Volume 53, Number 17 TechTalk Wednesday, March 4, 2009 S ERVING THE MIT COMMUNITY

TRANSPORTATION, TRANSFORMED IMAGE / JASON PONTIUS

David Chandler News Office policy that cut across schools, departments Transportation@MIT, a new and labs. When faculty members at MIT began initiative launched this week, will draw This approach is essential, many of the talking about teaming up to tackle large- researchers say, because when it comes to scale, global problems of transportation, on the strengths of the School of designing transportation systems that are they soon found that these problems were Engineering, the School of Architecture more efficient, more sustainable and more already getting considerable attention pleasant for their passengers, there’s only across campus. This realization helped and Planning and the MIT Sloan so far you can go by working on each piece spur the creation of Transportation@MIT, School of Management. of the puzzle separately. It’s much more a new initiative launched this week that effective to tackle the issues as a whole and will draw on the strengths of the School of to design systems in an integrated way. Engineering, the School of Architecture And that’s where MIT has a lot to offer. and Planning and the MIT Sloan School of Management. Studying the big picture “I think everyone was surprised” to discover how much work in various aspects John Sterman, the Jay W. Forrester of transportation is already under way and researchers were already working on MIT School of Engineering and professor Professor of Management at MIT Sloan at MIT, says Cynthia Barnhart, who will transportation-related projects. of civil and environmental engineering and and director of MIT’s System Dynam- direct the new initiative, describing the “It is amazingly broad, way beyond engineering systems. Transportation@MIT ics Group, says that a multidisciplinary results of a survey sent to faculty members what I imagined, and I do transportation will thus build on what is already in place approach is essential to solving the and researchers. Survey results showed [as a primary focus],” says Barnhart, the at the Institute: interdisciplinary collabo- problems of transportation. “It’s not just that at least a quarter of MIT faculty associate dean for academic affairs for the rations on transportation technology and uPlease see TRANSPORT, PAGE 3 Dresselhaus wins prestigious Vannevar Bush award

Patrick Gillooly News Office

The National Science Board has named Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus as the 2009 recipient of the Vannevar Bush award, which annually recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technology, has made an outstanding “contribution toward the welfare of mankind and the nation.” The award, established in 1980, commemorates Bush’s unique contribu- tions to public service; it also has a unique tie-in with MIT, as Bush was an influen- tial professor, vice president and dean of engineering at the Institute, and later an advisor to several presidents. Dresselhaus said the award was a “total surprise,” but noted that it not only honors her work, but that of all MIT faculty. PHOTO / CHRIS PENTACOFF, MIT SOLAR ELECTRIC VEHICLE TEAM Mildred “Ever since I’ve been here — and I’ve Dresselhaus been here for my whole career — we’ve Meet ‘Eleanor’ been strongly influenced by service not only to MIT but the whole country; it’s part of what MIT MIT’s Solar Electric Vehicle Team, the oldest such student team in the country, unveiled its latest high- stands for, we’re indoctrinated with this, and we feel good tech car last week. The new vehicle, ‘Eleanor,’ is equipped with wireless links so lead and chase vehicles about this,” she said. “It’s an honor to receive this award … will be able to monitor every aspect of the car’s electrical performance in real time. Its batteries have Vannevar Bush is somebody really special at MIT, and some- enough energy, when fully charged, to get the car from Boston to New York City without need of one special in the nation.” sunlight. See video of the new vehicle at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffi ce/2009/solar-car-vid-0302.html. uPlease see AWARD, PAGE 7

PEOPLE RESEARCH & INNOVATION NEWS Tournament bound Knowing when to fold McDermott award

MIT men’s basketball team makes the NCAA Researchers developing a new technique to fold Internationally renowned video artist tournament for the first time in its history. nanoscale materials into simple 3-D structures. Bill Viola to receive MIT honor.

PAGE 6 PAGE 4 PAGE 7 PAGE 2 March 4, 2009 u PEOPLE MIT Tech Talk

S M T WT 2009 ENERGY CONFERENCE Events F S � at MIT Energy-filled days MIT’s annual student-led Energy Conference adds new events Today • 2009 MIT Excellence Awards. 11:30 a.m–2 p.m. W16, and lobby. The celebration of the 2009 MIT Excellence Award recipients. These awards are among the highest honors that MIT staff can receive for their exceptional work and contributions to the Institute.

• “The Strategic Framework for U.S.- Iranian Engagement.” Speaker: Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO, STRATEGA (Strategic Energy and Global Analysis). Noon-1:30 p.m. in E38-615.

• Latke-Hamantashen Debate. 8-9 PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MIT ENERGY CLUB p.m. in 26-100. Don’t miss this exciting Images from previous student-run Energy debate between the fruit-filled cookie Conferences. This year’s conference will take known as the hamantash and the fried place this Friday and Saturday at the Kendall potato pancake otherwise known as the Square Marriott. latke! Each team, composed of MIT’s finest scholars, presents an argument in favor of their respective food. Follow- ing the debate, votes are cast, ballots are MIT’s annual student-run Energy Conference, now in its fourth ated by MIT Energy Initiative Director Ernest J. Moniz, will counted, and the champion is crowned. year, continues to grow and has added some new features this year. summarize the conference’s theme. Free latkes and hamantashen are served The conference itself, being held this Saturday, is already sold out, Friday afternoon’s sessions are a new addition to the confer- following the debate. but two topical workshops on Friday afternoon, and a showcase ence agenda this year, and organizers describe them as “a unique exhibit Friday evening, are free and still open to the public. opportunity for a more in-depth discussion around select topics.” The theme of this year’s conference is “Accelerating Change They consist of four separate workshops focused on specific Friday, March 6 in Global Energy.” The daylong event begins with a talk by energy topics. Two of them, on wind energy and on capturing • Super Tall Buildings. Speaker: MIT President Susan Hockfield, followed by a keynote talk by carbon dioxide out of the air, are already closed, but two other Hi Choi, vice president, Thornton Lars Josefsson, the president and CEO of Sweden-based energy sessions, on “Nuclear Power: New Markets and New Opportuni- Tomasetti. 12:15 p.m.–1:15 p.m. in group Vattenfall. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who chairs the ties,” and “The Smart Grid: Opportunities and Challenges,” are 1-150. Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition in the House of still open. The workshops run from 1 to 5 p.m. Representatives, will deliver a keynote address. Finally, the Friday evening Energy Showcase, from 5 to 8 p.m. • MacVicar Day panel discussion. As always, the conference, which is co-organized by the MIT at the Kendall Square Marriott, will feature more than 60 post- 2-3:30 p.m. in 9-057, and later, in Lobby Energy Club and the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Energy ers about academic research projects on energy, as well as displays 9. Each year, MacVicar Day honors & Environment Club, features a wide range of leading experts from at least 30 energy companies, many of them spinoffs from Margaret MacVicar’s memory by recog- from both industry and academia. For much of the day the discus- MIT research, and a variety of interactive exhibits. The free show- nizing the significant achievements made sions will break into two tracks, with panels on bioenergy, wind case is designed as an informal event, with live music, cocktails and to enhance undergraduate education. A power, energy storage, baseload power, emerging economies, hors d’oeuvres, to encourage mingling and networking among the faculty panel will discuss “New Direc- demand management, and transportation. A final panel, moder- participants. tions in General Education at MIT.”

