key role in tory created the first ani- for her strong mathemati- field of machine sched- the intersection of orga- Zuckerman Sivan is a lead- the creation of a new bioin- mal model that makes it cal background and cre- uling. His contributions nizations (macro-organi- er in the emerging field of strumentation laboratory possible to directly detect ativity in applying novel, include not only the solu- zational issues) and labor economic sociology. His subject for the biological recombinant cells that sophisticated mathemati- tion of specific problems markets (issues of social work is known for both engineering S.B. major. arise in adult tissues. cal tools to optimization but also the development class and mobility). theoretical sophistication and equilibrium problems. of methodologies that can and methodological rigor. be broadly applied.

Krste Asanovic Isaac L. Chuang Martin F. Polz David Autor Muriel Medard Antoinette Schoar

Electrical Engineering Electrical Engineering Civil and Environmental Economics Electrical Engineering Sloan School of Man- and Computer Science and Computer Science Engineering Education: B.A.1989 and Computer Science agement Education: B.A.1987 Education: S.B. 1990, Education: Mag. Rer. Nat. (Tufts University); Education: S.B. 1989, S.B. Education: Diploma, eco- (University of Cambridge); S.B. 1991 and S.M. 1991 1991 (University of Vien- M.A.1994 and Ph.D. 1999 1991, S.M. 1991, Ph.D. nomics 1995 (University Ph.D. 1998 (UC-Berkeley) (all MIT); Ph.D. 1997 na); A.M. 1995 and Ph.D. (both from Harvard Uni- 1995 (all from MIT) of Cologne, Germany); Joined MIT faculty: 1998 (Stanford University) 1997 (both from Harvard versity) Joined MIT faculty: 1995 Ph.D. 2000 (University of Joined MIT faculty: 2001 University) Joined MIT faculty: (Lincoln Lab) Chicago) Asanovic occupies an Joined MIT faculty: 1998 1999 Joined MIT faculty: 2000 unusual research niche, Chuang is a leader in the Medard has made signifi- combining strengths as young field of quantum The focus of Polz’s work Autor is a labor economist cant contributions in two Schoar’s work focuses on a circuit designer with computation and quan- has been developing a studying fundamental areas: wireless communica- the relationships between strengths as a computer tum information and has clear picture of the diver- issues concerning train- tions and optical networks. the internal structure and architect. His break- already made landmark sity of microbes in nature, ing, information flows and She is credited with laying policies of the firm and through innovations in progress toward his an understanding of the labor market structure. the foundation for a third financial outcomes. memory management research goal, building a evolutionary origins of He has built an interna- field, network coding. and in parallel processor practical quantum com- that diversity and an tional reputation for his design are highly influen- puter. understanding of what is analysis of current labor See TENURE tial within the field. influencing the rate(s) of market developments. microbial processes. Page 4 PAGE 4 October 19, 2005 PEOPLE MIT Tech Talk David Dibner, founder of TENURE Dibner Institute, dies at 78 Continued from Page 3

Sarah H. Wright a wonderful, warm presence in the MIT News Office community. We will miss him dearly.” A native of Norwalk, Conn., Dibner was chairman of the Dibner Fund, a fam- David Dibner, the distinguished philan- ily foundation founded in 1957, and former thropist and civic leader who established chairman of the Burndy Corp., a leading the Dibner Institute for the History of Sci- multinational manufacturer of electrical ence and Technology, died unexpectedly and electronic connectors and tools, which at his home in Wilton, Conn., on Sept. 28. he joined as an engineer in 1952. He was 78. Beginning in 1989, he oversaw the Dib- Rosalind Williams, Metcalfe Professor ner Fund’s national and international grant of Writing and director of the Program in making in science education, humanitar- Science, Technology and Society (STS), ian aid, the environment, peaceful coex- Emma J. Teng Jianshu Cao Andrei Tokmakoff recalled Dibner as a “lovely person, at istence, Jewish heritage and culture, and once gentlemanly and warm. local community organiza- Foreign Languages and Chemistry Chemistry Through the Dibner Fund, tions. Literatures Education: B.Sc. 1986 Education: B.Sc. (Califor- he was a strong supporter Dibner and his wife, Education: A.B. 1989, (Zhejiang University); nia State University); M. of the history of science and the former Frances Kes- A.M. 1992, Ph.D. 1997 (all M. Arts 1988, M. Phil. Sc. and Ph.D. (both from technology, and also of many sler, lived in Wilton for 53 from Harvard University) 1989, Ph.D. 1993 (all from Stanford University) activities relating that history years. Dibner spearheaded Joined MIT faculty: 1995 Columbia University) Joined MIT faculty: 1999 to contemporary issues. The the building of Wilton High Joined MIT faculty: 1998 300 or so recipients of Dibner School and served on the An innovative scholar who Tokmakoff’s research Institute fellowships continue board of Norwalk Hospital. has demonstrated leader- Cao’s research group focuses on molecular these missions, carrying on He was a founding member ship nationally in premod- develops molecular mod- dynamics in the condensed David’s legacy further than of the American Business ern Chinese studies and els for understanding the phase. He works on exper- any of us can predict or even Conference, an active trust- Asian-American studies, structure and dynamics of imental methods to study imagine.” ee of Polytechnic University Teng has helped shape the condensed phase molecu- transient molecular struc- The Dibner Institute, a in Brooklyn and of Columbia Asian and Asian-American lar systems, to establish ture and its time-evolution center for advanced study, University’s School of Engi- studies curriculum at MIT. relationships between in amorphous molecular and the Burndy Library, one David Dibner neering and was a member Her work combines textu- these models and experi- condensed phases and bio- of the world’s outstanding col- of the Committee for the al analysis, solid historical mental observables and logical systems. lections of rare books, manu- Humanities at MIT. He was scholarship and theoreti- to explore new ways to scripts, incunabula and objects related to also a fellow of the Aspen Institute and a cal inquiries. measure and manipulate the history of science and technology, have member of the Council on Foundations. molecular dynamics. been located on the MIT campus since He served in the U.S. Navy in WWII. 1992. The Burndy Library was founded in He received the B.S. degree in industrial 1936 by Dibner’s father, Bern Dibner. engineering from Columbia University in Dibner’s service to MIT included 1950, the same year he married. He con- No photo endowing the Frances and David Dibner tinued with post-graduate studies at the available Professorship of the History of Engineer- London School of Economics and complet- ing and Manufacturing, currently held by ed the Advanced Management Program at David Mindell. Harvard University in 1968. Victor Chernozhukov Mindell said the endowed chair is an Dibner is survived by his wife and his “honor, and now that title takes on a spe- three sons and daughters-in law, Brent and Economics cial meaning honoring David’s legacy. Relly (Wolfson) Dibner, Daniel and Victoria Education: B.S. 1995 David Dibner’s vision for interdisciplinary (Clark) Dibner, and Mark and Rachel (Zax) (Nizhni Novgorod State work in engineering and the humanities Dibner, and eight grandchildren.. Agricultural Academy); provided the impetus for the flowering A memorial service will be held in the near M.S. 1997 (University of of research in the history of science and future. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Illinois at Urbana-Cham- technology currently going on at MIT. He donations be made in Dibner’s memory to the paign); Ph.D. 2000 (Stan- was a great supporter of the STS program, Michael B. Yaffe Chappell Lawson Norwalk Hospital Foundation, the Wilton Vol- ford University) particularly its graduate students, and unteer Ambulance Corps, or any other charity. Biology Political Science Joined MIT faculty: 2000 Education: B.S. 1981 Education: A.B. 1989 (Cornell University); (Princeton University); Chernozhukov is an Prospective grad students Converge at MIT Ph.D. 1987 and M.D. 1989 M.S. 1996 and Ph.D. 1999 econometric theorist who (both from Case Western (both from Stanford Uni- has emerged as the lead- Sasha Brown tried to steer away from the East Coast Ivy Reserve) versity) ing econometrician in his News Office League schools. “The targeting is differ- Joined MIT faculty: 2000 Joined MIT faculty: 1998 age group. He combines ent,” said Sassanfar. The ideal Converge an outstanding command candidate is an exceptional student who Yaffe is an international Lawson’s primary research of mathematical statisti- Just a few months ago, Miguel Pare- could find MIT intimidating. leader in the field of sig- field is Latin America and cal methods with a broad des from the University of Lima in Peru “I had already planned on apply- nal transduction. His the emergence of new interest in important thought MIT was an impossible dream. ing to MIT, but was skeptical because of research uses a combina- democracies. He is inter- econometric problems. After spending time on campus during the name and the famous people that do tion of diverse methods ested in understanding the all-expenses-paid graduate preview research there,” said Christle Guevarra to decipher the structural how the public discourse weekend called Converge, Paredes feels of San Francisco State University. “I have code that governs the tran- that links citizens and can- his dream is within reach. visited other schools with big names and sient interactions between didates for office evolves “Converge was amazing. Many of the have gotten a rather cold and unforgiving proteins in intracellular as former authoritarian preconceptions I had about MIT were shat- vibe from the students.” signaling pathways. regimes embrace the trap- tered, and my expectations of MIT were MIT was warm and welcoming, she pings of mass democracy. greatly surpassed,” Paredes said. “After said. “The graduate students seemed Converge, I am even more convinced that happy and excited to be there. The profes- MIT is the place where I want to go for sors were not only doing awesome chem- grad school because of the professors, istry, but they seemed approachable and Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation labs, research opportunities — and Cam- friendly,” Guevarra said. Required by 39 US C.3685 Avg.# copies each issue Actual # copies of bridge itself.” For many of the students from the West during preceding single issue nearest This is exactly the reaction Converge Coast, coming to MIT, with its cold winters 1. Title of publication: Tech Talk 12 months to filing date aims to get from its student participants. and distance from home, can seem daunt- 2. Publication no.: 00-2157 a. Total number of copies 3. Date of filing: September 29, 2005 printed (net press run) 18,246 18,305 Converge began as a grass-roots effort ing. “We need to show them the energy 4. Frequency of issue: Published on Wednesdays during the school b. Paid circulation in 2004, with participation from the Gradu- of MIT and the support that is here,” year except most holiday weeks—no issues in July and August; 1. Paid/requested outside-county only four times in November, March and May; three times in mail subscriptions 0 0 ate Student Council’s Diversity Initiative, said Janet Fischer, special assistant in the September, October, December, February and April; twice in administrators in the schools of engineer- Office of the Provost. June; and once in January. 2. Paid in-county subscriptions 110 105 ing and science, the Graduate Students It was that support that finally con- 5. No. of issues published annually: 30 3. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and Office and the Office of the Provost. A vinced Guevarra that MIT is the place for 6. Annual subscription price: $25 other non-USPS paid distribution: 0 0 similarly composed planning team orga- her. “There was a camaraderie that was 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: Mas- 4. Other classes mailed through sachusetts Institute of Technology, Room 11-400, 77 Massachusetts the USPS: 387 375 nized the event in 2005, and the goal is still apparent throughout the whole week- Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 c. Total paid circulation 497 480 to increase the diversity of MIT’s graduate end,” she said. “After attending Converge 8. Complete mailing address of the headquarters or general business offices of the publisher: same as #7 d. Free distribution by mail, carrier or other student population. I am more excited than ever to send in my means: samples,complimentary, 9. Full names and complete mailing address of publisher, editor, and and other free copies 2,968 2,965 The 24 participants from all over the application.” managing editor: e. Free distribution outside the mail United States were selected from a pool Kenneth Bota of Clark Atlanta Univer- Publisher: MIT News Office (Director), MIT, Room 11-400, 77 (carriers or other means) 14,681 14,760 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 of 65 applicants. Flown to Boston through sity had the same experience. “The Con- Editor: Kathryn O’Neill, MIT, Room 11-400, 77 Massachusetts f. Total free distribution the program, they spent the weekend verge program definitely helped me to Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (sum of 15d and 15e) 17,649 17,725 exploring MIT and Cambridge in a series solidify my choice to apply to MIT for the Managing Editor: N/A g. Total distribution 10. Owner: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts (sum of 15c and 15F) 18,146 18,205 of tours and workshops. upcoming school year,” he said. Bota was Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 h Copies not distributed 100 100 “We want to bring potential students able to meet with professors in the Depart- 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders i . Total (sum of 15g and 15h) 18,246 18,305 owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, here and show them what MIT is about,” ment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, mortgages or other securities: None j. % paid and/or requested circulation 2.7% 2.6% said instructor Mandana Sassanfar of the where he hopes to study. 12. The purpose, function and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes has not 16. This statement of ownership will be printed in the October biology department. “Most institutions could not provide 19 issue of this publication. Close to 75 current MIT students par- the type of access to professors that the changed during the preceding 12 months. 13. Publication name: Tech Talk 17. Signature and title of editor, publisher, business manager or ticipated in this year’s event, showing pro- Converge program did, and I am grateful owner 14. Issue date for circulation data below: September 14, 2005 MYLES CROWLEY, Business manager spective students around and answering for having been given this privilege by the 15. Extent and nature of circulation: questions. The students came from a vari- MIT community,” he said. “I really felt a ety of schools, but the planning committee part of the MIT family.” MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH October 19, 2005 PAGE 5 MIT space cameras take first pictures

