Volume 52, Number 23 TechTalk Wednesday, April 16, 2008 S e r v i n g Th e MIT Co mm u n i t y Institute EARTH DAY 2008 brimming with Leaving energy our mark Experts, industry leaders, students convene at annual MIT class tracks carbon energy conference footprint of different lifestyles; David Chandler News Office finds even the smallest U.S. footprints are relatively large “Scale” was the keyword as hundreds of people gathered this past weekend for the fourth annual MIT Energy Confer- ence. The event, organized entirely by FOCUSING student groups, has evolved “essentially from a standing start to become one of ON ENERGY the premier energy events,” said President PHOTO COURTESY Susan Hockfield at the meeting’s opening. OF NASA While there has been Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will rapidly growing enthu- David Chandler siasm in recent years News Office speak at MIT about a variety on Earth Day. of approaches to PAGE 5 improving the Whether you live in a cardboard box or a luxuri- world’s energy ous mansion, whether you subsist on home- MIT helps to develop systems, “no grown vegetables or wolf down imported matter how bright steaks, whether you’re a jet-setter or a a carbon-neutral many of these new sedentary retiree, anyone who lives community technologies seem, in the U.S. contributes more than in Abu Dhabi. most of them wither twice as much greenhouse gas to PAGE 4-5 around questions of the atmosphere as the global scale,” Hockfield said. average, an MIT class has The magnitude of the estimated. Estimated world’s dependence on fossil fuels, and of The class studied the the problems associated with those fuels, carbon emissions of average for makes it difficult for any new approach to Americans in a wide vari- U.S. resident GRAPHIC / PATRICK GILLOOLY make a significant impact. ety of lifestyles—from A representation of different 20 metric tons Thus, the conference’s title, “Solutions the homeless to multimil- estimated annual carbon that scale to meet the energy challenge,” lionaires, from Buddhist footprints. Government services addressed the often-overlooked heart of the monks to soccer moms— were a major reason for the matter. And while the dozens of talks, panel and compared them to those relatively large U.S. average, discussions and exhibits in the two-day of other nations. The somewhat according to an MIT class led by conference and exhibit acknowledged the disquieting bottom line is that in Professor Timothy Gutowski of daunting nature of the challenge, a sense of the , even people mechanical engineering. shining but realistic optimism pervaded the with the lowest energy usage event. account for, on average, more The sheer magnitude of the problems than double the global per-capita can translate into an equally vast oppor- carbon emission. And those emis- Estimate tunity, said John Doerr, a pioneer venture sions rise steeply from that mini- capitalist whose firm bankrolled some of mum as people’s income increases. for U.S. the biggest winners in the computer and “Regardless of income, there is a homeless Internet booms, including Sun, Google, certain floor below which the individual person Compaq and Symantec. In his opening carbon footprint of a person in the U.S. Average keynote address, Doerr predicted that “the will not drop,” says Timothy Gutowski, 8.5 tons for the market for energy technology is larger, professor of mechanical engineering, who world (U.S. maybe 10 times larger,” than the Inter- taught the class that calculated the rates included) net boom that preceded it. “We’re at the of carbon emissions. The results will be beginning of a green technology boom.” presented this May at the IEEE International 4 tons In order to kick-start that process, there Symposium on Electronics and the Environ- is a need for much greater investment in ment in San Francisco. research, he said. Today, the total annual While it may seem surprising that even research and development budget for new people whose lifestyles don’t appear extrava- energy technology is about equal to just gant—the homeless, monks, children—are respon- one day’s profits from a single fossil-energy sible for significant greenhouse gas emissions, uPlease see ENERGY, PAGE 5 uPlease see FOOTPRINT, PAGE 4

PEOPLE RESEARCH NEWS Jacks named AACR president Meet Nexi Sustaining our future

Tyler Jacks, director of the David H. Koch Institute The Media Lab’s newest The formation of the MIT-Fraunhofer Center for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, has been robot becomes an Internet for Sustainable Energy Systems is announced during named president of the American Association for star after preliminary video Saturday’s energy conference. Cancer Research. appears on YouTube.

PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 2 April 16, 2008 u PEOPLE MIT Tech Talk Jacks named president of American Association for Cancer Research Tyler E. Jacks, director of the David Jacks’ research interests are in research today,” Jacks said. “As Committee. He serves on the editorial H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer the genetic events that contribute the leading cancer research orga- board of Molecular Cancer Therapeu- Research at MIT, has been named pres- to the development of cancer. nization in the world, the AACR tics and was a senior editor of Molecular ident-elect of the American Association His laboratory has engineered plays a vital role in promot- Cancer Research. Jacks has co-chaired for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s a series of novel mutant mouse ing the flow of information several AACR Special Conferences, was a largest scientific organization dedicated to strains that accurately mimic from these discoveries between co-chair of the 2003 AACR Annual Meet- preventing and curing the deadly disease. human cancer and thus serve as scientists and clinicians which ing and served as faculty for the “Molecu- Jacks, also the David H. Koch Professor animal models for exploring the ultimately impacts on the lives of lar Biology in Oncology” Educational of Biology at MIT and an investigator with cellular pathways regulated by people with cancer.” Workshop. Jacks has also received several the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, cancer-associated genes. Jacks has served in several awards recognizing his scientific accom- took over the position on Monday, April “We are experiencing an Tyler leadership positions for the plishments, including the AACR Award 14, at the AACR Annual Meeting in San unprecedented and truly remark- Jacks AACR, including the Board of for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Diego. able pace of discovery in cancer Directors and the Nominating Research.

