November 3, 2004 Techtalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY

Volume 49 – Number 8 Wednesday – November 3, 2004 TechTalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY

NEWS THE BLOG REPORT Airplane talks to airplane The Lilliputian-sized blogs and e- mails are hobbling the giant established Lauren Clark engineering and computer science at MIT. provided the avionics test platform for the media, according to three journalists School of Engineering “The pilot essentially treats the UAV as MIT guidance system and the planes used who spoke at the Communications a wingman,” said Valenti, comparing the to demonstrate it. Forum event on “New Roles for Old UAV to a companion pilot in a fighter-plane The new guidance system is designed Media?” Will skilled reporters become Aeronautics researchers at MIT have squadron. for volatile combat situations. For mere fact-checkers of blog rumors? developed an aircraft guidance system that Tom Schouwenaars, a Ph.D. candi- instance, a pilot might be commanded to Page 3 allows a pilot in one plane to guide a sepa- date in aeronautics and astronautics, gather images of an enemy site located in rate, pilotless airplane by speaking com- and Valenti are principal researchers on unknown territory. Rather than putting BALANCING ACT mands in English. the guidance system, which is part of the himself in danger, the pilot could assign a capstone demonstration of the Software nearby UAV to the task. The UAV moves Stratton Lecture panelists compared In a flight test, the pilotless vehicle, called a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), Enabled Control (SEC) program. Profes- toward the enemy site, avoiding known the nation’s need for security with sors Eric Feron and Jonathan How of the threats (no-fly zones) and the unexpected individuals’ right to privacy. MIT provost responded to sudden changes in plan and avoided unexpected threats en route to its Department of Aeronautics and Astronau- (radar emanating from a missile site), all turned Tufts president, Larry Bacow, tics (aero/astro) are among the principal the while communicating its actions to moderated. destination, in real time. “The system allows the pilot to inter- investigators on the SEC program. the pilot in the other aircraft, which fol- Page 3 face with the UAV at a high level—not just The SEC program is a five-year, inter- lows behind at a higher altitude and a safe ‘turn right, turn left’ but ‘fly to this region university effort sponsored by the Defense distance. The technology also could have Advanced Research Projects Agency MANAGING THE SOX and perform this task,’” said Mario Valenti, See AIRPLANE For Dean Richard Schmalensee of a flight controls engineer for Boeing who (DARPA) through the Air Force Research Page 5 the Sloan School, being a fan means is on leave to pursue a Ph.D. in electrical Laboratory. As industry partner, Boeing business. He wrote an op-ed piece for The Wall Street Journal praising the Red Sox team’s management. Page 4 Trick-or-treaters give out candy RESEARCH COLUMBIA GROUP TAKES OFF to encourage community donations A mutidisciplinary collection of researchers looks at safety systems in Sarah H. Wright the Columbia Space Shuttle to see what News Office can be gleaned. Page 2 Red Sox regalia outran the classic witch DOWN TO THE GENES ensemble at this year’s annual Halloween Novartis and the Broad Institute of kickoff event for the Community Giving MIT and Harvard have announced a campaign, held at various campus loca- joint project to decipher the genetic tions on Friday, Oct. 29. causes of type 2 diabetes, which To celebrate the campaign launch, 14 afflicts more than 170 million people costumed volunteers and Tim the Beaver worldwide. The team plans to make the handed out candy and information about findings freely available to scientists MIT’s charitable giving program to early internationally. morning commuters to MIT. Page 5 Karen Fosher, Human Resources administrator at the Picower Center for Learning and Memory, described herself A SMALL FISH TALE as a “diehard Red Sox fan” whose costume The pufferfish genome has quite a bit was simply, “World Champion,” meaning, to say to scientists about the evolution Red Sox shirt and cap. Fosher greeted of fish and mammals. commuters at the Main Street entrance to Page 5 Building E19. Patti Pisani, financial assistant in Facili- ties, wore a Red Sox sweatshirt to honor ARTS the World Series winners as she offered candy in front of 77 Massachusetts Ave. FRAGMENT COMES TO LIFE Pisani “usually dresses up as an MIT Professor Jay Scheib turns a athlete, but this year I’m going with the Chevkhov fragment into a multimedia excitement of the Red Sox,” she said. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY play that premieres here before heading See HALLOWEEN Grim Reaper Meg Westlund of the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives hands out to New York. candy and a reminder about the Community Giving campaign at 77 Massachusetts Ave. Page 7 Page 5

FEATURED STORY MIT fans get assist in Red Sox World Series

Sasha Brown Sororites and Living Groups (FSILGs), ence and quite a few arguments about and provided $200 to each FSILG for pizza baseball,” Giles wrote in his blog about Denise Brehm and snacks to encourage those students the neuroscience conference. “The Bos- News Office to watch the games together from home ton Red Sox have made it to the World rather than joining the crowds in Ken- Series and, since Boston is arguably more Square. the science capital of the United States, Boston went a little baseball crazy last And of course, faculty and staff pur- many speakers here in San Diego took week and the MIT community went right sued their own means of baseball mad- time out to give the city a nod. along with it as New England rooted the ness, some even in the national or “Susumu Tonegawa, an eminent Red Sox on to the team’s first World international limelight. Nobel laureate immunologist-turned-neuroscientist from Series victory in 86 years. Late-night Susumu Tonegawa was quoted by report- the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- games took a toll on people’s energy, but er Jim Giles in his web log on Nature. ogy in Boston, has more right to do so enthusiasm never waned for baseball’s com as having discussed baseball dur- than most. He was invited to pitch the long-suffering fans. ing the Society of Neuroscience Confer- first ball of a game for the Red Sox this Many students watched the series ence in San Diego Oct. 24. Dean Richard May. He clearly enjoyed taunting fellow together as the Sox swept four games to Schmalensee of the Sloan School pub- speaker Eric Kandel; Boston beat New HELLO KITTY TURNS 30 WITH beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World lished an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal York, Kandel’s team, to reach the World GRACE—NO VISIBLE SIGNS Series Oct. 23-27. Groups gathered in Nov. 2 outlining the management deci- Series. It’s nice to see two Nobel laure- OF AGING AND NO LOSS IN front of a large-screen TV in Lobdell Din- sions that led the Sox to victory (see ates bring the world’s biggest scientific ing Hall eating pizza provided by the Stu- story on page 4). EARNING POTENTIAL. dent Life Programs. David Rogers, assis- “At the end of the first full day, we’ve See SOX Page 3 tant dean and director of Fraternities, been exposed to plenty of top-notch sci- Page 4 PAGE 2 November 3, 2004 NEWS MIT Tech Talk Brain and cognitive sciences Columbia Group dives into safety project on the rise on Vassar issues in aeronautics Students returned to MIT this fall to discover that yet M. Vest said, “The facilities reflect the benefits of a special another major addition to the campus is taking shape. Fol- partnership: the extraordinary urban design sensibilities and other systems lowing the opening of the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Cen- of the lead designer, Indian architect Charles Correa, who ter, Simmons Hall, and most recently the Frank Gehry- has created limestone and glass forms of immense power designed Stata Center, the new facilities for the brain and and elegance, and the extensive experience of Goody Nancy DuVergne Smith cognitive sciences are rising on Vassar Street. Framing Clancy and Associates in designing academic buildings Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development and exterior cladding are close to completion, and the and laboratories noted for their effectiveness and efficien- complex is scheduled for occupancy in fall 2005. cy. Their combined efforts will constitute one of the finest This project, with a floor area of 411,000 square feet, facilities in the world measured on any dimension.” The Columbia Group, a multidisciplinary collection will house three major entities: the McGovern Institute The combination of this project with the Stata Center of faculty, research staff, and graduate students based for Brain Research, the Picower Center for Learning and across the street and the remaking of Vassar Street itself in the Engineering Systems Division, began meeting Memory, and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sci- with new trees, lighting, bicycle lanes, and paving creates in 2003 to dive into safety culture questions surround- ences at MIT. a new vitality in what had, for decades, been a grim and ing the Columbia Space Shuttle accident. The site, facing Vassar Street and Stata on one side, run-down area of Cambridge. One year later, the emerging intellectual products and stretching across the GBMM railroad tracks to face include a best paper award from the System Safety Main Street and Technology Square on the other, posed Architect: Goody, Clancy & Associates and Charles Society, a book chapter, and an Engineering Systems fundamental problems: how to meet both a set of excep- Correa Associates Architects Division (ESD) symposium paper, which has become tional urban design challenges and the complex program MEP Engineers: BR+A Consulting Engineers, Inc. a popular download from the Internet. These early for the research laboratories and imaging facilities needed Structural Engineers: LeMessurier Consultants works illustrate ESD’s commitment to interdisciplin- for research in this area. Construction Manager: Turner Construction Co. ary collaborations. Commenting on the project, MIT President Charles Professor Nancy Leveson of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems, who is a member of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, convened this working group by calling on a colleague she’d met through ESD gatherings. She and Joel Cutcher- Gershenfeld, a senior research scientist at the Sloan School who is executive director of the Engineering Systems Learning Center and an expert in large-scale systems change, invited a few colleagues to meet, and the group was born. “One of the reasons I came to MIT was because of ESD and the opportunity to work with people in multiple disciplines,” said Leveson. “This is one of the few universities in the world that houses a structure for promoting this kind of interdisciplinary work. ESD gets us talking so we know who is there, what they are interested in, and then people form these natural group interactions.” Professor John Carroll of Sloan and ESD, a social psychologist, joined the Columbia Group, as did Betty Barrett, an organizational behavior expert in the Cen- ter for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development who is associate director of the Engineering Systems Learning Center. Several of Leveson’s graduate students also are members of the group. Building robust interdisciplinary models “In the first year, we started writing papers about the Columbia accident, generalizing it to safety culture from multiple viewpoints,” Leveson said. “This year, we are looking at how to model and engineer safety culture so we prevent accidents.” The Columbia Group’s challenge is to develop a robust model that will balance the need for quantifi- able evidence with the need for capturing qualitative

PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY relationships and complex cultural dynamics. “Part of that involves developing sophisticated, rigorous, tech- The brain and cognitive sciences project on Vassar Street will house the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, the Picower nical models that are understandable to the engineer- Center for Learning and Memory, and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. ing community, but that are attentive to organizational and institutional dynamics,” said Cutcher-Gershen- feld. “Our models won’t be exactly the same as exist- ing technical models, but they will be mathematically based, technically rigorous, repeatable, and applicable Online system makes it simpler in other settings.” Leveson says her participating engineering students have broadened their research focus and begun taking management and social science classes. “This group was a tremendously important influence on my to track degree requirements students and on their dissertations, which now have faculty from multiple schools. What they are doing The Registrar’s Office, in collaboration with Student reports and communicate with students and the Regis- uses a more interdisciplinary way of attacking prob- Services Information Technology, recently implemented trar’s Office. lems.” an online degree tracking system and a redesigned regis- The new registration form provides more pertinent Aeronautics and astronautics Ph.D. student Nicolas tration form for students, faculty and academic administra- information in a clearer format. New features of the form Dulac will apply what he learned in the group to his tors. that support the advising process are a smaller, more man- research on the safety architecture of the new NASA The new online degree system connects students, aca- ageable size, display of student pictures and messaging Mars-Lunar space exploration system. demic departments and the Registrar’s Office, facilitating capabilities. “Coming from a very technical background, I had the submission of degree applications, review of degree “Both initiatives provide the academic community with a tendency to believe that technical problems have requirements and approval of degree candidacy. tools that significantly improve the information available technical solutions,” Dulac said. “My experience at With the new system, students can submit their appli- for advising, registration and degree approval,” said Reg- MIT and with the Columbia Group helped me realize cations online at WebSIS and provide information critical istrar Mary Callahan. “The functionality of the new degree that soft problems are often more difficult to address to the approval of degrees, the production of diplomas system integrates a broad range of academic information than hard ones. What I like the most about MIT is and the publication of the commencement book. They to help departments manage the degree process. The new the shared belief that a multidisciplinary-systems can update their information and check on the progress registration form is easier to use and contains more rel- approach is necessary to build and operate complex of their applications. Academic departments can use the evant data.” systems.” system to track students’ degree requirements, produce

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Roger Donaghy MIT Tech Talk NEWS November 3, 2004 PAGE 3 Queen of Cute hits 30 without aging Sarah H. Wright twin sister, Mimmy. Her boyfriend, Dear News Office Daniel, has far less presence than Barbie’s Ken, but then, Barbie is 15 years older. For Sanrio, which actually manufactures When a little white kitten with a big no products, anything that carries Hello head, a bow on her ear and a blank space Kitty on it must project “safety, purity, hap- instead of a mouth drops a billion dol- piness and goodness,” Belson said. Hello lars on the welcome mat of her parent Kitty is the child ambassador of UNICEF. company, it’s not just something the cat dragged in—it’s a business phenomenon. Hello Kitty in danger And when that kitten celebrates 30 years Belson described Hello Kitty’s celebrity of dominating the global character-goods as producing the sort of problems any rock market, it’s time to ask, what happened? star endures. She has enemies; not all groups Enter Ken Belson, business reporter are vulnerable to the queen of cute, Belson for The New York Times and co-author noted. “Kitty Defilers” include feminists and with Brian Bremner of “Hello Kitty: The performance artists who find the charac- Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion ter ageist and subversive, anti-consumerist Dollar Feline Phenomenon” (Wiley, 2003). groups who accuse Sanrio of making worth- Belson gave a talk on Hello Kitty’s history less junk, and Taiwanese and Korean nation- and remarkable market trajectory at MIT alist groups who resent cultural exports from on Oct. 29 in Room E51-095. The event Japan for historical reasons, he said. occurred just three days before Hello Kit- And that major cute power faces other ty’s 30th birthday. The room was packed. PHOTO COURTESY / WILEY mortal dangers, Belson noted. One is “brand Belson’s presentation described the Ken Belson (left) and Brian Bremner, are co-authors of “Hello Kitty,” a book on the billion- fatigue,” which Sanrio battles relentlessly by character-goods industry in Japan and the dollar character and licensing phenomenon shown here life-sized and in costume. Belson its whirlwind licensing schedule. Another is global reach of Hello Kitty products, as talked about Miss Kitty at MIT last week. piracy. Yet another danger inheres in demo- well as the personality and business acu- graphic changes inside Japan, where the men of Shintaro Tsuji, head of Sanrio Co., high school population has dropped 25 per- Hello Kitty’s creator. Belson showed slides quick and constant turnover of Hello Kitty Kitty robot, the Hello Kitty beaujolais, the cent since 1990. displaying Hello Kitty’s power in her par- products, adapting and licensing 600 new Hello Kitty debit card and the online Hello Yet Hello Kitty prevails, her power ent company—she brings in 50 percent of items each month and removing 600 from Kitty stress test. (To take the stress test, undimmed by time or competition from its profits—and her evolution as an icon of circulation, he said. visit sanriotown.com on the web.) newer collectibles such as Pokemon. Once graphic design over those 30 years. Hello Kitty items have evolved from the Hello Kitty herself hasn’t changed the crowd in E51-095 had settled in, Bel- “The dark secret of the character-goods original little pink purse, priced so Japanese much, and Sanrio has kept her life story son displayed a slide of the original white- business is, nobody knows who will suc- children could buy it with their own money, the same. She was born in London Nov. 1, faced kitten alone on the screen. Seventy- ceed,” Belson noted. Sanrio maintains to products that teeter on parody. These 1974. Her last name is White. She weighs five adults sighed in unison, just as they Hello Kitty’s success by keeping up a include the Hello Kitty toaster, the Hello as much as three apples and she has a would for a baby.

