Volume 53, Number 12 TechTalk Wednesday, December 17, 2008 S e r v i n g Th e MIT Co mm u n i t y

HST names new MIT director Sasisekharan appointed effective Dec. 10

Vice President for Research and Associate Provost Claude Canizares last week announced the appoint- A new vision for ment of Ram Sasisekharan as the new director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology at MIT. people in space “It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Profes- Report outlines goals for sor Ram Sasisekharan as director future of human space program of the Division of Health Sciences After conducting preliminary briefings with and Technology at MIT. Professor David Chandler various stakeholders in Washington, team members Sasisekharan will also become the News Office say it has been enthusiastically received by political leaders, Edward Hood Taplin Professor of a National Research Council panel, and the Obama transition Biological Engineering and Health A team led by MIT researchers released on Monday, Dec. team, among others. Sciences & Technology. The appoint- 15, the most comprehensive independent review of the future “We need to rethink the rationales ment is effective Dec. 10, 2008,” of the nation’s human spaceflight program undertaken in for human spaceflight,” says the Canizares said. “Professor Sasisekha- many years. The report recommends setting loftier goals report’s lead author David Mindell, ran brings a tremendous depth for humans in space, focusing research more clearly professor of engineering systems and and breadth of experience to HST, toward those goals, and increasing cooperation director of the program in Science, having bridged across disciplines and with other nations and private industry. Technology and Society at MIT. between universities, government and He says that after the Washington industry.” briefings, “we sensed a great deal Sasisekharan, of uncertainty in DC about how to currently the proceed with the Bush vision and Underwood- human spaceflight in general. Our Prescott Profes- paper speaks to those problems in sor of Health a clear way and offers some new

ILLUSTRATION / PATRICK GILLOOLY, IMAGES / NASA Sciences and ideas.” Technology The report offers “primary objec- and Biological PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY tives” for sending human beings Engineering into space as those that can only be David Mindell at MIT, is a Ram accomplished through the physical member of the Sasisekharan presence of human beings and are Koch Institute worthy of significant risk to human life. Says Mindell, “we for Integrative Cancer Research and argue for including notions of risk, human experience and the Center for Environmental Health remote presence into the fundamental rationales for sending Sciences. He joined the MIT faculty people into space. The results show that the United States in 1996, following appointments as might want a rather different human spaceflight program an instructor at HMS and as an HST from the one now planned.” postdoctoral fellow. He holds a PhD uPlease see MINDELL, PAGE 4 in medical sciences from Harvard Medical School, an MS in biophysics from Harvard University and a BS in physical sciences from Bangalore University in India. Team sheds light on Alzheimer’s mystery, work could Sasisekharan’s research objec- tive is to contribute to the discovery and distribution of therapeutics that lead to new treatments for debilitating disease alleviate suffering and promote human Deborah Halber disease, stroke and other neurodegenera- precede the death of the cells. health. His research is highly multidis- Picower Institute tive conditions, some neurons suddenly Tsai and colleagues found that these ciplinary, integrating a broad range of start to replicate their DNA as if they were aberrant events occur when an enzyme technologies for the study of complex In work that could lead to new drugs to about to divide. This causes them to die. called HDAC1, which configures chroma- polysaccharides that are involved in target Alzheimer’s disease, MIT research- It is thought that most of the neurons tin, the structural component of chromo- many disease processes. His work has ers and colleagues have shed light on one within our brains have formed and exited somes, is blocked. laid the foundation for the develop- of the molecular mysteries surrounding this the cell cycle during gestation and the early Conversely, “increasing levels of this ment of novel therapeutics for applica- common form of dementia. postnatal period. No one knows why this enzyme protects neurons from re-entering tions to problems as diverse as stroke The work, reported in the Dec. 11 issue sudden reprisal of the cell cycle occurs the cell cycle, losing genomic integrity and and bird flu, and which has led to the of Neuron, helps explain the perplexing in adult neurons in Alzheimer’s patients. dying,” said Tsai, who has appointments in creation of several companies. behavior of some cells in the hippocam- Now, researchers led by Li-Huei Tsai, MIT’s Department of Brain and Cogni- “Professor Sasisekharan has pus, thought to be the center of learning the Picower Professor of Neuroscience, tive Sciences and the Picower Institute for uPlease see DIRECTOR, PAGE 2 and memory in the brain. In Alzheimer’s are starting to understand the events that uPlease see ALZHEIMER’S, PAGE 7 PEOPLE RESEARCH NEWS Discover-ies abound Catch the wave 3 Questions on the recession

Research by four MIT professors have made Discover Researchers eye clean-energy possibilities MIT economist and NBER head James Poterba magazine’s list of the top 100 stories for 2008. along the Portuguese coast. answers questions on the economy.

PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 7 PAGE 2 December 17, 2008 u PEOPLE MIT Tech Talk

S M T WT Events F S � Obituaries at MIT Lauren Tsai, member between 1969 and 1972 — a challenging She was elected an honorary member time in U.S. higher education, as opposi- of the MIT Alumni Association in 1987 of Class of 2004, 26 tion to the Vietnam War culminated in a and was also the treasurer for the MIT massive student strike in 1970 that shut Quarter Century Club. Faculty meeting today Lauren Tsai, who graduated from more than 450 university, college and A memorial Mass will take place at 8 MIT with a bachelor’s degree in high school campuses across the country. a.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at Sacred Heart The monthly faculty meeting will mechanical engineering in 2004, was As dean during this turbulent time, Chapel, 32 Summer St., Yarmouthport, be held from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. killed Saturday in a car crash in Newton. Nyhart devoted his attention to devel- MA. today in Room 10-250. The following She was 26. oping and strengthening relationships items will be on the agenda: Lauren was the sister of senior Geof- between faculty and students. A profile • A vote to revise the General Insti- William W. Kaufmann, frey Tsai and of Michael Tsai ’02, MNG article published in tute Requirements; ’02. She was originally from Etna, N.H., MIT’s Technique professor emeritus of • A discussion of the 2009-2010 but lived in Waltham and worked for yearbook in 1970 financial aid situation with Provost Raytheon. described him as “an political science, 90 Rafael Reif; As a student, Lauren had been a energetic man who William W. Kaufmann, an MIT • A report on the status of the member of the MIT field hockey and came [to office] with professor emeritus of political science Special Task Force on Open Access basketball teams. ideas of how to work who was one of the country’s leading Publishing; “Lauren was a valued member of this with students, how experts on defense analysis in the nuclear • and an update on the budget community and we look forward to a to make the student age, passed away Dec. 14. He was 90. planning process from Chancellor time when we can formally celebrate her experience more Born in New York, Kaufmann was a Phillip Clay. life here at MIT,” said Chaplain to the meaningful and how graduate of Yale University and was a Institute Robert Randolph. “Our hearts to get students and the rest of the Insti- U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World go out to her family and especially to tute relating to each other.” War II. After the war, Kaufmann taught Today Geoffrey and Michael.” Among those who remembered government and history at Yale and A viewing will occur from 6-8 p.m. • A conversation with Prof. Harvey Princeton before joining the RAND Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Rand-Wilson Nyhart’s contributions as dean was Lodish. 