Volume 50 – Number 29 Wednesday – June 7, 2006 TechTalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY MIT gears up for 140th Commencement

Sarah H. Wright lence and a commitment to public service chair of economics at Princeton from 1996 in the MIT Sloan School of Management. News Office — and I can think of no one who can bet- to 2002. Admission for ticketed guests begins at ter inspire our new graduates to use their Hockfield will deliver the traditional 7:30 a.m. Graduates will robe and assem- talents to serve the nation and the world,” charge to the graduates. Other Com- ble on the first floor of Johnson Athletic Macroeconomist Ben S. Bernanke, said President Susan Hockfield. mencement speakers will include Emilie Center, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Between 8 chair of the Federal Reserve and an MIT A former chair of the President’s Coun- Slaby, president of the Graduate Student a.m. and the beginning of the academic alumnus (Ph.D. 1979), will deliver the prin- cil of Advisors and a member of the Fed’s Council, and Kimberley Wu, president of procession, families and guests may enjoy cipal address at MIT’s 140th Commence- Board of Governors since 2002, Bernan- the Class of 2006. a live view of the graduates robing and ment exercises, to be held Friday, June 9, ke was appointed by President Bush and Miriam Rosenblum, MIT Jewish chap- assembling via television feed to Killian at 10 a.m. in Killian Court. approved by the U.S. Senate to assume lain, will deliver the Invocation. Court. During the ceremony, 2,109 undergrad- leadership of the Federal Reserve on Feb. Hockfield will also present the follow- Following the exercises, a reception uates and graduate students are scheduled 1, 2006. The head of the Fed sometimes ing degrees: bachelor of science; bach- will be held for graduates and their guests to receive 1,036 bachelor’s degrees, 1,048 known as the nation’s “banker in chief” elor of science/master of science; bach- on the West Campus Plaza. master’s degrees, 270 doctorates and nine — is widely considered to be the world’s elor of science/master of engineering; and A special hooding ceremony for Ph.D. engineer degrees. most powerful economist. advanced degrees in the School of Science, recipients will take place on Thursday, “Bernanke’s presence at the podium Bernanke, 52, is a native of Dillon, S.C. the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 8, at 1 p.m. in Rockwell Cage. Chan- will have a special resonance given MIT’s He received the B.A. in economics from and the Whitaker College of Health Sci- cellor Phillip L. Clay will preside. role as a wellspring of innovation in today’s Harvard in 1974, followed by the Ph.D. in ences and Technology. Commencement exercises require knowledge-based economy. His career economics from MIT. Bernanke was visit- Provost L. Rafael Reif will award complex and precise planning and the has exemplified values that are central to ing professor of economics at MIT in 1989, advanced degrees in the Schools of MIT — personal integrity, analytical rigor, an associate professor of economics at Architecture and Planning; Engineering; See PREVIEW an uncompromising drive toward excel- Stanford and a professor and department Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; and Page 4 What a LIFE! 50th reunion class was on mag’s cover Sasha Brown News Office

Fifty years after being highlighted by Life magazine for future promise, the MIT Class of 1956 — which celebrates its 50th reunion this week — has more than lived up to the honor, producing such success- ful alumni as an astronaut and a communi- cations revolutionary, among many others. In the 1950s, MIT was being noticed on a national level, in large part due to the Institute’s many contributions to World War II technology. Life magazine recognized the class and MIT in general on the cover of its May 7, 1956, issue with an article titled “The Need for Better Scientists and MIT’s Answer.” The article featured 27 photos by Life photographer Gjon Mili (S.B. 1927), fol- lowed by a three-page story by then-MIT President James R. Killian titled “A Bold PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Strategy to Beat Shortage.” Graduating senior Eric Mibuari used some of the skills he learned here at MIT to start a computer center in his hometown, Laare, Kenya. The largest photo was of the Class of 1956 in the lobby of Building 7. “Pursued by industry and government, they are being offered average starting salaries of Kenyan grad shares what he’s learned $425, 10 percent higher than offers a year ago,” the article said. The feature in Life was a thrill for Sasha Brown dents take, Mibuari took information tech- the idea to start a community computer many members of the class, according to News Office nology courses. “I realized that IT had a center in Laare, Kenya, the town where he Guy Spencer (S.B. 1956). “I would say it lot of potential,” Mibuari said. grew up. was like being on some popular national While surfing the Internet, Mibuari “I just thought about how much IT TV show today, perhaps ‘Good Morning Without the Internet, graduating senior found a path to his future. Coming to MIT helped me personally,” Mibuari said. America’ or maybe a guest shot with Jay Eric Mibuari said he would never have was amazing, Mibuari said, calling his four “Many people in Kenya have not even seen Leno. Life was a big thing then,” he said. known about MIT. years here both “challenging and reward- a computer in their lives.” In the 50 years that have passed, mem- “That was a time when the Internet ing.” Basic computer skills — especially word bers of the Class of 1956 have continued to was getting really big in Kenya,” explained Mibuari decided he wanted to share processing — are helpful when young peo- distinguish themselves both nationally and Mibuari, an aeronautics and astronautics those skills back home. ple seek jobs after high school, Mibuari major. After attending Leader Shape at MIT, an See 50th During the gap year between high intensive six-day leadership-development See MIBUARI Page 6 school and college that most Kenyan stu- and community-building program, he got Page 7 RESEARCH NEWS

SOLAR POWER GET OXIDED CELEBRATION Students win a World Bank Researchers have created a The of MIT and Harvard officially Development Marketplace sensor that can monitor nitric opens its new building at 7 Cambridge Center. grant to develop a solar micro oxide in living cells. Page 2 generator in Lesotho. Page 8 TECH REUNIONS Page 5 A record number of alumni return to campus this weekend for events ranging from the Reunion Row to Technology Day. Page 3 PAGE 2 June 7, 2006 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Ann Graybiel honored for Parkinson’s work Undergraduate

Ann Graybiel, the Walter A. Rosenblith another major agency dedicated to Parkin- Graybiel’s scholarships Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and a son’s disease. group is using principal investigator at the McGovern “I am humbled and incredibly honored experimental awarded Institute for Brain Research at MIT, has to receive these awards,” Graybiel said. models of Par- a new professorship to her name, exter- “My hope is that our lab’s work will help kinson’s, addic- Three MIT undergraduates are among nal to MIT, in recognition of her important patients with Parkinson’s disease.” The tion and habit the 323 students recently named Barry contributions to the understanding and NPF described Graybiel as “one of the learning to study Goldwater Scholars. treatment of Parkinson’s disease. world’s leading experts on the basal gan- how animals Goldwater Scholars receive up to The National Parkinson Foundation glia, the complex and inaccessible parts of learn to perform $7,500 per year for each of their remaining (NPF) earlier this year awarded her the the brain affected in people suffering from familiar tasks academic years. The awards are given to first Harold S. Diamond Professorship, PD and related conditions.” and how their sophomores and juniors planning careers created through a donation from New The basal ganglia not only influence neuronal cir- in science and engineering. York real-estate executive Lynn Diamond movement, they also are critical brain cuits respond to Ann Graybiel The winners from MIT are junior Alex- and named for Diamond’s late father. centers involved in motivation. “It’s a drugs that affect ander Bagley, a chemical engineering The appointment comes with a grant of great puzzle,” Graybiel said. “Somehow the dopamine major who plans to obtain an M.D./Ph.D. $150,000 per year for three years. the same or related circuitry that gets system. Two postdoctoral lab members, in biomedicine/tissue engineering; junior In 2004, Graybiel received the Woman damaged in Parkinson’s disease is also Ken-ichi Amemori and Mark Ruffo, will be Jennifer Choy, a nuclear science and engi- Leader of Parkinson’s Science award involved in habit formation, addiction and appointed Selma Diamond and Lynn Dia- neering major who plans to pursue a Ph.D. from the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, procedural learning.” mond research fellows. in nuclear physics; and junior Daniel Kane, a mathematics major who plans to obtain a Ph.D. in mathematics. This year’s Goldwater Scholars include 234 science majors, 47 engineering majors, 32 math majors and 10 computer science majors. They include 182 men and 141 women. Putnam competition Kane was also one of three MIT under- graduates who finished in the top six in the William Lowell Putnam Mathemati- cal Competition, held throughout North America in December 2005. The other two MIT students placing in the top six were Oleg Golberg and Mat- thew Ince, both sophomores majoring in mathematics. A record 107 MIT undergraduates par- ticipated, and 23 of them ranked in the top 75, the most from any school to make it to the top 75. The MIT Putnam team, composed of three students chosen by the math depart- ment, placed fourth in the team competi- tion. Team members were Kane; Timothy Abbott, a junior majoring in mathematics and electrical engineering and computer science; and Vladimir Barzov, a senior majoring in mathematics and economics.

PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY AWARDS & HONORS

Cutting the ribbon at the Broad Institute opening on Tuesday, May 30, are, from left, Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers; MIT President Evelyn Fox Keller, professor of Susan Hockfield; Eli and Edythe L. Broad, founders of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; and Broad Institute Director Eric S. Lander. history and philosophy of science, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society. The society was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Broad dedicates new building Franklin for the purpose of “pro- moting useful knowledge.” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernan- Nicole Davis noted the scientific progress made in the tral building at 320 Charles St. ke, who earned his Ph.D. at MIT in The Broad Institute three years since the creation of the Broad The construction of the newest build- 1979 and will speak at the June 9 Institute and attributed such progress to ing emerged from the Broad’s research Commencement, is also among this the collaborative spirit that underpins the efforts that reach across scientific disci- year’s inductees. Less than two years after the first shov- institute. plines as well as institutions. The building Three MIT employees have been elful of dirt was turned, the Broad Insti- “This new Broad Institute building is a stands on the last major plot in the Cam- named Susan Vogt Leadership Fel- tute of MIT and Harvard officially opened monument to collaboration,” he said. “We bridge Center area within the heart of lows. They are Catherine Avril, its new building at 7 Cambridge Center on have seen remarkable results when a com- Kendall Square, and thereby completes an director of communications for the Tuesday, May 30. munity of the brightest minds in science urban renewal project that began some 30 School of Engineering; Peter Cum- The event began with speeches from today collaborates in very innovative ways.” years ago. mings, associate director for finan- some of the principals — Los Angeles- Recent Broad accomplishments include “This building is a scientific instrument cial services in the Office of the Dean based philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. the sequencing and analysis of the dog — because of what it will make possible, of Student Life; and David Weber, Broad, MIT President Susan Hockfield, genome, the completion of phase I of the because of the collaborations that it per- director of corporate relations at the Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers International Haplotype Map Project, the mits, because of the instrumentation that MIT Sloan School of Management. and Broad Director Eric S. Lander — who creation of the RNAi Consortium’s RNAi it houses and because of the facility that They were among 15 fellows chosen shared a long-range vision for the future of library and new insights into human evolu- it provides for bringing people together,” by the Consortium to partici- biomedicine. tion. Summers said. “We are going to be able to pate in the yearlong fellowship pro- “I believe that the new model for big Speaking in the airy sunlit atrium, see further, we are going to be able to see gram, which is intended to develop bioscience that has been established here Lander said, “This building embodies the better, than we otherwise could have seen.” leadership skills. will become increasingly important as we principle that I think is most essential to The revealing design of the new build- Margaret Ann Gray, director of seek to take full advantage of the tools of the work of this generation, and that is ing is grounded in its own type of collabo- organization and employee develop- modern science and engineering and of openness.” ration, reflecting the work of an architec- ment in human resources, has been the opportunities for creating synergies The Broad Institute brings together two tural team led by Elkus-Manfredi Archi- selected by the College and Uni- among them,” Hockfield said. world-class universities, Harvard Universi- tects and including Signer/Harris Archi- versity Professional Association for Eli Broad, founder and director of the ty and MIT, and their affiliated institutions tects and Maryann Thompson Associates. Human Resources Eastern Region Broad Foundations, spoke of his and his and hospitals throughout Cambridge and The morning event concluded with the Board to receive the first Successful wife’s belief in the promise that human Greater Boston. During its relatively brief ceremonial cutting of a ribbon imprinted Practices Award for her implementa- genetics and genomics hold for advancing existence to date, the Broad has operated with scientific data generated at the Broad tion of the Leader to Leader Program. biomedical knowledge. In particular, he in five distinct locations, including its cen- Institute.

News Office Staff Tech Talk is published by the News Office on Wednesdays during term time except for HOW TO REACH US Interim Director ...... Pamela Dumas Serfes most Monday holiday weeks. See Production Schedule at http://web.mit.edu/newsof- Senior Communications Officer/ News Office fice/techtalk-info.html. The News Office is in Room 11-400, Massachusetts Institute of Editor Science Writer ...... Denise Brehm Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. News Manager/Editor ...... Kathryn O’Neill Telephone: 617-253-2700 Kathryn O’Neill Senior Communications Officer ...... Patti Richards Postmaster: Send address changes to Mail Services, Building WW15, Massachusetts E-mail: [email protected] Assistant Director/ Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Science and Engineering News .... Elizabeth Thomson Photojournalist Subscribers may call 617-252-1550 or send e-mail to [email protected]. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice Donna Coveney Assistant Director/Photojournalist ...... Donna Coveney Senior Writer ...... Sarah Wright Tech Talk is distributed free to faculty and staff offices and residence halls. It is also avail- Web Developer/Editor ...... Lisa Damtoft able free in the News Office and the Information Center. Office of the Arts Production Reporter/Writer ...... Sash a Brown Anne Trafton Operations/Financial Administrator ...... Myles Crowley Domestic mail subscriptions are $25 per year, non refundable. Checks should be made http://web.mit.edu/arts Administrative Assistant II ...... Mary Anne Hansen payable to MIT and mailed to Business Manager, Room 11-400, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Administrative Assistant II ...... Patti Foley Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Computer Support Assistant ...... Roger Donaghy Periodical postage paid at Boston, MA. Permission is granted to excerpt or reprint any Printed on recycled paper Communications Assistant ...... Heather Manning Editorial/Production Assistant ...... Anne Trafton material originated in Tech Talk. MIT Tech Talk COMMENCEMENT June 7, 2006 PAGE 3 Technology Day will address ‘global challenges’

Nancy DuVergne Smith Tech Day faculty speakers include that’s unambiguously the most important reported a new quantitative characteriza- MIT Alumni Association economist Esther Duflo (Ph.D. 1999) and interesting question in economics.” tion of how a healthy human blood cell on “Fighting Poverty: What Works? The She cofounded the economics depart- changes shape when invaded by a malaria- World of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty ment’s Poverty Action Lab, which was inducing parasite and how the deforma- MIT alumni will return to campus in Action Lab at MIT”; materials scientist renamed for Abdul Latif Jameel after a gift tion of human pancreatic cancer cells in record numbers this weekend — more Subra Suresh (Sc.D. 1981) on “Nano- from his son, Mohammed Abdul Jameel response to certain biomolecules may than 3,275 alumni and guests are regis- technology and the Study of Human Dis- (S.B. 1978). The lab aims to improve the affect the metastasis of that disease. tered for Tech Reunions, which is gather- ease”; mechanical engineer Woodie C. effectiveness of poverty programs by pro- “Such information at the molecular ing classes ending in 6 and 1. Flowers (S.M. 1968, M.E. 1972, Ph.D. viding clear scientific results that will help level is vital to gain insights into the patho- The centerpiece of the weekend will 1973) speaking “On a Liberal Education shape successful policies to combat pov- genesis of malaria, and potentially offers be the annual Technology Day program for the 21st Century”; and civil and envi- erty. Projects include studying the output the opportunity to develop better drugs,” on Saturday, June 10, which this year will ronmental engineer Philip M. Gschwend, of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, racial Suresh said in a Tech Talk interview. address the topic, “MIT Tackles Global who holds a Ph.D. from Woods Hole bias in employment in the United States Flowers and Gschwend will both focus Challenges.” Oceanographic Institute, addressing and the role of women political leaders in on educational innovation. In a recent MIT The weekend will also feature the 10th “Engineering and Earth Systems: Can India. World video, Flowers called for a cultural anniversary of the Reunion Row, set for We Educate a New Breed of Engineers?” Suresh spent two decades studying shift that will change the student focus the Charles River Sunday morning, with a Duflo is a leading member of a group of the mechanical properties of engineered from doing well in courses to doing good record 95 rowers. Alumni are also invited to scholars applying rigorous evaluation stan- materials, from the atomic to the structur- for the world. mingle with graduating seniors at such tradi- dards to development issues. “I’m inter- al scale, and then turned his attention to More than 1,400 people are expected tional events as Tech Night at the Pops, Tech ested in making the life of poor people cures for malaria and pancreatic cancer. to overflow into Little Challenge Games and the Techsas BBQ. better,” Duflo said in an interview. “To me, In a recent article, Suresh and colleagues Kresge for Day symposium. Grads taking Dramashop on U.K. tour Lynn Heinemann Office of the Arts