Giant media hobbled Personal freedom vs. by Lilliputian blogs national security debated

Sarah H. Wright of “inherent believability, but whose facts Sasha Brown is comforting. “Already, our courts have News Office didn’t necessarily check out,” said Jones. News Office interfered to a degree that is unprec- “The Swift Boat story became well-known, edented,” said O’Neil, referring to the not on the basis of being true, but on the Supreme Court decision last summer Three journalists presented their dark- basis of being widely talked about. It took In the months and years following to allow prisoners held at Guantanamo ening views of the future for established the Post and the Times 10 days to do the 9/11, balancing national security with Bay to fight their imprisonment. “The American news media in a panel discus- fact-checking. News organizations that still personal freedom has been a challenge, best lessons of history teach us what to sion titled “New Roles for Old Media?” have the will to report can be manipulated a group of public policy experts told a avoid and what we might do better,” said sponsored by the Communications Forum by blogs and cable news,” he said. rapt audience in Wong Auditorium dur- O’Neil. and the Technology and Culture Forum. Thus, one new role for established ing the 11th annual Catherine Stratton McCarthy agreed that discourse Panelists at the Oct. 28 event in Bar- media may be devoting reporters’ time Lecture Oct. 26. about personal freedom is important, tos Theatre were Alison Mitchell, associ- and costly resources to fact-checking Lawrence Bacow, president of Tufts but said that during war time Ameri- ate director of the Project for Excellence items that rise up from the blogosphere, University and former chancellor of cans have always been asked to give up in Journalism; Alex Jones, director of the warned Jones. MIT, moderated the panel discussion certain rights. “We are in better shape Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Pol- about steps the U.S. government has about what we fight about,” he said. itics and Public Policy at Harvard Univer- Personality parade taken to tighten security since 9/11 and “That’s progress.” sity, and Mark Jurkowitz, media columnist Jones and Mitchell expressed grave the resistance to those steps from civil McCarthy led the prosecution for the Boston Globe. Steven van Evera, doubts about whether American media libertarians and other concerned citi- against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, professor of political science, served as had fulfilled its purpose in educating the zens. Bacow is an economist and lawyer who was convicted in the 1993 bombing moderator. citizen electorate. recognized internationally for his exper- of the World Trade Center. More should The trio collectively identified “old According to new research published tise in dispute resolution. have been done then, McCarthy said. media” as the nation’s most prestigious by the Project for Excellence in Journal- Panelists were Juliette Kayyem, a “September 11, 2001 really almost hap- newspapers and television news pro- ism, debate coverage across the media senior fellow at the Kennedy School pened eight years earlier. It is miracu- grams, citing The New York Times, The spectrum (ranging from the Times to of Government at Harvard University; lous that only six people lost their lives. Washington Post and CBS-TV’s “60 Min- the tiniest blog) had grown more limited Andrew McCarthy, an attorney and We felt in our arrogance that we had utes.” These giants of the press are being and more personality-oriented in scope. senior fellow at the Foundation for the thwarted that one,” he said. increasingly distracted and sometimes, Citing the project’s figures, Mitchell said Defense of Democracies; and Robert McCarthy worries that being reactive hobbled, by the growing power of blogs, that debate coverage was mostly “political O’Neil, a law professor and founding instead of proactive again will lead to the panelists agreed. While none referred insider stuff focused on the elite, on poli- director of The Thomas Jefferson Cen- more trouble. “It is simply not adequate explicitly to “Gulliver’s Travels,” the future ticians themselves” rather than on policy ter for the Protection of Free Expres- to face it as a law enforcement problem. they described invoked a massive Gulliver, coverage and explication. “The stories we sion at the University of Virginia. We have to have a holistic approach,” he immobilized by hundreds of tiny Lillipu- looked at during a two-week period in Since 9/11 and the Anthrax attack said. “A lot of what has been done has to tians, each one representing a hostile e- October put politics over policy and politi- in late 2001, there has not been another be done if we are to be safe.” mail, a credible but unverified document, a cians over citizens” as their primary pur- attack on U.S. soil, said Bacow. Policies Kayyem agreed that suspension of photo that might be real. pose, she said. such as the Patriot Act may be the rea- certain rights was “likely necessary at In today’s media world, items emerging She acknowledged that cable TV news son. “But any policy looks good if you times,” but said she also believes that this from the “blogosphere” can gain force and has the attraction of being less slick and only examine its benefits,” he said. The threat is very different. Kayyem’s con- visibility enough to alter and even reverse packaged than network news. “It’s not Patriot Act—which Congress passed 45 cern is lack of clarity. “We are making what was once the traditional flow of news. packaged, but it’s also not fact-checked,” days after 9/11—does allow the govern- this stuff up as we go along,” she said. Jones, a former New York Times she said. ment access to personal information and “We are still treading water. There is no reporter, described the 2000 campaign The Globe’s Jurkowitz discussed the items that were harder to obtain prior to start or finish, no mission accomplished.” as an example of an “antique” in terms of “cafeteria-style news consumerism” result- the attack. Groups such as the Ameri- She pointed to the example of Brit- media coverage and news flow. Just four ing from more news media choices. Non- can Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have ain as it dealt with the Irish Republican years ago, Jones said, news about the traditional media that now enjoy a new taken issue with the act. Army (IRA)—a terrorist organization candidates and the campaign flowed from and powerful role in shaping opinions and, This is not the first time the U.S. has in Northern Ireland. “The U.K. was put mainstream newspapers to network TV perhaps, elections, include blogs as well suspended such rights, said O’Neil. In in a position where they had to stretch to cable TV to smaller outlets, eventually as “politicized documentaries,” Jurkowitz 1862 during the Civil War, President democratic norms. They did a lot reaching talk radio and the nascent blogo- said, citing Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus—the wrong,” said Kayyem. sphere. 9/11” and Jehane Noujaim’s “Control right of prisoners to determine the legal- While all agreed there are no easy By alarming contrast, Jones said, blogs Room” as examples. ity of their imprisonment. At the time, answers and positive arguments could and talk radio now form an expanding net- “The days of Walter Cronkite bringing no one dared speak out. In 1944, Roos- be made on both sides, McCarthy work of people who are “very informed, the tablets down from Mount Sinai are evelt sent many Japanese Americans to assured the audience that he believes very opinionated, and journalists, especial- long gone. We’ve got not only red and blue internment camps. Again, few citizens everything possible is being done to ly cable people, now read them.” states but also red and blue media. For us spoke out against the action. preserve freedom in this country. “Peo- Jones cited the Swift Boat story, intend- as a society, fewer and fewer shared truths For O’Neil, the stark contrast ple in the government hear your con- ed to besmirch John Kerry’s Vietnam mean everything will be up for debate,” between citizens’ reactions then and now cerns about civil liberties,” he said. record, which was set in motion by people Jurkowitz said. PAGE 4 November 3, 2004 WORLD SERIES MIT Tech Talk Take me out to the boardroom … Richard Schmalensee ating an environment that encouraged Sloan School of Management mutual respect and positive attitudes. Ownership can assemble a great team on paper, but the manager’s role is to We’re thinking of adding a new make those players