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. in Corporation in Funeral Home in Hanover, N.H. A Bonny Kellermann ’72, now MIT direc- 68-181. A discussion with MIT biology 1956. In 1961, funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. tor of special constituencies. professor Harvey Lodish about his life in he came to MIT the following day in Rollins Chapel at “At a time when many college science. and taught in the Dartmouth College in Hanover. Follow- campuses were in turmoil and there was Department of ing the service, there will be a reception a lot of distrust between students and Political Science at the “Top of the Hop” at the Hopkins administration on most campuses, Dean until his retirement Friday, Dec. 19 Center at Dartmouth College Nyhart created a wonderful sense of in 1984. • Astronomy in the City. 6-8:30 p.m. Flowers may be sent to the Rand- community where students and admin- A central player in 32-123. Youth from the Boston area Wilson Funeral Home, 11-1/2 School istrators usually felt that they were on in the development invite the MIT community to an evening Street, Hanover, NH 03750. Contribu- the same side, working for a common of nuclear strategy, of astronomy activities, oral presenta- tions may be made in Lauren’s name to purpose,” Kellermann said. Kaufmann served as a Pentagon consul- tions, planetarium shows and science- benefit children’s literature at the Howe In 1972, Nyhart undertook new tant in every administration from John theater performances. Presenters are Library, 13 South Street, Hanover, NH, responsibilities as special assistant to the F. Kennedy to Jimmy Carter, according currently attending astronomy out-of- 03755. chancellor for law-related studies and to Slate columnist Fred Kaplan SM ’78, school time programs by the MIT Kavli If you have memories or photos that preprofessional noncurricular programs. PhD ’83, who was one of Kaufmann’s Institute for Astrophysics and Space you would like to share with Lauren’s He ultimately received tenure with students during his time at MIT. Research. family and friends, or if you have ques- appointments in the Sloan School and “There is a whole generation of tions about the arrangements, please the Department of Ocean Engineering. defense analysts who studied under Bill e-mail [email protected]. Nyhart is survived by his wife of 54 years, Virginia (Nina Gibbon), of Kaufmann,” said Kaplan. “As a thinker Monday, Jan. 5 Brookline; three devoted children and a teacher, he had tremendous • Feynman Film Series. Noon-1 p.m. Former Dean for Student and their spouses: Nicholas (Kathleen impact.” in 6-120. Films will focus on the law of Affairs Daniel Nyhart, 77 McTigue), Lynn (Tom Broman), and In 1986, an article in Foreign Affairs gravitation. Andrew (Angie Hurlbut); and seven referred to Kaufmann as “the man who Former Dean for Student Affairs grandchildren. may well be the most knowledgeable • Physics IAP Lecture Series. 1:30- John Daniel Nyhart, who helped build A memorial service will be held at a individual in this country on the defense 2:30 p.m. in 6-120. Prof. Gabriella community ties at MIT during a time future date. budgets of the past quarter-century.” Sciolla will speak. of great unrest on American college Having witnessed a boom in military campuses, died on Dec. 6. He was 77. spending during the 1960s and 1970s, Nyhart, who was born in 1931 in Winifred T. McDonough, 82 he turned more circumspect in his later Indianapolis, graduated in 1953 from Winifred T. McDonough, who spent years. In “A Reasonable Defense” (1986), Wednesday, Jan. 7 Princeton and received an LLB in 1958 more than 30 years in various adminis- Kaufmann argued for reorganizing • The Benefits of Going Global: from Harvard Law School. He subse- trative positions at the Institute, died on the U.S. military and saving billions of Marketing your International Expe- quently conducted research on the Monday, Dec. 8. She was 82. dollars in the process. He expanded on rience to Employers. Speaker: John roles of banking and law in developing A graduate of Emmanuel College, that theme in “Glasnost, Perestroika, Nonnamaker. 2-3:30 p.m. in 4-159. countries, including spending two years McDonough began her employment with and U.S. Defense Spending” (1990), in Many skills are developed as a result of in Uganda and Nigeria studying develop- MIT in 1966 as a secretary in the trea- which he laid out a plan to slash the U.S. participating in an international educa- ment banking. surer’s office. In 1986, she was promoted military budget by half. tional experience. These skills are of Nyhart was appointed research associ- to recording secretary and she retired Services for Kaufmann will be held at particular benefit to employers but job ate in the MIT Sloan School of Manage- — for the first time — in June 1994, and a later date. In lieu of flowers, memo- candidates need to learn how to articu- ment in 1960 and went on to serve the became an active retiree/administrative rial donations may be made to the USO, late these skills and represent them on Institute for 41 years in a variety of roles. staff member in July of that year. She P.O. Box 96860, Washington, DC their resumes and during interviews. Nyhart served as dean for student affairs re-retired in June 1996. 20077. This presentation will help students identify and articulate the skills acquired through their international experience and practice how to highlight these skills DIRECTOR: Ram Sasisekharan named director for MIT HST in their job or internship search. Continued from Page 1 received many honors, holds numerous academic researchers.” A follow-up study research,” Cohen said. “I look forward to patents, and has been a leader in the devel- to this research was published in the New working with him to perpetuate the tradi- opment of highly successful interuniversity England Journal of Medicine on Dec. 4. tion of excellence within HST and to shape research programs,” Canizares said. “Just Sasisekharan will share the leadership of its bright future.” Submit your events! last year, he successfully galvanized an HST with David E. Cohen, the director “HST produces some of the best minds Log on to events.mit.edu to international team of researchers to rapidly for HST at Harvard, associate professor in translational medicine, and it is poised to add your events to MIT’s online identify the toxic contaminant in batches of of medicine and HST at Harvard Medi- contribute much more to the advancement calendar. Select events will be the blood-thinner heparin that had caused cal School, and director of hepatology at of human health,” Sasisekharan said. “As selected from the online calendar dozens of deaths. This work potentiated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. director, I will work to collaborate with my to be published in Tech Talk each methodologies to prevent such contamina- “The integration of science, medicine colleagues to sustain an exciting intellectual Wednesday. tions in the future, and resulted in the criti- and engineering — the founding prin- environment for our graduate students and cal joint publication between the FDA and ciple of HST — is at the core of Ram’s research pioneers.”