Memorial service Three MIT planned for Menand A memorial service is planned to faculty named celebrate the life of Louis Menand III, who died at age 85 of complications from cardiac surgery on Jan. 30. Menand Guggenheim was a senior lecturer in MIT’s Political Science department, where he touched the lives of many students and also fellows served as special assistant to the provost Three MIT professors were named under presidents Howard Johnson, Guggenheim fellows for their “stellar Jerome Wiesner and Paul Gray. achievement and exceptional promise for The service will be held on Tuesday, continued accomplishment,” the John April 22, at 3 p.m. in the MIT Chapel. Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Parking will be available in the Kresge parking lot, and a reception will imme- announced this month. diately follow the service at McCormick Robert Kanigel, professor of science Hall. writing; Susan S. Silbey, the Department Gifts in memory of Menand may of Anthropology head; and Alexander van be made to Tutoring Plus, a neighbor- Oudenaarden, an associate professor of hood educational organization serving physics, were named as fellows. low-income children in Cambridge that Kanigel’s fellowship will be focused on his Menand helped to found and which upcoming book, set on the Blasket Islands benefitted tremendously from his leader- PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY in the west of Ireland; Silbey’s focus will be ship over the years. Such gifts can be sent on trust and surveillance in the cultures of to: Ellen McLaughlin, Executive Direc- Initiatives at the Institute science; and van Oudenaarden will study stochastic gene expression in development. tor, Tutoring Plus of Cambridge, 225 Gov. Deval Patrick and MIT President Susan Hockfield appear together before Windsor St., Cambridge, MA 02139. The Guggenheim foundation named a the governor unveiled a plan to pump $3.8 billion into the state’s economy as total of 190 fellows at 81 different academic Gifts may also be directed to MIT in a safeguard against worsening economic conditions. Patrick’s speech at the Menand’s memory for the MIT Retirees institutions for 2008. Each fellow receives MIT Sloan School of Management was his first appearance at MIT since being different grants based on need, with more Association Undergraduate Scholarship sworn in as the state’s 71st governor last year. Fund. than $8 million awarded this year for an average grant of $43,200. MIT’s Makan wins prestigious Rome Prize Sarah H. Wright and exploratory, it has required the cal gear. Photographs by 19th News Office composer to develop hieroglyph-like century scientist Etienne-Jules Marey notations for musicians perform- top each column; poem-shaped ing his work. In a saxophone piece, segments of Jena Osman’s libretto MIT professor Keeril Makan, a “Voice Within Voice,” for example, a spill downward like adding machine musician and composer acclaimed for row of jagged markings that look like paper. There are no visible musical his technique of layering recorded and shark’s teeth means “put your teeth on notes. live sounds, has been awarded a pres- the reed and grind.” In addition to the opera, Makan’s tigious Rome Prize by the American But notation is not where the plan for Rome is to complete a work Academy in Rome for 2008-2009. process of composing starts for Makan, for electric guitar and orchestra, The prize, announced Thurs- a 36-year-old native of New Jersey. commissioned by the Ameri- day, April 10, in New York, carries “I write by physically interacting can Composers Orchestra, to be a stipend of $24,000, and work and with the instrument I’m composing premiered this November. He will living accommodations for 11 months for. If I’m writing for the oboe, I’ll also finish a trio for flute, viola at the academy. play it in as many ways as I can imag- and harp, commissioned by the “Keeril Makan has emerged as ine,” he says. “As I work, new musical Harvard Musical Association, for an exciting and inspiring young possibilities develop. This is how I get violist and MIT professor Marcus composer, with commissions from the raw materials for a piece; I record Thompson. the Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can myself, then I figure out how I’ll work A tall order for 11 months, but All-Stars, Carnegie Hall, and many with the material.” Makan, who owns neither a car nor other groups. I am delighted to see his Makan will devote the 11-month a television, finds economy in technol- tremendous achievements recognized residency in Rome to working on ogy. He relies on Finale, a notation in this way,” said Deborah Fitzgerald, three major pieces, he says. program, for experimenting with time Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of One project will be to compose and modeling, and on a digital audio Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. “Tracker,” a five-part chamber opera workstation for analyzing the frequen- Makan, assistant professor of music, in which technological instruments of cy components of prerecorded sounds, originally trained as a violinist. He the past, such as 19th-century contrap- en route to creating new ones. describes his music as an outgrowth of tions for measuring pulse and motion, Recent MIT winners of the the Western classical tradition, using are linked thematically to current Rome Prize include Pulitzer Prize- familiar instruments and other musical technologies and to the impact of winning novelist Junot Díaz, associate traditions in new ways. technology on the imagination and professor in Writing and Human- Makan’s music moves fluidly among emotional experience. istic Studies, and John Ochsendorf, disparate sounds, weaving them Sketches for “Tracker” are now associate professor of architecture. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY into instrumental combinations that taped in five columns to the wall A national competition, the Rome Assistant Professor of Music Keeril Makan, who recently range from small chamber ensembles of Makan’s MIT office, a small Prize is awarded annually to 15 emerg- won the Rome Award for his compositions, uses a to works for orchestra. Innovative room packed with books and musi- ing artists in various fields. multitude of instruments, including the violin and piano.

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Sarah Wright MIT Tech Talk u NEWS April 16, 2008 PAGE 3 Student Meet Nexi: the Media Lab’s latest robot star conference targets global poverty Former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards will be among the speakers at an MIT conference this weekend involving more than 1,000 students from around the country dedicated to fighting the problems of extreme poverty in the world. The inaugural Millennium Campus Conference, organized by a coalition of student groups including MIT’s Global Poverty Initiative, will feature talks and discussions about international devel- opment and steps toward developing sustainable strategies against poverty. The group was founded with a goal of furthering the United Nations’ Millen- nium Development goals. PHOTOS / DONNA COVENEY Edwards is scheduled to deliver an The many faces of Nexi, the Media Lab’s newest robot, which can make a wide range of expressions. opening keynote speech at 10 a.m. Friday in . Other David Chandler expressive robots such as Kismet, the new Grupen at the University of Massachu- scheduled speakers during the three-day News Office product is known as an MDS (mobile, setts-Amherst and two MIT robotic spin- conference include MIT senior lecturer dextrous, social) robot. Unlike Kismet, off companies. The project was originally Amy Smith, anthropologist and physi- which consisted only of a robotic head, the funded by an Office of Naval Research cian Paul Farmer and economists Jeffrey A new experimental robot from the Nexi MDS is a complete mobile manipu- Defense University Research Instrumenta- Sachs and Paul Romer. MIT Media Lab can slant its eyebrows in lator robot augmented with rich expres- tion Program (DURIP) award to develop Henrietta H. Fore, administrator anger, or raise them in surprise, and show sive abilities. It is designed to ultimately a novel class of robots that can engage in of the United States Agency for Inter- a wide assortment of facial expressions ride on self-balancing wheels like the sophisticated forms of peer-to-peer team- national Development and director of to communicate with people in human- Segway transporter, but it currently uses work with humans in uncertain environ- United States Foreign Assistance, will centric terms. Called Nexi, it is aimed at a an additional set of supportive wheels to ments. A recent ONR Multidisciplinary also be participating in the meeting’s range of applications for personal robots operate as a statically stable platform in its University Research Initiative (MURI) opening ceremonies. and human-robot teamwork. early stage of development. It has hands to award, for which Breazeal is the PI, aims at The conference will feature a variety Nexi has become something of an manipulate objects, eyes (video cameras), developing technologies and demonstra- of luncheons, workshops and exhibits Internet celebrity after a preliminary video ears (an array of microphones), and a 3-D tions for teams comprised of humans and to promote networking among college demonstration of its facial expressions infrared camera and laser rangefinder autonomous aerial robots in addition to campus organizations. Other major using prescripted movements was posted to support real-time tracking of objects, the MDS robots. Several MIT faculty are programming activities include the this month on YouTube. The spot has people and voices as well as indoor part of the MURI effort (Nick Roy and Millennium Campus Concert, hosted by been accessed more than 110,000 times, navigation. Jon How in aero-astro, and Deb Roy at the Brad Corrigan of Dispatch, which will and viewers have reacted with comments The development of Nexi was led by Media Lab) in addition to other collabo- take place on April 19 at the Roxy, and ranging from awe and bemusement (“This the MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots rators at Stanford, Vanderbilt, UMass- the Millennium Campus Cup—a soccer robot seems more humane then most Group in collaboration with Professor Rod Amherst and University of Washington. tournament to benefit Grassroots Soccer humans”) to shock and alarm (“Creepy. HIV/AIDS education in Zimbabwe. Very creepy”). For more info, visit http://www. Created by a group headed by Media mcnpartners.org or http://gpi.mit.edu/. Lab’s Cynthia Breazeal, known for earlier