perform as a group course to our curriculum this spring: over the course of a long, tiring season, Boston Red Sox 101. to make the most of what each player Too much champagne you say? brings to the table. Well, it’s true that normally a man- Effective as he has been, Francona is agement school like MIT Sloan wouldn’t not the only leader of this team. Other think of using an organization that takes players—often quietly—were able to 86 years to achieve its ultimate goal as bring out the best from each other, and a positive teaching lesson. But Boston’s not just on the field. In the clubhouse, historic World Series victory—and Pedro Martinez would help keep the the way the team meshed quantitative team loose; Curt Schilling drove others and qualitative elements all season to as he drove himself; and in the first lack- achieve it—is a case study of business luster games of the American League and managerial success. Championship Series against the Yan- To start, the way this Red Sox team kees, lead-off hitter Johnny Damon was was constructed during the off-season willing to publicly put the weight of the proves that numbers do matter. By field- team’s collective failures on his then- ing interesting and competitive teams slumping shoulders. No matter how for years, the Red Sox organization has good Francona was as the manager, it secured a devoted fan base spread across would matter little unless the players New England and beyond. These fans were just as concerned with making the feed ticket sales, broadcast and cable team work well and were willing and contracts and other revenue streams that able to play diverse leadership roles. have enabled the team to assemble one If the Red Sox succeeded in proving of the highest payrolls in baseball. the management lessons of solid analy- At the same time, the Red Sox sis and strong, across-the-board leader- proved the importance of clever and ship, the team has also learned to “turn careful quantitative analysis before mak- the page,” as Manny Ramirez has put it. ing major investment decisions. Adher- Dominant organizations tend to become ing to the “moneyball” philosophy, the complacent, and organizations that have Red Sox paid more attention to hitters’ been frequent losers tend to become on-base percentages than their batting defeatist. Successful or not, any organi- averages. Similarly, even if a pitcher’s zation that doesn’t relentlessly look for- actual win-loss record wasn’t too great, ward is in trouble. This Red Sox team the team’s interest might be piqued by was able to put the past behind them data showing that he got batters to hit a and look forward. They looked beyond lot of ground balls. the curse. The Red Sox combined the resources Of these management lessons, only to sign high-profile players with the sta- “moneyball,” is relatively easy to teach. tistical smarts to do so intelligently. The A hard data analysis, for example, PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY team also made a series of lower profile would in itself make a strong case for The MIT dome wore its own festive attire for the Red Sox World Series celebration parade but clever moves to fill out its roster with signing catcher Jason Varitek to a new Oct. 30. As the sun rose over the dome Oct. 29, two days after the Sox clinched the victory affordable talent who became essential Red Sox contract. But Varitek also has in Game Four, it revealed that the dome had been transformed into a baseball bearing a Red role players. But all this number crunch- enormous—if harder to quantify—value Sox logo. The fabric logo remained until after the parade, when Facilities workers took it ing and signings would have mattered as a team leader. Every day, managers down. The Facilities workers in the photo claimed innocence. little unless all the parts meshed into an face this challenge of balancing quantifi- effective machine. And that involves not able and qualitative factors. If they fol- only leadership at the top, but commit- low the lead of the 2004 Red Sox, they ment and dedication across and among might have a shot at their own bit of all levels of the organization. history—and better yet, the knowledge Science shows why fans don’t Red Sox Manager Terry Francona that goes along with it. was dubbed a “players’ manager,” which sports reporters thought was a Richard Schmalensee is the John have to ‘wait until next year’ good thing when the team was playing C. Head III Dean at the Sloan School well and dubbed a weakness when it of Management. This opinion piece The Friday after the Red Sox clinched unsuccessful at clinching a world cham- wasn’t. In fact, Francona understood the appeared in the Nov. 2 issue of The Wall the World Series by beating the St. Louis pionship title. The Yankees however pro- importance of consistency and of cre- Street Journal. Cardinals in a four-game sweep, the MIT ceeded to write the greatest success story dome was mysteriously transformed into a in baseball history. This ironic twist of fate baseball with red stitching and a Red Sox has come to be known as the Curse of the logo. Bambino, which has prevented Red Sox That same day, Oct. 29, one Ben Bitdid- victory for 86 years, until 2004. dle circulated a tongue-in-cheek scientific “Is this a coincidence? The researchers paper via the Internet providing a math- here at the Department of Legends and SOX ematical explanation for the Red Sox vic- Hexes believe that it is not. We have found Continued from Page 1 But it was not until he came to Boston in tory, which marked the end of the Curse conclusive numerical evidence that, in fact, the early 1980s that he started rooting for of the Bambino. The paper “1918-2004: A the curse did exist, and that its influence meeting to a halt to argue about baseball.” the Red Sox. “I always like the underdog,” Hybrid-‘Sigh’ Analysis of Reversing the has expired. This brings in a new era of Though he is not taking full credit for he said. “It is not fun to root for the stron- Curse” was attributed to students in the Red Sox domination and Yankee demise. the Red Sox championship, Tonegawa, gest. This is my nature.” so-called MIT Department of Legends “The Red Sox last won the World Series who is the Whitehead Professor of Biol- But after the Sox sweep of the Cardinals and Hexes in Room 6-666. The irrefutable in 1918, they were last in the World Series ogy and Neuroscience and director of the last week, “underdog” no longer applies mathematical proof follows. in 1986. There are 86 years between 1918 Picower Center for Learning and Memory, to the hometown team. And Tonegawa, “The Boston Red Sox last won the and 2004. There are 18 years between hopes the ceremonial first pitch he threw along with the rest of the city of Boston, world championship of baseball, the World 1986 and 2004. May 7 at Fenway had some effect. was still cheering last weekend when the Series, in 1918. In 1920 they sold George “As is such with phenomenon of the “It crossed my mind that I may have Red Sox celebration parade—or “rolling Herman Ruth, a.k.a. ‘Babe Ruth,’ a.k.a. paranormal, one can clearly see that this contributed,” said Tonegawa last week rally”—attracted about two million people ‘The Bambino’ to the New York Yankees cross-checking analysis is indisputable with a laugh. He threw the ceremonial first to Boston and Memorial Drive in Cam- for $100,000. proof that the 86-18 hybrid cancellation pitch as part of the Sox’ tribute to Boston- bridge. The players huddled in amphibious “Since that time the Red Sox have been theorem holds. Go Sox.” area scientific and medical communities. “duck boats” on that happy but gray and Last spring, Tonegawa told the MIT News drizzly day as they were motored down Office (not very seriously) that he some- the Charles River past MIT and the hack times believed the Red Sox won “because that transformed the dome into a baseball I sent energizing waves to them in front of sporting the Red Sox logo. the TV set.” The hack appeared Friday morning Tonegawa said on the way home from after the victory. An e-mail circulated later San Diego on Tuesday, Oct. 26, some of that day with a “mathematical proof” from his students refused to get on the airplane the so-called Department of Legends and until they knew the outcome of the game, Hexes of why the Sox had achieved vic- which was Game 3 of the World Series. tory in 2004. “Everybody refused,” he said with a laugh. “No one could believe it,” said Tonega- On his own flight, the pilot updated the wa, who watched the last game of the passengers every 10 to 15 minutes with World Series at home on television. He the score. found the win after 86 dry years inspira-

PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Growing up in Japan, another country tional. “It makes you think. Don’t ever give where baseball holds enormous popular- up under any circumstances.” MIT had its own baseball “cap” for a short time. ity, Tonegawa learned to loved the sport. MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH November 3, 2004 PAGE 5 Broad, Novartis Small fish yields big insights An international team of scientists, including several genes in the human DNA sequence have two counterparts from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has decoded in the Tetraodon genome, the researchers add, showing the smallest known vertebrate genome—the puffer fish or that the ancestors of this fish must have undergone a announce Tetraodon nigroviridis. The fish’s 21 chromosomes, which genome duplication at some point. Indeed, the Tetraodon together contain more than 300 million letters of DNA, sequence may even give us a window on the last common tell a twisting evolutionary tale and even shed light on our ancestor of Tetraodon and humans—a primitive bony fish own genetic makeup. that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. type 2 diabetes Comparison with other genome sequences shows The Broad authors are Nicole Stange-Thomann, Evan that fish proteins have diverged much more quickly than Mauceli, Manolis Kellis, Michael Zody, Jill Mesirov, Ker- those in mammals, the team reports in the Oct. 21 issue of stin Lindblad-Toh, Bruce Birren, Chad Nusbaum and Eric Nature. Tetraodon contains several key genes previously Lander. Lander is also a professor in MIT’s Department of initiative thought to be absent from fish. Biology. Further, comparison with the human genome suggests This work was supported by the Consortium National Novartis and the Broad Institute of MIT and Har- about 900 previously unannotated human genes. Most de Recherche en Génomique. vard have announced a joint project to decipher the genetic causes of type 2 diabetes. The team plans to make its findings freely available to scientists worldwide. Called the Broad-Novartis Diabetes Initiative, HALLOWEEN this new model for public-private collaboration will place all findings about type 2 diabetes directly onto Continued from Page 1 the Internet. The initiative builds upon the work of researchers at Lund University in Sweden, who have Fosher and Pisani share more than Red Sox fandom, created one of the world’s largest and most detailed they said. Both had volunteered to help the Community studies of diabetes and its genetic causes. Giving campaign in the past, and they hope to inspire peo- The collaboration reflects the mission of the Broad ple to “give what they can this year,” Fosher said. Institute to pull together a community of researchers Meg Westlund, administrative and facilities coordinator to tackle complex problems that require multi-dis- in the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives, was ciplinary teams and that are difficult to solve in the also assigned to greet commuters at 77 Massachusetts traditional laboratory setting, said Broad founding Ave. Her disguise: a black nylon Death Eater-type gown director Eric Lander, a professor in MIT’s Depart- with a fiery red hood and long sleeves. “We at MIT are ment of Biology. so lucky to be working for such a great institution. Yet “It is wonderful that Novartis is sharing its vision we are surrounded by neighborhoods where there is real and expertise in how diabetes alters the body, dia- poverty, and we can make a difference in peoples’ lives,” betes therapy and drug discovery, and, as a private Westlund said. company, is willing to work in the public domain,” Other volunteers shared the same message about giv- Lander said. ing but diverged a bit from the costume focus on baseball. Novartis opened its new global research head- Joan Nelson, an administrative assistant in Facilities, wore quarters in Cambridge, Mass., in part to forge these a Green Bay Packer Brett Favre football jersey topped kind of world-class alliances, according to Mark Fish- with a foam cheesehead, a souvenir from her recent trip man, president of Novartis’ research division. to Wisconsin. Melissa Kavlakli, an administrative assistant Type 2 diabetes is one of the world’s most sig- in the Office of Environment, Health and Safety, modeled nificant and growing public health threats. It affects a black cat mask, thanks to her love of cats. Marielle Risse, more than 170 million people worldwide. That num- administrative assistant in the School of Engineering, wore ber is expected to reach 300 million by 2025. a fortune-teller ensemble. There is a clear underlying genetic propensity to Both Nelson and Kavlakli were posted at 77 Massachu- developing type 2 diabetes. The initiative establishes setts Ave. “This is a great way to combine something fun a research partnership of physicians, geneticists, and with something serious,” Nelson said about spending the others to identify the inherited risk factors for the morning handing out candy to MIT colleagues. disease. Identification of these genetic factors will Lynda Nelson, administrative assistant to the Control- improve scientists’ understanding of how genetics ler, borrowed her son’s costume, a large pink “whoop- contribute to type 2 diabetes and its complications, ee cushion,” to cheer commuters as she gave out candy as well as inform clinical decisions about the disease in front of the Stata Center. “Hopefully, during the time and perhaps contribute to new medicines tailored to between November and January when it is time to make patients. pledges, maybe a few individuals will remember our amus- Broad-Novartis Initiative researchers will study ing efforts and support the Community Giving campaign,” PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Lynda Nelson said. thousands of DNA samples, collected by Professor Community Giving volunteer Joan Nelson of Facilities Leif Groop and colleagues at Lund University. The There was one traditional witch—Linda Patton, assis- Lund team will partner in the design and analysis of tant director of Off-Campus Housing and special projects, greeted passersby at 77 Massachusetts Ave. wearing her the research program. who was assigned to greet people at the entrance to MIT Green Bay Packers costume. “This collaboration creates a terrific team to tack- Medical. Patton’s message to the community echoed that le type 2 diabetes, which is growing to become one of her fellow volunteers. of the most pressing public health problems in the “Share, share, share! Our economy is down. Many The Community Giving campaign runs from Oct. 29 industrialized world,” said principal investigator David people are affected and sharing even a small amount can through Jan. 21, 2005. Employees will receive pledge pack- Altshuler, a professor at Harvard Medical School and make a huge difference in someone’s life. The money you ets this week. A Book Fair to support the campaign will be Massachusetts General Hospital, and director of the spend for your cup of coffee each morning can be shared held on Dec. 7 in the Bush Room, and a clothing drive will Broad’s Program in Medical and Population Genetics. to help the community and others,” Patton said. begin mid-December. AIRPLANE

