Volume 51 – Number 1 Wednesday – September 13, 2006 TechTalk S ERVING T HE M I T C OMMUNITY ‘Academic year has begun in earnest’

Hockfield stresses knowledge, innovation and leadership in letter to community

President Susan Hockfield addressed percent. We also extend a special welcome the entire Institute community in a letter to this year’s eight Dr. Martin Luther King welcoming new and returning faculty, Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars, a students and staff to MIT. Sent on Sept. 7, greater number than in any previous year her greeting is printed below. of this program. “As the provost and I announced to the “To new faculty, students and staff, wel- faculty last week, we will establish a new come! And to returning members of the position of associate provost for faculty community, welcome back. While we can equity in the Provost’s Office to build on hope for a few more glorious weekends our momentum and accelerate our progress of late-summer weather over the next in enhancing the diversity of the faculty. month and a half, we’ve already felt that “The Class of 2010 is every bit as fall snap in the air, and our academic year remarkable as its recent predeces- has begun in earnest. At the start of the sors. Applications for the Class of 2010 year, perhaps more than at other times, increased 9 percent over the previous year, when I enter the Main Group at 77 Mas- to an all-time high of 11,373, and 67 per- sachusetts Avenue I cast my eyes upward cent of those accepted chose to enroll— and am freshly inspired by the statement another record. Of the 1,005 exceptional of MIT’s mission that rings the dome: students now enrolled as MIT freshmen, “Established for advancement and devel- 44 percent were valedictorians, and 89 opment of science, its application to indus- percent graduated in the top 5 percent, of try, the arts, agriculture, and commerce.” their high school classes. They come from As we continue to advance our founding 49 states, two territories and the District of mission through education and research, I Columbia, and from 51 foreign countries; hope that everyone in the MIT community 46 percent of them are women, bringing will feel proud of our many successes in our undergraduate population to 44 per- the last year, and inspired to carry that cent women. momentum forward into the coming year. “Over the summer, a number of leader- ship changes have brought new faces and Welcoming new arrivals new strengths to the Provost’s Office. At the beginning of July, Professor Philip S. “The strength of MIT depends on our Khoury left the deanship of the School of exceptional faculty and students, and those Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences to arriving this fall will continue our tradition serve as associate provost. At the begin- of excellence. Last week I had the good ning of August, Professor Alice P. Gast left fortune to welcome the new members of MIT to assume the presidency of Lehigh our faculty. They bring to MIT remarkable University. Associate Provost Claude R. accomplishments and represent in a real Canizares has succeeded Dr. Gast as vice way our ongoing commitment to attract- president for research and associate pro- ing talent from diverse backgrounds. Of vost, while Professor Lorna J. Gibson took the 52 members of the faculty hired since on a new role as associate provost. last fall, 19 (36.5 percent) are women and “Professor Khoury will oversee MIT’s 6 (11.5 percent) are members of under- programs in the arts, work to strengthen represented minority groups. One way to measure our progress is to recall that last PHOTO / RICK FRIEDMAN fall, women constituted 18 percent of the See HOCKFIELD Susan Hockfield, 16th President of MIT faculty, and underrepresented minorities 4 Page 6

MIT innovators make Ready, set, go: Class of 2010 leaps into action Tech Review’s top 35 Sasha Brown News Office Elizabeth Thomson News Office Tish Scolnik is one of 1,000 freshmen making their debut on campus this fall. The Class of 2010 comes from varied backgrounds and from all over the United States and the Three MIT faculty and eight alumni are among the world to study at MIT. They have officially been here since TR35, Technology Review magazine’s compilation of the Aug. 30, when orientation began. 35 top innovators worldwide under the age of 35. Scolnik, of Waccabuc, N.Y., was expecting her courses, “The TR35 is an amazing group of people. Their accom- which started Sept. 6, to be a bit different than her first weeks, plishments are likely to shape their fields for decades to spent at the Freshman Leadership Program on Thompson come,” said Jason Pontin, editor in chief of Technology Island in Boston Harbor and then at freshman orientation. “I Review. have had a lot of fun these past weeks,” Scolnik said. The innovators will be featured in the September-Octo- With a planned schedule that includes joining the MIT- ber issue of the magazine; the story went online Sept. 8. EMS ambulance corps and running for class council, Scolnik The MIT faculty to receive the award are Manolis PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY was realistic about what her academic future holds. “I see at Freshman Tish Scolnik scrubs a jungle gym as part of the CityDays playground clean-up See FRESHMEN See TR35 effort in Cambridge. Page 8 Page 3