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Anne Trafton MIT Tech Talk u NEWS December 17, 2008 PAGE 3 MIT discoveries top magazine’s list of year’s best A handful of Five discoveries from MIT have been named to Discover 300 speakers has no word to express the concept of “one” or any MBA students Magazine’s Top 100 Stories of 2008. The list appears in the maga- other specific number. That work was published in the journal zine’s December issue. Cognition. Coming in at #21 is Professor Daniel Nocera’s discovery of a Coming in at #74 is a paper by professors Paula Hammond, are learning by simple, inexpensive method to split water Yet-Ming Chiang and Angela Belcher into hydrogen and oxygen, which can be describing a way to use viruses to build and doing — running stored to power a fuel cell. The process, See the stories on each install microbatteries. The team reported reported in Science in August, could lead of these discoveries at the method in the Proceedings of the to a practical way to store solar energy for National Academy of Sciences in August. SloanGear use when the sun is not shining. web.mit.edu/newsoffice At #86 is work by Aude Oliva showing Amy MacMillan Another solar advance made #26 on that the human memory has a much larger MIT Sloan School of Management the list: Associate Professor Marc Baldo’s capacity for visual detail than previously development of a “solar concentrator” that collects sunlight from believed. The research was published in the Proceedings of the Looking for a gift this holiday season a large area and focuses it onto a much smaller area. The work National Academy of Sciences in September. that is not just fashionable but also appeared in Science in July. In addition, Discover’s #2 story of the year was the launch of supports the education of MIT students? Research by Professor Edward Gibson came in at #39. In the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, which MIT Look no further than SloanGear, the June, Gibson reported that an Amazonian language with only scientists played a key role in launching. MIT Sloan student-run company that sells Sloan brand apparel and gifts. SloanGear may look like a typical retail business at first glance, but how many businesses do you know that change their ownership and manage- ment each year? Like an annual rite of passage, SloanGear (www.sloangear.com) is auctioned off each spring from second- year MBA students to teams made up of the next graduating class. The students who win invest their own money in SloanGear, and the profit goes back into the company. At the end of the year, the owners-operators get their money back — assuming they sell it to the next team for at least as much as they paid. This arrangement creates an incentive for the current owners to improve the PHOTOS / CAMERA FOR US company each year, as well as develop Anna Kotova, shown in the second and fourth photos, with kids she came across in a recent visit to some villages in India. Arka individual sales and marketing skills, Dhar, seen in the first and third photos, on a trip to in the Himalayan foothills. Both are among those who recieved grants from says Shintaro Okuno, CEO and one of the Legatum Center. SloanGear’s 10 current owner-operators. Okuno formerly worked as a consul- in low-income countries,” said Legatum tum IAP Seed Grant will be essential in tant for a wide variety of industries at Legatum Center Center Founder and Director Iqbal Z. enabling us to travel to Mexico and begin Bain & Company Inc. and had no retail Quadir. the preliminary field analysis for our experience prior to his SloanGear stint. “These grants are meant to both model.” But the Tokyo native says he pursued announces recognize and propel MIT students who With his grant, Joseph Mugisha Musho- SloanGear because he wanted a real are applying their innovation and entre- ka plans to found a software company that learning opportunity and the chance to preneurialism to improving the lives of leverages open-source databases to provide lead a business. grant recipients ordinary citizens in low-income coun- record management systems for insurance “Since running a company as manage- The Legatum Center for Development tries,” said Michael F. Maltese, managing companies in Africa. “The Legatum IAP ment is my career goal, this experience and Entrepreneurship at MIT is pleased to director of the Legatum Center. grant will enable me to identify five insur- — running a real business as CEO with announce the recipients of its 2008-2009 Grantees chosen through the competi- ance companies in Kenya that I can learn very diversified partners — definitely seed grant program. tive selection process range in industry from and develop the initial product,” he gives me the opportunity for training Teams of students from across the and geographical focus. said. and simulation for the future,” says Institute submitted proposals for innova- Alexander Sappok, CEO of Filter Sens- The Legatum Center’s seed grants have Okuno, who plans to return to Bain after tive projects on renewable energy, health, ing Technologies, won a grant for his work been made possible through the generous graduation. water, biotechnology, mobile services on an inexpensive fuel quality sensor that support of MIT alumnus Jack Hennessy, “Now I have the experience of and a host of other promising enterprise will increase availability of clean renew- who was previously a board member of the running a company, and that will give solutions to development challenges in able fuels in low-income countries. “The MIT Corporation, the chairman and CEO me a deeper perspective to work with my low-income countries. Of the 32 proposals Legatum IAP Seed Grant will enable of Credit Suisse First Boston, and assistant clients and team members,” he says. received, 13 grantees were selected by the the development and demonstration of a secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Each year, the new SloanGear owners Legatum Center to receive funding. prototype system, as well as research into Founded in 2007 by Quadir, the Lega- tweak the business slightly but do Teams will use these grants to fund the most effective paths to market in these tum Center is based on the belief that not radically change it. This year, for market research, project scoping and pilot countries,” Sappok said. economic development and good gover- instance, owners doubled the frequency studies during MIT’s 2009 Independent Sarina Siddhanti’s student-team will use nance in low-income countries emerge of lobby sales in E51 —traditionally the Activities Period (IAP). its grant to explore micro-equity develop- from entrepreneurship and innovations company’s biggest sales opportunity. The “MIT students are full of creative ideas. ment in Mexico. “Our project explores that empower ordinary citizens. current team also forged an exclusive This is a way of harnessing and advanc- the possibility of micro-equity as a source For a full list of recipients, please visit partnership with Tiffany & Co. to offer ing some of these ideas toward our goal of financing entrepreneurs in developing the Legatum Center web site at http:// 10 percent discounts on gift certificates of promoting bottom-up development countries,” Siddhanti said. “The Lega- legatum.mit.edu/ at the luxury jewelry store. “We want to make it bigger in a ‘controlled’ sort of way. It’s a balancing act, because it’s a for-profit business, but it does have aspects of a club,” Damian Wisniewski, custom sales manager Awards&Honors for SloanGear, says of the company’s growth. “We may have more sales, more partnerships, and more products, but Minervini honored by tion and testing of the Central Solenoid Model Coil for ITER, a we focus mainly on keeping the business joint international research and development project that aims to sound.” American Nuclear Society demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. SloanGear products can be purchased Joseph V. Minervini, head of the Fusion Technology and Engi- online at http://www.sloangear.com/. neering Division of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Two professors up for The company’s next lobby sale will be has received the 2008 Technical Accomplishment Award from ALA presentation award held the second week of February. the American Nuclear Society, Fusion Energy Two MIT professors — Klavs Jensen and Mehmet Yanik — (This article was adapted from a longer Division. Minervini have been named finalists in the Association for Laboratory version originally published in News@ was honored for tech- Automation’s (ALA) $10,000 Innovation Award at LabAutoma- MITSloan) nical accomplishments tion2009, which will take place Jan. 24-28. achieved in develop- Jensen, the Warren K. Lewis Professor and department head ing superconducting of chemical engineering and a professor of materials science and magnet technology engineering, is up for his work on “Microfluidic Synthesis of for magnetic confine- NanoMaterials at High Pressures and Temperatures.” ment fusion experi- Yanik, the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Assistant No Tech Talk until Jan. 14 ments; specifically for Professor of Electrical Engineering, was named a finalist for his the development of work on “High Performance Magnetic Separation in Microfluidic Because of the holiday recess, large-scale cable-in- Channels.” there will be no issues of Tech Talk conduit-conductor PHOTO / PAUL RIVENBERG The ALA Innovation Award recognizes LabAutomation2009 until Jan. 14, when we will resume (CICC) technology for Joseph V. Minervini, head of podium presenters whose work demonstrates outstanding innova- publishing for the spring semes- the ITER magnets, as the Fusion Technology and tion and contributes to the exploration of automation technolo- ter. For up-to-date MIT news and well as for the success- Engineering Division of the MIT gies in the laboratory. The winner will be announced Wednesday, information, go to web.mit.edu/ ful design, fabrica- Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Jan. 28, 2009, at 12:30 p.m. newsoffice. PAGE 4 December 17, 2008 u RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk

MINDELL: New report looks at the CATCH the WAVE future of spaceflight Researchers eye clean- Continued from Page 1 energy possibilities And it is essential that whatever along Portuguese coast goals are set for human spaceflight, Turbine the funding should be adequate. “Trying to do too much with too little is exactly what caused the last two Capture shuttle accidents,” he says. Chamber Among the report’s major conclu- sions are that the United States should be cooperating more on human spaceflight, both with other Air is compressed nations — including China and India — and with commercial ventures inside chamber such as private rocket companies. Waves The nation should also set ambitious goals for long-term exploration, and make sure that near-term work is geared toward those ends. In addition, a comprehensive strategy of basic research is needed to lay the ground- work for these longer-range goals. Some of the key recommendations from the MIT report: • Congress and the White House Schematic of an oscillating water column. Waves enter should reduce the “too much through a subsurface opening into the chamber with air with too little” pressure on Nancy Stauffer trapped above. The wave action causes the captured water NASA by ensuring that resourc- MIT Energy Initiative column to move up and down, pushing the trapped air es match expectations. They into an electricity-generating turbine. The turbine turns should begin a public conversa- MIT researchers are working with Portuguese colleagues to continuously, despite the changing direction of the airstream tion on the ethics and accept- design a pilot-scale device that will capture significantly more as the waves come in and out. able risk of human spaceflight of the energy in ocean waves than existing systems, and use it to at current levels of support and power an electricity-generating turbine. ambition. Wave energy is a large, widespread renewable resource that is kilowatts — roughly enough to power 750 homes. As a bonus, the • NASA should continue to environmentally benign and readily scalable. In some locations — plant’s absorption of wave energy at the breakwater head will calm support commercial and Euro- the northwestern coasts of the United States, the western coast the waters in the area and reduce local erosion. pean development of crew and of Scotland, and the southern tips of South America, Africa and The challenge is to design a device that resonates and thus cargo alternatives, particularly Australia, for example — a wave-absorbing device could theoreti- operates efficiently at a broad spectrum of wave frequencies — for cargo return. cally generate 100 to 200 megawatts of electricity per kilometer of and an unexpected finding from the MIT analysis provides a • The United States should coastline. But designing a wave-capture system that can deal with means of achieving that effect. The key is the compressibility of develop a broad, funded plan the harsh, corrosive seawater environment, handle hourly, daily the air inside the OWC chamber. That compressibility cannot to utilize the International and seasonal variations in wave intensity, and continue to operate be changed, but its impact on the elevation of the water can — Space Station through 2020 for safely in stormy weather is difficult. simply by changing the size of the OWC chamber. The simula- research, including development Chiang Mei, the Ford Professor of Engineering in the Depart- tions showed that using a large chamber causes resonance to occur of technologies to support explo- ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been a believer at a wider range of wavelengths, so more of the energy in a given ration for both moon missions in wave energy since the late 1970s. After the recent oil-price wave can be captured. “We found that we could optimize the and long-duration Mars flights. spike, there has been renewed interest in harnessing the energy in efficiency of the OWC by making use of the compressibility of air • A new human spaceflight policy ocean waves. — something that is not intuitively obvious,” Mei says. “It’s very should clarify the balance among To help engineers design such devices, Professor Mei and his exciting.” the moon, Mars, and other colleagues developed numerical simulations that can predict wave He is currently working with other graduate students on wave destinations. It should be more, forces on a given device and the motion of the device that will power absorbers on coastlines of different geometries and on how not less ambitious. A new policy result. The simulations guide design decisions that will maximize to extract wave power from an array of many absorbers. should also review the Constel- energy capture and provide data to experts looking for efficient Mei continues to be enthusiastic about wave energy, but he lation (shuttle replacement) ways to convert the captured mechanical energy to electrical is not unrealistic in his expectations. Although costs have been architecture to ensure compat- energy. falling in recent years, wave energy is unlikely to be commercially ibility with long-range explora- One country with a good deal of expertise in wave energy viable for a long time — perhaps several decades. Nevertheless, tion missions. research and development is Portugal. For the past three years, Mei is adamant that more attention should be given to this renew- • NASA should re-establish a Mei has been working with Professors Antonio Falcao, Antonio able source of energy, and he would like to see a team of MIT fundamental research program Sarmento and Luis Gato of Insitituto Superior Tecnico, Technical experts in different fields — from energy capture and conversion focused on science and technol- University of Lisbon, as they plan a pilot-scale version of a facility to transmission and distribution — working collaboratively toward ogy for human spaceflight and called an oscillating water column, or OWC. Situated on or near making large-scale wave energy a reality. exploration. the shore, an OWC consists of a chamber with a subsurface open- “Given the future of conventional energy sources, we need lots • The United States should begin ing. As waves come in and out, the water level inside the chamber of research on all kinds of alternative energy,” he says. “Right now, engagement with China on goes up and down. The moving surface of the water forces air wind energy and solar energy are in the spotlight because they’ve human spaceflight in a series of trapped above it to flow into and out of an opening that leads been developed for a longer time. With wave energy, the potential small steps, gradually building to an electricity-generating turbine. The turbine is a design by is large, but the engineering science is relatively young. We need up trust and cooperation. A.A.Wells in which the blades always rotate in the same direction, to do more research.” despite the changing direction of the airstream as the waves come Research on the OWC was supported by the MIT-Portugal The report, called “The Future of in and out. Alliance. Human Spaceflight,” was prepared The Portuguese plan is to integrate the OWC plant into the by the Space, Policy and Society head of a new breakwater at the mouth of the Douro River in (This article was adapted from a longer version that appeared in Research Group at MIT, which Mind- Porto, a large city in northern Portugal. Ultimately, the instal- the autumn 2008 issue of Energy Futures, the newsletter of the MIT ell directs. lation will include three OWCs that together will generate 750 Energy Initiative.) The group includes MIT aero- nautics and astronautics professor and former space shuttle astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman; Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics Laurence Young; Aeronautics and Astronautics Professor Dava Newman; Jerome C. Hunsacker Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems Annalisa Weigel; lecturer in science, technol- ogy and society Slava Gerovitch; postdoctoral associate Scott Uebel- hart; graduate students Eph Lang- ford, Teasel Muir-Harmony, Sherrica Newsome, Zakiya Tomlinson and Rebecca Perry; Lawrence McGlynn, president of Insurance Services of New England; Asif Saddiqi, assis- tant professor of history at Fordham University; John Tylko, vice president at Aurora Flight Sciences; and John Logsdon of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. MIT Tech Talk u RESEARCH December 17, 2008 PAGE 5 Researchers finger the cause of ‘gravity fingers’ tion describing water on a window, and CEE team offers elegant included that mathematical phrase in the solution to long-standing fluid equation describing liquid moving down- ward through soil. mechanics problem After rigorous comparison of data produced by the new mathematical model Denise Brehm with observed phenomena, the two real- Civil and Environmental Engineering ized they’d found the solution, a solu- tion described by one scientist reviewing MIT researchers have found an elegant the paper in Physical Review Letters as solution to a sticky scientific problem in “simple and elegant” and a “major break- basic fluid mechanics: why water doesn’t through” in the field. soak into soil at an even rate, but instead The Cueto-Felgueroso and Juanes solu- forms what looks like fingers of fluid flow- tion also describes one aspect of the water- ing downward. flowing-down-a-windowpane phenomenon Scientists call these rivulets “gravity that previously was not understood by fingers,” and the explanation for their scientists, who actually refer to this as “the formation has to do with the surface flow of thin films”: Why does water build tension where the water — or any liquid — up at the tips of the fingers? meets the soil (or other medium). Know- Again, the answer has to with the surface ing how to account for this phenomenon GRAPHIC / LUIS CUETO-FELGUEROSO tension. Before the water can flow down mathematically will have wide-ranging Saturation maps from a numerical simulation of the proposed model show that the the film, it must build up enough energy impact on science problems and engineer- flow dynamics and the distinctive saturation overshoot at the tip of the fingers agree to overcome the tension that is holding it ing applications, including the recovery of with experimental observations. in place. oil from reservoirs and the sequestration of So what was missing from earlier models carbon underground. engineers commonly flush oil reservoirs the ARCO Assistant Professor in Energy of water moving downward through soil The solution, reported in the Dec. 12 with water to enhance oil recovery). Studies. “Luis applied his expertise to that made it appear to move as a steady, issue of Physical Review Letters, involves “Our paper addresses a long-standing a fluid mechanics problem in another horizontal front, rather than in finger-like borrowing a mathematical phrase from issue in soil physics,” said Cueto- medium — porous media flows — and paths — even when the soil was homog- the description of a similar problem — a Felgueroso. “Lab experiments of water quickly figured out the solution.” enous in particle size and shape? solution both simple and elegant that infiltration into homogeneous, dry soil, Cueto-Felgueroso, a postdoctoral asso- The missing mathematical phrase had escaped the notice of many research- repeatedly show the presence of preferen- ciate who has previously worked primarily describes the surface tension of the entire ers in earlier attempts to describe the tial flow in the form of fingers. Yet, after on airflow fluid mechanics problems, had finger of water, which may be several phenomenon. several decades, the scientific community a eureka moment when he realized that centimeters in width, as opposed to the Co-authors Luis Cueto-Felgueroso and has been unable to capture this phenom- gravity fingers in soil (or clay or sand) tension existing at the micron-scale of Ruben Juanes of the MIT Department enon using mathematical models.” look very similar to water flowing down pores between soil particles. of Civil and Environmental Engineering “This was the type of problem that a window pane, a fairly well-understood And that phrase will sound like music to discovered the solution while studying required someone from a different phenomenon. He and Juanes then pulled the ears of physicists and engineers. the larger question of how water displaces research discipline to take a look at it and the mathematical explanation (think of it as The work was supported by the Italian oil in underground reservoirs (petroleum come up with the solution,” said Juanes, a phrase of words or music) from the equa- energy company Eni.

Nanotubes sniff out cancer agents in living cells Close encounters Chemical engineers use carbon nanotubes to monitor chemotherapy, with 3-D detect toxins at the single-molecule level Anne Trafton cell growth News Office Engineers’ new microfluidic MIT engineers have developed carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells. device could help with drug The sensors, made of carbon nanotubes wrapped in DNA, can detect development chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin as well as environmental toxins and free radicals that damage DNA. Anne Trafton “We’ve made a sensor that can be placed in living cells, healthy or malig- News Office nant, and actually detect several different classes of molecules that damage DNA,” said Michael Strano, associate professor of chemical engineering and MIT engineers have built a device that gives senior author of a paper on the work that appeared in the Dec. 14 online them an unprecedented view of three-dimensional edition of Nature Nanotechnology. cell growth and migration, including the forma- Such sensors could be used to monitor chemotherapy patients to ensure tion of blood vessels and the spread of tumor cells. the drugs are effectively battling tumors. Many chemotherapy drugs are The microfluidic device, imprinted on a square very powerful DNA disruptors and can cause serious side effects, so it is inch of plastic, could be used to evaluate the important to make sure that the drugs are reaching their intended targets. potential side effects of drugs in development, or IMAGES / STRANO LAB “You could figure out not only where the drugs are, but whether a drug to test the effectiveness of cancer drugs in indi- These two images show carbon is active or not,” said Daniel Heller, a graduate student in chemical engi- vidual patients. nanotubes inside a mammalian cell. The neering and lead author of the Roger Kamm, MIT professor of biological paper. and mechanical engineering, and his colleagues nanotubes can detect the presence of See the interview with certain molecules, in this case, hydrogen The sensor can detect DNA- reported their observations of angiogenesis — the peroxide. ABOVE: The cell before alkylating agents, a class that Strano and Heller at process by which blood vessels are formed — in hydrogen peroxide is added. BELOW: The includes cisplatin, and oxidiz- web.mit.edu/newsoffice the Oct. 31 online issue of the journal Lab on a cell after hydrogen peroxide is added. ing agents such as hydrogen Chip. The change in fluorescence provides peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. Microfluidic devices have been widely used in a ‘fingerprint’ that allows different Using the sensors, researchers can monitor living cells over an extended recent years to study cells, but most only allow for period of time. The sensor can pinpoint the exact location of molecules molecules to be identified. the study of cells growing on a flat (two-dimen- inside cells, and for one agent, hydrogen peroxide, it can detect a single sional) surface, or else lack the ability to observe molecule. and control cell behavior. With the new device, The new technology takes advantage of the fact that carbon nanotubes researchers can observe cells in real time as they fluoresce in near-infrared light. Human tissue does not, which makes it grow in a three-dimensional collagen scaffold easier to see the nanotubes light up. under precisely controlled chemical or physical Each nanotube is coated with DNA, which binds to DNA-damaging conditions. agents present in the cell. That interaction between the DNA and DNA Observing angiogenesis and other types of cell disruptor changes the intensity and/or wavelength of the fluorescent light growth in three dimensions is critical because that emitted by the nanotube. The agents produce different signatures that can is how such growth normally occurs, said Kamm. be used to identify them. Working with researchers