Graduating seniors Kenneth L. Rora- back and Adam A. Miller will get right back to work after Commencement on Fri- day, June 9, when each will receive a dual degree in physics and theater. Both men are directors in MIT’s cocur- ricular theater group, Dramashop, which will travel to England in its first trip abroad as an ensemble in a new initiative dubbed “Americans Come to Soliloquize,” which aims to build trans-Atlantic bridges. A total of 15 students, including cast members, directors and a technical team, will present two contemporary plays dur- ing their two-week stay. Roraback will direct the group in “Electronic City,” by Falk Richter, and Miller will direct “Felu- topia,” which he developed with the MIT comedy group the Coalition Against Racist Propaganda and Other Crimes Perpetrated by the White Man. The plays, to be staged at MIT in a free PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY double bill through Thursday, June 8, at 8 p.m. at Simmons Hall, will be performed Graduate Christine Chiu plans to spend the next two years working full time on the piano, thanks to an American Dream Fellowship. in independent and college theaters in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick and Bristol. Roraback is directing “Electronic City,” Graduating senior plans musical interlude a surreal exploration of how the gadget- ridden world of main characters Tom and Sasha Brown “You need large hands to play the piece,” people, Chiu wanted a way to stand out. Joy fragments. “What they ultimately need News Office she explained. It was her talent for playing that helped. is love and human contact. ‘Electronic City’ Chiu does not shy away from challenges “Piano helps me feel OK about myself. It makes us ask how to use technology in — musically or academically. When she was makes me feel like I can do something such a way that it strengthens, rather than It was love at first sight when graduating 12, she moved to the United States from special,” Chiu said. replaces, our humanity,” Roraback said. senior Christine Chiu saw her first piano 20 Taiwan. Her family settled in Hacienda She decided to audition for an Emerson Physics and theater question and years ago at her older sister’s lesson. Heights, Calif. Music Scholarship through MIT that paid explore possibilities in different, yet com- Though her sister has long since aban- “My parents wanted us to grow up in a for her private piano instruction. “That plementary ways, he noted. “My study of doned the instrument, Chiu’s love has more balanced environment where it was is how I have been keeping my piano up only grown. Now, thanks to a two-year, not just about the academics,” Chiu said. ever since,” said Chiu, who practices at See DRAMA $20,000 American Dream Fellowship from Though she excelled academically, Chiu least one hour a day during noncompeti- the Merage Foundation, she will be able to Page 7 felt free to pursue her other interests, tion times, but she can spend upwards of pursue her musical dreams full time. she said. She picked up the flute and also four hours a day perfecting her technique The fellowship, which is only available played tennis. before a performance. to recent immigrants, will give Chiu the Still, the piano remained her first love, For the next two years, Chiu plans to opportunity to nurture her musical pas- she said. Chiu pursued piano through use the fellowship money to focus all of sion full time before heading off to medi- much of high school, even competing, her energy on her art. She will offer piano cal school. until her parents asked that she stop and lessons to recent immigrants so they can “I would like to learn to play Tchai- focus on other activities. “I did miss piano,” have the kind of experience she has had in kovsky’s Piano Concerto,” said Chiu. The Chiu said. the United States. piece is especially challenging for the For Chiu, who had excelled all her “I think music can really help people smaller-boned Chiu, who mentioned the life, arriving at MIT four years ago was a express themselves,” Chiu said. “I know it piece in her application for the fellowship. shock. Surrounded by so many intelligent is something that has always helped me.” Tech Night at Pops to star Marcus Thompson

Music Professor Marcus Thompson, an School. At MIT, he heads programs in Mozart and movie themes from “Gone internationally acclaimed violinist, will be chamber music and performance studies. With the Wind,” “Out of Africa,” “Law- the featured soloist for the 109th annual He is also a member of the viola faculty at rence of Arabia,” “The Days of Wine and Tech Night at Pops concert to be held the New England Conservatory of Music Roses,” “The Godfather,” “The Little Mer- this year on Thursday, June 8, in Boston’s and a violist in the Boston Chamber Music maid” and “Star Wars.” Symphony Hall. Pops leader Keith Lock- Society. The concert will conclude with the tra- hart will conduct the 8 p.m. performance, Thompson last appeared with the Bos- ditional sing-along version of MIT’s alma which is sold out. ton Pops in 1973 for Mount Holyoke Night mater, “In Praise of MIT.” Thompson has appeared throughout at Pops just before he joined the MIT fac- Prior to the Pops concert, current PHOTO / HAYDEN TAYLOR the Americas, Europe and the Far East ulty. He is the Robert R. Taylor Professor members and alums of MIT’s all-male a Graduating senior Adam A. Miller, left, will as soloist, recitalist and in chamber music of Music here. cappella ensemble, the Logarhythms, will direct ‘Felutopia’ starring, from left, Helen series. A Bronx native, Thompson earned The Tech Night program will include serenade graduates and alumni concertgo- McCreery, Daniel Chonde and Adam Love. his doctorate degree at the Juilliard works by John Williams, Tchaikovsky, ers in the lobbies of Symphony Hall. PAGE 4 June 7, 2006 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Scholarship site links students with donors