• Legatum Center Lecture: “Bottom- up Development and Entrepreneur- Obituaries ship in Emerging Markets.” 4 p.m. in 32-155. Michael Chu and Karim Khoja noise, aero elasticity, air-sea interaction ed a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was the (CEO of Roshan) will discuss bottom-up Former Professor and the field of fluid dynamics, including 1970 Von Karman lecturer of the Ameri- development in emerging markets. Mollo-Christensen, major work on blood flow. can Institute of Aeronautics and Astro- Born Jan. 10, 1923, in Bergen, Norway, nautics. He was a fellow of the American Monday, March 9 concentration camp Mollo-Christensen joined the Norwegian Academy of Arts and Sciences and fellow • Sanctions, Containment and survivor, 86 resistance during World War II. He was of the American Physical Society. Science in the Islamic Republic of captured by the Nazis and sent in 1943 to He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Iran. 4 p.m. in E51-095. Speaker: Dara Germany’s Buchenwald camp, where as Johanna, of Lexington; three children; six Entekhabi. As part of the STS collo- many as 56,000 prisoners are estimated to grandchildren; a brother and many nieces quium series titled Science and Technol- have died. After the war, he returned brief- and nephews. Contributions in Mollo- ogy in Africa, Asia, and Beyond, Profes- ly to Norway before moving to Cambridge Christensen’s memory may be made to the sor Entekhabi will relate his personal in 1946 to begin his studies at MIT. Mount Auburn Hospital, 330 Mount St., experiences in scientific collaborations Hired by the Institute in 1948, he Cambridge, MA 02138. with researchers in the Islamic Republic became an associate professor in 1955 and A memorial service will be held in the of Iran. The challenges of working these a full professor in 1962. He left MIT in the spring. collaborations and impressions about mid-1980s for NASA’s Goddard Institute the effects of sanctions and containment for Space Studies, where he served as chief policies on the development of science in of the Laboratory for Oceans and associate Lee Anne Coffey memorial Iran will be discussed. director of Earth Sciences. He remained PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MIT MUSEUM a research affiliate at MIT through June service to be held March 6 Erik L. Mollo-Christensen 1995. A memorial service for Lee Anne Mollo-Christensen was an avid Coffey will be held at 10 a.m. on Former professor and NASA scientist outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, skiing, Friday, March 6, in the MIT Chapel. Erik L. Mollo-Christensen ’48, SM ’49, sailing and being near the ocean. He Coffey, business manager of the Submit your events! ScD ’54 who resisted Nazi occupation conducted buoy research off Cuttyhunk Environmental Health and Safety of his native Norway and survived the Island, Mass., where his family built a Headquarters Office, passed away on Log on to events.mit.edu to Buchenwald concentration camp, died on summer home. An expert on tides and Wednesday, Jan. 28, at Massachusetts add your events to MIT’s online Feb. 20. He was 86. currents, he frequently advised the Nation- General Hospital after a courageous calendar. Certain events will be Mollo-Christensen taught at MIT for al Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- battle with breast cancer. She was 41. selected from the online calendar more than 30 years as a professor of aero- tion and worked as a consultant for the The memorial service will be to be published in Tech Talk each nautics, meteorology and oceanography. government of Bangladesh and the city of followed by a reception in the main Wednesday. He was credited with significant discover- Venice. dining room on the first floor of W11. ies in the physics of turbulence flow, jet In 1957, Mollo-Christensen was award-

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Anne Trafton MIT Tech Talk u NEWS March 4, 2009 PAGE 3 What drives brain changes in macular degeneration? MIT study sheds light on and senior author of the study appearing no longer receive input. But several labs, Because patients habitually use the in the March 4 issue of the Journal of including Kanwisher’s, previously found PRL like a new fovea, it could be that the underlying neural mechanism Neuroscience. that the neurons in the visual cortex that deprived cortex might respond preferen- “Our study shows that the changes we once responded only to input from central tially to this location. Cathryn Delude see in neural response in people with MD vision begin responding to stimuli at the But that is not what the research- McGovern Institute are probably driven by the lack of input to PRL. In other words, the visual map has ers found. Instead, the deprived region a population of neurons, not by a change reorganized. responded equally to stimuli at both the In macular degeneration, the most in visual information processing strategy,” “We wanted to know if the chronic, preferred and nonpreferred locations. common form of adult blindness, patients said Kanwisher, the Ellen Swallow Rich- prior use of the PRL causes the corti- This finding suggests that the long-term progressively lose vision in the center of ards Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience cal change that we had observed in the change in visual behavior is not driving their visual field, thereby depriving the in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cogni- past, according to what we call the use- the brain’s remapping. Instead, the brain corresponding part of the visual cortex of tive Sciences. dependent hypothesis,” said first author changes appear to be a relatively passive input. Previously, researchers discovered Macular degeneration affects 1.75 Daniel D. Dilks, a postdoctoral fellow in response to visual deprivation. that the deprived neurons begin respond- million people in the United States alone. the Kanwisher lab. “Or, do the deprived “Macular degeneration is a great oppor- ing to visual input from another spot on Loss of vision begins in the fovea of the neurons respond to stimulation at any tunity to learn more about plasticity in the the retina — evidence of plasticity in the retina — the central area providing high peripheral location, regardless of prior adult cortex,” Kanwisher said. If scientists adult cortex. acuity vision that we use for reading and visual behavior, according to the use-inde- could one day develop technologies to Just how such plasticity occurred was other visually demanding tasks. Patients pendent hypothesis?” replace the lost light-sensitive cells in the unknown, but a new MIT study sheds light typically compensate by using an adja- The previous studies could not answer fovea, patients might be able to recover on the underlying neural mechanism. cent patch of undamaged retina. This this question because they had only tested central vision since the neurons there are “This study shows us one way that the “preferred retinal locus” (PRL) is often patients’ PRL. This new study tests both still alive and well. brain changes when its inputs change. below the blind region in the visual field, the PRL and another peripheral location, Chris Baker of the Laboratory of Brain Neurons seem to ‘want’ to receive input: leading patients to roll their eyes upward using functional magnetic resonance imag- and Cognition (NIMH) and Eli Peli of when their usual input disappears, they to look at someone’s face, for example. ing (fMRI) to scan two macular degenera- the Schepens Eye Research Institute start responding to the next best thing,” The visual cortex has a map of the visual tion patients who had no central vision, also contributed to this study, which was said Nancy Kanwisher of the McGov- field on the retina, and in macular degen- and consequently had a deprived central supported by the NIH, Kirschstein-NRSA, ern Institute for Brain Research at MIT eration the neurons mapping to the fovea visual cortex. and Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Byrne.