Elizabeth A. Thomson News Office

X-ray cameras designed by MIT astro- physicists are a key component of a new instrument aboard an orbiting Japanese observatory that will probe the secrets of such phenomena as exploding stars. Recently MIT’s team was overjoyed — and relieved — when the instrument, the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), took its first pictures, flawlessly capturing the image of an exploded star in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Only a few weeks earli- er, one of the other two instruments on the observatory, known as Suzaku, had failed. For a little while Mark Bautz, leader of the MIT team, also feared the worst for XIS. He and colleagues had returned home from Japan, where they had activat- ed their instrument, but were awaiting the final step -- the opening of the Japanese- built protective covers -- before the cam- eras could start taking images of the sky. At 2 a.m. one August morning, Bautz waited in Boston for news of whether that step was successful. “I was trading instant messaging with my Japanese colleagues right up until the commands were sent [to open the covers], and then all of a sudden they stopped responding,” said the princi- pal research scientist at MIT’s Kavli Insti- tute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “I knew we had only a five-minute window, PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY so it wasn’t long before I was convinced it MIT research scientists Mark Bautz, left, and Steve Kissel hold up a copy of the core element used in their X-ray camera. hadn’t worked.” Half an hour later, the good news finally appeared on his screen. “Turns out they involved in past X-ray expeditions includ- so massive that they trap clouds of hot gas tute of Space and Astronomical Sciences were so excited the instrument worked that ing the High-Energy Transient Explorer that emit X-rays. of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration they forgot to let me know,” said Bautz. (HETE-2), the Chandra X-Ray Observato- In conjunction with another instrument Agency, Osaka University and Kyoto Uni- Although humans may revel in the ry and the Advanced Satellite for Cosmol- aboard Suzaku, the XIS will also help sci- versity. bright hues of a rainbow or the flash of ogy and Astrophysics (ASCA). entists study the emission processes near Bautz’s MIT colleagues on the XIS a colorful bird, we are blind to a host of The XIS aboard Suzaku is composed of black holes. “There’s a nice synergy there team are Rick Foster, Steve Kissel, Bever- other phenomena because they radiate the four cameras developed by MIT plus because our instrument covers X-rays at ly LaMarr, Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin, light, like X-rays, that our eyes can’t detect. four telescopes developed at NASA’s God- very low energies, while the other instru- George Ricker, Matthew Smith, James “It turns out that almost everything you dard Space Flight Center that focus the ment goes to very high energies. Together O’Connor and Michael Doucette, all of the see in the sky emits X-rays as well, so you sky onto the cameras. The cameras send they’ll help us put together the entire X-ray Kavli Institute, and Jim Gregory, Barry can learn a lot about an object by taking X- the images back to Earth. spectrum coming from matter just outside Burke and Al Pillsbury of Lincoln Lab. ray images,” Bautz said. The researchers hope to learn more a black hole,” Bautz said. The Suzaku mission is a collaboration Enter Suzaku, the latest observatory to about such phenomena as supernovas In addition to MIT and NASA, other between the Japan Aerospace Exploration explore the X-ray sky. MIT has also been (exploding stars) and clusters of galaxies institutions involved in XIS are the Insti- Agency and NASA. HETE satellite solves mystery of short gamma ray bursts Deborah Halber News Office Correspondent of millions or billions of years, the part- both Caltech and MIT are major partici- ners start to spiral toward each other at pants. The carefully❞ orchestrated velocities eventually verging on the speed An international team of astronomers of light, whipping around each other thou- Future of HETE led by MIT announced yesterday that it observations by three sands of times a second in a mad dash “The unique scientific discoveries that has solved the mystery of the origin of toward a crash so violent the explosion HETE continues to make and its very short gamma-ray bursts, violent cosmic powerful NASA scientific releases more energy than 1,000 trillion low operating cost are important reasons events marking the explosive collision of suns. for continuing HETE satellite operations two compact stars. satellites — HETE, Chandra The two objects implode in a cataclys- in future years,” Ricker said. NASA fund- In a paper to appear in the Oct. 6 issue mic one-hundredth of second, forming ing for the period beyond December is in of Nature, the scientists describe how and Hubble — were a black hole. Although black holes suck doubt, despite pledges of matching sup- they used NASA’s High Energy Transient up light and anything else that might port by HETE’s international partners. Explorer (HETE) satellite to make the ini- essential in making this have made them visible to astronomers, The HETE spacecraft and dedicated inter- tial discovery. Accompanying papers by important discovery. just before black holes are formed, space national ground network continue to oper- Danish-led and Penn State University-led flotsam and jetsam are flung off in super- ate reliably and efficiently. All three of its teams describe follow-up observations of George R. Ricker heated gas jets. These twin, narrow jets, science instruments continue to work well. the HETE-discovered event using ground- Senior Research Scientist aiming in opposite directions, carry off Thirty-one of 81 HETE localizations have based telescopes, as well as the Chandra tremendous amounts of energy. If one of led to detection of an X-ray, optical or radio X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Tele- these jets points to Earth, we see it as a afterglow, said Ricker. scope. burst of gamma rays. The HETE satellite was designed and burst allowed other telescopes to identify constructed by MIT under the NASA At a NASA press conference held yes- More excitement ahead? terday at 1 p.m., George R. Ricker, senior the burst’s X-ray afterglow, and, for the Explorer Program. Ricker serves as research scientist of the MIT Kavli Insti- first time, its optical afterglow, which pro- Gamma ray bursts were first detected the principal investigator for the overall tute for Astrophysics and Space Research, vided the clues needed to track the burst in the 1960s by U.S. military satellites mission. The HETE program is a col- announced the HETE results for the first to its host galaxy. The distinctive signature sleuthing out stray gamma rays potentially laboration among MIT; NASA; Los Ala- time. is that of two neutron stars or a neutron tied to putative illegal Soviet nuclear test- mos National Laboratory, New Mexico; Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are the star and a black hole merging, followed ing in space. Remarkably, the energetic France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spa- biggest explosions since the Big Bang. by a colossal explosion. The collision hap- events turned out to be natural phenom- tiales (CNES), Centre d’Etude Spatiale Astronomers are fairly certain that typi- pened about 2 billion years ago, creat- ena. In the early 1990s, astronomers real- des Rayonnements (CESR) and Ecole cal long GRBs lasting several seconds are ing an energy show so brilliant that we ized there were two kinds of gamma-ray Nationale Superieure del’Aeronautique et caused by the collapse of massive stars, can witness it eons later. “The carefully bursts — short and long. While it now de l’Espace (Sup’Aero); and Japan’s Insti- signaling the birth of black holes. Dim- orchestrated observations by three pow- appears that both short and long GRBs tute of Physical and Chemical Research mer, short GRBs lasting only milliseconds erful NASA scientific satellites -- HETE, are tied to the creation of black holes, the (RIKEN). had been one of the biggest mysteries in Chandra and Hubble -- were essential in relative proximity of short GRBs may help The science team includes members high-energy astronomy: How far away making this important discovery,” Ricker solve another mystery. from the University of Chicago and the were they? What caused them? said. If a short GRB is due to merging neu- University of California (Berkeley and A team led by MIT’s Ricker discovered tron stars, then it should produce pow- Santa Cruz), as well as from Brazil, India a short GRB, designated GRB050709, last- Ancient history erful bursts of gravitational radiation. and Italy. ing only 70 milliseconds on July 9. “This Neutron stars are stellar corpses -- the Although Albert Einstein included gravi- The HETE research program is sup- particular short burst provides a long- collapsed, compact remnants of supernova tational waves in his 1916 general theory ported in the United States by NASA. sought nexus, enabling detection of the explosions. Half a million Earth masses of relativity, these waves have never been At MIT, the HETE team, which both prompt emission and its afterglow, from of matter condensed into a sphere just 10 measured directly. Short GRB sources, operates the HETE satellite and analyzes the gamma-ray band to the optical, for the miles across, neutron stars are incredibly 10 times closer to Earth than long GRBs, data from it, includes Ricker, Geoffrey very first time,” said Ricker. dense. One teaspoonful weighs 5 billion likely emit gravitational waves that will be Crew, John Doty, Roland Vanderspek, Joel tons. detectable for the first time by the second- Villasenor, Nat Butler, Peter Csatorday, Discovery Usually loners, neutron stars in rare generation Laser Interferometry Gravita- Gregory Prigozhin, Steve Kissel, Francois HETE’s accurate localization of the instances are born in pairs. Over hundreds tional-wave Observatory (LIGO), in which Martel and Fred Miller. PAGE 6 October 19, 2005 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk CHEMISTRY Continued from Page 1