When Andrew Luckmann got his finan- student in the Department of Civil and cial aid award letter last spring and saw Environmental Engineering. that part of his package included scholar- “Most students have no idea” where ship money from the Mark E. Beckham their scholarship money comes from, said (1977) Memorial Fund, the name didn’t Luckmann, of Scarsdale, N.Y., who will mean much to him. But that was before he be a senior in civil engineering. In 2004- met Beckham’s family. 2005, 2,311 undergraduates (56 percent) Thanks to a recently launched web received more than $50 million in MIT project, enrolled undergraduates can now scholarships. The average scholarship find out not only how much MIT schol- from MIT funds was $21,650. arship money they’re getting, but exactly Now, by logging onto WebSIS and click- which scholarship funds it comes from ing on “financial record” and then “donor — and in many cases, details about how a record,” students can see the name of every fund was established and for whom it was fund that has contributed to their scholar- named. ship total — and each name has a link to a The web site is part of WebSIS and web page that includes some biographical therefore has restricted access; students information about the fund and the donor, need MIT certificates to find this informa- when available. If a donor has requested tion. anonymity, the only information that stu- MIT has more than 900 gift and dents will see is the name and purpose of endowed funds created by alumni or other the fund and the date it was established. friends of the Institute to support scholar- To gather information for the web ship aid. Some of those donors have set project, every effort is being made to specific conditions for who can receive a contact as many donors and family mem- scholarship from that fund. bers as possible, asking for details about When undergraduates are awarded a how and why the funds were established. scholarship by Student Financial Services Not all the scholarship fund web pages (SFS) as part of their financial aid pack- have donor information yet, since many age, they fill out a form that gives SFS scholarship funds were created decades some information about their background ago and details about the establishment and interests. Where needed, SFS donor of many funds have been lost. But about relations manager Susan Wilson matches one-third of the 900-plus scholarship funds students to funds based on this informa- are actively stewarded, meaning there is a tion. Other students have scholarship living donor or family member associated money that comes out of endowed funds with the fund. with no preferences or restrictions, or Beckham was one of the first to partici- from the general MIT scholarship budget. pate. She said one of the benefits for her is The Institute guarantees it will meet the that the scholarship fund offers a way for financial need of every student, “but a lot her and her two sons (now 12 and 10) to of them don’t stop to think how MIT is maintain a bond with MIT. In March, the able to do that,” Wilson said. family met Luckmann, the fund’s first ben- PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY The Beckham fund was created in 2000 eficiary. He is someone they can talk to Getting ready for big day by Cynthia Carlson Beckham in memory about Mark, and he’s a person they know of her husband, a 1977 MIT graduate in Mark has helped. Gary Cuhna of facilities, right, gets some help from John Grenier of Atlantic Plant civil engineering who died suddenly when “It’s really meaningful for my sons to Maintenance on Friday, June 2, to haul up the sail that will shade the stage during he was 45. His wife stipulated that money connect (to MIT) in this positive way,” she Commencement on Friday, June 9. from the fund should preferably go to a said. PREVIEW ‘Soap Box’ series is a conversation starter Continued from Page 1 general consideration. kindergarten approach,” he told a capac- comings and goings of guests must be free MIT Museum brings Even after the evening concludes, dis- ity crowd that included a large number of of obstruction or interference. cussion continues in an online forum on teachers and educators. In accordance with this policy, Killian expert speakers, the museum’s web site. A video of the Resnick also demonstrated his new Court will only be accessible to members event is also posted on MIT World (mit- Cricket kit, a box of tools marketed of the graduating class, faculty, stage audiences together world.mit.edu). through Playful Invention Co. and assembly and ticket holders. Access to Past Soap Box presenters include Rod- designed to let children create and pro- Johnson Athletics Center will also be lim- Stephanie Schorow ney Brooks, director of the Computer gram their own inventions. ited. In both Killian Court and Johnson, News Office Correspondent Science and Artificial Intelligence Labora- Although wowed by the kits, the audi- everyone will be electronically scanned as tory; Professor Nancy Kanwisher of brain ence was dubious about how to work they enter. and cognitive sciences; Assistant Profes- Resnick’s ideas into an actual school day. For more specific details, please see the Who would think that the topic of bat- sor Andrew Endy of biological engineer- In his discussion group, John F. How- Statement by the Chancellor’s Committee teries would heat up debate? Or that teach- ing; David Altshuler, a geneticist at the ard, a Watertown engineer whose wife on Protocol for Demonstrations at Com- ers would avidly discuss whether students Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; and is a school principal in Salem, wondered mencement and other Academic Exercis- should use computers like crayons? Or Professor of Materials Science and Engi- if Resnick’s emphasis on creativity was es at: web.mit.edu/commencement/2005/ that the process of point and counterpoint neering Donald Sadoway, who roused “out of touch with the political direction ProtocolforDemonstrations.html. Ques- would turn strangers into a salon of instant his audience with a forceful debunking imposed on education, because that’s not tions regarding locations for demonstra- savants? of hydrogen as an alternative energy what we’re testing nationwide.” tions may be directed to Gayle Gallagher, All this, however, has happened at the source. His group thus put up for discussion executive officer for Commencement at MIT Museum as part of its “Soap Box” “You wouldn’t think batteries would questions such as: “How do teachers [email protected]. program, a monthly series of presentations be all that interesting,” said Jon Bijur, the negotiate this with MCAS (Massachusetts For those unable to get into Killian by MIT experts on critical issues designed museum’s education coordinator. But Sad- Comprehensive Assessment System) pres- Court, a live online webcast of the Com- to break down walls between the speaker oway “got very passionate.” sure?” and “Why is it wrong to separate mencement exercises will be available on and the spoken to. Like any new product, the Soap creative activities from more rigorous aca- and after June 9. “We wanted to make Soap Box less of Box format has had bugs to work out. demic studies?” a lecture and more of an introduction to “There’s a bit of a myth that most scien- Shirley Cassara, a child develop- Parking a discussion,” said MIT Museum Direc- tists and engineers just can’t speak clear- ment teacher at Bunker Hill Community For guests attending the Commence- tor John Durant, who launched the series ly to general audiences about what they College, sadly told Resnick, “You have ment exercises on Friday, complimentary in November, modeling it after European- do,” Durant said. “I find that when you described kindergarten as it used to be in parking will be available in the West Park- style salons on science and technology invite first-rate people, more often than Massachusetts, not as it is now, because ing Garage on Vassar Street. topics held in cafes or pubs. not they turn out to be pretty good at the MCAS has dictated the new frame- Paid parking will also be available in the Soap Box is held in the museum’s explaining what they’re about to a gen- works for education, which has penetrated Marriott Hotel parking garage (entrance at robotics gallery, and with support from eral audience. That’s certainly been our to the kindergarten level.” corner of Ames Street and Broadway) and , the series has attracted experience.” Resnick conceded, “What we’re trying the Technology Square parking garage a mix of different audiences who do more A recent Soap Box speaker even took to do is take the kindergarten approach (entrance on Broadway) on Thursday and than listen quietly and politely raise hands the discussion unabashedly down to the and move it up, and what, in fact, is hap- Friday. at the end. preschool level. In the May Soap Box, pening is that the other (approach) is mov- In the event the Commencement exer- “We’re trying to put the emphasis firm- Professor Mitchel Resnick of the Media ing down.” cises in Killian Court are canceled due to ly on conversation,” Durant said. Lab called for educators to use computers Durant said he was pleased at the audi- severe weather conditions, the speeches Thus, presenters are asked to speak less like televisions and more like paint- ence’s challenging attitude. “We get quite will be held in Rockwell Cage for the stage for a tight, bright 20 minutes on a cho- brushes. Educators, he argued, should different kinds of conversation and quite assembly and graduates only. Guests may sen topic and to leave those PowerPoint think more like kindergarten teachers different kinds of debate from month to view the speeches on closed-circuit televi- slides at home. The audience then is who give kids blocks and finger paints to month,” he said. sion in viewing locations throughout the asked to break into small groups and, in encourage creativity and exploration. Soap Box will return in September and campus. “discuss-amongst-yourselves” fashion, “I see computers as having the poten- is planning a “Soap Box Special” in Octo- Complete Commencement information develop a list of agenda questions. The tial to extend the kindergarten approach ber on energy. is available at web.mit.edu/commence- questions are quickly typed up by muse- to learners of all ages — to allow work For more information, visit web.mit. ment/2006. um staff and projected on a screen for on more advanced ideas, but still use that edu/museum/programs/index.html. MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH June 7, 2006 PAGE 5 Students win grant for Lesotho solar generator