Awards &Honors

Hynes wins Pasarow research award Richard O. Hynes, the Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research in the Depart- ment of Biology, has been awarded the 2008 Pasarow Medical Research Award for research in cardiovascular disease. The award, granted annually, is for distinguished accomplishment in research in order to increase public aware- ness of vital areas of investigation. Hynes, who is also member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, will receive $50,000 for winning the prize. Chemistry professors win ACS awards Cynthia Barnhart, left, will lead Transportation@MIT. John Sterman, above, is among the many faculty members involved in the new initiative. MIT researchers Dan Nocera and JoAnne Stubbe were recently honored by the Ameri- can Chemical Society for their work in the TRANSPORT: Multidisciplinary research going way beyond the car field of chemistry. Continued from Page 1 Stubbe, the Novartis Professor of Chemis- try and professor of biology, was honored with the technology, it’s the deployment and Besides inventing new kinds of vehicles many of the projects I work on,” from an the Nakanishi Prize, presented to recognize diffusion,” he says, cautioning that in and distribution systems, the initiative engineering perspective, “have important and stimulate significant work that extends the absence of a strategy that takes into will look for ways to make existing ones implementation issues, involving the chemical and spectroscopic methods to the account the big picture, many innovations more efficient. “In 2007, flight delays institutional framework, and the social study of important biological phenomena. “have failed, often after a spectacular cost passengers, airlines and the U.S. and political frameworks.” Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of start,” a phenomenon he calls “sizzle and economy more than $40 billion,” says Would it make more sense for a city Energy and professor of chemistry, won the fizzle.” Georgia Perakis, associate professor of to expand its airport to allow more ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry, which Examples abound: Brazil’s attempt operations research at the MIT Sloan flights, or to build a high-speed rail link recognizes and encourages fundamental to introduce biofuels in the 1970s, and School of Management. “Finding ways to that would reduce the need for those research in the field of inorganic chemistry. the United States’ attempt to introduce alleviate congestion and operate airports flights? Typically, such decisions are made electric cars in the 1990s. However, more efficiently is crucial.” One option separately by different agencies, but the sometimes the same basic idea, managed being studied is “congestion pricing” — new initiative aims to foster ways to help Grochow named ACM differently, can produce a different essentially a tax designed to get airlines to regional or national planners evalu- distinguished engineer outcome: Brazil’s biofuels program of the adopt more-efficient scheduling. ate these kinds of tradeoffs “with this last few years has been a great success. broader geographic scale, as opposed to MIT Vice President for Information Servic- When Sterman addresses a given technol- ‘All the relevant players’ the current highly modal way that kind of es and Technology Jerrold Grochow has been ogy, he often asks crucial questions that planning is done,” Sussman says. recognized as a 2008 Association for Comput- have nothing to do with the technology Overall, the emphasis of the initiative Such broad-based strategic planning ing Machinery (ACM) Distinguished Engi- itself, such as, “What kind of marketing is to focus on whole regional transporta- can also be applied at an urban scale. neer. The ACM honored 10 engineers and 27 program, such as subsidies, tax credits or tion systems. “Our goal is to develop an Christopher Zegras, who researches how scientists for their individual contributions to other incentives, would be needed to help integrated model of land use, transporta- land-use planning in growing cities can both the practical and theoretical aspects of get it over the tipping point?” tion, environmental impacts and energy be optimized for efficient transportation computing and information technology. William Mitchell of the Media Lab and use based on human activities, for the and who has been working with commu- the School of Architecture and Planning evaluation of a range of ‘green’ policies nities in Chile, China and Portugal, Whitehead named top employer says that while “we already have useful and projects,” says Moshe E. Ben-Akiva, agrees that having the new initiative will for postdoctoral researchers cross-disciplinary connections” in several the Edmund K. Turner Professor of Civil make a big difference. “MIT has all the areas, the new initiative should “facilitate and Environmental Engineering. Toward relevant players” in the different disci- The for Biomedical the further development of a community that end, Ben-Akiva’s group has devel- plines involved in transportation, includ- Research is the top place to work for postdoc- of interest, enhance interchanges, and oped the Integrated Transport, Energy ing mechanical and electrical engineering, toral researchers, according to The Scientist’s encourage and support broad initiatives.” and Activity-Based Model (ITEAM) proj- urban planning, operations research and seventh annual survey of research institutions Mitchell’s work covers a variety of ect, creating a platform and tools to help business management. nationwide. transportation modes and innovative planners evaluate the tradeoffs between “Each of those will play a crucial role Last year was the first time Whitehead ways of deploying them. “We have,” he different proposed transportation policies in solving problems in mobility,” he made The Scientist’s top 15 list, when it says, “been developing some lightweight, and regulations. says. The new transportation initiative ranked 14th out of 82 U.S. institutions. energy-efficient electric vehicles — the Joseph Sussman, the JR East Professor “will have a major impact if it succeeds According to the magazine, Whitehead’s CityCar, the RoboScooter and the in the Department of Civil and Environ- in bringing these forces together. MIT placement improved so dramatically because GreenWheel bicycle — together with mental Engineering and the Engineer- is uniquely situated to take this field into the institute has renewed its focus on post- ways to integrate these sorts of vehicles ing Systems Division, also emphasizes the 21st century.” docs. Specifically cited were Whitehead’s into innovative urban personal mobility the importance of the interdepartmental generous benefits, high-caliber senior scien- systems, particularly mobility-on-demand approach embodied in the new initiative. See the full press release at web.mit.edu/ tists and a family-friendly environment that systems.” “That approach is of great value because newsoffice. supports a healthy work-life balance. PAGE 4 March 4, 2009 u RESEARCH & INNOVATION MIT Tech Talk