world like those at MIT,” he said, adding that the same is true about the students. “It’s embarrassing teaching students [who are] smarter than you.” He called one of his colleagues, Pro- fessor Daniel Nocera, very early Wednes- day morning, soon after he learned of the prize. “I had promised,” Schrock said, “so I did. And [Nocera] said, ‘I’ll come right over.’” Schrock grinned. “I said, ‘Why don’t you wait an hour?’” What makes chemistry so compelling to Schrock? “I like to manipulate things. I like to cook, I like woodworking, and I like to make molecules.” Referring to the cata- lysts for which he won the prize, he said, “making a truly unique compound is very, very exciting.” In his remarks, Schrock emphasized the importance of basic research, which he defined as the exploration of “an inter- esting new area that may have potential.” “I got here by doing basic research,” he said. Research “doesn’t have a lot of cachet associated with it,” but Schrock recalled the day early in his career when he cre- ated the catalyst whose successors would earn him the Nobel Prize. “I remember PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY going home and telling my wife that I thought I’d done something really inter- MIT Professor Richard R. Schrock poses in his lab at MIT on Wednesday, Oct. 5, the day he learned he won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. esting,” he said. And, as Schrock pointed out, his work has had applications. He just didn’t know it at the time. NOBEL MIT President Susan Hockfield, attend- Continued from Page 1 ing her first MIT Nobel Prize press confer- ence, thanked Schrock “for conveying in a an even better catalyst. very real way the excitement that goes on “Before these catalysts there was no in basic science.” way to do [the metathesis reaction] sim- On Wednesday afternoon, Schrock ply,” Schrock explained at a press confer- described his Nobel-winning compounds ence held at MIT on the morning of Oct. 5. “Some of the processes involved rather dramatic agents like ozone, which you can’t use safely in the lab day to day.” ❞ Together, the laureates’ contributions I got here by doing have allowed the creation of many new compounds more efficiently. “Instead of basic research. doing something in 10 or 15 steps, you can Richard R. Schrock do it in five steps,” Schrock said. Nobel Prize winner in chemistry As a result, their work has “already assumed major significance in the chemi- cals industry, opening up new opportuni- ties for synthesizing molecules that will in a packed Room 10-250. Students stood streamline the development and industrial in doorways and sat in the aisles to hear production of pharmaceuticals, plastics the Nobel lecture, which Dean of the and other materials,” according to the School of Science Robert Silbey pointed Nobel committee. out was the fourth since 2001 for the The production of those materials is School of Science. also cheaper and more environmentally Students listened raptly as Schrock friendly. The shorter synthesis routes explained how his curiosity led him to mean fewer byproducts, and the control create and experiment with different cata- made possible by the reaction allows more lysts — using tungsten, molybdenum and efficient manipulation of raw materials. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY tantalum — that could speed up reactions Many researchers foresaw the great involving organic compounds with double Dr. Thomas Byrne and President Susan Hockfield congratulate Richard R. Schrock on win- synthetic potential of metathesis, accord- or triple carbon bonds. ning the Nobel prize in chemistry, at a party given in his honor in the Moore Room on Oct. ing to the Nobel committee, but traditional Schrock had recently finished grad 5, just hours after he received the call from Sweden. catalysts were ill-suited to applications school and was working at duPont in the because they were relatively short-lived - 1970s when he began working on the new susceptible to air, moisture and side reac- right treatment they are very powerful ing them to react with each other. catalysts that would lead to the Nobel. “I tions. tools in organic synthesis,” according to Schrock’s particular contribution, the didn’t know where (my research) was Schrock began working on the prob- the Nobel committee. society said, “was to develop a method going to go,” he said. “I was just happy to lem in the 1970s. He knew from Chauvin’s In 1996 Schrock received the Ameri- and a catalyst to break open compounds have a job and a wife who loved me.” work that successful catalysts would con- can Chemical Society Award in Inorganic whose atoms are arranged in a ring. Once The work that he pursued purely out of tain a metal. But which was the best to Chemistry for his efforts to develop clean- opened up into chains, these molecules curiosity eventually led to the creation of use? He tried catalysts containing metals er and more efficient ways to manufacture can be strung together in specific ways to industrially important compounds, demon- such as tantalum, tungsten and molybde- chemicals. Accepting the award at the form polymers for everything from gar- strating the importance of basic research, num, gradually developing an understand- society’s national meeting, Schrock said, bage cans to athletic clothing. Or he can he told the audience. ing of what metals could be used. “The real impact here is ultimately in mak- close up a chain into a ring, for example, “These days, basic research is often For Schrock, molybdenum and tung- ing pharmaceuticals, polymers and other from which medicinal chemists can design frowned upon,” he said. And there isn’t sten soon appeared to be the most suitable products where exquisite control is neces- pharmaceuticals.” enough money to fund it, “due to lower metals. He produced some catalysts with sary, and now it’s possible.” Schrock obtained the B.A. degree in taxes and/or the war in Iraq,” he said in a those metals, but there were still problems. Schrock achieved that exquisite control, 1967 from the University of California at dig at the Bush administration that drew Then in 1990 the chemist and co-work- according to the citation, with catalysts Riverside and the Ph.D. from Harvard Uni- thunderous applause. ers reported the construction of a group structured to lock onto and bring together versity in 1971. He joined the MIT faculty “All I can say is, ‘Mr. Bush, don’t do of very active, well-defined molybdenum molecules that normally do not react. He in 1975. this,’” Schrock pleaded in closing his talk. catalysts. Although these catalysts are sen- focused on those catalysts that contain a Schrock and his wife, Nancy F. Carlson, “Let us do our job.” sitive to oxygen and moisture, “with the metal to which the molecules bind, allow- have two children. Anne Trafton contributed to this report. AUMANN Continued from Page 1 tions to game theory is the “correlated interest turned to game theory in 1956, cal formulation of “common knowledge” have varying levels of information. John F. equilibrium,” a concept that builds on and when he joined the Mathematics Institute among the agents in an interactive envi- Nash, MIT professor of mathematics from broadens the Nash equilibrium. at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, where ronment. 1951 to 1959, co-won the Nobel Prize in A native of Frankfurt, Germany, he has been ever since. Aumann is a member of the (U.S.) 1994. Nash is known as the father of game Aumann was born in 1930 and fled with Aumann has published five books and National Academy of Sciences, the Amer- theory; he created the “Nash equilibrium,” his family to New York in 1938 to escape more than 70 scientific papers. Among his ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, the which relates to players in a game who Nazi persecution. other contributions are models of market Israel Academy of Sciences and Humani- can neither communicate nor make coop- He studied at New York’s City College economies in which the traders appear as ties and the British Academy. He holds erative decisions. and then at MIT, earning his doctorate a continuum, like the points on a line or honorary doctorates from the Universities Another of Aumann’s major contribu- in pure mathematics (Knot Theory). His the particles in a fluid, and a mathemati- of Bonn, Louvain and Chicago. MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH October 19, 2005 PAGE 7 GEM4 shines in launch event Elizabeth A. Thomson News Office