Continued from Page 1 ed into the next generation of unmanned vehicles,” said John applications in the coordination Bay, DARPA’s SEC program of multiple air or space vehicles, manager. such as in air traffic control or A paper published by the the reconfiguration of distributed American Institute of Aeronau- satellite systems. tics and Astronautics (AIAA) The guidance system per- in August discussed the results formed flawlessly in flight tests of the flight test in more detail. involving a Boeing F-15 fighter Aero/astro graduate student jet and a Lockheed T-33 trainer Yoshiaki Kuwata and James L. fighter jet at Edwards Air Force Paunicka, associate technical fel- Base in June. A pilot in the F-15 low at Boeing Phantom Works, issued mission-level commands authored the paper along with in everyday English—“fly to Feron, How, Schouwenaars and Task Area B”—to the T-33, and Valenti. Schouwenaars’ work the T-33 executed them, main- on autonomous trajectory-plan- taining a trajectory safe from ning algorithms earned him the threats and at one point adjust- AIAA’s Unmanned Aerial Vehi- ing to a last-minute change in the cles Graduate Award, which he predetermined mission plan. The will receive at a conference in T-33 was a substitute for the actu- Reno, Nev., in January. al UAV in the test. It was manned “The aerospace industry by a pilot and crewperson who is using our system in its most were on board to manage the advanced UAV programs,” said aircraft in case of failure, but the Feron, whose research team is vehicle was controlled entirely currently working toward imple- by MIT’s software, which ran on menting their guidance technol- laptops placed inside each plane. ogy in systems with multiple air PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY “Through the recent experi- vehicles. The work is being done ments, the SEC program has in MIT’s Laboratory for Informa- Graduate students Tom Schouwenaars (left) and Mario Valenti sit in front of the aeronautics guidance system demonstrated advanced behav- tion and Decision Systems. they helped develop. They used the system to allow a pilot in one airplane control another unpiloted aircraft. iors that may now be integrat- They fly the helicopter at left using the same guidance system. PAGE 6 November 3, 2004 PEOPLE MIT Tech Talk John Tirman named next Fleischer of executive director of CIS DUSP dies at Amy Tarr of War: The Human Cost of America's Center for International Studies Arms Trade” (1997). He is currently working on a volume on multilateral- age 85 ism, and as a former Fulbright schol- John Tirman, a political scientist ar in Cyprus, he produced an educa- who has written widely on foreign tional web site devoted to the Cyprus Professor Aaron Fleisher, a pioneer in the use of policy, politics and human rights, has conflict. He serves as a trustee of sev- computers in urban planning, died on Aug. 12 at age been named executive director of the eral non-governmental organizations 85 following a brief illness. His wife and their chil- MIT Center for International Studies and is a recipient of the U.N. Associa- dren were with him at the time of his death. (CIS). tion’s Human Rights Award. P r o f e s s o r Tirman comes to MIT after acting CIS supports and promotes inter- Fleisher, a pro- as program director of the Washing- national research and education at fessor emeritus ton, D.C., office of the Social Science MIT. Whenever possible, the center in the Depart- Research Council. He previously capitalizes on MIT’s strengths in sci- ment of Urban served as executive director of the ence and engineering by examining Studies and Winston Foundation for World Peace, the international aspects of these Planning, was a leading funder of work to prevent fields as they relate to both policy known for his nuclear war and promote non-violent and practice, and by focusing on use of math- resolution of conflict. those issues where science and engi- ematical mod- “We are delighted to welcome neering intersect most closely with els to describe, John to CIS and look forward to ben- John Tirman foreign affairs. CIS sponsors formal explain, project efiting from his enormous energy and programs, multidisciplinary working and simulate creativity,” said Richard J. Samuels, ects on U.S. foreign policy and the groups and public events. The cen- urban areas. CIS director and the Ford Interna- Persian Gulf. He'll also be responsi- ter includes visiting scholars from He was born tional Professor of Political Science. ble for helping CIS programs in their around the world and 160 faculty and in Brooklyn, As executive director, Tirman will development efforts. staff members drawn mainly from the N.Y., in 1919. He take the lead on several important Tirman’s books include “The Fal- departments of political science and graduated Phi new initiatives at CIS, including proj- lacy of Star Wars” (1984) and “Spoils urban studies and planning. Beta Kappa with a B.A. from New York Univer- Aaron Fleisher sity in 1939. He attended Colum- bia University from 1939 to 1943, interrupting his Faculty named AAAS Fellows studies to serve in the U.S. Air Force from 1943 to 1946. He earned the S.M. degree from MIT in 1947, followed by the Sc.D. in 1950, also from MIT. The American Association for the Advancement of Sci- emphasis on nuclear and thermionic systems.” Upon graduation, he joined MIT’s Department ence (AAAS) has awarded the distinction of Fellow to 308 Bora Mikic, professor of mechanical engineering, was of Meteorology as a research associate. In 1960, he members, including six MIT faculty members. named to the AAAS for “pioneering contributions in two- began teaching in the Department of Urban Studies Fellows are recognized for their efforts advancing sci- phase flow experimentation and electronics cooling and and Planning; he received tenure in 1964. Professor ence or fostering applications that are deemed scientifical- for leadership in engineering education and academia.” Fleisher retired in 1988 and remained in the depart- ly or socially distinguished. New Fellows will be presented Morgan Sheng, the Menicon Professor of Neurosci- ment as a professor emeritus until his death. with the society’s gold and blue (representing science and ence, was cited for “fundamental studies of the molecular Professor Fleisher, who lived in Brookline, is engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Feb. 19, at the architecture of brain synapses and the dynamic mecha- survived by his wife of 42 years, Polly Doyle, and annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The following people nisms of synaptic modification.” by their children, Ann, Jacob and his wife Lauren; from MIT are new AAAS Fellows: James Fujimoto, professor of electrical engineering and granddaughter Ava; his sisters Alice and Rhoda; and Carl Wunsch, professor in the Department of Earth, computer science, received the honor for “distinguished by many nieces and nephews. Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and director of the contributions to the field of nonlinear interactions of laser Graveside services were private. Contributions Program in Atmosphere, Oceans and Climate, was cited light with matter and their application.” in his memory may be sent to the Leland Cemetery for “fundamental advancements in theory and observation Gerald Jay Sussman, the Matsushita Professor of Elec- Association, c/o Mary L. Bennoch, treasurer, Box 2, of ocean circulation and for outstanding leadership of the trical Engineering, was named a Fellow for “pioneering Salisbury Cove, ME 04672, or to the Jesup Memo- oceanographic community over many years.” the design and implementation of the Digital Orrery, an rial Library, c/o Nancy Howland, 34 Mt. Desert St., Elias Gyftopoulos, professor emeritus in nuclear engi- artificial intelligence-based, special-purpose computer for Bar Harbor, ME 04609. neering, was named a Fellow for his “distinguished contri- astrophysics, which enabled discovery of chaotic motions butions to the field of energy conversion, with particular in the outer solar system.” Charles Schwartz, PSFC engineer, dies in plane crash Charles R. Schwartz, an engi- technicians and physicists. tist and RF physicist. He lived in Shirley, Mass., with neer at MIT’s Plasma Science “Charley was an excellent engi- Mr. Schwartz worked at his wife Lorraine (Toth). Other and Fusion Center (PSFC) and neer and a great asset to the C- DuPont Pharmaceutical Co. in survivors include his father and an accomplished pilot, died Oct. Mod project. He was one of those Billerica, Mass. for 25 years, and stepmother, Theodore and Sharyl 26 when the small plane he was persons who elevated the perfor- at MIT from 2002 until his death. Schwartz of Lanesboro, Penn.; piloting crashed into a building in mance of all those who worked He was born Oct. 16, 1954 in his half-brother John Dininny of Leominster, Mass. with him,” said Dave Terry, Susquehanna, Penn. He studied Valdese, N.C.; a stepdaughter, Kel- He was test-flying a homebuilt chief electrical engineer and Mr. electronics at the U.S. Army Intel- ley Sliter of Lee, Maine; and his plane registered to a Shrews- Schwartz’s supervisor. ligence School and the Capitol parents-in-law, William and Alber- bury man when it crashed into “He had the unusual ability to Radio Engineering Institute and ta Toth of Bolton. the R&S Machine building in teach not only the staff, but also Lowell Technical Institute, and A funeral was held Tuesday, Leominster, Mass. on a Tuesday the students about RF systems business management at North- Nov. 2. Burial was at the Shir- afternoon. and safety practices. His broad eastern University. Mr. Schwartz ley Center Cemetery. Memorial Mr. Schwartz, 50, was the chief experience made him the founda- was a flight instructor, a member contributions may be made to radio frequency (RF) engineer tion for the successful multimega- of the experimental aircraft asso- the Fitchburg Pilots Association for the Alcator C-Mod tokamak watt RF heating and current drive ciation, American Radio Relay Scholarship Fund, c/o Fitchburg fusion project at the PSFC, where program at Alcator C-Mod,” said League, and an avid ham radio Municipal Airport, 567 Crawford he managed a group of engineers, Steve Wukitch, a research scien- operator. St., Fitchburg, MA 01420. Charles Schwartz