Engineered viruses can help fight antibiotic resistance Anne Trafton News Office

A new approach to fighting bacte- rial infections, developed at MIT and , could help prevent bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance and help kill those that have already become resistant. Researchers from both schools have engineered a virus that knocks out bacterial defense systems, enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics. The work was reported in the March 2 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose when to fold a serious and growing health risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the antibi- otic-resistant bacterium MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, causes approximately 94,000 infections and contributes to 19,000 Engineers use deaths annually in the United States. ‘nano-origami’ New drugs are needed to combat KNOWING these superbugs, but very few new to build tiny antibiotics have been developed in the electronic past few decades. “There are a lot of targets to go after, but people haven’t devices been able to find the drugs,” said Timothy Lu, lead author of the paper and an MD candidate in the Harvard- IMAGES / NADER SHAAR MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST). MIT researchers have developed a way to fold nano- and microscale polymer sheets into simple 3-D structures, such as three Lu and James Collins, Howard sides of a cube, above. Below, the researchers have manipulated the sheets to line up at different angles. Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of biomedical engi- Anne Trafton forth into an accordion-like structure has silicon, silicon nitride (a type of ceramic) neering at BU, took a new approach: News Office been one of the researchers’ biggest chal- and a soft polymer known as SU-8. engineering existing bacteriophages lenges, along with getting the faces and Once the material is folded, the tricky (viruses that infect bacteria) to attack Folding paper into shapes such as a edges to line up accurately. part is getting the faces to align properly. specific targets. “It’s much easier to crane or a butterfly is challenging enough They have worked out several ways The researchers have developed a few ways modify phages than to invent a new for most people. Now imagine trying to to induce the nanomaterials to fold, to do this successfully: one uses magnets; drug,” said Lu. fold something that’s about a hundred including: another involves attaching polymers to a Lu, who completed his PhD at times thinner than a human hair and then • Depositing metal (usually chromium) certain spot on the faces and melting them HST last year, won the $30,000 putting it to use as an electronic device. onto the surface where you want the with an electric current, sealing the two Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and the A team of researchers led by George fold to be. This causes the material to faces together. grand prize in the National Collegiate Barbastathis, associate professor of curl upward, but it does not allow for They’re still working on getting faces Inventors Competition in 2008 for his mechanical engineering, is developing right angles or accordion-type folds. and edges of a folded cube to line up with work with engineered bacteriophages. the basic principles of “nano-origami,” a • Directing a beam of helium ions onto nanoscale precision, but Shaar, co-super- The engineered viruses described new technique that allows engineers to the desired fold location. The beams vised by associate professor of mechanical in the PNAS paper attack the SOS fold nanoscale materials into simple 3-D imprint patterns that will cause the engineering Carol Livermore, has devised system, a bacterial DNA repair system structures. The tiny folded materials could material to fold once it’s removed from a promising method that uses three pairs of enlisted when bacteria are exposed to be used as motors and capacitors, poten- the surface. High-energy beams go to matching holes and protrusions to pull the antibiotics, and other gene networks. tially leading to better computer memory the bottom of the material and cause edge and face into alignment. Used in conjunction with traditional storage, faster microprocessors and new it to fold up; ions from low-energy The researchers are deep in the develop- antibiotics, the viruses undermine nanophotonic devices. beams accumulate at the top of the ment phase of their nano-folded devices, bacterial defense systems and prevent Traditional micro- and nano-fabrication material and make it fold down. but they are starting to think about how resistance from developing. techniques such as X-ray lithography and • Embedding gold wires in the material. the technology could be used in the future. The researchers tested their phages nano-imprinting work beautifully for two- A current running along the gold wires “We’ve got the core components figured with three major classes of antibiotics dimensional structures, and are commonly interacts with an external magnetic out, and now we’re just having fun with (quinolones, beta-lactams and amino- used to build microprocessors and other field, creating a Lorentz force that figuring out some applications,” says glyclosides) and had good results with micro-electrical-mechanical (MEMS) lifts the face. This technique is a form Nichol. all three. In mice infected with bacte- devices. However, they cannot create 3-D of directed self-assembly, where the ria, those treated with both engineered structures. designer provides the template and See video of the “A lot of what’s done now is planar,” says bacteriophage and antibiotics had an then lets the device assemble itself. ‘nano-origami’ at 80 percent survival rate, compared Tony Nichol, a mechanical engineering The folded shapes can be fabricated with with 50 percent for mice treated with graduate student working on the project. a few different types of material, including web.mit.edu/newsoffice natural bacteriophages and antibiot- “We want to take all of the nice tools that ics, 20 percent for mice treated only have been developed for 2-D and do 3-D with antibiotics, and 10 percent for things.” untreated mice. The MIT team uses conventional In 2007, Lu and Collins demon- lithography tools to pattern 2-D materi- strated the successful creation of an als at the nanoscale, then folds them into engineered virus that could attack predetermined 3-D shapes, opening a new and destroy surface “biofilms” of realm of possible applications. harmful bacteria that can form on industrial and medical devices. Such Smaller, faster viruses could be used in food process- ing plants, hospitals or other settings The researchers have already demon- where bacteria can accumulate. strated a 3-D nanoscale capacitor, devel- This work was funded by the oped in collaboration with MIT Professor National Institutes of Health and the Yang Shao-Horn, which was presented at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. the 2005 meeting of the Electrochemical The researchers have launched a Society. The current model has only one start-up company, Novophage, to fold but the more folds that are added, the develop the engineered viruses, and more energy it will be able to store. Extra are participating in several business layers also promote faster information plan competitions, including the MIT flow, just as the human brain’s many folds $100K Entrepreneurship Competi- allow for quicker communication between tion, the BU $50K Business Plan brain regions, says Nader Shaar, a mechan- Competition, and the Harvard Busi- ical engineering graduate student working ness School Business Plan Contest. on the project. Getting the materials to fold back and MIT Tech Talk u RESEARCH & INNOVATION March 4, 2009 PAGE 5 GOOD Devices aid the VIBRATIONSdeaf by translating sound waves to vibrations