In a launch Oct. 12 worthy of its sparkling acronym, the Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics and Molecular Medi- cine, or GEM4, brought to MIT people from 12 time zones away, many university presidents, leaders of government, and royalty: Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand, a sci- entist and founding president of the Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI) in Thailand. Through GEM4, scientists, engineers and health profes- sionals from around the world will work together on such global medical challenges as infectious and cardiovascular diseases, cancer and environmental health. The uniqueness of the initiative lies in its vision of fostering a global engage- ment among colleagues to promote novel modes of interac- tions that cannot be established by conventional multi-institu- tional arrangements. “Our idea is to bring top researchers together across time zones and disciplinary boundaries, seamlessly and frequent- ly,” said Subra Suresh, director of GEM4, Ford Professor of Engineering and head of MIT’s Department of Materials Sci- ence and Engineering, At the launch, Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol said she was pleased to offer the infrastructure of CRI to GEM4, part of the global sharing of facilities key to the initiative. In her remarks, she also noted the history between MIT and her country that ultimately led to Thai involvement in GEM4. That history began almost 40 years ago with research by MIT Professors Gerald N. Wogan and the late George H. Buchi. (Wogan, professor emeritus of biological engineering, attended the GEM4 launch.) Working with colleagues at Thailand’s Mahidol University, the two showed that a toxin pres- ent in contaminated food was the principal cause of liver cancer in Thailand. Since then, additional studies by researchers from MIT Princess and Johns Hopkins University Chulabhorn Mahidol have led to ways to prevent the disease. In his remarks, Suresh described GEM4’s importance. “In a flat world where institu- tional, cultural and national barriers are fast disappearing and where instant communication around the clock is bringing people together in unprecedented ways, the infrastructure of GEM4 will be an engine that drives collaborations across disciplinary boundaries with potential for sweeping societal impact on a global scale.” In addressing major health issues, GEM4 will focus ini- tially on nanomechanics in biomedicine and environmental health. These are areas in which a single investigator, institu- tion or region of the world is not likely to have the necessary spectrum of expertise, infrastructure or resources to produce a beneficial global effect. And as MIT President Susan Hockfield noted in her remarks, “when many institutions work together, the results are significantly more than the sum of their parts.” Other speakers at the launch were President C. Fong Shih of the National University of Singapore, who congratulated MIT and Suresh for visionary leadership; Chancellor Richard Herman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Professor Judah Folkman of Harvard Medical School; and MIT Institute Professor Robert Langer. In addition to Suresh, John Essigmann and Ram Sasisekharan, professors in MIT’s Biological Engineering Division, were among those who played key roles in formu- PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY lating the GEM4 paradigm, along with senior administra- Subra Suresh, director of the new Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics and Molecular Medicine (GEM4), speaks at the tors and faculty from MIT and other participating institu- GEM4 launch at MIT on Wednesday, Oct. 12. tions. Speakers explore resilience of cities post-disaster Sasha Brown after an earthquake killed at least 240,000 Professor Thomas Kochan of the Sloan dream for Katrina’s victims. We might also News Office people in 1976; and San Francisco rebuilt School of Management and the Engineer- learn that there are better ways to work after an earthquake and fires devastated ing Systems Division turned to history for together in the crises and in the normal the city in 1906. lessons in recovery. times that lie ahead.” Throughout history, hundreds of cit- “The press at the time said it was an After World War II, President Frank- Because New Orleans is one of the poor- ies have been permanently lost to natural opportunity to build back better and stron- lin D. Roosevelt “instinctively understood est cities in the country, many of Katrina’s disaster and war, but in the last 200 years, ger,” said Vale. With insurance money and the need for cooperation and unity in his victims were underprivileged minorities. the trend has been to rebuild, said Profes- assistance from both national governments time of great crisis,” Kochan said. FDR’s “There are so many poor and desperate sor Lawrence Vale, head of MIT’s urban and international aid agencies, cities are response heralded a joining of business black people in New Orleans,” said Profes- studies and planning department, at a talk able to come back stronger than before. and labor that brought forth important sor Phillip Thompson of urban studies and in Kirsch Auditorium on Oct. 5. Reactions to and personal narratives labor reform and workplace practices that planning, who spoke on the poor communi- Vale, co-editor of “The Resilient City: about the disaster can make a huge impact are common today, he said. ty’s role in rebuilding the city. How Modern Cities Recover From Disas- on resiliency, said Vale. It remains to be By comparison, President Bush decid- “While Katrina could be an opportu- ter,” was one of three speakers at the sec- seen whether New Orleans — partially ed to “go it alone,” Kochan said. The most nity, it appears to be moving toward re- ond in a series of four symposia address- destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. obvious victim of that decision was the air- creating poverty,” he said. Without proper ing the “Big Questions After Big Hurri- 29 — will be able to come back stronger, line industry. Already in a slump prior to heath care and education, the poor com- canes.” said Vale. 9/11, the industry is barely treading water munity will not be able to recover, he said. Vale pointed to several cities that were In New Orleans, there are race and now, he said. Addressing these needs should be at the not expected to come back, including class issues as well as financial ones, “Clearly cooperation across business, forefront of the rebuilding effort. Hiroshima, Japan, which was devastated Vale said. And whatever happens in New labor, education and community service “The poor need government. Peo- by an atomic bomb. “Many people thought Orleans, it will never be exactly the same. providers will be needed to address the ple need to be protected,” he said. “By it was wiped off the map,” Vale said. “Cities are resilient and often bounce back full dimension of this crisis,” said Kochan. addressing the needs of the poor (in New Warsaw came back after the Nazi in the same place, but often that place is “By working together … we will not only Orleans), you can develop a solid blueprint destruction; Tangshan, China, came back profoundly changed,” Vale said. restore hope and trust in the American for rebuilding the entire nation.” PAGE 8 October 19, 2005 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk Brain research makes move toward better prostheses Cathryn M. Delude cord signals operate a device.) control over movement. fixed motor synergies and some feedback News Office Correspondent As a result, engineers designing robots But do muscle synergies in the spinal from the environment. “If you’re walking and prosthetics hope to mimic the way cord operate independently of sensory on a mountain trail, you need to be able that biological systems approach the chal- input, or do they receive feedback from to make many small adjustments as you In work that could aid the development lenge. that input (and if so, to what degree)? walk, and having a little sensory feedback of robotic prostheses, neuroscientists For many years, scientists wondered Apparently it’s a little of both, accord- helps you match your movements to spe- at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain whether vertebrates tackle this problem ing to another recent study by Bizzi and cific conditions.” Research have gotten one step closer to from the top down, with the brain micro- colleagues in the Journal of Neuroscience. In practical terms, the near autonomy understanding how the central nervous managing the process, or by establishing Vincent Chi-Kwan Cheung, a graduate of the muscle synergies makes it possible system solves a gigantic problem -- the mini command centers in the spinal cord student in the Harvard-MIT Division of to control a large number of muscles with production of voluntary movements. that relieve the brain of this onerous over- Health Sciences and Technology and first just a few signals generated in the areas The simplest movement requires sight. MIT Institute Professor Emilio Bizzi, author of the paper, recorded the electrical of the central nervous system involved choosing which combination of motor neu- a principal investigator in the McGovern activity of a frog’s hind leg muscles both in programming voluntary movements. rons will stimulate which of thousands of Institute, suggests the latter, proposing before and after severing the nerve roots According to Cheung, “That simplifies the muscle fibers with just the right amount of that the central nervous system handles feeding sensory information into the spi- future design of neuroprosthetics.” Impor- force and at the proper time. the daunting number of variables involved nal cord from the muscles. He left intact tantly, using a rigorous mathematical But no existing computer can analyze in a single movement by grouping sets of the nerve roots carrying the commands to analysis, the researchers also found that the superabundance of variables involved muscles and their innervating neurons into the muscles. a computer model representing specific in the movements of a multijointed limb, an integrated unit called a muscle synergy. Cheung found that, for the most part, combinations of muscle synergies could such as an arm picking up a coffee cup. In recent studies in frogs, Bizzi and his shutting off sensory input from the mus- predict the movements produced by the That inability poses a major obstacle to collaborators found solid evidence for mus- cles did not perturb the synergies involved animal. designing neuroprosthetics for amputees cle synergies. They showed that grouping in natural jumping and swimming move- This research was supported by the or people with motor disabilities. (In neu- muscles in a small set of muscle synergies ments. National Institute of Neurological Disor- roprosthetics, a person’s brain or spinal simplifies the central nervous system’s Bizzi explains the value of having both ders and Stroke. New CDO graduate program debuts at MIT and in Singapore MIT’s new S.M. graduate program in Computation for Design and Optimization (CDO) has its first 17 students this semester. There are five students now on campus and 12 based in Singapore (as part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance) who will be at MIT for the spring semester. Most of the stu- dents, faculty and staff met for the first time at a telecon- ferenced orientation in late August. This interdisciplinary master’s program was estab- lished to prepare engineers in computational methods and applications in the design and operation of complex engi- neered systems. “Computer-based simulation has replaced the labora- tory in many industries for pragmatic reasons,” said Alan Edelman, a professor of applied mathematics affiliated with CDO. “Graduates of the CDO program will have tremendous opportunities in academic and industrial applications, as well as in the computing industry itself,” he said. CDO student Sandeep Sethuraman of New Zealand previously worked in product development at a biomedical company, where he helped design a continuous positive airway pressure machine used in the treatment of sleep PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY apnea. We are family “The versatility of the CDO program appealed to me. I Freshman Ian Smith, foreground, calls up a map of the MIT campus to show his family on Friday, Oct. 14. Family can work on a variety of projects ranging from electronics Weekend, which brings hundreds of families to campus each fall, was held Oct. 14-16. With Ian from left are his to finance. Moreover, there is a huge emphasis on practi- father, Steve, his mother, Gayle, and his brother, Brian, 12. The Smiths are from Elmhurst, N.Y. cal applications,” he said. Fellow student Jia Jie Liang of Singapore said he was drawn to the program’s interdisciplinary curriculum, which includes courses and faculty from a broad cross- section of MIT’s engineering, science and management departments. Brain and cog opening events slated “The underlying multidisciplinary nature of the pro- gram reflects the direction of future scientific develop- Patti Richards The symposium will look at the impact of learning and ment,” he said. News Office memory research on human health and at the relationship The CDO curriculum is comprised of four core subjects between the human brain and the mind. President Susan — covering numerical solution of partial differential equa- Hockfield, a neuroscientist herself, will open the day’s tions, optimization methods and numerical linear algebra In association with the opening of its new brain and discussion, and noted neurologist and author Dr. Oliver — and restricted electives, including about 25 courses that cognitive sciences complex on Dec. 2, MIT will explore Sacks will be the featured dinner speaker. have computational themes and related components. More the frontiers of cutting-edge neuroscience research in a The next day — Friday, Dec. 2 — the Department of elective courses will be added over time. variety of events. Brain and Cognitive Sciences will host a morning sym- School of Engineering Dean Thomas Magnanti said Hosted by the complex’s primary occupants — the posium to mark the 40th anniversary of its graduate pro- he expects the CDO program to provide tremendous Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the McGov- gram. Four noted neuroscientists and cognitive scientists value not only to the program’s graduates, but also to the ern Institute for Brain Research and the Picower Insti- with ties to the department will speak on a variety of top- Institute. tute for Learning and Memory — these events will show- ics reflecting the breadth of MIT’s research and training. “CDO is designed to educate professionals who will case MIT’s efforts to address one of the great scientific Moderated by Department Chair Mriganka Sur, this sym- model, optimize, control and operate the important engi- challenges of the 21st century: the understanding of the posium, titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Shap- neered systems of the future, while contributing to our human brain and mind. ing Neuroscience and Cognitive Science,” will provide own increasingly computationally intensive research The MIT community will be invited to participate in a an overview of the intellectual framework of the Brain and educational programs here at MIT. The program number of these activities. and Cognitive Sciences Department and will highlight provides an engineering school-wide home to numerical The McGovern Institute will kick off the festivities on its many contributions to the study of the brain and the simulation and optimization, and should improve outside Friday, Nov. 4, with a gala marking the formal opening of mind. visibility while providing an economy of scale that will the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. The theme of The formal dedication of the brain and cognitive sci- benefit the School of Engineering as a whole,” Magnanti the celebration is neuroscience and society. ences complex will follow on the afternoon of Friday, Dec. said. Speakers at the Nov. 4 event will include Sen. John 2, marking the official opening of the new facility. CDO-affiliated faculty member David Darmofal, asso- Kerry (D-Mass.), television host and author Jane Pauley, Located near the corner of Main and Vassar streets, ciate professor of aeronautics and astronautics, echoed Nobel laureate Dr. Eric Kandel, and Robert M. Metcal- the new 411,000-square-foot brain and cognitive sciences Magnanti’s sentiments. “Computational modeling and fe, MIT Class of 1968 and the inventor of the Ethernet. complex — the latest building to open as part of MIT’s design plays a key role in all engineering disciplines. The Dinner guests will hear from Alan Leshner, head of the extensive new building program — will be the largest neu- CDO program recognizes the importance and interdis- American Association for the Advancement of Science, the roscience research center in the world. ciplinary nature of computation, and will benefit MIT by world’s largest scientific society. The bold and elegant facilities — the result of a col- encouraging faculty with interests in computation to col- Next, on Thursday, Dec. 1, the Picower Institute for laboration between two firms — reflect the extraordinary laborate in both teaching and researching. This more for- Learning and Memory will celebrate its formal opening vision of the lead designer, Charles Correa, and the excep- mal structure will strengthen the role of computational with a major scientific symposium titled “The Future of tional design of the laboratories and research spaces by academics across MIT.” the Brain.” Moderated by Ira Flatow of National Public Goody, Clancy and Associates. The complex will house The program has its administrative home in the School Radio’s “Talk of the Nation,” the symposium will focus on more than 40 faculty and their research groups, and will of Engineering. CDO is led by co-directors Jaime Perai- the future of neuroscience research and will feature talks feature a 90-foot-high atrium, wet and dry research and re, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and Rob- by five Nobel laureates, including Susumu Tonegawa, teaching laboratories, an advanced imaging facility, and ert Freund, professor of management science. For more director of the Picower Institute, and James D. Watson, even a live freight-rail line that runs directly through the information, visit mit.edu/cdo-program/, or write to cdo_ chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. bottom floors of the building. [email protected]. MIT Tech Talk NEWS October 19, 2005 PAGE 9 Architectural wonders, chapel, Kresge turn 50