ARTS RESEARCH

PICTURE PERFECT THAR SHE BLOWS DESERT WONDER Students pick museum- New idea for offshore wind turbines really floats. MIT researchers study a quality artwork for their Page 4 cloud forest in arid Oman. dorm rooms. Page 5 Page 7 LEARNING MECHANISM Picower researchers find evidence supporting the idea that neural connections get stronger when we learn. Page 3 PAGE 2 September 13, 2006 OBITUARIES MIT Tech Talk ‘Father of molecular medicine,’ Vernon Ingram, dies at 82 Xiwen Zhong,

Anne Trafton News Office research engineer, dies at 71 Vernon Ingram, an MIT biology pro- Xiwen Zhong, a research engineer at fessor known as the “father of molecular the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Sci- medicine,” died Aug. 17 from injuries suf- ence Center, died Aug. 1 after a long ill- fered during a fall. He was 82. ness. He was 71. Ingram was best known for his discov- Zhong was a dedicated engineer who ery, during the 1950s, that a single amino made important contributions to many acid substitution is responsible for the aspects of the Alcator C-Mod project, molecular abnormality that leads to sickle including power system control, radio fre- cell anemia. quency, heating circuit and general elec- The find was “one of the absolutely tronic circuit design, prototyping and test- seminal discoveries in the history of ing. molecular biology,” said Graham Walker, Born in Hebei Province, China, Zhong MIT professor of biology. graduated from Tsinghua University with Walker, who was Ingram’s friend and a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1959. colleague for 30 years, said that Ingram From his graduation until 1992, he con- was “one of the greatest men I have met ducted scientific research at the Institute in my life. An extraordinary scientist, an of Automation at the Chinese Academy of extraordinary intellect, and an absolutely Sciences. From 1979 to 1984, he worked at wonderful human being.” the Space Research Center of the Chinese In recent years, Ingram focused his PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Academy of Sciences. Before joining the research on neuroscience, especially In a photo from 2002, Professor Vernon Ingram holds up cell cultures that he and senior MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center in Alzheimer’s disease. Though in his 80s, he 2000, he was a visiting electrical engineer still ran a small laboratory at MIT and was technical associate Barbara Blanchard worked with during their research on the beta-amy- loid plaques that attack the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. at the center from 1992 to 1995. constantly pursuing new research, Walker Zhong is survived by his wife, a daugh- said. ter, a son and four grandchildren. “He was a dyed-in-the-wool, inveterate organic chemistry in 1949. He then spent He enjoyed art, music and photogra- experimentalist,” Walker said. “He was two years in the United States preparing phy, and was very involved with the Rock- going at full speed right up until the end.” and crystallizing proteins at the Rockefell- port Chamber Music Festival (RCMF). LINCOLN LAB Ingram and his wife, Elizabeth, served er Institute and studying peptide chemis- RCMF Artistic Director David Deveau, as housemasters at Ashdown House from try at Yale. who is also a pianist and a senior lectur- 1985 until a few years ago. In 1952, Ingram returned to England, er in music at MIT, worked closely with Louis P. Rainville “They were just extraordinarily dedicat- where he studied protein chemistry in Ingram for the past decade. Louis P. Rainville, a retired employ- ed to their students,” Walker said. the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge “Vernon served with great distinction ee of MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory and Ingram was also a dedicated teacher University. He focused on the genetics of on the board of directors of the RCMF and had served as director of the Experi- Haystack Observatory, died Sept. 3 at hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxy- and brought a wonderful energy and com- mental Studies Group (ESG). the Kaplan Family Hospice House in gen in the blood. Those studies led to his mitment to our enterprise. He and Beth Holly Sweet, current director of ESG, Danvers, Mass. He was 80. discovery that the misshapen hemoglobin attended most of the festival concerts, described Ingram as an “inspirational molecules that characterize sickle cell ane- Rainville worked at MIT for 35 enjoyed hosting musicians, talking music teacher, and a compassionate and spir- mia are caused by a single mutation. years, retiring in 1986. Born and raised and throwing wonderful parties. Vernon ited man who promoted the professional Ingram joined the MIT faculty in 1958 in Salem, Mass., he was a graduate of growth of his staff. As far as his legacy and was one of a distinguished group of brought his natural scientific curiosity to Northeastern University and a veteran to ESG is concerned, he was the guiding professors who started a world-renowned everything he undertook, and music was of World War II and the Korean War. force behind our ever-growing