Anne Trafton people can more easily follow conversa- News Office tions than with lip reading alone, which requires a great deal of concentration, says Lip reading is a critical means of Moallem. communication for many deaf people, but “It’s hard to have a casual conversation it has a drawback: Certain consonants (for in a situation where you have to be paying example, p and b) can be nearly impossible attention like that,” he says. to distinguish by sight alone. Current prototypes can be held in the Tactile devices, which translate sound user’s hand or worn around the back of waves into vibrations that can be felt by the the neck, but once the acoustic processing skin, can help overcome that obstacle by software is developed, it could be easily conveying nuances of speech that can’t be incorporated into existing smart phones, gleaned from lip reading. according to the researchers. To lay the Researchers in MIT’s Sensory Commu- groundwork for such future applica- nication Group are working on a new tions, the researchers are investigating the generation of such devices, which could be best way to transform sound waves into an important tool for deaf people who rely vibrations. on lip reading and can’t use or can’t afford Existing tactile aids have been in use cochlear implants. The cost of the device for decades, but the MIT team hopes to and the surgery make cochlear implants improve the devices by refining the acous- prohibitive for many people, especially in tic signal processing systems to provide developing countries. tactile cues that are tailored to boost lip- “Most deaf people will not have access reading performance, says Reed. PHOTOS / DONNA COVENEY to that technology in our lifetime,” said As part of their project, the researchers Ted Moallem, a graduate student work- Researchers in MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics, led by Charlotte Reed have done several studies on the frequency ing on the project. “Tactile devices can be (above with graduate research assistant Theodore Moallem), are using the sense of reception ability of the skin. The human several orders of magnitude cheaper than touch to develop communication aids for the deaf. The device converts sound waves ear can perceive frequencies up to 20,000 cochlear implants.” to vibrations, which a deaf person holding the device can feel. It can help lip-readers hertz, but for touch receptors in the skin, Moallem and Charlotte Reed, senior identify sounds that can be difficult to distinguish visually. optimal frequencies are below 500 hertz. research scientist in MIT’s Research Using a laboratory setup with a device Laboratory of Electronics and leader of the that can provide distinct vibration patterns project, say the software they are devel- to three fingers simultaneously, Moal- oping could be compatible with current lem has done preliminary studies of deaf smart phones, allowing such devices to be people’s ability to interpret the vibrations transformed into unobtrusive tactile aids from tactile devices. for the deaf. This project was originally inspired by “Anyone who has a smart phone already earlier studies Reed did on the Tadoma has much of what they would need to run technique, a communication method the program,” including a microphone, taught to deaf-blind people. Practitioners digital signal-processing capability, and of that method hold their hands to some- a rudimentary vibration system, says one’s face while they are talking, allowing Moallem. them to feel the vibrations of the face and neck. Sensing vibrations Reed’s study, done about 20 years ago, showed that the deaf-blind subjects could Tactile devices translate sound waves successfully understand speech with this into vibrations that allow the user to method — especially if the other person distinguish between vibratory patterns spoke clearly and slowly. associated with different sound frequen- “We were inspired by seeing what deaf- cies. The MIT researchers are testing blind people could accomplish just using devices that have at least two vibration the sense of touch alone,” says Reed. ranges, one for high-frequency sounds and This research is funded by the National one for low-frequency sounds. Institute on Deafness and Other Commu- Using such handheld devices, deaf nication Disorders.

are expensive largely due to the amount of fuel they use. the team’s prototype would fit in a large shoe box. As a result, engineers have been developing alterna- Since then, 12 MIT students have worked on the Mini- New rocket tive, non-chemical rockets. In these, an external source of Helicon, resulting in one PhD and four master’s theses electrical energy is used to accelerate the propellant that to date. Batishchev notes, however, that it could be years provides the thrust for moving a craft through space. before the technology can be used commercially, in part aims for cheaper Such non-chemical rockets have been successfully used due to certification policies. by NASA and the European Space Agency in missions The Mini-Helicon has three general parts: a quartz including NASA’s Deep Space 1, which involved the flyby tube wrapped by a coiled antenna, with magnets surround- nudges in space of a comet and asteroid. ing both. The gas of interest is pumped into the quartz But the field is still relatively new, and these advanced tube, where radio frequency power transmitted to the gas Plasma thruster is small, rockets are one focus of the MIT Space Propulsion from the antenna turns the gas into plasma, or electrically Laboratory (SPL). “The Mini-Helicon is one exciting charged gas. runs on inexpensive gases example of the sorts of thrusters one can devise using The magnets not only help produce the plasma, but also external electrical energy instead of the locked-in chemi- confine, guide and accelerate it through the system. “The Elizabeth Thomson cal energy,” says Manuel Martinez-Sanchez, director of plasma beam exhausted from the tube is what gives us the News Office the SPL and a professor in the Department of Aeronautics thrust to propel the rocket,” Batishchev says. and Astronautics. He noted that the exhaust velocity from the new rocket Satellites orbiting the Earth must occasionally be The Mini-Helicon is the first rocket to run on nitrogen, is some 10 times higher than the velocity from the average nudged to stay on the correct path. MIT scientists are the most abundant gas in our atmosphere. chemical rocket, so much less propellant is needed. developing a new rocket that could make this and other It was conceived through work with former astronaut Batishchev notes that last summer, for fun, his team spacecraft maneuvers much less costly, a consideration Franklin Chang-Diaz ScD ’77 on a much larger, more built a plasma rocket based on a glass bottle (a stand-in of growing importance as more private companies start powerful system developed by Chang-Diaz. Batishchev’s for the quartz tube) and an aluminum can (the radio- working in space. team did a theoretical analysis showing that the first of frequency antenna), both of which previously held soft The new system, called the Mini-Helicon Plasma three parts of the larger rocket could potentially be used drinks. It worked. “This shows that this is a robust, simple Thruster, is much smaller than other rockets of its kind alone for different applications. design. So in principle, an even simpler design could be and runs on gases that are much less expensive than The idea “was that a rocket based on the first stage [of developed,” he says. conventional propellants. As a result, it could slash fuel Chang-Diaz’s system] could be small and simple, for more This work was funded by the Air Force Research consumption by 10 times that of conventional systems economical applications,” says Batishchev, who notes that Laboratory. used for the same applications, says Oleg Batishchev, a principal research scientist in the Department of Aeronau- tics and Astronautics and leader of the work. The current propulsion systems — used for maintain- ing a satellite’s orbit, pushing a spacecraft from one orbit to another, and otherwise maneuvering in space — rely on chemical reactions that occur within the fuel, releasing energy that ultimately propels the object. The new Although such systems have brought humans to the plasma rocket moon and are regularly used in a variety of other applica- prototype tions, they have limitations. For example, chemical rockets PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY PAGE 6 March 4, 2009 u NEWS MIT Tech Talk Men’s basketball team bound Bartolotta named to Academic for the NCAA tournament All-America team First in history of MIT Engineers’ first NEWMAC championship men’s basketball team nets them first-ever berth MIT senior and men’s basketball In its 100-year-plus history, the MIT men’s basketball team guard Jimmy Bartolotta, who this has never made the NCAA Division III basketball tournament year became MIT’s all-time lead- — until now. ing scorer and has led the Engineers With a 76-50 victory over in the 2009 to a spot in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Tournament Championship final on Sunday, the NEWMAC Championship Tourna- Engineers continued their historic season by earning an entry ment, was honored again this week into the NCAA tournament for the first time ever. by being named to this year’s ESPN MIT will face Rhode Island College on Friday, March 6, at The Magazine Academic All-America RIC’s Murray Center. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. men’s basketball team. “It’s nice to be part of history,” said head coach Larry Bartolotta is MIT’s fourth Academ- Anderson. “For me, it’s great to see it pay off for guys that have ic All-American overall, and the first worked so hard over the years. No question it was a total team in the history of the men’s basketball effort, but the credit goes to our senior tri-captains” Jimmy program. Bartolotta, Billy Johnson and Bradley Gampel. The 6-foot, 4-inch double major The trio of seniors led the way for MIT, with Bartolotta in management science and phys- scoring a game-high 37 points, Johnson notching 13 points, ics is also a finalist for the coveted and Gampel putting up 10 assists, seven rebounds and three Jostens Trophy, which honors the steals. most outstanding men’s and women’s “It feels great to finally make the [NCAA] tournament, Division III basketball players of the which has been a culmination of a lot of hard work by the year. This is the second consecutive players and coaches,” Bartolotta said. “Winning this champion- year that Bartolotta has been a finalist ship is a great achievement. So much of our season has been for the trophy. about the stuff that doesn’t appear in the box scores, and I A native of Littleton, Colo., can’t underestimate the camaraderie and closeness of the team. Bartolotta currently has 2,175 points We’ve had some ups and downs this year, but at all points of the in his career, is the nation’s third- season everyone was so supportive and excited to see the team leading scorer with an average of 27.8 perform well above the individual.” points per game, and broke the MIT The Engineers shot 47 percent from the floor in the champi- single game scoring record with 43 onship and benefited from a significant advantage from beyond points earlier this year. A two-time the arc, where they finished 10-of-25. All-NEWMAC first-team selection, Trailing 35-26 entering the second half, Springfield sliced he led the conference in scoring as a the MIT advantage to 37-30 following a jumper by Pat Crean junior with a 23.9 scoring average. with 17:21 to go. Bartolotta pushed the lead back to nine with a While leading MIT to an 18-8 layup on MIT’s next possession, while Johnson put the lead in regular season record — and breaking double figures for the duration with a three on MIT’s next shot. records along the way — Bartolotta MIT slowly expanded the advantage during the half, but has also maintained a 4.6 grade-point with Johnson and rookie sharpshooter Jamie Karraker sidelined average and volunteers his time with four fouls each, the Engineers received key contributions mentoring middle school students at from the bench to ignite a 19-3 run. A three by freshman Billy the Cambridge Community Charter PHOTO COURTESY OF MIT ATHLETICS Bender gave MIT its largest lead of the afternoon at 76-48 with School. 57 seconds left in regulation. Jimmy Bartolotta makes a move during a recent game.