Sarah H. Wright News Office

Two MIT graduate students in civil and environmental engineering have won a 2006 World Bank Development Market- place grant to develop a solar micro gener- ator that would provide affordable energy to Lesotho, a mountainous African country where just 10 percent of the population has electricity and almost 30 percent of adults are living with HIV/AIDS. The students, Matthew Orosz and Amy Mueller, received a little more than $100,000 for their project, one of 30 the World Bank funded this year in the com- petitive Development Marketplace (DM) grant program. More than 2,500 teams sought DM funding for projects on this year’s theme, “Innovations in Water, Sani- tation and Energy Services for Poor Peo- ple.” The pioneering MIT technology combines solar thermal power with a microscale generator that is built and repaired with ordinary auto parts. The MIT team’s goal is to provide not only energy but also support for the local econ- omy through manufacturing the genera- PHOTO COURTESY / MIT SOLAR TURBINE GROUP tor in Lesotho, a nation about the size of Maryland. Lehlohonolo Mpholo, left, and Keketso Khuele, right, work on the generator’s mirrored ‘troughs.’ A hot idea the ground, the social and economic com- Orosz, a former Peace Corps volunteer ponents were really brought home: All of in Lesotho, was inspired to build the first the trees have been cut down and burned iteration of the MIT generator when he to heat water or cook food. People are in observed a massive parabolic trough that desperate need of an energy source other “perfectly baked” 10 loaves of bread at a than brushwood,” she said. time for one community there. Yet technology does play a crucial role, He burned his hand on the trough, according to Mueller. She believes it is built by the Bethel Business and Commu- useful to learn high-tech methods, then nity Development Center (BBCDC), now “scale back and find a simpler, less expen- the team’s partner in Lesotho, and “fig- sive way to tackle the same problems. It ured the heat was high grade enough to is also important to realize there are still try mechanical conversion,” he said. places where one person can make a dif- As Orosz explained it, the system, ference,” she said. known as an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), MIT support works by concentrating solar thermal energy to heat a fluid refrigerant to boil- For Orosz and Mueller, one person has ing. The typical ORC is a massive affair, already made a difference in their lives and but in the MIT micro version, the system’s the life of their energy innovation. Their vapor is expanded through a rotary vane advisor, Harold Hemond, the William E. turbine (a car power-steering pump) that Leonhard Professor of Civil and Environ- makes mechanical energy to spin a gen- PHOTO COURTESY / MIT SOLAR TURBINE GROUP mental Engineering, provided “insightful erator (a car alternator). Keketso Khuele of Lesotho, MIT junior Charlie Hogg, Lehlohonolo Mpholo of Lesotho, Tu- suggestions along the way and trusted us Concentration of the solar energy is melo Makhetha of Lesotho, MIT seniors Monica Lewis and Mubarik Imam, and graduate to strike the right balance between our achieved via an array of parabolic mirrors student Matthew Orosz take a break from working on the new micro-generator in Lesotho graduate research and our commitment to that electromechanically track daily in January. making this project a reality,” Orosz said. and focus its energy on an absorber tube Initially incubated in the D-Lab class that exchanges heat with the ORC, he said. collecting fuel so they can heat water to ing and computer science. Mueller and taught by Amy Smith, an instructor in the The latest prototype of the MIT sys- take a bath, or power a TV so a village can Orosz will return there for nine months in Edgerton Center, the MIT solar micro- tem, built in Lesotho in January, is “sized watch their favorite soccer match. It could September, with team member Elizabeth generator won numerous awards before to produce about 1 kilowatt of electricity, enable students to study at night in a lit Wayman (S.M. 2006). receiving the World Bank grant. The team with about 10 kilowatts of heat recovered school, or enable a seamstress to set up The World Bank grant will support (then known as Parabolic Power) won two as hot water,” Orosz said. a local business with a couple of sewing their trip and the work of taking the proj- consecutive IDEAS competitions, and the In Western terms, those are micro- machines,” Orosz said. ect from prototype to functioning gen- Public Service Center has twice funded amounts, sufficient to cover only a frac- erator for a Lesotho school or clinic. The team members’ work in Lesotho. tion of the energy consumed in a typical Local partners project will include the training of Lesotho In 2006, Orosz received a Carol Wilson U.S. home. But in Lesotho, a kilowatt of The micro generator team — known as residents in how to operate and repair the Award to advance the project and team electricity and additional hot water could the Solar Turbine Group — has already generator. members Sorin Grama, a graduate student transform lives now marooned by poverty, worked in Lesotho with BBCDC and local Mueller’s first trip to Lesotho’s barren in system design and management, and team members said. engineering students. Mueller, who joined mountains convinced her that the MIT MIT affiliate Ignacio Aguirrer represent- Bringing affordable electricity and hot the team this year, went to Lesotho in Jan- project is about “so much more than tech- ed the team at the Massachusetts Ignite water into communities in Lesotho could uary with Orosz and team member Perry nology. As engineers, we’re all excited Clean Energy Competition, winning the “save women time they normally spend Hung, a sophomore in electrical engineer- about making things work. Once I was on project its third prize. Scientists link human activity to rise in hurricanes