seminar center for the study of molecular and cell no exception. We often had substantive He was the husband of the late series. He truly put the ‘experimental’ into biology. He originally planned to stay at conversations about the merits of a given Frances P. (Gillespie) Rainville. He is the Experimental Study Group. We will MIT for only one year, but “I liked it so performance or composition,” Deveau survived by three sons, Thomas A. miss him a great deal.” much that I stayed,” he told the National said. Rainville of Salem, Mass., Michael R. Ingram was born in Breslau, Germany, Academy of Sciences in 2002, the year he Ingram is survived by his wife; a son, Rainville of Norton, Mass., and Don- in 1924. He studied at Birkbeck College was elected to that society. Peter; and a daughter, Jennifer. ald V. Rainville of Camden, Maine; two at the University of London, earning his In 1961, Birkbeck College awarded him A memorial service was held at MIT on daughters, Carol A. Rainville of Salem B.Sc. in chemistry in 1945 and his Ph.D. in the D.Sc. degree. September 10. and Patricia M. Mazzola of Westboro; three brothers, Roger Rainville of Salem, Mass., Andre Rainville and Rob- ert Rainville of Florida; a sister, Rita Finiss of Salem, Mass.; eight grandchil- Bill Dickson ’56, retired senior vice president, dies dren and many nieces, nephews and Anne Trafton engineering (Course 17). He spent two Institute Professor John Deutch said, cousins. News Office years as a staff engineer at Lincoln Labora- “I think Bill Dickson is probably one of He was also the father of the late tory then became an associate scientist at the best examples of what an MIT per- David J. Rainville and was predeceased Avco Corp. in Wilmington. He returned to son is—he had devotion to the place, and by his brother George Rainville and his MIT as assistant to the direc- devotion to dealing with sister Anita Oliver. William R. Dickson, a retired senior tor of Physical Plant in 1960 every individual to try to vice president who supervised major build- and became director of Phys- solve their problems and Karl E. Adler ing projects that tripled the size of MIT’s ical Plant in 1971. In 1980, he make their experience bet- campus, died Aug. 14 after suffering a was appointed vice president ter.” Karl E. Adler, who worked at Lin- heart attack. He was 71. for operations, and he was Dickson was a lifelong coln Laboratory for 31 years, died July Dickson worked at MIT for nearly 40 named senior vice president resident of Framingham and 16 at the Life Care Center of Acton. He years, starting in Physical Plant and work- in 1982. a 1952 graduate of Framing- was 88. ing his way up to senior vice president, When Dickson retired, ham High School. He served Adler, a Navy veteran of World War a title he held for 16 years before retir- he told The Tech student as chair of the MetroWest II, worked at several boat-building ing in 1998. As senior vice president, he newspaper that his proudest Medical Center board of shops before joining Lincoln Labora- was responsible for most of the operations accomplishment was helping trustees for 12 years. tory as a cabinet maker. of the Institute and much of the financial the Institute grow from 3.5 He is survived by his wife, He is survived by his wife, Miriam planning and activities. million square feet of built Ann (Lingley) Dickson; two (Frost) Adler; a son, Karl E. Adler Jr. of During his tenure, he was involved space in 1960 to 10 million sons, Christopher Dickson of Newburyport; three daughters, Chris- in a number of building projects, includ- square feet at the time he Medway and Jeffrey Dickson tine Fernsler of Annandale, Va., Sig- ing Kresge Auditorium, the Green Build- left. William R. Dickson of San Francisco; a daughter, rid Lambert of Merrimack, N.H., and ing, Eastgate, Westgate, McCormick, the MIT’s co-generation plant, Julie Ferrari of Framingham; Susan (Frost) Warner of Calverton, Whitaker Building, Building 16 and the which is named for Dickson, a brother, Lee Dickson of N.Y.; a sister, Hazel Wilson of Lexing- Stata Center. was built after he initiated the project to Florida; and seven grandchildren. ton; six grandchildren and one great- “Bill was a bridge from the MIT of the combine hot water production with elec- An afternoon remembrance was held at grandchild. 1950s to the MIT of the 21st century. We tricity generation in one plant. the family home on Aug. 27. A memorial service was held at all benefited from his dedicated work, his President Emeritus Paul Gray, who Donations may be made to the William the First Parish Unitarian Universalist straight talk and his inherent wisdom,” appointed Dickson senior vice president R. Dickson Scholarship Fund, at giving. Church in Bedford on July 29. said MIT President Emeritus Charles in 1982, said that Dickson was recognized mit.edu, account number 3296600; or The Donations may be made to the Vest. early in his career as “not only an outstand- Friends of the Framingham Heart Study, Alzheimer’s Association, 311 Arsenal Dickson graduated from MIT in 1956 ing engineer but also an effective motiva- 73 Mount Wayte Ave., Framingham, MA St., Watertown 02472. with a degree in building construction and tor and manager of others.” 01702-5827.