question of what it means to be human Dalai Lama’s and how we can create and sustain posi- tive societies, the center will nurture a new News in brief generation of enlightened leaders who will ideals fuel be luminaries for a better world.” 3-D day: 21st century and Computer Science, are scheduled to Priyadarshi said the center will engage speak. A full list of presenters and their faculty, students and various partners to holography to be explored in topics is posted on the event’s web site at new center examine a range of topics, possibly includ- http://web.mit.edu/museum/forum/. ing what biological or behavioral compo- MIT Museum forum The forum will be held March 6, A new center will promote the Dalai nents make a person generous or visionary, Once the very symbol of the future from 5-8 p.m., and March 7, from 9 Lama’s vision of a better world by spon- for example, or how and why a person’s (think of Star Trek’s fantasy “holodeck”), a.m. to 5 p.m. at the MIT Museum, 265 soring interdisciplinary programs and sense of creativity and leadership can be holograms have become as common- Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. Friday’s deliberations on ethics. The center will fostered through contemplative techniques. place as those 3-D symbols on your keynote and reception are free and open be formally launched by the Dalai Lama A collaborative think tank, the center credit cards. An upcoming two-day to the public; registration required at during a visit to MIT on April 30. is supported through the generosity of forum at the MIT Museum will take http://web.mit.edu/museum/forum/. “There is much work to be done to friends who recognize its potential to help holography back to the future with Saturday’s forum is free to the MIT integrate the various fragments of life and shape tomorrow’s leaders. It will invite presentations on its potential when community and $60 for the public. its general understanding through interdis- distinguished researchers, educators, matched with digital technology. ciplinary inquiry, and no one intellectual entrepreneurs, policymakers, artists and The March 6 and 7 interdisciplinary discipline alone can fulfill this need,” said others from diverse cultural, religious and forum, “Photons, Neurons and Bits: Legatum lectures and poster Tenzin Priyadarshi, the Institute’s Buddhist educational backgrounds to contribute Holography for the 21st Century,” will chaplain and the director of the Dalai to its objectives through workshops and explore innovations in medical and session on March 6 Lama Center for Ethics and Transforma- lecture series. biological applications of holography, The MIT Legatum Lecture series tive Values at MIT. The center will host its first public plus the field’s continuing impact on continues on March 6 with Michael “That is why this center is needed,” conference, “The Human Impact,” in late photography and art. Chu and Karim Khoja, who will discuss Priyadarshi continued, noting that the April, culminating with an April 30 talk by “Holography has gone digital, and bottom-up development in emerging center comes as MIT focuses more intently the Dalai Lama on “Ethics and Enlight- with that has come the possibility of markets. As CEO of Roshan, Afghani- on preparing students for the challenges of ened Leadership.” For more information, interaction between holography and stan’s leading mobile-phone company, global leadership. “In addressing the very please visit http://thecenter.mit.edu/. many other technologies and fields Khoja is a thought-leader on the role of of research,” says Seth Riskin, MIT mobile communications to spur devel- Museum manager and organizer of the opment. A microcredit pioneer and forum. “Holography is like a seed that the former CEO of ACCION Interna- has been waiting for this soil.” tional, Chu is currently on the faculty of MIT President Emeritus Charles Vest Harvard Business School and managing will give the keynote address on March director of Ignia Fund. 6 followed by a daylong series of presen- The lectures begin at 4 p.m. in Stata tations on March 7 by researchers from 32-155. MIT and other institutions. After the lectures, 12 teams of MIT The presenters represent a broad students who received 2009 IAP Seed body of work spanning physical, biologi- Grants from the Legatum Center will cal and digital realms, Riskin says. present their projects in such areas Several MIT researchers, including as renewable energy, health, water, Aude Oliva, associate professor in MIT’s biotechnology and mobile services. Department of Brain and Cognitive A poster session and reception (with PHOTO / Sciences, and Antonio Torralba, the refreshments) will begin at 5:30 p.m. in DONNA COVENEY Esther and Harold Edgerton Career the Student Street. The Dalai Development Associate Professor in the Visit http://legatum.mit.edu/ for Lama, during Department of Electrical Engineering more information. a visit to MIT in 2003. MIT Tech Talk u NEWS March 4, 2009 PAGE 7 Video artist Bill Viola to receive McDermott award Internationally renowned video artist Bill Viola has been select- students,” said MIT Associate Provost and Ford International ed by MIT’s Council for the Arts as the recipient of the Eugene Professor of History Philip S. Khoury. “Thanks to the generos- McDermott Award in the Arts, which recognizes the highest ity of Margaret McDermott, MIT undergraduate and gradu- standard of creative achievement on a national level. ate students will have the chance to meet Mr. Viola in an inti- Viola, who has been instrumental in establishing video as a vital mate setting, not only to learn about his innovative and pioneering medium of contemporary art, will receive $75,000 and spend a work, but to share their creative work and research with him.” week in March at MIT working with students to help enhance the The Eugene McDermott Award recognizes an individual for creative life of the MIT community. his or her innovation and contribution to the arts while rein- Viola uses video to explore the human phenomena of sense forcing MIT’s commitment to risk taking, problem solving and perception as a path that leads to self-knowledge. His work connecting creative minds across disciplines. Past recipients focuses on universal human experiences — birth, death, the include playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, architect Santiago Calatra- unfolding of consciousness — and has roots in both Eastern and va, artist Isaac Julian, architect I.M. Pei ’40 and author Junot Díaz, Western art. now a professor in MIT’s Program in Writing and Humanistic Viola has exhibited at the world’s most prestigious museums Studies. and institutions, including at the Museum of Modern Art, New Viola will begin his residency on March 9. He will be presented York; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the J. Paul Getty with the award and present his work at 6:30 p.m. on March 10 Museum, Los Angeles; and the Whitney Museum of American in Room 10-250. MIT students and faculty will be given seating Art, which in 1997 organized an exhibition entitled “Bill Viola: A priority.