Second annual Cambridge Science Festival kicks off April 26 The second annual Cambridge festival include “A Hack’s How-To; MIT Science Festival, an annual citywide Museum Family Day” all day on Sunday, celebration of science and technol- April 27, featuring hands-on fun family ogy, will take place Saturday, April 26, activities; the Arts & Science Mixer on through Sunday, May 4. The festival Thursday, May 1, and the Energy Night will feature more than 200 events rang- Mixer on Friday night, May 2—both at ing from lunch with a different Nobel the MIT museum and free for the MIT laureate each weekday, to building and community. launching your own rocket, to theatrical Last year the event drew an esti- and opera performances. mated 15,000 people from across New The festival kicks off with a free England. “The festival aims to make Science Carnival at Cambridge City world-class science and technology—and Hall from noon until 4 p.m. on April 26. the people who do it—directly accessible The Cambridge Science Festival to the community,” said festival Execu- showcases Cambridge as an internation- tive Director and MIT Museum Direc- ally recognized leader in science and tor John Durant. “Science is relevant to technology. A multifaceted, multicul- absolutely everyone; but we hope that in tural event modeled on art, music and particular our festival will inspire curious movie festivals, the event promises to young minds to explore the world about make science accessible, interactive and them in new ways.” fun, highlighting the impact of science The Cambridge Science Festival is and technology in all our lives. a collaboration among MIT, Harvard This year’s festival—spanning nine University, the City of Cambridge, days—will include more than 200 Cambridge Public Schools, Cambridge events open to the public and held at Public Library, WGBH and the different venues throughout the city of Museum of Science. The festival is Cambridge. Festivalgoers can partici- generously supported by MIT, the pate in workshops, behind-the-scenes Massachusetts Cultural Council, the tours, talks, performances, debates City of Cambridge, Larry and Diane and film festivals. Many of the events Bock, Wyeth Research, Biogen Idec, are interactive and geared to kids and Harvard University, Novartis, Genzyme, their families. But there will also be Merck, Millennium, Pfizer, Vertex, adult-focused events, such as exploring Alnylam, Alexandria Real Estate Equi- whether neuronal enhancements could ties, Boston Properties, Draper Labs, or should be used to make you smarter, MathWorks, Shire, the Cambridge with neuroscientist and Harvard Provost Community Foundation, CDM, Cubist Steve Hyman, Picower Institute Direc- and Schering-Plough. tor Mark Bear and MIT Neuropharma- For a complete schedule of events, cology Professor Richard Wurtman. visit http://www.cambridgesciencefesti- Some MIT-centric events during the val.org. PAGE 4 April 16, 2008 u EARTH DAY 2008 MIT Tech Talk

MIT and Fraunhofer announce center for sustainable A BLUEPRINT energy systems Center aims to significantly reduce cost for no carbon footprint

of solar energy over next five years “It’s a pretty exciting project,” says MIT’s Charles Cooney, professor of chemical engineering and a MIT and Fraunhofer, a German research organiza- member of the Masdar Initiative’s executive committee. tion, have signed an agreement to establish a research center in Massachusetts focused on significantly reduc- “The university will be living inside many of the experi- ing the cost of solar energy over the next five years. ments it is conducting.” The MIT-Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy And that will provide a unique opportunity both for Systems will develop cutting-edge technologies and education and for research on a full-scale, integrated materials for designing and producing better solar approach to energy efficiency and sustainability, Cooney modules. says. “There are a lot of things going on around the Located adjacent to the MIT campus, the center will globe in the way of future energy projects—alternative be active in other areas of sustainable energy research as fuels, energy efficiency, alternative energy devices. But well, including developing new technologies to substan- they’re not typically all going on in the same place at tially reduce the energy consumption of new and retro- the same time.” Masdar, he says, is “bold, it’s big and it’s fitted structures by adapting state-of-the-art building quite unique.” technology. The center also aims to develop a portfolio The whole could be much greater than the sum of its of new efficiency and solar technologies that maximize parts, he suggests. “You not only get to do experiments MIT’s world-class capabilities in advanced materials around the individual alternative energy ideas, but you research and development and computer simulation. get to do experiments around the system as a whole. Professors Ernest Moniz, director of the MIT One of the biggest challenges is the systems engineering. Energy Initiative, and Eicke Weber, director of People underestimate how difficult it is to get everything the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, working together.” announced the agreement that will lead to the creation MIT will maintain a close association with the Masdar of the new center Saturday, April 12, at the MIT Institute, whose faculty will spend a year here before Energy Conference. Also participating in the ceremony beginning their teaching there. But the involvement with were MIT President Susan Hockfield, German foreign the creation of the new city and campus is more limited. minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Karl Weiss, chair of Some of the initial ideas for the zero-energy plan the board of the Massachusetts Technology Collabora- came from the MIT collaboration, says Leon Glicks- tive, Ian Bowles, Massachusetts secretary of energy and man, professor of building technology and mechanical environmental affairs, and Larry Reilly with National engineering and director of MIT’s Building Technol- Grid. ogy Program. “We did work with them when they were “This partnership will pair the outstanding basic evaluating proposals for the architecture,” he says, but energy research capabilities at MIT with the world-class now “they’re on a really fast track for construction,” so applied research capabilities of the Fraunhofer Insti- the British architectural firm, Foster + Partners, which tute,” said Moniz, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor did the principal design work, is taking the lead. of Physics. “The research focusing on solar energy and Once the project is built, MIT will have an ongo- on building efficiency address extremely important ing role in monitoring the actual energy performance technologies for both long- and short-term response of the city, Glicksman says. And that could provide an to global energy challenges. Also, the strong support extraordinary opportunity for students to learn about the of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Technology potential for such large-scale integrated approaches to Collaborative and National Grid represents the kind of innovative energy production and use. public-private partnership that we will need to succeed.” The Masdar Institute itself, at the heart of the new Start-up costs of the center will be funded with $5 city, is being modeled very closely on MIT, says Fred million from the Massachusetts Technology Collab- Moavenzadeh, the James Mason Crafts Professor of orative. National Grid, the principal member of the Systems Engineering and Civil and Environmental Center’s Partnership with Industry, also committed to Engineering. “MIT is really a research-driven institu- support the center with a pledge of $1 million over five tion. The education here is highly interactive with the years. IMAGE COURTESY OF FOSTER + PARTNERS research,” he says. “That style of education is very much “The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems An artist’s rendering of the proposed carbon-neutral community being developed in Abu Dhabi. missing in most countries,” but plays an important role has been highly successful over 25 years in develop- in fostering innovative ideas that can spur a nation’s ing technologies in the areas of renewable energy and David Chandler waste output are also intended to be kept at or near zero. economic development, he says. energy efficiency, and transferring these innovations to News Office The city, designed to house 50,000 people with the Moavenzadeh says that “energy and environment are industry,” Weber said. “I expect that our new Center for Masdar Institute of Science and Technology at its center, at the frontiers of research,” and so it makes sense for the Sustainable Energy Systems at MIT will be as successful will be completely car-free, with walkways and personal new institute to put those at the center of its program— here in Massachusetts and help achieve the state’s goals bu Dhabi is a tiny nation with huge reserves transportation systems instead of roads and parking and its setting. But while the program is modeled on in climate protection.” of oil and, as a result, a lot of wealth. But this garages. Some of the walkways will be topped with solar MIT, he says, it is also essential that its programs be Nolan Browne, MIT alumnus and founder of the Persian Gulf emirate is taking the long view, and panels, which will offer shade from the blistering tropical oriented toward the local environment and local needs. MIT Energy Conference, will serve as the center’s A planning right now for a future beyond oil. sun while also providing electricity for the city. While details of the long-term relationship remain to managing director. In addition, Tonio Buonassisi, The most dramatic piece of Abu Dhabi’s futuris- “Every building will be designed and constructed to be determined, Cooney says, once it is up and running, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT tic planning is its creation of a whole new city from provide a model for sustainable living and working,” the “it hopefully will become an incredibly significant and the center’s planned scientific director, is one of the scratch, centered on an institute of technology modeled Masdar Institute’s web site declares. Power will come opportunity for MIT faculty and students.” leading solar technologists in the United States today. after, and created in collaboration with, MIT. The new from photovoltaic panels and surrounding wind farms. Key people involved in the Masdar Initiative, from Roland Schindler, the center’s executive director, is a city, Masdar, is perhaps the most ambitious attempt And the city will be built with the “fullest use of innova- MIT and from Abu Dhabi, will present details of the 24-year Fraunhofer veteran who will serve as a liaison in the world today to create a community with a total tion in energy-efficiency, sustainable practices, resource project in a May 6 symposium in the Wong Audi- between the MIT team and Germany, ensuring that net energy use of zero—without sacrificing any of the recycling, biodiversity, transportation and torium. Details of the meeting are at http://tinyurl. activities are aligned. Four out of the nine members of amenities of modern technology. Carbon emissions and standards,” they say. com/4jwy26. the board of advisors are MIT professors.