News Office Staff Tech Talk is published by the News Office on Wednesdays during term time except for HOW TO REACH US Interim Director ...... Pamela Dumas Serfes most Monday holiday weeks. See Production Schedule at http://web.mit.edu/newsof- News Office Interim News Manager ...... Sarah H. Wright fice/techtalk-info.html. The News Office is in Room 11-400, Massachusetts Institute of Editor Senior Communications Officer ...... Patti Richards Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Telephone: 617-253-2700 Sarah H. Wright Assistant Director/ Postmaster: Send address changes to Mail Services, Building WW15, Massachusetts E-mail: [email protected] Science and Engineering News ...... Elizabeth Thomson Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Assistant Director/Photojournalist ...... Donna Coveney Photojournalist Subscribers may call 617-252-1550 or send e-mail to [email protected]. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice Donna Coveney Web Developer/Editor ...... Lisa Damtoft Reporter/Writer ...... Sasha Brown Tech Talk is distributed free to faculty and staff offices and residence halls. It is also avail- Operations/Financial Administrator ...... Myles Crowley able free in the News Office and the Information Center. Office of the Arts Production Anne Trafton Administrative Assistant II ...... Mary Anne Hansen Domestic mail subscriptions are $25 per year, non-refundable. Checks should be made http://web.mit.edu/arts Administrative Assistant II ...... Patti Foley payable to MIT and mailed to Business Manager, Room 11-400, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Computer Support Assistant ...... Roger Donaghy Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Editorial/Production Assistant ...... Anne Trafton Periodical postage paid at Boston, MA. Permission is granted to excerpt or reprint any Printed on recycled paper Communications Assistant ...... Heather Manning material originated in Tech Talk. MIT Tech Talk NEWS September 13, 2006 PAGE 3 MIT community offers reflections on Sept. 11, 2001 Sasha Brown 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m., the moments of five years ago is part of the Forum an opportunity to ask many questions, News Office when American Airlines Flight 11 and on American Progress’s (FAP) overall Wyne said. “How can the United States United Airlines Flight 175 struck the two mission, FAP president Ali Wyne said. prevent the recurrence of an attack on World Trade Center towers in New York. “While anniversaries of this nature are the scale of September 11th?” he asked. On Monday, Sept. 11, the MIT Police The U.S. flag on Killian Court flew at painful, they offer important and, in “We should ask, ‘How can the United Department honor guard conducted a half-staff all day. many ways, unique opportunities for States restore the position of leadership remembrance honoring all those who The Rev. Amy McCreath, MIT’s Epis- reflection,” he said. “At a time when that it once enjoyed? How can it defend were killed in the attacks of Sept. 11, copal chaplain, spoke at the evening short-term demands are numerous and its security and advance its interests in a 2001, and a student group, Forum on vigil. “9/11 was a very powerful event for urgent, important historical dates like manner that enhances the welfare of the American Progress, held a memorial vigil the MIT community when it happened, September 11th can compel citizens and global community?’” on the steps of the Student Center. and there is so much that we still have to leaders alike to think beyond the imme- The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is The guard stood at attention on the learn from it,” McCreath said. diate future.” an important time for people to talk and steps of the Stratton Student Center at Recognizing and revisiting the pain The FAP planned the vigil to provide learn, Wyne said. TR35 Continued from Page 1

Kellis, Marin Soljacic, and Alice Ting. Kellis is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science who holds the Class of 1964 Distinguished Alumni Career Devel- opment Chair; Soljacic is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics; and Ting is the Pfizer-Laubach Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Kellis, 29, was cited for developing “algorithms and techniques for analyzing the entire genomes of different species, the better to understand those genomes,” accord- ing to Technology Review. “After validating his methods in yeast, Kellis has moved to the human genome, which he has so far compared with those of the mouse, rat, and dog. His work is providing an intimate understanding of the human genome that may give drug developers new points of entry in their attempts to combat viruses and other causes of disease.” Soljacic, 32, won for his work on modeling the flows of light. “By calculating the behavior of light in structures