Sarah H. Wright The chapel’s spire and bell tower, News Office designed by sculptor Theodore Roszak, were added in 1956. The bell, also designed by Roszak, was cast at the MIT Two once-controversial additions to foundry, which was then located on the MIT’s evolving campus celebrate 50 years top floor of Building 35. of service to the spiritual and creative life Roszak’s drawings for the chapel’s of the Institute community this year. bell tower are on exhibit in The Dean’s The MIT Chapel and Kresge Audito- Gallery, Sloan School of Management, rium, both designed by Finnish-American through Dec. 16. architect Eero Saarinen, were dedicated The MIT Chapel is used for religious in 1955 in a ceremony that included a per- services, memorial services and concerts. formance of music commissioned for the Kresge Auditorium, MIT’s perfor- event, Aaron Copland’s “Canticle of Free- mance and rehearsal hall, is the chapel’s dom.” fraternal – and far from identical – twin. At the time, Saarinen’s MIT buildings Kresge’s graceful roof, sheathed in cop- brought the shock of the new to campus. per, its triangular plan and its glass-and- Since then, both the chapel and Kresge Auditorium have been acknowledged as architectural landmarks. “Saarinen was an architect of the geo- Fifty years❞ after the metric sublime. His MIT composition of straight lines and arcs has the simple yet construction of Kresge awesome clarity of Euclid’s great proof constructions. Fifty years after the con- and the chapel, architects struction of Kresge and the chapel, archi- tects still make pilgrimages with their still make pilgrimmages sketchbooks and cameras, and try to fig- ure out how this master of mid-century with their sketchbooks and modernism did so much with seemingly so little,” said William Mitchell, professor cameras, and try to figure of architecture and media arts and scienc- es and academic head of media arts and out how this master of mid- sciences. The chapel, a brick cylinder stretching century modernism did so 33 feet into the air, topped with an alumi- num bell tower and encircled by a shallow much with seemingly so moat, was planned as an island of serenity, a space for contemplation and interfaith little. worship separated from the urban and aca- William Mitchell demic campus. Professor of architecture Saarinen, who had designed furniture that was exhibited at the New York Muse- um of Modern Art and also created St. Louis’ sleek, famous arch, “Gateway to the steel windows contain a hive of activity. A West,” planned the MIT Chapel to project little theater, a concert hall and rehearsal a “self-contained, inward-feeling environ- rooms within are used for everything from ment,” he wrote at the time. drama to dance to music performances, as To enhance this atmosphere of “spiri- well as symposia and science, technology tual unworldliness,” Saarinen created and engineering conferences. undulating brick walls and low rounded Saarinen’s other landmark designs windows that allow light reflected from the include New York’s Kennedy and Wash- moat to play on the chapel’s interior. ington’s Dulles airports, whose terminal Saarinen was a “virtuoso of sunlight on buildings resemble Kresge in their signa- surface; the interior of the chapel creates ture floating eyebrow-shaped entrances. absolute magic from the soft glimmer of These bright, aggressively modern pub- subtly shaded brick, and the interplay of lic spaces still suggest how events in 1955 glitter and gloom,” Mitchell noted. – the year that Rosa Parks refused to sit in Inside the chapel, a delicate screen of the back of a Montgomery, Ala., bus; that MIT FILE PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY rectangular metal “leaves” hangs behind fiber optics were developed; that the War- a plain marble altar, enhancing the sense saw Pact was signed; and Albert Einstein The interior of Eero Saarinen’s MIT Chapel is shown to great effect on Sept. 11, 2002, when of light emanating from unseen sources. and James Dean died — foreshadowed an all-day vigil was held there. The chapel is 50 years old this year. Harry Bertoia designed the screen. things to come. Women’s studies consortium moves to MIT Sarah H. Wright new ideas related to their discipline. This practice often News Office provides the foundation or inspiration for new publications or invigorated avenues of interest and research. Also, using the GCWS model on the administrative, scholarly and ped- A pioneering collaboration among prestigious Boston- agogical levels helps to significantly advance the field, pro- area universities to advance women’s studies scholarship ducing new research, action and activism,” she said. is now housed and administered at MIT. Sutton finds it “particularly appropriate that the pro- The Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies gram be housed at MIT,” she said. (GCWS), launched in 1992, provides team-taught interdis- “MIT is a site for so much revolutionary discovery in ciplinary graduate seminars and other opportunities for all fields, much of which comes about through creative collaboration in scholarship through curriculum develop- collaboration across disciplines. Though still new to MIT’s ment and faculty workshops. Ruth Perry Anne McCants Elizabeth Wood climate and culture, I’ve seen an entrepreneurial underpin- Elizabeth Wood, director of women’s studies and pro- laborative intellectual enterprise,” she said. ning to the work here across the humanities and sciences fessor of history, said, “We are thrilled to have GCWS Anne McCants, associate professor of history and alike. move to MIT. Its presence gives faculty opportunities to MacVicar Faculty Fellow, said, “It seems especially fit- “This ‘MIT approach’ closely parallels that of GCWS. teach graduate courses that are both interdisciplinary and ting to move the consortium to MIT because MIT has Our collaborative, interuniversity structure and courses interuniversity. The consortium’s presence here raises assumed such an important role in the national discussion require eagerness, analysis and evaluation in an untradi- MIT’s profile as an institution that is producing cutting- about the status of women in the university community, tional environment as well as willingness to develop new edge work not only in science and engineering but also and their unique contributions to it.” methods — territory familiar to MIT students in all fields in the many and diverse fields that fall under the rubric of GCWS courses include topics as diverse as “Narratives of study,” she said. women’s and gender studies.” of Kinship in Developing Countries” and “Gender and Sci- Housing GCWS at MIT lays the “groundwork for a In addition to MIT, GCWS members include Boston ence.” Faculty trained in at least two different disciplines ripe and fruitful collaboration,” thanks to the potential College, Brandeis University, Harvard University, North- co-teach GCWS interdisciplinary graduate seminars, with for crossover in scholarly methodology and application eastern University, Simmons College, Tufts University each one bringing expertise to bear on significant issues of feminist and gender theories in fields such as biology, and the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The con- where gender makes a difference, Perry noted. chemistry, physics, media arts, critical theory and archi- sortium was previously housed at the Radcliffe Institute McCants has found “rich rewards in teaching across tecture, Sutton said. for Advanced Study at Harvard. disciplines — the faculty learn easily as much as the stu- GCWS is governed by a rotating board of faculty repre- Ruth Perry, professor of literature and founding direc- dents,” she said. sentatives from each of the member schools. tor of women’s studies at MIT, was one of the founding GCWS Program Coordinator Andrea Sutton noted that Other GCWS Mother Board members are Joyce Ant- members of GCWS, known collectively as the “Mother collaboration within GCWS challenges faculty and stu- ler (Brandeis University), Laura Frader (Northeastern Board.” dents and advances the field of women’s studies. University), Carol Hurd Green (Boston College), Barbara Perry “expect(s) the GCWS to thrive here. The MIT “Cooperative preparation and pedagogy challenges fac- Haber (Radcliffe College), Alice Jardin (Harvard Univer- administration has always been very supportive of this col- ulty to take a fresh look at familiar material and explore sity) and Christiane Romero (Tufts University). PAGE 10 October 19, 2005 NEWS MIT Tech Talk