around MIT, Kamm “We can differentiate between different types of molecules depending on has studied growth patterns of many types of cells, how they interact,” Strano said. including liver cells, stem cells and neurons. He Because they are coated in DNA, these nanotube sensors are safe for has also used the device to investigate the pressure injection in living cells. (Nanotubes can come in many different lengths and buildup that causes glaucoma. can be coated with different materials, which influences whether they are The device allows researchers to gain new safe or toxic, Strano said.) insight into cell growth patterns. For example, In future studies, the researchers plan to use the sensors to study the the researchers observed that one type of breast effects of various antioxidants, such as the compounds in green tea, and cancer cell tends to migrate in a uniform mass learn how to more effectively use toxic chemotherapy drugs. and induces new capillaries to sprout aggressively Other authors of the paper include MIT graduate student Hong Jin of toward the original tumor, while a type of brain the Department of Chemical Engineering. Researchers from the University cancer cell breaks from the primary tumor and of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also contributed to the work, which was uPlease see 3-D, PAGE 7 funded by the National Science Foundation. PAGE 6 December 17, 2008 u RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk

Ancient bacteria offer new line of attack on cystic fibrosis

MIT researchers have found that the pigments responsible for the blue- green stain of the mucus that clogs the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY are primarily signaling molecules that Civil and Environmental allow large clusters of the opportu- Engineering Professor Roman nistic infection agent, Pseudomonas Stocker holds the small microbial aeruginosa, to organize themselves ecosystem he developed. into structured communities. The research team, led by Dianne K. Newman, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Biology and Geobiology, will report the findings Tuesday at the American Society for A plankton-eat-plankton world Cell Biology annual meeting in San Francisco. detailed explorations of how sea creatures Stocker said. It took bacteria less than 30 For decades, these pigments, Tiny ecosystem may so small — 500,000 can fit on the head seconds, for example, to congregate within called phenazines, have been wrongly of a pin — find food in an ocean-size a patch of organic nutrients. regarded as antibiotics, generated by shed light on key ocean environment. This new laboratory tool creates a P. aeruginosa to kill off the microbe’s microbes and their role in Besides showing that microbes’ microhabitat where tiny sea creatures live, bacterial competitors in the lungs. swimming and foraging is much more swim, assimilate chemicals and eat each This new insight about the lead- influencing climate sophisticated and complex than previ- other. It provides the first methodological, ing cause of death of people with ously thought, the work also indicates sub-millimeter scale examination of a food CF suggests that the phenazine- Deborah Halber that organic materials may move through web that includes single-celled phyto- processing machinery could become Civil and Environmental Engineering the oceans’ microbial food web at higher- plankton, bacteria and protozoan predators a potential target for drugs to treat P. than-expected rates, via a domino effect of in action. aeruginosa infections in CF patients, MIT researchers have created a micro- resource patch formation and exploitation, “Rather than simply floating in the according to Newman and postdoc- bial ecosystem smaller than a stick of gum said co-author Justin R. Seymour, postdoc- ocean and passively taking up the chemi- toral fellow Lars Dietrich. that sheds new light on the plankton- toral fellow in the Department of Civil and cals required for growth, many microbes P. aeruginosa appears as a clas- eat-plankton world at the bottom of the Environmental Engineering (CEE). exhibit sophisticated behaviors as they sic opportunistic infection, easily aquatic food chain. Using the new technology of micro- forage in an environment where patches shrugged off by healthy people but a The work, reported in the January print fluidics, Seymour and colleagues Roman of nutrients and resources are few and far grave threat to those with CF, which issue of American Naturalist, may lead Stocker, the Doherty Assistant Profes- between,” Seymour said. chokes the lungs of its victims with to better predictions of marine microbes’ sor of Ocean Utilization in CEE, Oceanographic ecological research has sticky mucus. global-scale influence on climate. and MIT mechanical engineering gradu- typically taken place at much larger scales “We have a long way to go before Through photosynthesis and uptake ate student Marcos devised a clear plas- because of the difficulty of measuring the being able to test this idea, but the of carbon compounds, diverse planktonic tic device about the size and shape of a behavioral responses of small populations hope is that if survival in the lung is marine microorganisms — too small to be microscope slide. of microorganisms in very small volumes influenced by phenazine — or some seen with the naked eye — help regu- Depending on the organism being of seawater. other electron-shuttling molecule late carbon flux in the oceans. Carbon studied, nutrients or prey are injected with “To understand how environmental fluc- or molecules — tampering with flux refers to the rate at which energy a syringe-based pump into the device’s tuations affect the ecology of populations, phenazine trafficking might be a and carbon are transferred from lower microfluidic channel, which is 45 mm it is imperative to understand the foraging potential way to make antibiotics to higher levels of the marine food web, long, 3 mm wide and 50 micrometers deep. abilities and behavior of marine microbes more effective,” said Newman, whose and it may have implications for commer- “While relying on different swimming at environmentally relevant scales,” the lab investigates how ancestral bacteria cial fisheries and other ocean-dependent strategies, all three organisms exhibited authors wrote. on the early Earth evolved the ability industries. behaviors which permitted efficient and This work was supported by the Nation- to metabolize minerals. The MIT study is one of the first rapid exploitation of resource patches,” al Science Foundation. Newman and Dietrich looked at phenazines from an evolutionary perspective, and using RNA arrays to probe all of the small molecules’ actions, they discovered that Water supplies could be strongly affected by climate change phenazines are not mere redox-active weapons but are molecules that acti- Changes in rainfall can be along with King Bhumipol Profes- ones, and whether most of the rainfall vate the transcription factor SoxR. sor Dennis McLaughlin and Bacardi occurs in winter or summer. “Changes in In Escherichia coli and other amplified, up or down, in Stockholm Water Foundations Profes- precipitation are often reported as annual closely related bacteria, SoxR regu- sor Dara Entekhabi, both of CEE, and changes, but what affects recharge is when lates the response to superoxide stress changes to aquifers Bridget Scanlon, a senior researcher at the the precipitation happens, and how it and appears to be utilized to regulate University of Texas. The results are being compares to the growing season,” she says. a handful of genes that might be David Chandler presented today at the American Geophys- The team presented the results as a involved in the transport and modifi- News Office ical Union’s fall meeting. range of probabilities, quantifying as much cation of redox-active signals. The analysis combines computer as possible “what we do and don’t know” By manipulating phenazine activity It’s no simple matter to figure out how modeling and natural chloride tracer data about the future climate and land-surface in colonies of P. aeruginosa grown in regional changes in precipitation, expected to determine how precipitation, soil prop- conditions, Ng says. “For each prediction the lab, the MIT scientists learned to result from global climate change, may erties, and vegetation affect the transport of climate change, we get a distribution of that these molecules create a smooth affect water supplies. Now, a new analysis of water from the surface to the aquifers possible recharge values.” biofilm surface under which the led by MIT researchers has found that below. This analysis focused on a specific If most of the rain falls while plants colony can prosper in anaerobic bliss. the changes in groundwater may actually semi-arid region near Lubbock, Texas, in are growing, much of the water may be The less phenazine available, the more be much greater than the precipitation the southern High Plains. absorbed by the vegetation and released wrinkled and less strong the colony changes themselves. Predictions of the kinds and magni- back into the atmosphere through tran- surface becomes. For example, in places where annual tudes of precipitation changes that may spiration, so very little percolates down A thick biofilm also develops in the rainfall may increase by 20 percent as a occur as the planet warms are included to the aquifer. Similarly, it makes a big lungs of patients with CF infected result of climate change, the groundwater in the reports by the Intergovernmental difference whether an overall increase with P. aeruginosa. Sealed under the might increase as much as 40 percent. Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and are in rainfall comes in the form of harder biofilm are the pseudomonads that Conversely, the analysis showed in some expressed as ranges of possible outcomes. rainfalls, or more frequent small rainfalls. have adapted to the patients’ lungs, cases just a 20 percent decrease in rainfall “Because there is so much uncertainty, we More frequent small rainstorms may be developed antibiotic resistance and could lead to a 70 percent decrease in the wanted to be able to bracket” the expected mostly soaked up by plants, whereas a few formed large anaerobic colonies. recharging of local aquifers — potentially impact on water supplies under the diverse more intense events may be more likely to Most people with CF die from a devastating in semi-arid and arid regions. climate projections, Ng says. saturate the soil and increase the recharg- cascade of damaging lung infections. But the exact effects depend on a “What we found was very interesting,” ing effect. Pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylo- complex mix of factors, the study found Ng says. “It looks like the changes in “It’s tempting to say that a doubling of coccus aureus weaken the CF patient, — including soil type, vegetation and the recharge could be even greater than the the precipitation will lead to a doubling of but it is the onset of P. aeruginosa exact timing and duration of rainfall events changes in climate. For a given percentage the recharge rate,” Ng says, “but when you infection that signals a dangerous — so detailed studies will be required for change in precipitation, we’re getting even look at how it’s going to impact a given turn. each local region in order to predict the greater changes in recharge rates.” area, it gets more and more complicated. possible range of outcomes. Among the most important factors, The results were startling.” (Adapted from a news release issued by The research was conducted by the team found, is the timing and dura- The work was funded by a grant from the American Society for Cell Biology) Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, a PhD candi- tion of the precipitation. For example, it the National Science Foundation, as part date in MIT’s Department of Civil and makes a big difference whether it comes of the Information Technology Research Environmental Engineering (CEE), in a few large rainstorms or many smaller Program. MIT Tech Talk u NEWS December 17, 2008 PAGE 7 3-D: Looking at cell growth in three dimensions Continued from Page 5 3 Questions migrates individually but does not promote are bathed in chemicals from the chan- ? capillary formation. nels, and the effect of the chemicals can be The system is configured so that evaluated based on various measures of cell researchers can manipulate and study function. James Poterba mechanical and biochemical factors that Kamm and his colleagues first described influence cell growth and migration, their microfluidic device in a January 2007 including stiffness of the gel scaffold, paper in Lab on a Chip. Vernella Vicker- on the recession concentration of growth factors and other man, a graduate student in chemical engi- chemicals, and pressure gradients. neering, and Seok Chung, a postdoctoral “3 Questions” is a new series from the Two or three channels imprinted onto fellow in biological engineering, played MIT News Office that gives members of the plastic square contain either a normal critical roles in developing the device, the community the opportunity to sound off cell growth medium or a chemical under Kamm said. on current events in their field of expertise. study, such as growth factor. Cells grow- The research was funded by Draper In this installment, James Poterba, the ing in the scaffold between the channels Laboratory. Mitsui Professor of Economics, discusses the current economic recession and how long it might last. In addition to serving as an MIT ALZHEIMER’S: New work shows promise faculty member, Poterba is president and Continued from Page 1 CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private group of lead- Learning and Memory and who is also an ing economists that dates the start and end of investigator for the Howard Hughes Medi- economic downturns. cal Institute. “Our findings provide insight into how neurons die in neurodegenerative We want to hear your feedback and close to one trillion dollars —about diseases and offer a new therapeutic strat- suggestions. Please contact the News Office 6 percent of our GDP. While that is egy for countering neuronal death.” at [email protected], and be sure to write a dramatic change from recent years, Tsai’s finding that HDAC1 is a molecular “3 Questions” in the subject line. when the federal deficit was less than link between aberrant cell-cycle activity and $200 billion, it is not uncharted terri- DNA damage means that the enzyme could Q. NBER, the group you direct, tory. The U.S. experienced similar-sized be a potential target for therapeutics against announced earlier this month that the deficits for several years in the mid- diseases and conditions involving neuronal U.S. economy began contracting a year 1980s, and we begin this period with a death. ago, in December 2007. That means it’s lower ratio of government debt to GDP In mice genetically engineered to already the third-longest recession since than many other large developed coun- develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Tsai World War II, following two 16-month tries. The fact that the current financial and colleagues found that inactivating the recessions in the 1970s and 1980s. Given crisis is global in nature has also led to a HDAC1 enzyme led to DNA damage and that many of the leading economic indi- “flight to quality” in financial markets, cell death, while reinforcing its activity cators signal more weakness ahead, just and U.S. Treasury securities are viewed protected neurons. how bad is this going to get? as the safest securities in the world. Authors include collaborators from Thus at least for the moment, there does Harvard Medical School, University of A. Many signals suggest that the not seem to be much risk that foreign Central Florida, the Broad Institute of current recession is likely to be the lenders will precipitously reduce their MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General longest and most severe in at least sever- demand for U.S. government debt. Hospital and McLean Hospital. al decades. The NBER Business Cycle The auction of Treasury four-week This work is supported by the National notes on Dec. 9 provides some indication PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Dating Committee, which consists of Institutes of Health and the American seven economists who monitor econom- of the market’s appetite for U.S. govern- Heart Association. Li-Huei Tsai ic indicators on an ongoing basis, ment securities. The Treasury securities identified the turning point as Decem- sold at a zero interest rate — investors ber 2007 — before the array of financial were prepared to lend to the federal market shocks that have buffeted the government for four weeks in return Awards&Honors U.S. and the world economy in 2008. only for a promise that they would get The economy was in a period of declin- back their principal when the loan was Physics graduate student wins award at PANIC08 ing economic activity when these shocks due. Yields on long-term Treasury bonds hit, and these shocks are virtually certain are also currently low, even though Georgia Karagiorgi, a graduate student in the Department of Physics, recently won the to prolong and deepen the period of market participants foresee substantial best poster award at the International Conference on Particles And Nuclei (PANIC08). economic weakness. The NBER does borrowing in the next few years. The award, sponsored by the Elsevier journal Nuclear Physics A, honors young scientists. not make forecasts, but a number of One caution should be kept in mind private sector firms that do suggest that when evaluating reports about the Sloan students win first at CMU case competition the U.S. unemployment rate, which was federal deficit, particularly