KIRA PEROV 25-Year Survey.” “The week-long residency component of the Eugene McDer- More information available at web.mit.edu/arts/about/awards/

PHOTO / PHOTO mott Award in the Arts provides a rare opportunity for our mcdermott.html. AWARD: Dresselhaus ‘Nanostitching’ could lead to much wins NSB honor Continued from Page 1 stronger airplane skins, more A native of the Bronx, Dresselhaus received her PhD from the University of Chicago, and began her MIT career at the Lincoln Laboratory studying superconduc- tivity; she later switched to magneto-optics, carrying out a series of experiments that led to a fundamental understanding of the electronic structure of semi-metals, espe- cially graphite. Dresselhaus was the first tenured woman professor at MIT’s School of Engineer- ing, one of the first women ever to receive a Fulbright Fellowship, and was named an Institute Professor in 1985. She has received numerous awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science and 25 honorary doctorates worldwide. Dean of the School of Science Marc Kastner, who also recommended Dressel- haus for the award, noted the breadth of work she has undertaken at the Institute. “Millie Dresselhaus has done it all. She is an exceptional physicist, classroom teacher and mentor of young scientists, and she is now being recognized for her great public service,” he said. “It is wonderful that her name is now permanently linked with that of another of MIT’s heroes, Vannevar Bush.” Among other criteria, the award selects candidates who have distinguished himself/ herself through public service activities in science and technology; pioneered the exploration, charting and settlement of new PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY frontiers in science, technology, education Brian Wardle, the Charles Stark Draper Assistant Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, shows an and public service. advanced composite material held together by ‘nanostitching,’ a technique developed at MIT that could make airplane Several former members of the MIT skins and other products stronger at a nominal increase in cost. community have won the award, including former presidents Jerome B. Wiesner and Elizabeth Thomson perpendicular to the carbon-fiber plies. Using computer James R. Killian Jr., who won it in 1992 News Office models of how such a material would fracture, “we convinced and 1980, respectively. ourselves that reinforcing with nanotubes should work far MIT engineers are using carbon nanotubes only billionths better than all other approaches,” Wardle said. His team of a meter thick to stitch together aerospace materials in work went on to develop processing techniques for creating the that could make airplane skins and other products some 10 nanotubes and for incorporating them into existing aerospace CLASSIFIED ADS times stronger at a nominal increase in cost. composites, work that was published last year in two separate Moreover, advanced composites reinforced with nanotubes journals. Members of the MIT community may submit are also more than one million times more electrically conduc- How does nanostitching work? The polymer glue between one ad each issue. Ads should be 30 words tive than their counterparts without nanotubes, meaning two carbon-fiber layers is heated, becoming more liquid-like. maximum; they will be edited. Submit by e- aircraft built with such materials would have greater protec- Billions of nanotubes positioned perpendicular to each carbon- mail to [email protected] or mail to Classifieds, tion against damage from lightning, said Brian L. Wardle, the fiber layer are then sucked up into the glue on both sides of Rm 11-400. Deadline is noon Wednesday the Charles Stark Draper Assistant Professor in the Department of each layer. Because the nanotubes are 1000 times smaller than week before ­publication. Aeronautics and Astronautics. the carbon fibers, they don’t detrimentally affect the much Wardle is lead author of a theoretical paper on the new larger carbon fibers, but instead fill the spaces around them, HOUSING nanotube-reinforced composites that will appear in the Journal stitching the layers together. of Composite Materials (http://jcm.sagepub.com/). He also “So we’re putting the strongest fibers known to humankind 2 or 3 Bedroom in Winthrop off street parking ren- [the nanotubes] in the place where the composite is weakest, ovated kitchen, hardwood floors. Close to beach, described the work as keynote speaker at a Society of Plastics bus stop and 20 minutes to MIT by car $1400/ Engineers conference this week. and where they’re needed most,” Wardle said. He noted that month negotiable Call Marty 617-846-3395. The advanced materials currently used for many aerospace these dramatic improvements can be achieved with nanotubes applications are composed of layers, or plies, of carbon fibers comprising less than one percent of the mass of the overall that in turn are held together with a polymer glue. But that composite. In addition, he said, the nanotubes should add only FOR SALE glue can crack and otherwise result in the carbon-fiber plies a few percent to the cost of the composite, “while providing Solid, pure oak desk with hutch; 58” floor to top; coming apart. As a result, engineers have explored a variety of substantial improvements in bulk multifunctional properties.” 48” wide; 24” deep; computer compatible. Sepa- ways to reinforce the interface between the layers by stitching, Wardle’s co-authors on the Journal of Composite Materi- rate cabinet (wheels) for printer/storage. $250. braiding, weaving or pinning them together. als paper are Joaquin Blanco, a visiting graduate student in Details: phone/fax 617-436-5563. All of these processes, however, are problematic because the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Enrique J. the relatively large stitches or pins penetrate and damage the Garcia SM ’06, and Roberto Guzman deVilloria, a postdoc- MISCELLANEOUS carbon-fiber plies themselves. “And those fiber plies are what toral associate in the department. This research was sponsored by MIT’s Nano-Engineered Take over 2007 BMW Z4 lease until 5/31/2010. make composites so strong,” Wardle said. 25,000 miles left on lease with payment of $550 So Wardle wondered whether it would make sense to rein- Composite aerospace STructures (NECST) Consortium per month. Black exterior with red leather inte- force the plies in advanced composites with nanotubes aligned (necst.mit.edu). rior. Contact [email protected] or 617-258- 8939. PAGE 8 March 4, 2009 u RESEARCH & INNOVATION MIT Tech Talk star Geoffrey von Maltzahn awarded $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for innovations in the fight against cancer