CIS forum AWARDS & HONORS Junior Matthew Zedler was hon- the field of regional science. across the country. ored as one of 50 Goldman Sachs Glob- MIT was selected for the award confronts al Leaders at the fifth annual Goldman Robert Liebeck, a Professor of the based on the judges’ analysis of data Sachs Global Leadership Institute, held Practice in the Department of Aero- submitted to the Council for Aid to July 11-14 in New York City. Zedler, of nautics and Astronautics and manager Education’s annual voluntary support terrorism Richmond, Va., earned his place in the of Boeing’s blended wing program, of education survey. program by demonstrating his commit- has been selected by the American Sarah H. Wright ment to thinking globally in order to Institute of Aeronautics and Astronau- Jonathan Krones, a junior in mate- News Office address the world’s current and future tics to receive its 2005 Aircraft Design rials science and engineering, has been challenges. Award. The award is presented to a awarded the Gupton A. Vogt Oxford Zedler is studying mechanical engi- design engineer or team for the con- Cup Memorial Scholarship, presented neering and working toward his goal ception, definition or development of by the Beta Theta Pi Foundation, for A former senator and two scholars who of starting a company that manages an original concept leading to a signifi- $600. served as national security analysts in development projects in Third World cant advancement in aircraft design or the Clinton administration discussed the countries. design technology. Timothy Swager, head of the type and timing of the next terrorist attack AIAA is recognizing Liebeck for chemistry department, has received on the United States in “Report Card on MIT’s head humanities librar- lifetime achievement in aerodynam- a $5,000 Homeland Security Award Terror,” a panel held Monday, Oct. 17, in ian, Theresa Tobin, was elected to the ics, advanced aircraft development from the Christopher Columbus Fel- Wong Auditorium. American Library Association (ALA) and conceptual design, specifically the lowship Foundation. The awards were “Report Card” host Gary Hart, a for- Council in May. innovative wing designs for the Boe- presented to four individuals who are mer Democratic senator from Colorado The council is the governing body ing Condor, AeroVironment Helios conducting research in the nation’s and presidential candidate (1984 and of the oldest and largest library asso- and the blended wing-body approach companies, laboratories and universi- 1988), co-produced a January 2001 Nation- ciation in the world. Tobin will be one airliner. ties to deal with the threat of terror- al Security report warning of a terrorist of 33 councilors chosen to set the poli- ism. Swager’s work includes develop- threat and urging changes in security poli- cies of ALA and determine programs Sarah Song, assistant professor of ment of novel chemical and biological cies. and activities to be carried out by political science, has been named one sensors, which are now being tested Former National Security Council staff- the divisions. She will contribute to of eight visiting scholars at the Ameri- by U.S. Marines in Iraq to detect road- ers Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, issues that affect libraries nationwide can Academy of Arts and Sciences. The side bombs and by the U.S. Air Force co-authors of “The Age of Sacred Terror: and influence public policy. Prior to visiting scholars, selected as part of a to screen cargo. Radical Islam’s War Against America” her election, Tobin served as chair of national competition, conduct research (2002), are counterterrorism experts. the Council Committee on the Status and participate in the many ongoing Several MIT professors were recent- Their new book, “The Next Attack: The of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) programs and activities at the Academy. ly inducted to the Biomedical Engineer- Failure of the War on Terror and Strate- for three years. She has been head of Song’s research project is an analysis ing Society’s Inaugural Class of Fellows gies for Getting It Right,” was the focus MIT’s Humanities Library for the past of the conflicts that can arise between at the society’s annual conference in of the “Report Card” discussion, a Starr 15 years. the pursuit of equal justice for cultural Baltimore, Md. They are Institute Pro- Forum organized by the Center for Inter- minorities and the pursuit of gender fessor Robert Langer; Roger Kamm, national Studies (CIS). Karen Polenske, professor of equality. professor of biological engineering; The trio might have opened with a urban studies and planning, has been Douglas Lauffenburger, professor chorus of “we told you so,” but resisted. named a Regional Science Association MIT has been named a winner of of biological engineering; Chi-Sang Instead, Hart placed a copy of “The Next International (RSAI) Fellow for 2005. the 2005 Council for Advancement and Poon, principal research scientist at Attack” – with its searing red and black Polenske, the first female recipient of Support of Education/Wealth ID Award HST; and Laurence Young, profes- cover – front and center on the panel’s the award, was honored for her impor- for Educational Fund Raising, which sor of astronautics and aeronautics and table. tant scholarly research contributions to honors superior fund-raising programs professor at HST. “Report Card” gave comments but no grades. The three said they expect further terrorist attacks and agreed that current U.S. foreign policy “must change.” They did not make the Bush administration the object of their attack. OBITUARIES According to Benjamin and Simon, “our own policies,” trends in other nations, and HERBERT SINGER the “energy behind the jihadist movement, with its sense of inequity and imposition Herbert Singer, an MIT alumnus who by the West” will fuel more terrorism worked at Draper Laboratory for 40 years, worldwide. died Aug. 12 at Beth Israel Deaconess Benjamin noted the role of the media Medical Center after a stroke. He was 71. in showcasing militant jihadists and pump- Singer worked on projects for the Depart- ing up “Islamophobia,” and the effect of ment of Defense and NASA, including the Christian fundamentalism, which “views Apollo space mission and satellites Titans, confrontation with Islam as a theological Minuteman, Polaris, Poseidon, Trident I necessity.” and II and Peacekeeper. Hart offered a revised view of American Singer earned a B.S. in mechani- casualties of the war in Iraq — “It’s 25,000 cal engineering from MIT in 1955 and casualties, meaning wounded or killed, not received a master’s degree in mechanical 2,000” — then asked, “If U.S. forces with- engineering from Northeastern University draw from Iraq, will jihad continue?” in 1968. He retired from MIT in 1995. Simon was positive. “Iraq gave a huge He is survived by his wife, Beverly boost to jihad, and the effect of the war Singer of Randolph; a son, Steven Singer in Iraq will be long-lasting. When the U.S. of Marlborough; a daughter, Lori Singer of withdraws, parts of Iraq will be ungovern- Chestnut Hill; and a sister, Sylvia Rosen of able.” Brighton. CLASSIFIED ADS