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[email protected] MIT Tech Talk ARTS November 3, 2004 PAGE 7 Chekhov’s ‘Platonov’ premieres at MIT A new Chekhov work based on a fragment of what is believed to be the writer’s unfinished, first full-length play will premiere at MIT before heading to the Big Apple for the “Chekhov Now Festival.” “In This is the End of Sleeping,” will have its MIT run Nov. 3-6 in La Sala de Puerto Rico at 8 p.m. with a cast of MIT and New York actors. Performances are free. The play was adapted by Assistant Professor Jay Scheib of the Music and Theater Arts section. Scheib will direct the play as a highly physical, multimedia drama of bankrupt desire. It is based on a fragment discovered posthumously without a title page in a safe deposit box. Known now as “Platonov” or “the Play Without a Name” or “Fatherlessness,” the play celebrates what Scheib calls Chekhov’s “flight into naturalism.” “The early works of major writers attract me because they lack restraint in their daring endeavor to possess life,” said Scheib, who calls the work “a masterpiece of unruliness and one of the great mysteries of Russian lit- erature.” Scheib’s production of the play draws inspiration from the cinema verité and Russian filmmakers like Tar- kovsky, “with a nod to crude reality television technology,” he said. In a statement about the play, Scheib calls it a “comic romance about loving each other and selling each other out.” Scheib was recently awarded the Presidential Certifi- IMAGE COURTESY / LEAH GELPE cate from Harvard University for his production of Alfred Actor Eric Dean Scott (above) plays Platonov in “In This is the End of Sleeping,” a play adapted from Chekhov’s writings by de Musset’s “Lorenzaccio.” He also was awarded a travel Professor Jay Sheib. Scott and other actors will perform the play at MIT this week. fellowship from the International Theatre Institute and the Theatre Communications Group to develop a performance with Pont Mubely Theatre in Budapest of Tolstoy’s “Power of Darkness,” a play developed at MIT with students last spring. “In This is the End of Sleeping,” will be performed in the Chekhov Now Festival at the Connelly Theatre in New York (200 East 4th St.) Nov. 12-13 at 8 p.m., Nov. 14 at 2 p.m., Nov. 17-18 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $15. Call (212) 352-3101 for more information.

ARTS NEWS Experimental art “Collision Six, Senses,” the sixth in a series show- casing experimental exploration of art and technology by artists from MIT and beyond is on view at Art Interactive in Cambridge (130 Bishop Allen Dr.) daily from noon to 6 p.m. through Sunday, Nov. 7. The artwork is presented in an interactive workshop format that uses new technologies, concepts and instal- lation approaches. MIT participants include alumni Stefan Agamanolis and Dan Maynes-Aminzade, electrical engineering graduate students Jessica Banks and Andrew Brooks, Center for Advanced Visual Research Affiliate Nell Breyer, and Media Lab graduate students Ben Dalton, Jeana Frost, Nick Knouf, Jeff Lieberman, Amanda Parkes, James Patten and Hayes Raffle. Clarinetist takes a turn Evan Ziporyn, the Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music, is best known as a clarinetist and for his compositions for gamelan and western instru- ments, but lately he’s taken a turn on the dance floor. IMAGE COURTESY / LEAH GELPE As a live accompanist for Elliot Feld’s Mandance Project, a new chamber dance group, he’s garnering Cast members from “In This is the End of Sleeping” include Emily Knapp as Sasha (left) and Joan Jubett as Anna. his share of reviews from dance critics. “The New York City Ballet star Damian Woetzel and the bass clarinetist Evan Ziporyn engage in a witty dialogue that enhances the singular blend of majesty and light- ness in Mr. Woetzel’s dancing,” wrote Anna Kissel- goff in a New York Times review of the ensemble’s Documentary on ‘Pledge of Oct. 21 debut. “Mr. Woetzel breezes through ‘Jaw- bone’ as if he owns the world but knows that he must share it with Mr. Ziporyn’s insistent and brilliant bass Allegiance’ case to be screened clarinet,” Kisselgoff continued. The program of six dances plays at the Joyce Theater in New York City identity history. Personalities in the ly colors, expressive sobs and long through Nov. 7. Taking the Pledge film include attorney Alan Dershow- arching melodies,” wrote Salisbury. Filmmaker Lisa Seidenberg will itz, publisher Larry Flynt and radio Quartet members Jana Kuss (vio- North Indian music revue present her “Pledge of Allegiance talk-show host Sandy Rios. lin), Oliver Wille (violin), William “When George E. Ruckert begins his recently Blues” (2004) as part of the Chicks The event is co-sponsored by the Coleman (viola) and Felix Nickel published introduction to Hindustani music with an Make Flicks film series on Tuesday, Program in Women's Studies with (cello) met while studying at the evocative description of the strains of a ballad sung Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in Room 124 at the Women in Film and Video/ New Eng- Hannse Eisler Academy of Music in by film music superstar Lata Mangeshkar rising Stata Center. land, the Comparative Media Studies Berlin in1991. Two years later, the above the din of Rashbehari Avenue in South Cal- A discussion will follow the screen- Program, MIT Women's Independent ensemble made its official debut in a cutta, we know we are in good hands,” wrote Thomas ing of the feature-length documen- Living Group, and McCormick Hall. palace concert for Germany’s former Hunter in The Review of Asian Music. He was cri- tary that follows the story of Michael president Richard von Weizsäcker. tiquing “Music in North India: Expressing Music, Newdow, a California physician who Kuss Quartet performs By 2002, the quartet had won first Expressing Culture” (2004, Oxford University Press), brought the landmark “under God” prize at the Borciani International a new book and CD package by Ruckert, a senior lawsuit to the United States Supreme in Kresge String Quartet Competition and had Court in June 2004. Newdow, an lecturer in music. “Through a combination of lively The Kuss Quartet, whose perfor- been selected by the European Con- writing and the aptly chosen examples of the accom- avowed atheist, lost his bid to have cert Halls Organization as the Ger- the two words removed from the mance was called “achingly beautiful” panying CD, the reader-listener is transported into by Wilma Salisbury of the Cleveland man participant in the 2003-2004 Ris- the byways of North Indian music by a guide whose Pledge of Allegiance. The film also ing Stars Program. features the controversy over the Plain Dealer, will perform in Kresge 30-odd years of devotion to the study, teaching and Auditorium at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5. The performance will include practice of Hindustani music is reflected at every Ten Commandments monument at Beethoven’s “Grosse Fuge,” Haydn’s the Alabama State Courthouse and “They negotiated complex contra- turn of the path,” Hunter wrote. puntal textures, eased into numerous Quartet in C Major, and Bartók’s investigates the intertwining of reli- Quartet No. 6. gion and government in American tempo changes and produced ghost- PAGE 8 November 3, 2004 CALENDAR MIT Tech Talk