the deficit 6.7 percent in November, could rise connected with the TARP program to For the second year in a row, an MIT Sloan team consisting of Leaders for Manu- to 9 percent in 2009. If those forecasts assist financial institutions. The federal facturing (LFM) and MBA students has won first place in Carnegie Mellon University’s are realized, this would be the deepest government is making loans and provid- annual International Operations Case Competition. Members of this year’s winning recession since 1982-3, when the U.S. ing subsidies to an array of firms, but it team included LFM ’10s Chad Sailer, David Follette, Paul Witinski and Chris Lin, plus unemployment rate averaged more is in return collecting equity stakes or Michael Irwin, MBA ’10. than 9.5 percent. The recession of the other securities issued by these firms. This marks the fourth year that an MIT Sloan team, which has always included LFM early 1980s was the deepest one in U.S. These claims have value, although it is students, has taken first place. Others won in 2000 (tied for first place), 2003 and 2007. postwar history, and it was associated difficult to judge that value today. The Another team placed second in 2002. in part with the efforts by the Federal net cost to the federal government of Reserve Board under Paul Volcker to rescuing financial institutions is likely to Lecturer named APS fellow wring inflationary pressures out of the be substantially smaller than the gross Sekazi Mtingwa, a senior lecturer in the Concourse program at MIT, has been elected U.S. economy. cost of the loans, because the claims a fellow of the American Physical Society. The APS Fellowship Program was created to Although a deep recession is a that the federal government now has on recognize members who have made advances in physics through original research and serious possibility, it is important to these firms may be sold at some future publication, or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to remember that government stimulus, date. In some historical cases when the science and technology. According to the APS citation, Mtingwa was elected a fellow for implemented either through monetary federal government stepped in to help his definitive treatment of intrabeam scattering, his contributions to the wakefield accel- policy or through fiscal policy, can have troubled firms, and received an equity eration, and his early recognition of the fixed target physics potential of the next genera- an important counter-balancing effect. stake in return, the rescue operation tion electron-positron collider. The trajectory of economic activity netted a profit for the U.S. Treasury. during 2009 and 2010 is likely to depend Professors receive honorary doctorates in substantial part on the course of Q. What, if any, early signs should economic policy. we be watching for to indicate that the Rosalind Williams, the Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technol- worst has passed and the economy is ogy and Moshe Ben-Akiva, the Edmund K. Turner Professor of Civil and Environmental Q. Many Democrats have seized rebounding? Engineering, were recently awarded honorary doctorates at KTH Royal Institute of on NBER’s announcement as more Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. evidence of the need for Congress to A. I would look to the housing approve a massive stimulus package — a market. The financial crisis began with new New Deal, of sorts. Yet presumably weakness in the housing market and CLASSIFIED ADS the U.S. would have to finance such a corresponding drop in the value of spending with an equally massive expan- mortgages held by banks and many Members of the MIT community may submit one ad each issue. Ads should be 30 words maxi- sion of debt. At what point do foreigners other financial institutions. The U.S. mum; they will be edited. Submit by e-mail to [email protected] or mail to Classifieds, Rm 11-400. — who have dutifully loaned America has been through a period of excessive Deadline is noon Wednesday the week before ­publication. trillions of dollars in recent years so leverage in which borrowing supported that we could finance our consumption a wide range of investments, ranging FOR SALE habits when times were good — say from homes to exotic financial securities “enough’s enough”? If they balk at lend- to consumer durables, and we are now Carnival Cruise Gift Certificates on sale NOW! The perfect gift to enjoy after the holiday rush! Starting witnessing a “deleveraging” in many at $418/for 2 guests. Sale ends 12/31/08. www.marciatraveldeals.com. ing us more, what then? markets. Because housing markets are Coat: Ladies grey tweed-look winter coat, size 12, below-knee length, like new, $35. Men’s ties, like A. The short-run fiscal stimulus that very visible and construction employ- new, $2 each. Rosalie, 781-391-1307. began this year with the TARP program ment is a major, but volatile, component to rescue financial institutions, and that of the aggregate employment, falling seems very likely to expand under the levels of housing inventory and stabiliz- FOR RENT new administration in 2009, could push ing house prices may be “canaries in the Room for woman students in house in South Boston, a small studio $650. Included utilities, 617-268- the measured federal budget deficit to coal mine” for stronger economic times. 0880. Red line access 10 feet away. PAGE 8 December 17, 2008 u ARTS MIT Tech Talk

GOOD ART MIT physics teacher tests art knowledgehunting in hallway contest

Lisa Damtoft to a particular artist — brush stroke, Special to the News Office color, manner and favorite shapes,” she said. troll down the sixth-floor Not only has her participation in hallway of the Kavli Institute the quiz resulted in several sumptuous for Astrophysics and Space prizes — art books — from Lewin, Research in Building 37 and but she also says she has learned you’llS see images of the Milky Way profound lessons about the creative in molecular clouds, the Folded-port process. InfraRed Echellette spectrometer “Art is a never-ending progress of and simulations of cold dark matter inner expression,” she says. “It’s an caustics. inevitable journey from superior cave Walk a little farther, and you’ll see a paintings at Lascaux from 32,000 Rembrandt, a Hockney, a Picasso and years ago to the new dialectic of Mark many more reproductions by famous Rothko’s ‘Orange and Yellow, 1956.’” artists ranging from Giotto to Judd. Lewin developed his passion for This unexpected burst of art in an art as a child in his native Holland enclave of science and technology is through his parents’ art collection the brainstorm of MIT physics profes- and visits to the Gemeente Museum sor and art lover Walter Lewin. in The Hague. While at MIT years For six years, Lewin has used the later, he met renowned Dutch board as a platform to run a weekly computer artist Peter Struycken. art quiz to pique curiosity and invite “My parents had several of his involvement by colleagues and works in their collection,” Lewin said. students. Every Sunday, he posts a “Peter and I became close friends. He printout of an artwork; participants made me ‘see’ art; before I knew him, then use a little cardboard ballot box I only ‘looked’ at art. I learned how to to submit their best guess as to who appreciate and evaluate the pioneer- the artist is. The following weekend, ing contributions in art.” Lewin posts the answer and starts the Lewin collaborated with Struycken process all over again. At the end of on the latter’s art during the late each year, he awards art books to the 1970s; the physicist’s increasing three participants who got the most expertise in art history led to an invi- answers right. tation from the Beuymans Museum in A few years ago, Elizabeth Kubicki, Rotterdam to give the first Mondrian an assistant in the Microsystems Lecture to a crowd of 900 in Amster- Technology Laboratories, was walking dam in 1979. He has even started an down the hall when the riotous gallery art collection of his own, now totaling of thumbtacked images caught her eye. about 125 pieces. Intrigued, she started playing the “Art is still pivotal in my life,” says quiz, becoming a detective of sorts in Lewin. “I can’t even imagine what my the process. How could one figure out life would be without it. An apprecia- the creator of an unknown piece? First, tion for art and, above all, knowledge she estimates the piece’s time period, of art enriches your life and broadens then turns to her art books and the your horizons.” web to determine the most important Kubicki agrees. “Art is mirroring artists from that era. “I examine the art our life, art is exercising our freedom piece for specific elements significant PHOTOS / PATRICK GILLOOLY and art is implementing our intellect.” Elizabeth Kubicki, an assistant in the Microsystems Technology Laboratories, stands next to the art contest board near Professor Walter Lewin’s office.