Elizabeth Thomson tury, scientists have found a correlation “The important result of this work is ants, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen News Office between the temperature of the sea sur- that the tropical North Atlantic sea sur- oxides in the lower atmosphere, cool the and face in the tropical Atlantic and tropical face temperature appears to be controlled Earth’s surface by reflecting sunlight. A’ndrea Elyse Messer cyclone activity. Warmer surface temper- largely by radiative forcing, which has Because of prevailing winds and air Penn State atures are associated with increases in changed over the past century mainly currents, pollutants from North America strength and duration of cyclones. owing to sulfate aerosol pollution and and Europe move into the area above the But what is causing the increased sur- greenhouse gas increases,” Emanuel said. tropical Atlantic. The impact is greatest Human-induced climate change, face temperatures? “There is no evidence of any ‘natu- during the late summer when the reflec- rather than naturally occurring ocean Some scientists believe human- ral cycle’ in tropical North Atlantic sea tion of sunlight by these pollutants is cycles, may be responsible for the recent induced climate change is behind the surface temperatures in late summer greatest, exactly at the time of highest increases in the frequency and strength trend. Others cite a natural cause, the and early fall. And since the sea surface hurricane activity. of North Atlantic hurricanes, according so-called Atlantic Multidecadal Oscilla- temperature is strongly linked to Atlantic This suggests that the cooling from to MIT and Penn State researchers. tion (AMO) — an ocean cycle similar to, hurricane activity, this suggests there is pollutants in the atmosphere tempered the “Anthropogenic factors are likely but weaker and less frequent than, the El no ‘cycle’ in the latter,” he said. rise of sea surface temperatures and num- responsible for long-term trends in Niño/La Niña cycle. In a seeming paradox, Emanuel and ber of hurricanes. However, the industrial- tropical Atlantic warmth and tropical Kerry A. Emanuel, professor of atmo- Mann also found that some pollutants have ized world is doing much better at control- cyclone activity,” the researchers report spheric sciences at MIT, and Michael E. actually mitigated the warming problem. ling the amounts of aerosols going into in an upcoming issue of Eos, the weekly Mann, associate professor of meteorol- Some gases, such as carbon dioxide the atmosphere, and the cooling effect newspaper of the American Geophysical ogy and geosciences at Penn State, used and methane in the upper atmosphere, has been decreasing since the 1980s. Union. a statistical method to separate the influ- create the greenhouse effect associ- This work was sponsored by the From data going back to the 19th cen- ences of one from the other. ated with global warming; other pollut- National Science Foundation. PAGE 6 June 7, 2006 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Professor Robert C. Reid dies at 81 ‘Pioneering’ Anne Trafton said that Reid “brought a fresh, outward- engineering from Purdue University. He News Office looking perspective to the department. He earned a master’s degree from Purdue work earns was a fantastic teacher and much loved by and the Sc.D. from MIT, both in chemical students in whom he showed an active and engineering. Robert C. Reid, professor emeritus of highly individualized interest.” Reid co-wrote two important textbooks, Suresh honor chemical engineering, died May 18 at Win- He was also humble and thoughtful in “The Properties of Gases and Liquids” and chester Hospital. He was 81 years old. his approach to engineering problems, “Thermodynamics and Its Applications,” Elizabeth Thomson Reid retired from MIT in 1985 after 34 said another former student, Elisabeth and served as editor of the American News Office years at the Institute. His former students, Drake, visiting engineer in the Laboratory Institute of Chemical Engineers Journal. many of whom went on to careers in teach- for Energy and the Environment. He was director of the American Institute ing and research, remembered him as an “Because he took time thinking about of Chemical Engineers from 1969 to 1971 The National University of Singapore inspiring mentor. technical challenges, he often came up and was a member of the National Acad- (NUS) has named MIT Professor Subra Jefferson Tester, the H.P. Meissner Pro- with unusual approaches that were very emy of Engineering. Suresh one of two Centennial Professors, fessor of Chemical Engineering, said that effective,” she said. “He also took time to Reid is survived by his wife of 55 years, the university’s most prestigious profes- when he came to MIT as a Ph.D. student get to know his professional colleagues as Anna M. (Murphy) Reid of Lexington; a sorships. in 1967, Reid was the first professor he got people — it was always both challenging son, Donald M. Reid of Chapel Hill, N.C.; Suresh, MIT’s Ford Professor of Engi- to know extremely well, both inside and and fun to interact with him.” a daughter, A. Christine Reid of Arlington, neering and former head of the Depart- outside the classroom. Reid also liked to have fun with his Va.; four grandchildren; and many nieces ment of Materials Science and Engineer- “I couldn’t have had a better experi- classes, occasionally dressing up for a and nephews. ing, was awarded the first Tan Chin Tuan ence,” he said, adding that many of Reid’s guest lecture as the great thermodynami- A funeral Mass was celebrated Tues- Centennial Professorship “for his pioneer- former students felt the same way. “Many, cist Willard Gibbs, complete with 19th-cen- day, May 23, at St. Brigid’s Church in Lex- ing contributions in materials science and many generations of people have benefited tury dress, wig and accent, Drake said. ington, Mass. engineering, mechanical engineering and from Bob’s mentoring,” Tester said. Reid earned bachelor’s degrees in Donations may be made to Cary Memo- biological engineering.” Professor of Chemical Engineering Ken marine engineering from the U.S. Mer- rial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Ave., Lex- The other NUS Centennial Professor is Smith, another former student of Reid’s, chant Marine Academy and in chemical ington, MA 02420. Artur Ekert, a quantum physicist at the University of Cambridge, who was award- ed the first Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professorship. 50th Candidates are appointed after a rigor- ous selection process that pinpoints aca- Continued from Page 1 demics locally and abroad who have dem- onstrated an exceptional level of achieve- right here at MIT. ment in their fields of study, as well as Just seven years after earning his bach- made significant elor’s degree from MIT, Russell Schweick- contributions art (S.B. 1956, M.S. 1963) joined NASA. to the academic Six years later, in 1969, he served as lunar policies and pro- module pilot for Apollo 9, logging 241 grams of their hours in space. universities. Another member of the class, C. Gor- The profes- don Bell, is considered by many to be sorships were “the civilian father of the Internet,” said announced at classmate Joseph Kaming. Bell was the an NUS ban- first assistant director of the computer and quet on Mon- information science and engineering direc- day, May 29, torate of the National Science Foundation. at which each He led the cross-agency group that devel- recipient pre- sented a brief oped the modern Internet. Subra Suresh Class member Irwin Dorros (S.B. and lecture. Suresh, M.S. 1956) was also a major contributor through live to technology and communications. Dor- video-conferencing from MIT, delivered ros started at AT&T in 1978 and served as a talk on nanotechnology and its applica- assistant vice president for network plan- tions at the intersections of engineering, ning. life sciences and medicine. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY In 1991, Dorros was awarded the Thomas Magnanti, dean of MIT’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Banner day for MIT Police School of Engineering, said of Suresh and Engineers Inc. Founders Medal “for dis- the NUS honor, “For someone who focus- tinguished technical leadership in the evo- MIT Police marked the opening of their new headquarters at 301 Vassar St. on es so much of his research attention on lution of national telecommunications net- Thursday, June 1. From left are Patrol Officers David Smith, Jesus Ostolaza Jr. and the ‘tiny,’ Subra’s reach as a scholar and works and the implementation of a major David Sacco and Sgt. Cheryl Vossmer. academic leader is truly large. research and development resource.” “For his visionary leadership — as a Class member William Dickson made founding co-chair of the Advanced Materi- his mark in the same spot where he start- als Programme of the Singapore-MIT Alli- ed. In 1998, Dickson retired after serv- ance, as a creator and first director of the ing as MIT’s senior vice president for 16 Cambridge First Day honors six Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics years. and Molecular Medicine, as an innovative Dickson started his MIT career in 1960 The 14th annual Cambridge First Day Mezzanine Lounge of the Stratton Student researcher in several fields, and in making as the assistant to the director of Physical at MIT will honor six Cambridge institu- Center and will be followed by an infor- MIT’s Department of Materials Science Plant. When he retired, Dickson told The tions for “Bridging the Digital Divide” in mal buffet luncheon. Speakers will include and Engineering a global leader and role Tech student newspaper that his proudest the city. Cambridge Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves, model for other materials departments — accomplishment was helping the Institute Awards will be presented on Tuesday, MIT Executive Vice President Sherwin Subra’s receipt of this honor is a tribute to grow from 3.5 million square feet in 1960 June 13, to Cambridge Housing Authori- Greenblatt and Cambridge City Manager the worldwide impact of his many pioneer- to 10 million square feet at the time he left. ty’s Community Computer Centers; Com- Robert W. Healy. ing efforts,” Magnanti said. This year, members of this class will munity Learning Center: Project LIFT; Established in 1993, Cambridge First NUS President Shih Choon Fong said, don the red coats marking them as 50-year Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House’s Day provides an opportunity for MIT to “Professors Ekert and Suresh are leaders alumni. For many members of the class, Computer Tech Center; East End House’s express its appreciation to the Cambridge in their respective fields of research and the article so long ago proved something Technology Center; Cambridge Commu- community for the vital partnerships that NUS is honored to have them as our over- they already knew: They were going to be nity Television: ComputerCENTRAL; and exist among MIT and local businesses, seas Centennial Professors. Their contri- success stories. MIT CommuniTech. public officials and residents of Cam- butions will no doubt help to enhance “The national crisis called for first Each will receive a framed Cambridge bridge. NUS’ global standing as one of the world’s responders and the nation turned to MIT. First Day Award, $1,000 to help continue Jointly planned and hosted by MIT rising research institutions.” The Class of 1956 was more than equal to their work and a bound City Council reso- and the city since 1997, Cambridge First The two professorships were launched this challenge,” said Kaming, who is now lution. Day focuses on a different theme each to acknowledge the gifts of Singapore’s Lee an attorney in New York City. The program begins at 11 a.m. in the year. Foundation and Tan Chin Tuan Foundation.

Two named Trailblazers NEWS YOU CAN USE Erratum Two MIT scientists have been chosen as 2006 Trailblazers by Science Spectrum Willmore reception The MIT community is invited to Due to a production error, the magazine. The award honors outstanding attend the reception, which will be following award does not appear in Hispanic, Asian American, Native Ameri- A reception will be held to honor held from 4 to 6 p.m. its entirety in the preprinted Insti- can and black professionals in science Kathryn Willmore, retiring vice presi- tute Awards pullout. Tech Talk whose leadership and innovative think- dent and secretary of the MIT Corpo- regrets the error. ing extend throughout and beyond their ration, on Tuesday, June 13, in McDer- Killian Court plant sale industry. mott Court, between Walker Memorial The MIT Community Service MIT faculty among the 2006 Trailblaz- and the Green Building. Fund will host its annual fund-raising William L. Stewart, Jr. Award ers are James Sherley, associate profes- Willmore, who announced her plant sale at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Killian - Barun Singh G, EECS, Montgomery, AL sor of biomedical engineering, and Pardis retirement in December, has been vice Court. - Nici Ames G, mechanical engineering, Sabeti, a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad president since 1998 and has been at Plants displayed on the Commence- Kirkland, WA Institute of MIT and Harvard. MIT for nearly 40 years. ment podium and stage will be for A luncheon honoring the Science Spec- For more information, visit web. sale, with proceeds to support service - Nikki Pfarr 2006, literature, Issaquah, trum Trailblazers will be held on Friday, mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/willmore. to the local community by MIT staff WA Sept. 16, in Baltimore during the Minori- html. and student volunteers. ties in Research Science Conference. MIT Tech Talk ARTS June 7, 2006 PAGE 7 Schnitzer Prize-winning student art on display