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 3 - 7

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 7

Science/ Performance Architecture/ Humanities Artist Behind MIT Chapel “Telling It Like “Yael Bartana: “Body Parts: A Technology Planning the Desk Concert It Is: Student Three Works” Self-Portrait by Loni Butera, Vocal and Activism at Israeli artist John Coplans” administrative instrumental MIT During the Yael Bartana’s Series of 26 assistant for Chaplaincy, German music from Vietnam War” three short films not pre- large-scale, fragmented belly dances. Noon-1pm. 1450-1650 directed by Display of 16 posters viously shown in the U.S. self-portraits completed Music Exhibit Reading Special Killian Hall. 253-9821. Sheila Beardslee. Noon. from the campus-wide Noon-6pm. List Visual shortly before the artist’s Interest Chapel. 253-9800. protests of the 1970s. Arts Center. 253-4680. death in August 2003. Hybrid Cars MIT Museum. 10am- List Visual Arts Center. Now, Fuel Cell Libraries Book 5pm. 253-4444. Varsity Noon-6pm. Cars Later Sale Football vs. Talk by Proceeds ben- Beyond the Endicott “Anchorman: Professor John Deutch. efit the Libraries’ Vote College The Legend of Business/ Film Sports Featured Ron Burgundy” Money Event 12:45pm. E40-496. Preservation Fund. Rally with music Noon. Steinbrenner 2-4pm; Nov. 5, 10am- and poetry. Stadium. 258-5265. LSC. $3. 7pm. “Under the Skin 3:30pm. Bush Room. Noon-1:30pm. Student 26-100. 253-3791. of the City” 253-5693. Center steps. Night of 1,000 2001 Iranian Dinners: International film. 6pm. Scrapbooking Interactive Landmine Folk Dancing Room 3-133. Workshop Robotics for Action (participatory) Learn how to Neurological Fund-raising dinner for 8pm. Lobdell Alcohol abuse organize pho- Rehabilitation demining in the Western Dining Hall. 253-FOLK. Dan Trujillo, tos and other items into Neville Hogan, Ph.D., Hemisphere. $10 dean for com- attractive albums. Bring MIT, speaks as part of (includes meal). 6pm. munity devel- $5, and up to 8 photos. the Brain and Cognitive Stratton Student Center. opment and substance Pre-registration required. Sciences Colloquium. abuse programs, dis- Noon-2pm. 253-2143. 4pm. E25-117. “Zatoichi” cusses MIT’s plan for LSC. $3. 7pm. educating students on Poetry@mit: Weekly Anime 26-100. 253- this issue. 6:30pm. Bush August Screening 3791. Room. 253-7495. Kleinzahler Best of Poet and mem- Japanese “The Taming of Tech Model oirist. 7pm. Room 4-231. animation. 7pm. Room the Shrew” Railroad Club 253-7894. 6-120. Shakespeare Meeting Ensemble. Design layouts List Film Night Kuss Quartet $8, $6 MIT/Wellesley and run trains. 7-10pm. An evening of Beethoven’s students. 8 pm. Kresge Room N52-118. 253- films by Derek Quartet in B-flat Little Theater. 253-2903. 3269. Jarman, orga- Major, “Grosse Back before Bach nized by filmmaker John Fuge,” Haydn’s Quartet “Vignettes” Gianvito. 7pm. Bartos in C Major, Bartók’s Color photo- The Concordia Consort, an ensemble of recorders and Theater. 253-4680. Quartet No. 6. 8pm. graphs by Brad voice, will present a concert of German music from Kresge Auditorium. Endicott (S.B. 1450-1650 on Thursday, Nov. 4 at noon in the MIT 253-9800. 1949). Wiesner Student Chapel. Art Gallery. 253-4005.

Go Online! For complete events listings, see the MIT Events Calendar at: http://events.mit.edu. Go Online! Ofﬁce of the Arts website at: http://web.mit.edu/arts/ofﬁce.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

“IN THIS IS THE EVERYDAY DIWALI NITE 2004 END OF SLEEPING” Nov. 3 FEMINISM Nov. 4 Nov. 5 Play based on Chekhov’s Jane Mansbridge of Cultural evening packed long, unfinished drama, Sala de Puerto Rico the Kennedy School of Room 4-234 with performances, fun and Walker Memorial Student Center Government gives a talk “Platonov,” adapted and 4:30 p.m. Indian food. $12 with ID, $20 7 p.m.-midnight directed by Assistant 8 p.m. on the new theory of social others. Professor Jay Scheib. movements.

MIT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 8 - 14

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY November 8 November 9 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 American Palestinian List Visual Arts Veteran’s Day “The Clipper Varsity List Visual Arts Nuclear Society Society: Center Gallery Institute Holiday Ship Era” Women’s Center Gallery Leslie Barbour Decline or Talk Exhibit focuses Openweight Talk from the Nuclear Disintegration? Led by Bill on the design, Crew Led by Hiroko Energy Institute dis- Talk by Dr. Sara Roy, Arning, curator. Noon. Page Hazlegrove construction, speed and Foot of the Charles Kikuchi, Education/ cusses the impact of the Center for Middle List Center. 253-4680. Lecture on Glass social experience of the Regatta. 9am. Charles Outreach Coordinator. presidential election. 3- Eastern Studies, Harvard Art clipper ship era. 9am- River. 258-5265. 2pm. List Center. 253- 4pm. Room NW14-1112. University. 4:30-6:30pm. Everything You Talk by the 5pm. MIT Museum. 4680. 253-5730. Room E51-095. 253-8961. Always Wanted Cambridge-based pub- Origami to Know About lic artist Mags Harries. “Body Parts: A Workshop with Carnatic Vocal MIT-France Authors@mit Modern Music! Sponsored by the MIT Self-Portrait by Robert Lang Concert Special Lecture Charles M. Vest Ancient Traditions in the Glass Lab. 7pm. Wong John Coplans” Workshop with Sanjay Jacques Mistral, “Pursuing the the Modern World Auditorium. 253-5309. Special tour origami artist Robert Subramanyam Bernard Spitz, Endless Frontier. Talk by Elena Ruehr, led by Howard Yezerski, Lang, artist-in-residence performs. $18, $14 Olivier Blanchard, Peter Essays on MIT and the Role MIT composer-in-resi- Lecture on of the Howard Yezerski at MIT Nov. 11-17. 2- MITHAS members, $10 Hall discuss reforming of Research Universities.” dence.12:30-1:30pm. Origami Work: Gallery, Boston. 6pm. List 4pm. Room 5-134. students, MIT students politics in France. 4-6pm. 4:30pm. Kresge Auditorium. Killian Hall. 253-3656. Both Artistic and Center. 253-4680. free. 5:30pm. Wong Room E51-372. 253- 253-5249. Mathematical MIT Juggle Auditorium 8095. Opportunities Talk by origami artist MIT Anime Mania Billion in Energy Robert Lang. 7 pm. Room Screening Olga and Vova International Through the Architecture lec- Technology: 32-123. Weekly show- Galchenko— Folk Dancing Eyes of Arab ture by Yung Ho A Climate for ing. 7pm. Room The World’s Best Passing (participatory) French Women Chang, Peking Change? MIT Gamelan 6-120. Jugglers. 7-9pm. Room International folk McMillan- University. 6:30pm. Room Panel discussion. Galak Tika 54-100. 232-3257. dancing. 8pm. Lobdell Stewart Lecture on 10-250. 253-7791. $20 members of MIT Concert featuring “Iolanthe” Dining Hall. 253-FOLK. Women in the Developing Enterprise Forum, $25 Ziporyn’s “Tire Gilbert and “Before World by Nacira Guénif- Chicks Make others, MIT students Fire” and “Amok!” Tickets: Sullivan Players. Sunset” MIT Chamber Souilamas. 5:30pm. Flicks free. 6-9pm. Kirsch $10, $5, free with MIT ID. $12; $8 other LSC movie. Chorus Room E51-095. 253- Lisa Seidenberg Auditorium. 253-8240. 8pm. Kresge Auditorium. students, MIT alumni, 10pm. Room William Cutter, 8844. with “Pledge of 452-2302. children, senior citizens; 26-100. 253-3791. musical director. Allegiance Blues.” 7pm. Human Rights $6 MIT students. 8pm. 8pm. Kresge Auditorium. Mars Stata Center, Room 124. and Private Student-Written Sala de Puerto Rico. 253- 253-9800. Settlement 253-8844. Wrongs: One Acts 0190. Brainstorming Doctors Across Dramashop pro- Session Veteran’s Day Borders and Their duction of “Arlo,” Help plan the first per- Contra Dance Discontents “On the Fritz,” and “The manent settlement Live music by Speaker Alison Brysk, Trouble with Dating an constructed on another Einstein’s Little University of California- Artist.” Nov. 11-13. 8pm. world. 6-8pm. Building 33 Homunculus. $5. 8-10:30pm. Irvine. 6pm. Room 4-156. Kresge Little Theater. First floor. Lobby 13. 354-0864. 253-4720.