called photonic crystals, Soljacic is paving the way for devices that can process information at ultrafast speeds using light alone,” the magazine reported. He has also “shown how photonic crystals can enable light beams to interact and to control one another, so that photonic devices can carry out logic operations.” PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY Ting, 31, was cited for her work on “cellular movies” that “reveal the minute inner workings of cells in unprece- MIT researchers have shown that certain key connections among neurons get stronger when we learn. From left are Mark dented cinematic detail,” according to Technology Review. F. Bear, Picower Professor of Neuroscience; postdoctorate associate Jonathan R. Whitlock; research scientist Arnold J. She is currently working to “fluorescently image the Heynen and research affiliate Marshall G. Shuler. junction between nerve cells, illuminating a biochemical process that appears to play a key role in learning and memory. So it may be possible one day to see an actual film of how a brain learns.” MIT alumni among the TR35 are Kellis, Soljacic, MIT provides first evidence Edward Boyden, Seth Coe-Sullivan, Roger Dingledine, Eddie Kohler, Ling Liao and Michael Wong. The honorees are selected by the editors of the maga- zine in collaboration with a prestigious panel of judges for learning mechanism from major institutions and corporations such as Boston University, Hewlett-Packard Labs, the Lawrence Liver- Deborah Halber pares unused synapses. more Laboratory, Caltech and Applied Materials. News Office Correspondent Since LTP was discovered in the late 1960s, thousands of papers have been published based on the assumption that the phenomenon is an important learning and memo- Bustani seminars focus on Mideast Finally confirming a fact that remained unproven for ry mechanism in the hippocampus, the memory center of more than 30 years, researchers at MIT’s Picower Insti- the brain. The Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar at MIT will tute for Learning and Memory report in the Aug. 25 issue Researchers had found that electrical stimulation celebrate its 21st anniversary this fall with a single lecture of Science that certain key connections among neurons of neurons, mimicking the electrical impulses that zap on contemporary Middle Eastern affairs. On Sept. 19, Pro- get stronger when we learn. around the brain when it responds to sensory input, fessor Augustus Richard Norton of Boston University will “We show what everyone has always believed: LTP strengthens the connections among synapses. The speak on “Requiem on the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War.” (long-term potentiation) is indeed induced in the hippo- assumption was that LTP occurs in the hippocampus as a The seminar is funded by the Bustani family of Beirut, campus when learning occurs,” said Mark F. Bear, Picow- consequence of learning, but there had never been conclu- Lebanon, in memory of the late Emile M. Bustani, who er Professor of Neuroscience. “This is a big deal for neu- sive evidence that learning was directly tied to LTP. received the S.B. in civil engineering in 1933. “Mr. Bustani roscientists because such evidence has been absent for Using techniques pioneered by MIT’s Susumu Tonega- was one of the Middle East’s most prominent business- the 30-plus years we have known about LTP.” wa, director of the Picower Institute, neuroscientists began men and philanthropists until his premature death in 1963. The findings described in the Bear paper and in a sec- to pinpoint exactly which genes and proteins are involved He was the founder and chairman of the Contracting and ond, separate paper in the same issue of Science “substan- in learning. Trading Co., a leading construction and engineering firm tially advance the case for LTP as a neural mechanism This created a “big thicket of correlations, but it never with projects in the Middle East, Africa and the Far East,” for memory,” wrote Tim Bliss of the MRC National Insti- proved causality,” said Bear, who also holds an appoint- said Philip S. Khoury, associate provost and chair of the tute for Medical Research in the United Kingdom, Gra- ment in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sci- Bustani Seminar. This session is sponsored by the Center ham Collingridge of the University of Bristol, and Serge ences. “Our contribution was that we had learned enough for International Studies and the Technology and Culture Laroche of the Université Paris Sud in a commentary on about LTP and the traces it leaves in the brain to track Forum. the work. changes in proteins.” The lecture will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Room E51- LTP is an example of plasticity—the amazing ability This work is supported by the Howard Hughes Medi- 345 (Bowen Hall) and is open to the public. For further of the brain to change in response to experience. LTP cal Institute and the National Institute for Mental Health. information on the Bustani Middle East Seminar, contact builds up synapses, or the connections between neurons, For full text, visit web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/ltp. Laurie Scheffler at x3-3121. while its counterpart, long-term depression, or LTD, html. Exiled Nigerian novelist to read from works on campus