Lynn Heinemann “Conversation Table” is designed to sense Architecture graduate student Oliver purpose through the design of a “wear- Office of the Arts social dynamics and create a correspond- Lutz won second prize, $900, for video, able mosque” — clothes that can be trans- ing visual display. Light-emitting diodes painting and installation art. formed into prayer rugs. Not only does the run between people seated at opposite In his artist’s statement, Lutz said his wearable mosque accommodate the litur- Award-winning student designs in ends of the table, and microphones pick up recent work “focuses on fantasies of power, gical necessities, but it also acts as a “pros- electronic furniture, video installation and the duration and volume of each person’s control and collapse.” Lutz’s genre-jump- thetic device of the worshipper communi- wearable architecture will be exhibited at contributions to the conversation. The ing works follow his main theme; titles cating his/her prayers: problems, needs the Wiesner Student Art Gallery through resulting light animation clearly shows if in the Schnitzer exhibit are “Previously: and desires,” said the designer. Her proj- the end of June. The exhibition features there is an even exchange or domination Implication Traps,” “Performative Analytic ect includes a catalog of various designs first-, second- and third-place winners of at either end. — Case Study: Grendel,” and “Ascender for wearable mosques and a video showing the 2006 Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Another work, “Stealing Table,” causes (Upcoming),” which encompasses the Muslim prayer ritual in public space. Prize in the Visual Arts, awarded annu- objects placed on the surface of a table to work Lutz is currently developing. The Schnitzer Prize was established ally since 1996 for excellence in a body of disappear via rotating planks. Azra Aksamija, graduate student in in 1996 by the Student Art Association work. Nikolovska wrote in her artist’s state- architecture, was awarded third prize and through an endowment from Harold Lira Nikolovska, graduate student ment, “I believe that a firm grounding $600 for her work in wearable architecture and Arlene Schnitzer of Portland, Ore. in architecture, won the Schnitzer first in traditional design skills, methods and and video. Schnitzer, a real estate investor, graduated prize, $1,500, for her innovative furniture fabrication technologies is critical when Aksamija, who identifies herself as from MIT in 1944 with a degree in metal- designs. making art. The process of making art a survivor of Bosnian Muslim genocide, lurgy. Nikolovska creates objects that portray (requires) balancing ideas with execution. seeks to resymbolize contemporary The Wiesner Student Art Gallery is “small moments and people’s interactions Although the head ‘manages’ the journey, Muslim environments. Her “Nomadic located on the second floor of the Stratton with furniture,” she said. For example, it is the heart that is in charge.” Mosque” combines fashion and religious Student Center and is open 24 hours a day. DRAMA Continued from Page 3 physics has enabled me to better step back and analyze the mechanics of an issue or a problem. Theater has enabled me to better examine an issue or a problem in terms of its human relevance,” he said. Miller is directing “Felutopia,” a satiri- cal piece dissecting racial tensions in the United States. After an average farmer becomes the president, his newfound power over other people’s lives sends the community into a downward spiral. “Felix finds that he must fight to help the people before ultimately confronting his biggest enemy — the color of his skin,” said Miller. “Studying physics, I learn about the physical mechanisms of the world. Study- ing theater, I learn about people,” said Miller, who will return to the University of Cambridge in the fall to begin work toward a Ph.D. in astrophysics under a Gates Scholarship. He hopes to write about the- ater. Both Dramashop plays will be staged in London. “Felutopia” makes two perfor- mances at the famous King’s Head The- atre, and “Electronic City” will be staged at the intimate Etcetera Theatre and at the Dana Centre, the London Science Muse- um’s forum for topical discourse. Hayden K. Taylor, graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science, is pro- ducing the tour. For more information, visit web.mit. edu/hkt/www/acts.htm. Mike Tannila’s film ‘Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow’ documents the rise and fall of the plastic Futuro house designed by architect Matti MIBUARI Suuronen, shown in this still from the movie. The film will be screened Thursday, June 8, in Bartos Theater. Continued from Page 1 said. The center he envisioned would focus List Center presents futuristic Finnish films primarily on those basic skills. Armed with 12 older computers donat- Two films by Finnish filmmaker Mike quest of space and belief that technology tions through a constant stream of video ed by MIT Libraries, Mibuari received a Tannila will be presented at the List Visu- would ultimately solve all problems. and audio plus 20,000 photographs a Public Service Center (PSC) fellowship for al Arts Center’s Film Night on Thursday, “The Future Is Not What It Used to Be year. the January 2005 Independent Activities June 8, at 7 p.m. in Bartos Theater. “(2002) explores the innovative designs Organized by LVAC’s guest film cura- Period (IAP) to head to Kenya and start “Futuro: A New Stance for Tomor- of Erkki Kurenniemi, a pioneer of Finn- tor John Gianvito, the List Center’s Film his new computer center in a room donat- row” (1998) is a 29-minute documentary ish electronic music whose work blends Nights offer screenings and discussions ed by a local church. about the rise and fall of “Futuro,” the fly- sound, film, computers and robotics to of films selected in conjunction with the In just one month, Mibuari set the com- ing-saucer-shaped plastic house designed explore the relationships among art, gallery’s current exhibitions, “9 Evenings puters up — no small task in a room with- by architect Matti Suuronen in 1968. The nature and technology. The core of the Reconsidered: Art, Theatre and Engi- out electrical outlets — hired an instructor ovoid house with its porthole windows 52-minute film documents Kurenniemi’s neering, 1966” and “The Choreographic and a management team and advertised and groovy Austin Powers-style interior obsessive effort to record his own life, Turn,” both on view through Sunday, the new venture. reflects the era’s optimism about the con- preserving all his thoughts and observa- July 9. Mibuari formed collaborations with local universities that he hoped would sus- tain the center once he was back at MIT. He returned the following IAP, also on a In comic relief, Doonesbury is coming to MIT PSC fellowship. “The management had not worked out Sarah H. Wright Doonesbury Town Hall (DTH) invited assume that in a problem-solving situation as I had hoped,” Mibuari said. News Office its readers to choose their favorite among of this nature, there is no box out of which During his second IAP visit, this past the three top-flight academic futures for they are not expected to climb. The will, January, Mibuari held management semi- Alex. The Straw Poll is a fey, weekly affair chutzpah and bodacious craft of the voting nars in Kenya and worked on a recruit- Alex Doonesbury, 17-year-old car- and was hardly prepared for the techno- public will be respected.” ment plan for students. He also worked toon offspring of “Doonesbury” cartoon voting tsunami that ensued. Rensselaer partisans also tried hacking, with the management team to establish an dad Michael Doonesbury, will be attend- but only “several hundred thousand votes annual plan. ing MIT this fall, thanks to the Institute’s The flood began at night bounced off our servers,” the DTH sum- Since then, the center has flourished. A victory over Cornell and Rensselaer in a As DTH insiders told the tale, an MIT mary said. local land developer even donated a plot to straw cyberpoll launched Monday, May 15, student put up a “Doonesbury Voting Cornell bloggers indicated that stu- build a freestanding center. by Doonesbury Town Hall, a Doonesbury. Hack” web site, which “enabled would-be- dents there were watching the “fray” “I am really happy I went back,” said com feature in Slate, the online magazine. ballot-stuffers to spew out over a million but were trapped in exams and had no Mibuari, who hopes that the center will In the April 12 “Doonesbury” strip, votes in a single night.” The DTH election- time to write a Cornell spamming script. continue to grow, even after he graduates creator Garry Trudeau drew Alex ripping watchers denied the MIT network access Instead, “students and alums managed to and begins a full-time job at Citigroup in open the envelopes telling her she had to their server, but did take into consider- post many passionate, articulate, humor- Boston. been “accepted” by all three colleges. She ation the “thoughtfulness” of the hacker ous, and convincing posts about why Alex “Eventually, I would like to go home,” described MIT as her “reach school” and and of his culture. should head to Ithaca,” DTH wrote. said Mibuari. “I do feel like I have built an herself as a “fairy princess on steroids,” After all, DTH pollsters noted, “By tra- “Doonesbury” began publication in 1972. incredible set of skills here at MIT.” due to giddiness from her success. dition, engineers, hackers and techfolk will It now appears in about 1,400 newspapers. PAGE 8 June 7, 2006 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk Sensor opens up study of crucial molecule Cathryn M. Delude News Office Correspondent