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Paul Crocetti Few people take an anthropological Office of the Arts look at science, which makes Scott Glo- bus’ 3,000 photographs of MIT laborato- ries taken over the course of two years At age 2, when most kids are learning in the early 1980s a sizeable contribution how to speak and walk, Serenus Hua start- to the field. Now, Globus has brought his ed playing the violin. An MIT junior now, work back to MIT to make it available for the 19-year-old has worked his way up in educational and cultural use. Forty-eight the classical music world, winning numer- of the images are on display in the MIT ous competitions and playing everywhere Museum’s Compton Gallery in “Scientific from Juilliard to Jordan Hall, where his per- Settings: Photos of MIT Labs.” formance at age 15 was broadcast as part of The pictures were taken during 1983- the public radio program “From the Top.” 84, when Globus was finishing his under- This year he won the 2005 MIT Sym- graduate physics degree at MIT. As a phony Concerto Competition, which visual documentation of MIT laboratories earned him a chance to perform with the in the second half of the 20th century, it is MIT Symphony Orchestra in Kresge Audi- considered the most comprehensive col- torium this Friday (Oct. 21). He will be the lection of its kind. Globus traveled from featured solo- his home in California to attend the special ist in Pablo de opening for the show on Friday, Sept. 23, Sarasate’s “Car- and spoke briefly about how the exhibition men Fantasy.” came together. PHOTO COURTESY / MIT MUSEUM Originally The original concept grew from Glo- Learn more about MIT’s unique workspaces at “Scientific Settings: Photos of MIT Labs,” from New Jer- bus’s conversation with Sharon Traweek, at the MIT Museum Compton Gallery. The exhibit of photos taken by Scott Globus during sey, Hua began who was on the MIT faculty during the the early 1980s is on display through Jan. 6. studying violin ’80s with a joint appointment in the Anthro- formally at age pology and Archaeology Program and the 7. He went on Program in Science, Technology and Soci- typifying “what a chunk of MIT looks like who or what he was shooting; in an effort to enroll in ety (STS). With Traweek’s support, the all the time.” Some of the prints were first to identify more of the subjects and labo- The Juilliard project was funded by the Undergraduate displayed at MIT a month before Globus ratories, the museum is inviting visitors School in New Research Opportunities Program (UROP), graduated in 1984, with 60 prints on exhib- to use the comment books in the gallery York City and beginning in 1983. it in MIT libraries. to share any information they may have admits that Serenus Hua Globus was mostly unhindered in Planning for the MIT Museum show about the photos. playing music his quest for laboratory photographs, began two years ago when Globus contact- Globus never viewed his photogra- at Julliard is very different from playing although some of the work he photo- ed Rosalind Williams, professor of writing phy as separate or even distant from his at MIT. graphed was not yet protected by pat- and director of STS, about bringing his interest in physics. “Physics is a way to “At Juilliard, it was very technical, very ents, which raised legal concerns. Globus photography back to MIT. She invited him understand the physical world,” he said, showy,” he said. “Everyone was trying to remembers more prominently that there to make a presentation in an STS colloqui- and photography was a way for him to show off. At MIT, most people are going was a “sense of discomfort” from the stu- um last April with a talk called “Looking at understand and respond to “life as an MIT into engineering and science, so it’s not dents, who were “not accustomed to see- Laboratories: MIT Photos From the ’80s.” student.” a question of who’s going to be the best ing themselves described.” Now, he says, By that time, preparations for “Scientif- There have been some dramatic chang- soloist. I have more time to learn the piec- there is greater acceptance of the “reality ic Settings” were under way. UROP funded es in technology over the past 20 years, es, rather than the techniques.” factor.” the digitization of 400 of his images, which as these photos show, but that human ele- The piece he will be performing is dif- The exhibit challenges the stereotype was completed last fall by Kaya Shah, now ment remains essentially constant. ferent from the one in the original opera of the scientific laboratory as immaculate. a senior. This past summer, junior Tabitha “Scientific Settings: Photos of MIT “Carmen,” Hua said. “It has the same basic “We often think of the clean room as our Bonilla used the digital images to create Labs” is on display in the MIT Museum’s theme, but this composer has added a lot image of science,” said curator Debbie the prints that are on display. Compton Gallery, Room 10-150, weekdays of tricks and flourishes.” Douglas, but many of these laboratory At the time many of the photographs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Jan. 6. Admis- He puts it in the genre of a “show spaces are actually quite messy, she said, were taken, Globus did not know exactly sion is free. piece,” one of his favorite types of music. “It’s what I’m better at,” he said. “They’re fun to play, fun to listen to. One of my teachers likens it to dessert. You have ARTS NEWS your main course, with your standards, Bach and Brahms. For dessert, you come back to the show pieces.” Exhibit digs ‘Beneath’ Over the years, Hua has found a way Michelle Fiorenza, administrative to combine music and community service. assistant in the Sloan School of Manage- In high school Hua founded a volunteer ment, has curated “Beneath the Surface,” group called “Music in Action” that per- an exhibition featuring the work of Carol formed at senior homes, day-care centers Blackwell, Edith Green and Nadia Irish, and school events. at the Nave Gallery (Clarendon Hill Pres- At MIT, he is involved with the MIT Arts byterian Church, 155 Powderhouse Blvd., Scholars, whose members range from film Somerville) through Saturday, Oct. 22. Fio- students to classical musicians like himself. renza helped establish the Nave Gallery in The group is trying to organize a benefit 2004 under the auspices of ArtSomerville. for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. For more information on the Nave, call A chemical biological engineering (617) 625-4823 or visit www.artsomerville. major, Hua is very interested in science. org/nave/exhibits.html. While he is also majoring in music, he doesn’t see himself performing for a living. Singing to cure MS “It’s too late for me to be a chamber musician,” he said. “I’m not in a conserva- When Art Mellor (S.B. 1985) was tory, and the market is pretty low these diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he days.” formed the Boston Cure Project to coor- At MIT he plays as much as he can, dinate the research being done on M.S. although it can be difficult to find time. A benefit concert for the foundation will “MIT has kept me busy,” he said. “It’s PHOTO COURTESY / HAMM AND HUMMEL be held on Sunday, Oct. 23, at the Pleas- always been a balance for me. I practice in Vive la France ant Street Congregational Church at 75 between classes, whenever I can. I’ll bring Pleasant St. in Arlington at 3 p.m. Mari- my violin to class.” Two singers-interpreters-musicians Hamm will perform a medley of songs on Leeds Carroll, a web assistant with Although he had not yet rehearsed from the Alsace region of France centered on enduring French myths the MIT Libraries, is organizing the con- with the MIT Symphony, Hua seemed con- will present a cabaret-style evening about various U.S. icons: Hollywood cert and is one of the featured perform- fident. of French songs about America, and its stars; the West and its cow- ers. She was diagnosed with M.S. in 1988. “I’m used to performing with an orches- “L’Amerique Dans la Chanson boys, gold-diggers and gangsters; the Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the tra after one or two rehearsals. For this, it Française” tonight (Wednesday, soldiers of WWI and WWII; and the door; $5 for students and seniors. For will be about four.” Oct. 19) at 8 p.m. in Killian Hall. celebrated cities of New York, San more information or to order tickets, call Humbly, he added, “It’s a better deal Accompanied by piano and accordi- Francisco and Nashville. For more Ruth Seidman at (617) 734-7820 or e-mail than I’m used to.” on, Jean-Marie Hummel and Liselotte information, call x3-4771. [email protected]. Free access to Harvard art Clarification MIT undergraduate and graduate students can now gain free admission to A story in the Oct. 5 issue of Staffer to perform Joni Mitchell songs Harvard’s art museums (the Fogg, Sack- Tech Talk suggested that Susan ler and Busch-Reisinger Museums as well Hockfield may have been the first Singer/guitarist Keith Hampton pres- musical studies by learning to play viola as the Agnes Mongan Center for the Study MIT president to perform “Lincoln ents an Artists Behind the Desk concert at age 9. From there he went on to learn of Prints, Drawings and Photographs) by Portrait” in concert. In fact, the titled “Refuge: Travel Songs of Joni Mitch- violin, drums, marimba, piano and later presenting their MIT student IDs. The piece was narrated by former MIT ell,” today (Wednesday, Oct. 19) at noon in guitar. His debut CD, “HOPEfire,” was agreement is part of a newly established President Howard Johnson in 1969. Killian Hall. An administrative assistant in recognized by the Stonewall Society with Institutional Membership sponsored by the Office of the Arts, Hampton began his a nomination for a 2003 genre award. the Council for the Arts at MIT. PAGE 12 October 19, 2005 CALENDAR MIT Tech Talk