FOOTPRINT: MIT research discovers that in the United States, even the smallest carbon footprints can be relatively large Continued from Page 1 dioxide emissions per person, they found, was effect.” That’s when someone makes a partic- impacts, both at a personal level and at a one major factor is the array of government 20 metric tons, compared to a world average ular choice—for example, buying a hybrid national level.” services that are available to everyone in the of four tons. car instead of a gas-guzzler—but then uses In a continuation of the class this semester, United States. These basic services—includ- But the “floor” below which nobody in the the money saved from their reduced gasoline another group of students are exploring this ing police, roads, libraries, the court system U.S. can reach, no matter a person’s energy costs to do something else, such as taking a question in more detail, looking at just what and the military—were allocated equally to choices, turned out to be 8.5 tons, the class long trip by airplane. The net impact, in such kinds of things people really can do to limit everyone in the country in this study. Other found. That was the emissions calculated for a a case, may actually be an overall increase in their environmental impact. The question services that are more specific, such as educa- homeless person who ate in soup kitchens and carbon emissions. they are addressing, Gutowski says, is “can tion or Medicare, were allocated only to those slept in homeless shelters. “When you save energy, you save money,” average Americans tighten their belts” in a who actually make use of them. The analysis was carried out by Gutowski Gutowski explains. “The question is, how are way that would make a significant difference? The students conducted detailed inter- and 21 students in his 2007 class, “Environ- you going to spend that money?” Once again, the class will be interviewing views or made detailed estimates of the mentally benign design and manufactur- The students looked at the factors within people living in a wide variety of ways, includ- energy usage of 18 lifestyles, spanning the ing.” They derived a system for making such each person’s control that might lead to a ing an Amish farming lifestyle. Then, after gamut from a vegetarian college student comparisons, which they call ELSA—environ- reduction in carbon output. They found that analyzing the results and possible changes, and a 5-year-old up to the ultrarich—Oprah mental life style analysis. achieving significant reductions for the most they will go back to the same people and ask, Winfrey and Bill Gates. The energy impact Unlike some other attempts to quantify part required drastic changes that would likely “Would you consider these alternatives?” for the rich was estimated from published carbon-emission rates, Gutowski and his be unacceptable to most people. As a result, In general, spending money on travel or sources, while all the others were based on students took great care to account for often- they said, “this all suggests to us very signifi- on goods that have substantial energy costs direct interviews. The average annual carbon overlooked factors, such as the “rebound cant limits to voluntary actions to reduce in their manufacture and delivery adds to a MIT Tech Talk u EARTH DAY 2008 April 16, 2008 PAGE 5

ENERGY CONFERENCE ENERGY: MIT hosts annual conference Continued from Page 1 the million-square-foot facility, planners cheapest leverage is to be found on the company, Exxon Mobil. And last year, the were asked to spend up to an additional demand side”—that is, by improvements in U.S. government slashed spending on one 10 percent of the building’s cost, in order efficiency. of the most promising energy technolo- to achieve up to 15 percent reduction in But to bring about the changes that gies, geothermal power, to just $5 million, energy costs. In fact, they were able to are needed will require a major shift in despite the fact that geothermal may have achieve a 28 percent energy improvement, national priorities, said James Woolsey, the largest-scale possibilities of all, with at a cost increase former head of “the potential to equal our total energy of just 4 percent. the CIA. The oil for no carbon footprint use,” Doerr said. That’s typical, industry, he pointed That emphasis was echoed by MIT McQuade said: ❞ out, currently gets “It’s a pretty exciting project,” says MIT’s Charles Professor of Chemical Engineering Surveys showed that You can make money, instead $1 trillion a year in Cooney, professor of chemical engineering and a Jefferson Tester, whose studies of geother- managers overes- of losing it, by doing things subsidies—despite member of the Masdar Initiative’s executive committee. mal resources showed the vast scale of timate the costs the fact that it is “The university will be living inside many of the experi- this resource—which, unlike many forms of efficiency, and environmentally. enjoying all-time ments it is conducting.” of sustainable energy, is available virtu- underestimate the record profits. “We And that will provide a unique opportunity both for ally everywhere, and all the time. “The benefits. John Holdren, need to pay atten- education and for research on a full-scale, integrated numbers are staggering” for the amount of That’s an error professor of environmental policy at Harvard tion to the existing approach to energy efficiency and sustainability, Cooney geothermal energy that could ultimately that businesses, subsidies,” he said, says. “There are a lot of things going on around the be harnessed, he said, and developing the or nations, can ill but “when you do globe in the way of future energy projects—alternative technology to enable widespread deploy- afford, said James Rogers, chair of Duke the real computations, renewables are a lot fuels, energy efficiency, alternative energy devices. But ment could be accomplished for about Energy, one of the nation’s largest utility closer than people think.” they’re not typically all going on in the same place at the price of a single new coal-fired power companies. “I think the most success- Making the right choices on energy, the same time.” Masdar, he says, is “bold, it’s big and it’s plant. ful economies of the future will be the he said, can not only prevent devastating quite unique.” Another area with enormous potential ones that are most energy efficient,” he damage to the planet and the dangers of The whole could be much greater than the sum of its is energy efficiency, as several speakers said. “Energy efficiency should be your reliance on unstable regimes around the parts, he suggests. “You not only get to do experiments emphasized. J. Michael McQuade, a senior first option,” but is often treated as an world, it can create jobs and profits at the around the individual alternative energy ideas, but you vice president at United Technologies, afterthought. same time, contrary to claims that it will get to do experiments around the system as a whole. cited an example of a single manufactur- John Holdren, professor of environ- have great costs. “You can make money, One of the biggest challenges is the systems engineering. ing plant his company built in China for mental policy at Harvard, agreed with that instead of losing it, by doing things envi- People underestimate how difficult it is to get everything elevator manufacturing. In the design of assessment, saying that “the easiest, fastest, ronmentally,” he said. working together.” MIT will maintain a close association with the Masdar Institute, whose faculty will spend a year here before beginning their teaching there. But the involvement with UPCOMING the creation of the new city and campus is more limited. ENERGY EVENTS Some of the initial ideas for the zero-energy plan came from the MIT collaboration, says Leon Glicks- man, professor of building technology and mechanical Gov. Patrick to speak at engineering and director of MIT’s Building Technol- MIT on Earth Day ogy Program. “We did work with them when they were evaluating proposals for the architecture,” he says, but Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick now “they’re on a really fast track for construction,” so will deliver a major public address at the British architectural firm, Foster + Partners, which MIT’s Kresge Auditorium on Earth did the principal design work, is taking the lead. Day, Tuesday, April 22. The governor Once the project is built, MIT will have an ongo- will