Award-winning Nigerian novelist, poet wright Harold Pinter of “Kalakuta Repub- at 7 p.m. in the Lewis Music Library. He and jazz musician Chris Abani will begin lic.” “Reading them is like being singed will be on campus from Sept. 18 to 22. an artist’s residency at MIT on Sept. 18 with a red-hot iron.” While at MIT he’ll meet with faculty with a free reading. Abani published his first novel at 16, and graduate students in arts, humanities Abani’s works include the acclaimed but the political thriller was deemed sub- and science-related areas, from those tak- 2004 novel, “Graceland,” the story of a versive by the Nigerian government and ing an advanced poetry class to members teenage Elvis impersonator trying to get landed him in the notorious maximum of the Computer Science and Artificial out of the slums of Nigeria; and “Kalakuta security prison Kiri Kiri. Intelligence Lab. Republic,” a collection of poems inspired By the age of 21 he had been impris- Abani teaches at the University of Cali- by the torture Abani endured in jail. oned and tortured twice for his novels and fornia at Riverside and at Antioch Univer- “Abani’s poems are the most naked, plays. sity in Los Angeles. PHOTO / UCR/CARLOS PUMA harrowing expression of prison life and Now living in exile in the United States, For more information, call x3-2341. Chris Abani political torture imaginable,” said play- Abani will give a reading and talk Sept. 18 — Mary Haller PAGE 4 September 13, 2006 RESEARCH MIT Tech Talk Acoustic data may Deep-sea oil rigs inspire giant wind turbines reveal hidden gas, Nancy Stauffer meters tall, the rotors about 140 meters should cost a third as much as construct- Laboratory for Energy and the Environment in diameter. So the researchers designed ing the type of truss tower now planned for oil supplies them to be assembled onshore—probably deep-water installations. Installing the teth- at a shipyard—and towed out to sea by ers, the electrical system, and the cable Deborah Halber An MIT researcher has a vision: Four a tugboat. To keep each platform stable, to the shore follows standard procedure. News Office Correspondent hundred huge offshore wind turbines that cylinders inside it are ballasted with con- Because of the strong offshore winds, provide onshore customers with enough crete and water. Once on site, the platform the floating turbines should produce up Just as doctors use ultrasound to image electricity to power several hundred thou- is hooked to previously installed tethers. to twice as much electricity per year (per internal organs and unborn babies, MIT sand homes, though nobody standing Water is pumped out of the cylinders until installed megawatt) as wind turbines now Earth Resources Laboratory researchers onshore can see them. The trick? The the entire assembly lifts up in the water, in operation. And because the wind tur- listen to the echoing language of rocks to wind turbines float on platforms a hun- pulling the tethers taut. bines are not permanently attached to the dred miles out to sea, where the winds are map what’s going on tens of thousands of The tethers allow the floating platforms ocean floor, they are a movable asset. If strong and steady. to move from side to side but not up and feet below the Earth’s surface. a company with 400 wind turbines serv- Today’s offshore wind turbines usually down—a remarkably stable arrangement. With the help of a new $580,000 US ing the Boston area needs more power for Department of Energy (DOE) grant, the stand on towers driven deep into the ocean According to computer simulations, in hur- New York City, it can unhook some of the earth scientists will use their skills at inter- floor. But that arrangement works only ricane conditions the floating platforms— preting underground sound to seek out in depths of about 15 meters or less. Pro- each about 30 meters in diameter—would floating turbines and tow them south. “sweet spots”--pockets of natural gas and posed installations are therefore typically shift by one to two meters, and the end Encouraged by positive responses from oil contained in fractured porous rocks--in close enough to shore to arouse strong of the turbine blades would remain well wind, electric power and oil companies, a Wyoming oil field. If the method proves public opposition. above the peak of even the highest wave. Sclavounos hopes to install a half-scale pro- effective at determining where to drill Paul D. Sclavounos, a professor