MIT scientists have discovered a way to monitor a crucial molecule as it goes about its business within living cells. The molecule, nitric oxide (NO), plays critical roles in the human body -— from the destruction of invading micro-organ- isms to the relaying of neural signals. But catching NO at work has long eluded scientists because it often exists in minute concentrations and for only short periods of time. Now, MIT chemists have developed a bright fluorescent sensor that, in conjunc- tion with microscopy, captures and illumi- nates NO in living, functioning cells. The work, reported May 28 in the PHOTO COURTESY / CHRISTY TINBERG AND MI HEE LIM online issue of Nature Chemical Biology, will aid scientists’ understanding of how A new sensor developed at MIT mon- and when NO operates. itors when cultured neuroblastoma cells Stephen J. Lippard, the Arthur Amos (green) are producing nitric oxide (NO). A Noyes Professor of Chemistry at MIT, copper complex of a fluorescein derivative developed the sensor with an eye toward (formula on lower left) reacts with NO and understanding the role of NO in neural PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY produces a nitrosated fluorescein (formula activity. But this work has broad biologi- Postdoctoral associate Dong Xu points to an image that shows neuroblastoma cells pro- on upper right), which causes the cells to cal applications since NO is produced ducing nitric oxide. Xu, graduate student Mi Hee Lim, seated, and Professor Stephen J. glow brightly under the fluorescent micro- throughout the body. “Our goal is to detect Lippard have developed a new nitric oxide sensor. scope. its formation in spatio-temporal terms, to see where and when it is produced in a In sweat and saliva it has antibacterial derivative of the widely used cellular imag- “That delighted me the most because cell, and in which collections of cells, and properties; in Viagra, rejuvenating effects. ing agent, fluorescein, to a copper atom. we want to detect one cell type selectively to connect its production with underlying Paradoxically, NO often has contradictory The resulting complex does not fluoresce in a heterogeneous population of cells,” chemical signaling events,” Lippard said. behaviors. At some levels, it lowers high until the fluorescein, in modified form, Lippard said. Until the 1990s, scientists mainly knew blood pressure, destroys invading micro- is released — which only happens in the Lippard plans to use such NO sensors NO as a product of lightning and the com- organisms and tumor cells, maintains bone presence of NO. to learn about the role of this elusive mol- bustion engine — and as an ingredient in mass and relays neural signals. At other The sensor works in real time, in the ecule in neurobiology. In the nervous sys- smog. A simple molecule consisting of one levels, it causes septic shock and promotes aqueous, neutral pH conditions of tissues, tem, a neuron releases NO at the synapse nitrogen and one oxygen atom, it contains tumors, arthritis and nerve death. and at the tiny nanomolar-concentrations after receiving a signal from another neu- an unpaired electron that makes it highly These puzzles make understanding of NO found in living cells. ron. NO then diffuses back to the presyn- reactive and destructive. how and when NO operates in cells all the How exclusive and selective is the NO aptic neuron and surrounding cells, per- “Nobody thought it would be tolerated more relevant, and that requires a better detector? To find out, Lim and Xu made a haps to say: “I got the message.” by a cell, much less used for biological means of monitoring it as cells go about mix of banana-shaped neuroblastomas and “The ability to visualize nitric oxide purposes,” Lippard said. their normal business. But existing assays M&M-shaped macrophages, which each at the nanomolar level in cells and tis- Then came the stunning discovery that have either been too invasive or measured require different triggers to synthesize sues should be of tremendous benefit the peculiar blood vessel relaxer, Endothe- NO only indirectly. NO from a particular amino acid. When in determining its effects on long term lial Derived Relaxation Factor, identified in Lippard, together with graduate student they triggered NO production in just the potentiation and neuronal development,” the 1980s, was actually NO. NO was then Mi Hee Lim, the first author of the study, neuroblastomas, they could literally see commented Michael J. Clarke, a chemist unmasked in macrophages (white blood and postdoctoral researcher Dong Xu, pro- that the sensor had selectively detected at the National Science Foundation, which cells), tumors, bones and neurons. duced a novel NO sensor by attaching a only those cells. funded this research.

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS JUNE 7-11

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY June 7 June 8 June 9 June 10 June 11

Science/ Performance Architecture/ Humanities “Why Choose List Visual Arts Campus Tour Alumni Tech Challenge Technology Planning an Academic Center Film Student-led Memorial Games (part of Career?” Night campus tours Service Tech Reunions This series fea- Two films by are approxi- (part of Tech 2006) tures panels of MIT fac- Mike Tannila — “Futuro: mately 90 minutes long Reunions 2006) Founded by alumni for ulty, postdocs, doctoral A New Stance for and provide a general Interdenominational alumni, the Games have Music Exhibit Reading Special students and alumni. 4- Tomorrow” and “The overview of the main service memorializing become an integral and Interest 5:15 p.m. Room 10-250. Future is Not What it campus. 10:45 a.m. alumni who have passed exciting part of Tech Used to Be.” 7 p.m. Meet in Lobby 7. 253- away in the previous Reunion weekend. Noon. “Talk to an Bartos Theater. 253- 1875. year. 8-9 a.m. MIT Steinbrenner Stadium. Angel: Crucial 4680. Chapel. 253-8824. 253-8824. Connections “Empirical Business/ Film Sports Featured to Early Stage Karaoke Night Comparative Technology International Money Event Capital” at the Thirsty Studies of Day Program Folk Dancing Free for MIT students, Ear Language and (part of Tech 8-11 p.m. Room faculty and staff, $20- 21+. Proper Music: Rhythm, Melody Reunions 3-442. 253- $35 for others. 5:30-8:30 ID required. 8 p.m. The and Syntax” 2006) FOLK. p.m. W-16. 253-0015. Thirsty Ear Pub. 258- Talk by Aniruddh Patel, Technology Day is a EDITOR’S CHOICE 9754. Esther J. Burnham traditional and unique “Felutopia” Senior Fellow at the opportunity for alumni and Neurosciences Institute. and their guests to learn “Electronic Noon. Room 46-3189. about new research and HOODING City” educational endeav- Preview performances ors at the Institute. 9 CEREMONY June 8 for Dramashop’s ACTS a.m.-12:45 p.m. Kresge UK tour (June 15-July Auditorium. 253-8824. The hooding cere- 1). June 7 and 8. 8 p.m. mony for recipients Rockwell Cage Simmons Hall. hiLaRiUm @ of doctoral degrees. Thirsty Ear 1 p.m. Israeli Dancing Pub 8-11 p.m. 21+. Proper ID Room 3-442. required. 8 p.m. Thirsty 253-FOLK. Ear Pub. 258-9754.

Artist Behind the Desk COMMENCEMENT Concert Jazz piano per- June 9 formed by Bob Toabe, Speech by Ben S. instructor at DAPER. Noon. Killian Hall. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Bernanke, 14th Killian Court Showtime! chairman of the 10 a.m. Federal Reserve. The rhododendrons in Killian Court are in full bloom just in time for Commencement on Friday, June 9.

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