discuss his vision for the future of ing role in monitoring the actual energy performance clean energy in the Commonwealth. of the city, Glicksman says. And that could provide an Gov. Patrick’s administration and extraordinary opportunity for students to learn about the the Massachusetts Technology Collab- potential for such large-scale integrated approaches to IMAGE / SHIMAHARA ILLUSTRATION orative have been working actively innovative energy production and use. with the MIT Energy Initiative, MIT The Masdar Institute itself, at the heart of the new MIT Sloan’s green future students and MIT faculty on energy city, is being modeled very closely on MIT, says Fred innovation and the development of an Moavenzadeh, the James Mason Crafts Professor of Once it is completed in 2010, the new MIT Sloan building (E62, pictured in energy cluster in Massachusetts. In his Systems Engineering and Civil and Environmental this artist rendering) should be the greenest building on campus. The six- address, which is open to the public, Engineering. “MIT is really a research-driven institu- story structure will incorporate a number of environmentally friendly features Gov. Patrick will elaborate on these tion. The education here is highly interactive with the including daylighting, chilled beams and radiant ceiling panels. and other key energy policy plans and research,” he says. “That style of education is very much initiatives of his administration. missing in most countries,” but plays an important role on nuance and incremental progress, he in fostering innovative ideas that can spur a nation’s said, while conveying the information to U.S. Sen. Bingaman to economic development, he says. News you nonspecialists makes it necessary to boil Moavenzadeh says that “energy and environment are things down into relatively simple terms. deliver energy talk at the frontiers of research,” and so it makes sense for the “You’re reduced to using metaphors,” he U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., new institute to put those at the center of its program— said, and that invites criticism from other and its setting. But while the program is modeled on will deliver a 2008 Compton lecture can ooze scientists because no metaphor is exact. titled, “Forging a Clean Energy MIT, he says, it is also essential that its programs be “Science is by nature equivocal,” he said, Future,” at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 25, oriented toward the local environment and local needs. and that often gives people a misleading David Chandler in Kirsch Auditorium (Room 32-123). While details of the long-term relationship remain to News Office sense of uncertainty about its conclusions. Sen. Bingaman has represented be determined, Cooney says, once it is up and running, Naomi Oreskes, a historian of New Mexico since 1982. Among “it hopefully will become an incredibly significant science at , San other responsibilities, he is chair opportunity for MIT faculty and students.” The slow, incremental unfolding of the Diego, wrote a widely quoted report in of the U.S. Senate Committee on Key people involved in the Masdar Initiative, from evidence for global climate change is one Science in 2004 in which she studied the Energy and Natural Resources, which MIT and from Abu Dhabi, will present details of the reason it has been such a difficult subject published scientific literature on climate has jurisdiction over national energy project in a May 6 symposium in the Wong Audi- for journalists to cover, and for the change and found, to her surprise, not policy and the public lands of the torium. Details of the meeting are at http://tinyurl. scientists who try to explain it. To put it a single paper that dissented from the nation. He led the Congressional com/4jwy26. another way: “This is a story that doesn’t consensus that climate change is happen- effort to pass major energy legisla- break, it oozes,” said Boyce Rensberger, ing, and is human induced. “As a histo- tion in 2007 and is author of one of director of the Knight Science Journalism rian of science, it was kind of a shock to the Senate’s leading climate-change Fellowships at MIT. me,” she said. “It has the quality of plate Rensberger’s remark came in the intro- tectonics literature after 1973,” she said— “cap-and-trade” bills. In addition, he FOOTPRINT: MIT research discovers that in the United States, even the smallest carbon footprints can be relatively large duction to the first of four panel discus- that is, something that had once been was the Senate leader in passing the America Competes legislation last fall impacts, both at a personal level and at a person’s carbon footprint, while expenditures sions that made up last week’s “Disrup- very controversial but has now become tive Environments” conference, held at firmly established. that calls for major new investments in national level.” on locally based labor-intensive services— federal research and development and In a continuation of the class this semester, whether it’s going to a therapist, taking an art the MIT Museum. The opening panel The panel also featured Andrew tackled the topic of “Communicating Revkin, environmental reporter for The in science education. another group of students are exploring this class, or getting a massage—leads to a smaller The Karl Taylor Compton Lecture question in more detail, looking at just what footprint. Climate Change: Science, Advocacy and New York Times, who, as Rensberger Series was established in 1957 to kinds of things people really can do to limit But the biggest factors in most people’s the Media.” said in his introduction, has probably honor the late Karl Taylor Compton, their environmental impact. The question lives were the obvious energy-users: hous- MIT’s Kerry Emanuel, professor of written more stories about climate change who served as president of MIT from they are addressing, Gutowski says, is “can ing, transportation and food. “The simple atmospheric science, spoke as part of than any other journalist, and Kevin 1930 to 1948 and chairman of the average Americans tighten their belts” in a way you get people’s carbon use down is to the climate-change panel. Emanuel had Conrad, the ambassador of environ- Corporation from 1948 to 1954. The way that would make a significant difference? tax it,” Gutowski says. “That’s a hard pill to attracted worldwide attention and contro- ment and climate change for Papua New purpose is to give the MIT commu- Once again, the class will be interviewing swallow—politicians don’t like to step up” to versy in 2005 when, just a few weeks Guinea, who made headlines by confront- nity direct contact with the important people living in a wide variety of ways, includ- support such measures. Absent such national before Hurricane Katrina slammed into ing the United States for its inaction on ideas of our times. ing an Amish farming lifestyle. Then, after actions, he says, it is important to study “what New Orleans, he published a paper that climate change at an international meet- This event in the series is spon- analyzing the results and possible changes, role consumer choices can play” in lowering predicted an increase in the intensity of ing earlier this year in Bali. sored by the MIT Information Center they will go back to the same people and ask, the nation’s carbon emissions. hurricanes as a result of global warming. The Disruptive Environments confer- “Would you consider these alternatives?” If nothing else, the members of this class When it comes to explaining complex ence was organized by students and and the Office of the President. In general, spending money on travel or got a whole new perspective. “The students scientific work to the media and the faculty from the graduate program in Sen. Bingaman’s talk is open to on goods that have substantial energy costs really got into it,” Gutowski says. “It raised public, scientists are “not very well History, Anthropology, Science, Technol- members of the MIT community. in their manufacture and delivery adds to a everybody’s awareness about the issues.” trained,” Emanuel said. Science is built ogy, and Society. PAGE 6 April 16, 2008 u NEWS MIT Tech Talk