of The researchers are hoping to reduce the totype south of Cape Cod. “We’d have a lit- wells, it could eventually be used at oil and mechanical engineering and naval archi- sideways motion still further by install- tle unit sitting out there and…could show gas fields across the country. tecture, has spent decades designing and ing specially designed dampers similar to that this thing can float and behave the A major domestic source of natural analyzing large floating structures for those used to steady the sway of skyscrap- way we’re saying it will,” he said. “That’s gas is low-permeability or “tight” gas for- deep-sea oil and gas exploration. Observ- ers during high winds and earthquakes. clearly the way to get going.” mations. Oil and gas come from organic ing the wind-farm controversies, he Sclavounos estimates that building This research was supported by the materials that have been cooked for eons thought, “Wait a minute. Why can’t we and installing his floating support system National Renewable Energy Laboratory. under the pressure and high heat of the simply take those windmills and put them Earth’s crust. Some underground reser- on floaters and move them farther off- voirs contain large volumes of oil and gas shore, where there’s plenty of space and that flow easily through permeable rocks, lots of wind?” but sometimes the fluids are trapped in In 2004, he and his MIT colleagues rocks with small, difficult-to-access pores, teamed up with wind-turbine experts from forming separate scattered pockets. Until the National Renewable Energy Labora- recently, there was no technology available tory (NREL) to integrate a wind turbine to get at tight gas. with a floater. Their design calls for a ten- Tight gas is now the largest of three sion leg platform (TLP), a system in which unconventional gas resources, which also long steel cables, or “tethers,” connect the include coal beds and shale. Production corners of the platform to a concrete-block of unconventional gas in the United States represented around 40 percent of the or other mooring system on the ocean nation’s total gas output in 2004, accord- floor. The platform and turbine are thus ing to the DOE, but could grow to 50 per- supported not by an expensive tower but cent by 2030 if advanced technologies are by buoyancy. “And you don’t pay anything developed and implemented. to be buoyant,” said Sclavounos. One such advanced technology is the According to their analyses, the floater- brainchild of Mark E. Willis and Daniel R. mounted turbines could work in depths Burns, research scientists in the Depart- ranging from 30 to 200 meters. In the ment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Northeast, for example, they could be 50 Sciences (EAPS), and M. Nafi Toksoz, to 150 kilometers from shore. And the tur- professor of EAPS. Their method involves bine atop each platform could be big—an combining data from two established, yet economic advantage in the wind-farm busi- previously unrelated, means of seeking ness. The MIT-NREL design assumes a out hidden oil and gas reserves. 5-megawatt experimental turbine now To free up the hydrocarbons scattered being developed by industry. (Onshore in small pockets from one to three miles units are 1.5 megawatts, conventional off- below ground, oil companies use a pro- shore units, 3.6 megawatts.) cess called hydraulic fracturing, or hydro- FIGURE COURTESY / NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY frac, which forces water into the bedrock Stable enough for towing through deep wells to create fractures and Ocean assembly of the floating turbines Among three designs for floating giant wind turbines in the deep ocean, MIT research is increase the size and extent of existing would be prohibitively expensive because focusing on the tension leg platform (center), a system that oil companies use for deep- fractures. The fractures open up avenues of their size: the wind tower is fully 90 water rigs. for the oil and gas to flow to wells. To monitor the effectiveness of fractur- ing and to detect natural fractures that may be sweet spots of natural gas, engineers gather acoustic data from the surface and from deep within wells. “Surface seismic Grad student’s Hyperbow makes music to measure methods are like medical ultrasound. They Robin H. Ray give us images of the subsurface geology,” Burns said. Three-dimensional seismic News Office Correspondent surveys involve creating vibrations on the surface and monitoring the resulting underground echoes. “When the echoes A Ph.D. candidate in the Hyperinstru- change, fractures are there,” Willis said. ments Group of the MIT Media Lab has A method called time-lapse vertical developed a new electronic sensing sys- seismic profiling (VSP) tends to be more tem to measure minute changes in the accurate because it collects acoustic data position, acceleration and strain of a violin