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS OCTOBER 19-23

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY October 19 October 20 October 21 October 22 October 23

Science/ Performance Architecture/ Humanities Visit the MIT Rotating Greeting Card Varsity Crew Varsity Crew Technology Planning Sukkah Selection of Design - Head of the - Head of the Visit MIT’s Videos by Pre-registra- Charles Charles award-win- Christian tion required. 8 a.m. Charles 8 a.m. Charles ning sukkah, erected for Jankowski $5. Noon. Room 10-340. River. 258-5265. River. 258-5265. the Jewish holiday of Presented in conjunc- 253-0219. Music Exhibit Reading Special Sukkot. All day. Kresge tion with “Everything TPSS Head of Gallery Talk Interest Oval. 253-2982. Fell Together” by “The Building the Charles Talk by Jane German artist Christian of European Pre-BBQ Farver, direc- “Japanese Jankowski. Media Test Forests: In Lunch before tor, List Visual Defense Wall, Whitaker Building Search of the races. Noon-2 p.m. Arts Center, in conjunc- Strategy 56. On view 24 hours. Turning Points in Forest NW10-BBQ, Edgerton tion with “Christian Business/ Film Sports Featured for the 21st 253-4400. History” BBQ Pits. Jankowski: Everything Money Event Century” Talk by Bernd-Stefan Fell Together.” 2 p.m. Talk by Yumi Hiwatari. MIT Chapel Grewe of the University Varsity List Visual Arts Center Noon. Room E38-615. Concert of Constance, Germany. Football (E15).253-4680. 253-7529. La Donna 2:30-4:30 p.m. Room vs. Nichols Musicale E51-095. 253-4965. College MITHAS What’s Hot at plays music by Baroque 1 p.m. Steinbrenner Concert MIT women composers. “Homeland” Stadium. 258-5265. Performance by Talks by Noon. MIT Chapel. 253- (Zan Boko) Aruna Sairam, Sangeeta 9800. 1988 film from “March of the known for her interpreta- Bhatia, Yoel Fink and Burkina Faso. 6 Penguins” tions of light classical Timothy Swager. Free Poetry@mit p.m. Room 3-133. LSC Fall 2005 music. $18, MIT stu- for students. $20-30. 6-8 Readings Film Series. dents free. 4 p.m. Wong p.m. Kirsch Auditorium. by Anselm MIT Symphony $3. 7 p.m. Room 26-100. Auditorium. 258-7971. 253-8240. Berrigan and Orchestra 253-3791. Tom Raworth. 7 p.m. Sarasate’s International “L’Amerique Room 32-141. 253-7894. “Carmen Folk Dancing Dans la Fantasy” with violin International Chanson Third soloist Serenus Hua ‘07, folk dancing, Française” Rehearsal for winner of the 2005 MIT with live music provided “An Evening of French MIT Women’s Symphony Concerto by the Cambridge Folk PHOTO / PETER CLARK Songs about America,” Chorale Competition. $5. 8 p.m. Orchestra. 8-11 p.m. Architecture lecture performed cabaret-style All women in the MIT Kresge Auditorium. 452- Lobdell Dining Hall. 253- by Jean-Marie Hummel community are welcome 2394. FOLK. Architect Peter Davidson will discuss Federation and Liselotte Hamm. 8 to join. New members Square, a building he designed in the heart of p.m. Killian Hall. 253- welcome until Oct 20. Melbourne, Australia, at a lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 4771. 7:45-10 p.m. Room 10- 25 in Room 10-250. 340. 484-8187.

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

ARTIST BEHIND SPINNERS AND LATINO FILM THE DESK Oct. 19 BLOGGERS Oct. 20 FESTIVAL Oct. 21 Performance by singer and Talks by Deborah Hayes, 4th annual Boston Latino guitarist Keith Hampton. Killian Hall Rebecca MacKinnon and Room 3-270 International Film Festival Room 32-123 Brian Reich on political com- Noon 5-7 p.m. — “Bridging Communities 5-11 p.m. munications in the digital Through Movies.” age.

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS OCTOBER 24-30

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 October 28 October 29 October 30 “The Future “Cholera: The “Close-Up MIT Chapel “Finding “Four Tables: Varsity Sailing of the United New Face of an (Nama-ye Concert Form: The Art Projects by Lira - Erwin Schell Nations” Old Disease” Nazdik)” Triton Brass of Richard Nikolovska” Trophy Talk by Talk by Deborah Film presented Quintet. Noon. Filipowski” Nikolovska is a 9 a.m. Charles Professor Alan K. Cramer. Noon. Room in conjunction with MIT Chapel. 253-2826. A sculptor of international Ph.D. candidate at the River. 258-5265. Henrikson, director of E56-100. 253-6989. “Christian Jankowski: reputation, Filipowski was Design and Computation The Fletcher Roundtable Everything Fell Together.” “Adjusting to born in Poland in 1923 program at the School Brunch on a New World Order at “Federation All day. Bartos Theater. life in the US” and raised in Ontario, of Architecture and an Sunday morning Tufts University. 5-7 p.m. Square” 253-4680. A welcome Canada. Opening associate member of the brunch. 11–1 Room 7-338. Architecture reception for reception 4-6 p.m. MIT Media Lab’s Computing p.m. Green Hall. lecture by Peter Object Lesson: new international schol- Museum. 253-4444. Culture Group. Room 7- 642-8272. International Davidson. 6:30 p.m. “RoboTuna II” ars at MIT with a presen- 238. All day. Take Back Room 10-250. 253-7791. Gallery talk tation by Anne Copeland “Do You Fall Festival Your Time Day by Kurt of the Interchange Remember AKPIA Presents Talk by Juliet CAVS Artist’s Hasselbach, curator, Institute. 4–6 p.m. Room Dolly Bell? Workshop: Bayou Bash, Schor, sociologist of Presentation: Hart Nautical Collection. W20-306. 253-2851. (Sjecas li se “The Mamluk Featuring Wild work, consumerism, Christina Noon. MIT Museum. 253- Dolly Bell?)” Domes of Magnolias Concert women’s issues and Mackie 4444. “Close-Up Film from Yugoslavia, Cairo” Charity event to support economic justice. 6 p.m. Ranging in material from (Nama-ye 1981. Directed by Emir Architecture workshop. the New Orleans musi- Room 4-237. luxurious to ephemeral, Gallery Talk Nazdik)” Kusturica. 6 p.m. Room 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Room 5- cians who will be per- Mackie’s works reflect Bill Arning, List Visual 3-133. 216. 253-1400. forming as well as local Heartsafe her ability to allow ideas curator of the Arts Center Film Night, foundations in the Gulf - Infant/Child the time and space to List Visual Arts presented in conjunc- Gallery Talk Bayou Bash Coast. $5 MIT students, CPR (AHA) take shape. 6:30 p.m. Center, speaks on the tion with “Christian Talk by Nicholas BBQ Jazz $10 MIT staff, $15 faculty Class Room N52-390. 452- exhibition “Christian Jankowski: Everything Baume, chief Lunch and affiliates and all oth- This course prepares 2484. Jankowski: Everything Fell Together.” 7 p.m. curator of the Jazz music dur- ers. 7–10:30 p.m. Kresge participants to respond Fell Together.” 12:30 p.m. Bartos Theater. 253- Institute of Contemporary ing the Bayou Bash BBQ. Auditorium. 253-6777. to cardiac emergencies Halloween List Visual Arts Center 4680. Art, Boston. 6 p.m. List 1–3 p.m. Kresge BBQ in infants and children up Contra Dance (E15). 253-4680. Visual Arts Center (E15). area. 253-6777. to 8 years. $35. 6–9 p.m. Music by Victor “Macbeth” 253-4680. Room E25-297. and Emily Troll Israeli Dancing Shakespeare “The Amityville and Friends. 8-10:30 p.m. 8–11 p.m. Ensemble fall Endellion Horror” (1979) English A Student Center room Lobby 13. 484- production. $8, String Quartet LSC Fall 2005 Capella 407. 354-0864. 3267. $6 students. Oct. 27-29 Mozart’s Viola Classic Film Folk Music and Nov. 3-5. 8 p.m. Quintet in Series. $3. 7 p.m. Room Workshop Kresge Little Theater. G Minor with Marcus 26-100. 253-3791. English a capella folk 253-2903. Thompson, viola. 8 p.m. singers Dave Webber and Kresge Auditorium. 253- Anni Fentiman. 7:30 p.m. 2826. Killian Hall. 258-5629.