NEWS YOU CAN USE MIT crowned regional DIGITALK: Where IT's at Joining the A new era for Quarter Century Club champs in annual ICPC telephones on The MIT Quarter Century Club Induc- tion Ceremony and Luncheon for new campus: MITvoip members will be held this year on Wednes- rollout begins day, May 7. New membership in the club ‘battle of the brains’ is offered to the faculty and administrative, Voice over Internet research, support and service staff who Protocol (VoIP) technology enables tele- will celebrate their 25th anniversary with Team takes second overall in international competition phones to use networks such as MITnet the Institute on or before June 30, 2008. to transmit calls. VoIP supports standard If you believe you are eligible but have not A team of MIT students was named regional champions—and placed second telephone features while providing advanced, received an invitation to attend the Induc- overall—in the 32nd annual International Collegiate Programming Contest, held web-based functionality. To bring the benefits tion Luncheon, contact the Quarter Centu- recently in Alberta, Canada. The IBM-sponsored competition, also known as the of this technology to campus, Information ry Club in the Community Services Office “Battle of the Brains,” challenged students to solve a semester’s worth of comput- Services and Technology (IS&T) has created at (617) 253-7914 or [email protected]. er programming problems in just five hours. the MITvoip service, which will be generally MIT’s team, comprising freshman Bohua Zhan, junior Xuancheng Shao and available for departments, labs and centers graduate student Andrew Lutomirski, was the only U.S. team to place in the top (DLCs) and is intended to replace MIT’s MIT Retirement Benefits five overall. traditional telephone service. Martin Rinard, a professor in the Department of and IS&T engaged the MIT community in Seminar – Supplemental Computer Science and a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intel- both the design and transition planning 401(k) Plan ligence Laboratory, coached the MIT team, which netted a gold medal for its process for MITvoip. This past fall, IS&T performance. offered a series of outreach events and Mark your calendars for Wednesday, Each team was faced with solving 11 computer-programming problems demonstrations and created a VoIP Advisory April 23, from noon until 1 p.m. Repre- modeled on real-world business scenarios. Students were challenged to develop Board to provide input on the service and the sentatives from MIT’s Retirement Benefits software code to determine the length of a city skyline, map the size and capacity campus deployment. office and Fidelity Investments will be in of a new building design and provide support for an embedded neural network IS&T will transition the MIT community the Bush Room (Building 10-105) for a for cell phones. to MITvoip in a phased rollout that will presentation titled, “Investing in Uncertain More than 6,700 teams, representing 1,821 universities from 83 countries, include faculty, administration and staff. The Markets.” This presentation reviews strate- competed in the fall regional competition this year, compared to 840 teams who transition began in early 2008 with the Sloan gies for investing in light of the current competed in 1997 when IBM first sponsored it. School of Management and MIT Resource market volatility. The first place winner overall, from Russia’s St. Petersburg University Development. This quarter, the transition Mechanics and Optics of IT, took home IBM prizes, scholarships and bragging will include Human Resources, the Librar- rights to being the “world’s smartest.” ies, the Publishing Services Bureau and the Libraries’ book sale April 30 This year’s top 12 teams that received medals are: MIT Libraries’ book sale will be held 1. St. Petersburg University of IT, Mechanics and Optics (Gold, world from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 30 in the Bush champion) Room (10-105). 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Gold, 2nd place) The sale offers a selection of material 3. Izhevsk State Technical University (Gold, 3rd place) from diverse areas including aero-astro, art, 4. Lviv National University (Gold, 4th place) architecture, engineering, fiction, math, 5. Moscow State University (Silver, 5th place) management, music, physics, political 6. Tsinghua University, (Silver, 6th place) science and social science. Proceeds benefit 7. Stanford University, (Silver, 7th place) the Libraries’ Preservation Fund. Open to 8. University of Zagreb, (Silver, 8th place) the MIT community only. 9. University of Waterloo, (Bronze, 9th place) For more info, contact Charlene Follett 10. Petrozavodsk State University, (Bronze, 10th place) or Betsy Granese at 617-253-5693 or 11. St. Petersburg University, (Bronze, 11th place) e-mail [email protected]. 12. Belarusian State University, (Bronze, 12th place) Student Center (W20). To see the current transition schedule and the criteria for readi- ness, visit http://web.mit.edu/ist/topics/voip/ Langer a finalist update.html. Benefits for Millennium prize By converging voice and data, VoIP enables web interface features that enhance produc- MIT alumnus Viterbi also in the running tivity. For example, the VoIP system can send e-mail letting you know that someone has MIT Institute Professor Robert Langer has been chosen as a left you a voice-mail message or even send finalist for the Millennium Technology Prize, the world’s larg- the message itself as an audio file attachment est prize for technology innovation. that you can play. With MITvoip’s call- Langer was chosen “for his inventions and development of forwarding options, you can have your calls innovative biomaterials for controlled drug release and tissue ring at multiple phones at the same time or in regeneration that have saved and improved the lives of millions sequence. The online conference-call feature of people,” according to the Technology Academy , supports up to six participants. You can also which gives the award every other year. place and receive calls from a remote location The award goes to developers of a technology that “signifi- as if you were at your desk. cantly improves the quality of human life, today and in the If you are already on the MITvoip service, future.” you can explore these features at sylantro.mit. This year’s winner will be announced June 11. Winners edu. receive 800,000 euros (approximately $1.2 million), and the other finalists each receive 115,000 euros (approximately Transition Process $180,000). IS&T has designed a process to ensure an ’56, SM ’57, founder of , is also a efficient, smooth transition with little or no finalist. He was honored for creating an algorithm that became service interruptions. Each DLC will partner “the key building element in modern wireless and digital with IS&T to create its own transition plan communications systems, touching lives of people everywhere,” to ensure that the implementation meets according to the Technology Academy Finland. both business and technical requirements. The other finalists are Alec Jeffreys, who developed DNA IS&T will review the plan with the DLC in fingerprinting techniques, and a trio of scientists who devel- detail and work collaboratively to address any oped an optical amplifier that transformed telecommunica- concerns before the new phones are installed. tions: David Payne, Emmanuel Desurvire and Randy Giles. The Telephone Network Service Center Previous winners include Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY (TNSC) will cover the cost of the transi- World Wide Web and senior research scientist at MIT, and tion. After a DLC has transitioned, it will be , inventor of light-emitting diodes. Institute Professor Robert Langer responsible for the cost of installing new VoIP phones or network jacks, or activating existing network jacks. This is similar to the existing model. DAPER worker’s rare cancer spurs fundraiser Just-in-time training and on-site support will be available to each DLC as part of the Lipsky’s medical and living MIT Recreational Sports and the Lipsky is undergoing transition. IS&T will also provide online expenses. Department of Athletics, Physical aggressive chemotherapy documentation and MITvoip Telephone The cost for the fundraiser Education and Recreation (DAPER) treatments at Dana Farber Quick Start Guides. is $25 per person, free for are sponsoring an April 26 fund- Cancer Institute and is unable Additional training sessions can be sched- children under 12. There raiser to benefit R.J. Lipsky, a DAPER to work at his job as associate uled as needed. employee who is fighting a rare form director for fitness programs will be food and drinks, a of cancer. for MIT Recreational