MIT graduate student and biomedical engineer Geof- frey von Maltzahn is this year’s winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for his promising inno- vations in the area of cancer therapy. The 28-year-old PhD candidate in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) was selected specifically for two of his inventions in nanomedicine: a new class of cancer therapeutics and a new paradigm for enhancing drug delivery to tumors. Cancer currently kills more people worldwide than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Despite billions of dollars invested in drug development and decades of research, selectively eradicating cancer cells has remained an elusive goal. Chemotherapies, a common class of cancer treatments, are intended to kill the fast-growing cells that form tumors. However, these drugs travel throughout the entire body, and often affect normal, healthy tissue along with cancer cells, causing side effects such as hair loss, nausea, anemia, and even nerve and muscle problems. Furthermore, people can develop resistance to these drugs, causing even initially successful treatment regimens to fail. Working at the confluence of nanotechnology, engi- neering and medicine, von Maltzahn’s innovations have the potential to reduce side effects and overpower drug resistance mechanisms by more powerfully concentrating external energy and targeted therapeutics in tumors.

‘Nano-antennas’

Since 2004, von Maltzahn has worked closely with his advisor, Sangeeta N. Bhatia, a professor in HST and in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, to invent novel treatments that could precisely target and destroy tumor cells without affecting healthy tissue. Seeking to improve the specificity of cancer abla- tion — the destruction of tumors through the applica- tion of heat — von Maltzahn developed polymer-coated gold “nano-antennas” that can target tumors and convert benign-infrared light into heat. The nanoparticles are designed to be injected intrave- nously, where they circulate through the bloodstream and progressively concentrate at the tumor site by infiltrating pores in rapidly growing tumor blood vessels. Once in the tumor, the antennas can be precisely heated with a nonin- vasive, near-infrared light to specifically kill the cancerous cells. “The polymer-coated gold nano-antennas are the longest-circulating and most efficiently heated to date,” said Bhatia, who is also affiliated with the Microsystems Technology Laboratories, the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and the Center for Environ- mental Health Sciences. “Pre-clinical trials reveal that a single intravenous nanoparticle injection eradicated 100 percent of tumors in mice using a near-infrared light. The results of these trials are very promising, meaning that the impact of this technology is wide-reaching with many potential applications.” Von Maltzahn’s second invention aims to fundamen- tally improve the intravenous delivery of therapeutics to tumors by taking a systems approach to their design. This work draws on insights from biological systems, such as PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM ants foraging and bees swarming, where relatively simple methods of communication can lead to very sophisticated Geoffrey von Maltzahn, this year’s winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize. system behaviors. and his founding roles in two companies: Nanopartz Inc. oped inventions outside of the polymer nanorods and Inspired by the potential for inter-nanoparticle commu- (www.nanopartz.com) and Resonance Therapeutics. systems nanotechnology paradigm for improving drug nication to improve therapeutics’ ability to find tumors, Nanopartz was founded more than a year ago to address delivery, including a low-cost method for hemorrhage von Maltzahn invented a series of ways for nanoparticles the nanotechnology industry’s need for dependable and detection; a new class of self-assembling lipid-like peptides to talk to one another in the body. One method involves standardized nanoparticle sources. Von Maltzahn’s goal with promising applications in gene therapy; sensors for benign scout particles that initially locate the tumor and, with Nanopartz is to aid in research endeavors world- detecting tumor protease hot-spots in MRI; a method for once inside, send powerful signals to recruit second- wide by supplying a repertoire of gold nanoparticles for a remotely controlling drug release from nanoparticles; and ary, ‘assassin’ particles that contain the therapeutics. In broad spectrum of commercial applications, ranging from a variety of new nanostructures for improved drug delivery preclinical trials, this system has been able to deliver more biomedicine to energy. and imaging. than 40 times stronger doses of therapeutics to tumors Resonance Therapeutics was founded to bring nanorods The $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize is awarded in mice, in comparison to non-communicating control toward clinical applications and to develop technologies annually to an MIT senior or graduate student who has nanoparticles. that amplify the efficacy of existing cancer therapeutics. created or improved a product or process, applied a tech- “If such highly targeted delivery can be achieved clini- “In addition to the long hours spent in the lab, finish- nology in a new way, redesigned a system, or demonstrat- cally, this method would enable doctors to increase the ing up his PhD, and founding two companies, Geoff ed remarkable inventiveness in other ways. A distinguished drug dose that is delivered to tumors, increasing its overall mentored 14 undergraduate students, taking them out panel of MIT alumni including scientists, technologists, efficacy and reducing side effects,” von Maltzahn explains. of the classroom setting and inspiring them to make the engineers and entrepreneurs chooses the winner. link from science to the real world,” says Joshua Schuler, The Lemelson-MIT Program recognizes outstanding Looking forward executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. “Geoff inventors, encourages sustainable new solutions to real- is not only a mentor for aspiring scientists, but also a shin- world problems, and enables and inspires young people to Von Maltzahn’s work has already made a significant ing example of bridging the gap between technological pursue creative lives and careers through invention. More impact scientifically and commercially, resulting in eight invention and entrepreneurship.” information on the Lemelson-MIT Program is online at patent applications, 19 submitted or published papers, During von Maltzahn’s time at MIT he has also devel- http://web.mit.edu/invent/.