Sports. raffle and a balloon prize pop. Want to Learn More? Lipsky, 29, was diagnosed last Proceeds from the fund- DSRCT wristbands will be November with desmoplastic small raiser, to be held from 1 p.m. available for purchase. For more information, visit web.mit.edu/ round cell tumor (DSRCT), a form of to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April For more information, or ist/topics/voip. You can contact the MITvoip cancer that strikes young adults and 26, at Union Street Grill R.J. Lipsky to make a donation online, Transition Team at voip-transition-team@mit. children, usually males. in Newton, will go toward visit http://www.rjlipsky.com. edu. MIT Tech Talk u NEWS April 16, 2008 PAGE 7 Harbison’s ‘Symphony MIT Libraries unveil No. 5’ to premiere new exhibit space The Boston Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of “Symphony No. 5” by MIT composer John Harbison on April 17 and 18 at A once-blank wall outside the Institute Archives, in Building 14’s first-floor corridor, has been Symphony Hall. James Levine will conduct. transformed into a literal window into MIT’s remarkable special collections. Construction is “Symphony No. 5,” commissioned by the Boston complete on the Maihaugen Gallery—a secure, climate-controlled space that will showcase some of Symphony, is Harbison’s sixth BSO commission. the extraordinary items from the MIT Libraries’ collections. The first exhibit, A Celebration of Gifts, Winner of a 1987 Pulitzer Prize and a 1989 MacAr- opens Friday, April 18, with a community celebration beginning at 1 p.m. thur “genius” Award, Harbison is renowned among The exhibit will feature rare and unique items donated to the critics and colleagues for his resourceful, accessible style Libraries by MIT alumni, faculty and friends. Among the treasures as well as his love of the voice as an instrument. that will be exhibited to the public for the first time are items from Created for mezzo-soprano, baritone and orchestra, the collection of the Institute’s founder, . “Symphony No. 5” sets texts from three poems based on These include his personal copy of the 1713 edition of Sir Isaac the tragic tale of Orpheus, a brilliant musician who tries Newton’s Principia Mathematica, an albumen print of a trilobite John to rescue his lover, Eurydice, from the underworld. discovered by Rogers in Braintree, Mass., and his map of The Geol- “The dominant theme of the narrative is how a Harbison ogy of Virginia, which was well used in the Department of Geology survivor of trying and arduous events can live and find & Geophysics and Lindgren Library before being transferred to pleasure in the world,” said Harbison, an Institute Professor. special collections. Harbison says he knew the work’s musical theme—the symphony’s The exhibit will highlight two examples from the many collec- “spine”—early in his composing process. But the fullest expressive journey tions of faculty papers that can be found in the Institute Archives: required both deepening and lightening the tale of two lovers’ grief, so Harbi- an original notebook belonging to Harold “Doc” Edgerton along son used three different texts in the symphony’s final version. with a large-scale reproduction of the 1938 stroboscopic photo- This weekend’s BSO audiences will hear Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz’ graph of golfer Bobby Jones; and publications and research tapes of poem, “Orpheus and Eurydice,” setting the symphony’s dark opening mood, indigenous languages by linguist Kenneth Hale. with Orpheus bereft in life. Louise Gluck’s poem, “Relic,” shifts the focus The exhibit will include milestones in the history of science and PHOTO COURTESY OF MIT LIBRARIES to Eurydice, providing a woman’s voice and a boost out of the abyss. Rainer American literature as well. Several rare books contributed by I. Maria Rilke’s “Sonnet to Orpheus II” will offer an affirming, if ambiguous, Austin Kelly ’26, including a first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and a book of illustra- close. tions from the 1553 volume Historiae animalium by Konrad Gesner, founder of modern zoology, will The premiere of “Symphony No. 5” concludes a week of musical appear- be shown. Also featured in the exhibition are examples from the personal library of architect Charles ances for Harbison: He conducted Bach’s “B Minor Mass” and attended Bulfinch, balloon prints from the Vail Collection, books by architect Santiago Calatrava with origi- premieres of two of his own compositions, “Cortege” and the chamber nal artwork, and examples from the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. version of “Milosz Songs.” MIT grad student’s study challenges notion of ‘pandemic’ flu CLASSIFIED ADS Members of the MIT community may submit one ad each issue. Ads should be 30 words maxi- The widespread assumption that pandemic influenza is an mum; they will be edited. Submit by e-mail to exceptionally deadly form of seasonal, or nonpandemic, flu is [email protected] or mail to Classifieds, Rm 11-400. hard to support, according to a new study in the May issue of the Deadline is noon Wednesday the week before American Journal of Public Health. ­publication. 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Can you comment on how you see the Prize (Junot Díaz in fiction) and the Rome Q: role of SHASS at MIT? Prize (Keeril Makan in music)—two of the most prestigious awards in our fields. This is an exciting time for SHASS Interview with We think deeply, as a community, about A: and the school has never been the role of teaching humanities, arts and more crucial for the MIT mission. MIT social sciences within a large technical champions the power of combining a university where the gravitational pull is world-class science education with the the dean: Deborah toward science and technology. We think critical thinking and cultural literacy of creatively about the special value our the humanities, arts, and social sciences. disciplines have in this university, educat- We have all seen the tremendous advan- ing people who have an uncommon ability tage this approach gives MIT students, to solve problems and make a positive how crucial it is for their success as leaders Fitzgerald, SHASS difference in the world. Our students are and global citizens. sophisticated and brilliant, so we have to MIT is one of the most significant Over the course of the spring semester, Tech Talk has brought readers a series of interviews with each of give them the hardest problems we’ve got, knowledge centers in human history. MIT’s five school deans. The third in this series features Dean Deb Fitzgerald, dean of the School of Humani- right away. This seems to be the nature of At SHASS, we are inspired by that and ties, Arts, and Social Sciences. In the following interview with Sarah H. Wright of the MIT News Office, MIT students—the bigger the challenge, dedicated to providing future leaders Fitzgerald discusses SHASS’s impact on the international-education aspect of MIT and the school’s future. A the more they like it. with rigorous training in the methods longer version of this interview can be found online at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice. We also have a creative opportunity to and perspectives of the arts, social science teach in ways that resonate with the MIT and humanities disciplines. MIT students the world doing transformative research ethos of innovation. Like our colleagues in thrive on their multidimensional educa- on poverty alleviation, health and health the sciences, the SHASS humanists, artists, tion, and we are gratified that alums report care. Recently The New York Times and social scientists are inventive scholars that the experience and perspectives they surveyed leading economists to identify who work in a global landscape and engage gain at SHASS are enduring and crucial to who is doing the most-important econom- profound issues to serve society. Compara- their success and satisfaction. ics work to help solve human problems. tive Media Studies, a pioneering academic The “runaway winner,” as the Times put program committed to thinking across Could you give us a glimpse of your it, is our J-PAL team, which is identify- media forms, theory, and culture, is based Q: major goals for the school? ing ways to ensure that development aid at SHASS. As is HyperStudio, a superb goes to policies and programs that most research and development laboratory for We are focusing on a cluster of improve people’s lives. This is a powerful digital humanities. Many of our faculty A: goals, all of which strengthen our example of the global reach of SHASS- are leaders in inventing ways to incorpo- critical contributions to MIT education based programs. MIT students want to rate digital technology into teaching and and research. Several goals I’m focusing make a positive difference in the world, research, and creating innovative educa- on especially are international education, and our international programs help them tional tools such as “Cultura” for teaching interdisciplinary research and teaching, discover how to do that. We also have language and culture, the “Visualizing strengthening our graduate programs wonderful, specialized programs that Cultures” project, and the Shakespeare and public understanding of science and deepen students’ capacities to operate Electronic Archive. Our faculty is technology. And no set of goals would be effectively all over the world. There are unusually alert to growth areas complete without mentioning the need for several month-long IAP programs, where the humanities, sciences, facilities that match the excellence of our to mention just a few—in Italy art and technology intersect faculty and curriculum. run by the History department, to generate new potentials. and in Spain and France run The arts at MIT are famously What role does SHASS play in by Foreign Languages and good at encouraging and Q: MIT’s approach to international Literatures—that immerse teaching creative problem- education? MIT undergraduates in solving and risk-taking. the language, history and All of us at MIT, and all our peer culture of important cities. You have great A: institutions around the country, Political Science offers Q: enthusiasm for are alive to the demands of the global- a new minor in Applied MIT students. Can you izing economy and knowledge systems. International Studies that say more about your Giving MIT students deep knowledge integrates education and hopes for them in the about languages and cultures of other experience abroad in a great world? countries, and engaging students in inter- way. national opportunities, is a vital part of a We 21st-century education and critical to the You are also interested A: want to Institute’s leadership position. SHASS has Q: in educational innova- educate our a central role in this mission as much of tion. What kinds of initiatives students to be MIT’s international education is housed are you envisioning? global citi- in our school. The great majority of MIT zens. MIT is faculty involved in international educa- We want to sustain the very best tion are at SHASS; the school is home to A: and strengthen our for training Foreign Languages and Literatures, where distinguished graduate students to be students become fluent in the languages programs, and we are focus- scientifically and and cultures they need to be global citi- ing on providing incredible technically superior, zens. All of the SHASS disciplines have quality in our undergradu- hands down. We also an international flavor and many of our ate courses. To keep our want to help our students faculty have deep relationships abroad. PhD and special master’s understand that they are They spend substantial research time in programs competitive with poised to be leaders in many other countries, in libraries and archives, other elite schools, we must fields. At SHASS, we play and interviewing people and forming provide more generous PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY a strong role in giving MIT cross-cultural partnerships. So, SHASS students a range of experience for fellowship support. On the SHASS Dean Deborah Fitzgerald brings enormous depth and breadth of undergraduate side, SHASS leadership. I’d like to do even more expertise to this 21st-century mission. is the common denominator for in this area. Our challenge is to help MISTI (MIT International Science and all MIT undergrads—eight of the 17 GIR On the academic side, the SHASS students enter the global world in the Technology Initiatives) is our standard- requirements are in our school. My plan is A: faculty has been teaching with best possible way—with humility, creativity, bearer, a hugely successful program and to support our world-class faculty as they colleagues in Science, Engineering, Sloan, and grace. We want them to be able to write one of the principal ways MIT students think ambitiously about new classes and and Architecture for decades. Now, we and think critically, be effective and wise gain the cultural understandings that methods. I have put out a call to SHASS want to take that effort to the next level, problem-solvers, with cultural and aesthetic prepare them to be global citizens. In the faculty for proposals to develop new kinds expanding the number of classes, research literacy, with respect for other cultures. MISTI program, students first become of classes—timely, blockbuster classes collaborations, and colloquia. And often We want them to feel confident expressing “country literate,” developing language as well as interdisciplinary classes. We it’s the informal, friendly connections ideas, understand cultural references in India skills and cultural knowledge before already have several such classes. “How that lead to great things. You know one of or France; envision how an end-user will they embark on wonderful in-country to Stage a Revolution” in History, and the things that surprised me a bit when I experience an engineered product. These internships. These are tailored, hands-on “The Supernatural in Music, Literature, became Dean was how much the differ- are all areas where the qualitative, contextual professional experiences—great oppor- and Culture,” taught by faculty from ent parts of the School are really little knowledge cultures of SHASS are invaluable tunities for students to engage with the Music & Theater Arts and Anthropol- neighborhoods. And we don’t get out of to MIT students. world. Through MISTI, we can match the ogy are two examples. Bioethics is taught own neighborhoods often enough! So I’ve passion of students with the excitement collaboratively between Philosophy and taken a cue from Jay Kaiser, and last year, I realize you are working 20-hour days. of our international partners and with the Program in Science, Technology and began to hold a series of random faculty Q: What do you do when you’re not leading alumni who know how important it is for Society, and there isn’t enough room for dinners, just the faculty from SHASS. The the school into the future? students to understand what’s going on in all the students who want to take it. In all dinners are very interesting and great fun, the world as they form their careers and these classes, we want to find the juncture and we’ll go on hosting them as one way Is this the hobby question? lives. MISTI has been leading the pack for between faculty expertise and students’ to spark more cross-discipline endeavors. A: years and is a model for other schools. It’s passions, and create learning experiences also a sterling example of interdisciplinary that are as engaging as they are rigorous. Is there an MIT way to teach [Laughs.] Yes. collaboration. Each of the MISTI country We have considerable capacity in this area Q: humanities and arts? Q: programs draws faculty and students from already, and I am encouraging even more across the campus. I envision even more collaborative and interdisciplinary classes, First, of course, the MIT way is Well, I don’t have any hobbies now. support and growth for this program, and projects, and research. Extraordinary A: unsurpassed excellence. We have to A: I mean, I used to. I could talk about we look forward to celebrating MISTI’s things can happen when we catalyze these be the best of the best, and we have to be the ones I used to have! But I like to get 25th anniversary in October. relationships. the best in a uniquely MIT way. We have outside, walking or biking, and I really love Another standout in our international Are there other ways you are further- world-class faculty at SHASS, extraordi- spending a whole day in the kitchen cooking program is the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Q: ing collaborations between schools and nary leaders in their fields. Just last week for a dinner party, bringing people together. Action Lab (J-PAL), which works all over across the SHASS disciplines? our scholars received both the Pulitzer You have to eat!