directly underground through bore holes. bow. “Putting the receivers down into a well is The system can be used to evaluate dif- like making images with sensors inside ferent bowing techniques and may expand the body in the medical world,” Burns the expressive possibilities of the violin said. “The result is the ability to see finer by electronic means, according to Diana details and avoid all the clutter that comes Young, who built the gesture-sensing sys- from sending sound waves through the tem for the Hyperbow. skin and muscle tissue to get at the thing Young recently spoke about her work we are most interested in seeing.” at the 151st meeting of the Acoustical Soci- Time-lapse VSP is expensive and not ety of America (ASA) in Providence, R.I., routinely used in oil and gas exploration. and at the sixth International Conference PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY The EAPS research team, working with on New Interfaces for Musical Expression Ph.D. candidate Diana Young puts her Hyperbow into action with a Hyperviolin in June. time-lapse VSP data collected by indus- in Paris. try partner EnCana Corp., came up with Young developed the Hyperbow at the MIT Media Lab to measure differences in bowing The Hyperbow is an enhanced bow, technique. unique ways to look at the data together used in conjunction with a Hyperviolin. with microseismic data from the tiny earth- The latter, another product of the MIT quakes that are produced when the rock is a performance interface for professional cal Expression in Dublin. (Hear samples Media Lab, is an instrument that makes fractured. “If we record and locate these violinists, the Hyperbow includes a set of of Hyperviolin music on the Toy Sym- events just as the US Geological Survey no sound but creates an electronic output accelerometers, gyroscopes and force sen- phony web site, www.toysymphony.net, does with large earthquakes around the when played. The Hyperviolin can readily sors all installed on a carbon fiber bow. then follow links for “Sound and world, we get an idea of where the hydro- be played by anyone used to an acoustic Because the system is wireless, it inter- Images” and “Dublin—National Symphony frac is located. Then we look at the time- violin. feres only minimally with the violinist’s Orchestra.”) lapse VSP data at those spots and try to “Electronic music is a way of combin- bowing. The Hyperbow is just the latest in a get a more detailed image of the fracture,” ing my interests in music and engineer- Both the Hyperbow and the Hypervi- series of Media Lab inventions on the van- Burns said. ing,” Young said. olin have been played in concert, by the guard of musical expression. Hypercello The MIT team hopes to show that this Young, who has a B.A. in music from renowned violinist Joshua Bell, among oth- and Hyperinstruments were developed at new approach is the most effective way to Johns Hopkins University and a certificate ers; several composers, including MIT’s the Media Lab by Joe Paradiso, Neil Ger- find sweet spots. “If we can demonstrate in violin performance from the Peabody Tod Machover, have created new composi- shenfeld and composer Tod Machover in the value of time-lapse VSP, this tool could Conservatory, built the gesture-sensing tions for them. the 1990s. be used in a wider fashion across the Unit- system for her master’s degree, which she The Hyperbow premiered at the 2002 An abstract of Young’s paper is avail- ed States on many fields,” Willis said. received from MIT in 2001. Designed as Conference on New Instruments for Musi- able via the ASA web site. MIT Tech Talk RESEARCH September 13, 2006 PAGE 5 MIT team describes unique ‘cloud forest’ Trees that live in an odd desert forest in ecosystem “functions naturally, and how it Oman have found an unusual way to water may respond to human activity” that could themselves by extracting moisture from lead to desertification and the need for low-lying clouds, MIT scientists report. reforestation. In an area that is characterized mostly Eltahir and Hildebrandt, who is now by desert, the trees have preserved an at the UFZ Center for Environmental ecological niche because they exploit a Research, in Leipzig, Germany, said the wispy-thin source of water that only occurs unusual forest is an interesting remnant seasonally, said Elfatih A.B. Eltahir, profes- “of a moist vegetation belt that once sor of civil and environmental engineering, spread across the Arabian Peninsula” in PHOTO / SLOAN KULPER and former MIT graduate student Anke the distant past. At that time the regional Sloan Kulper (S.B. 2003) and Audrey Roy (S.B. 2005) have designed a building in the Hildebrandt. climate was generally wetter. shape of a cell for the Institute for Nanobiomedical Technology and Membrane Biology After studying the Oman site, they also The forested area in the Sultanate of in Chengdu, China. This illustration shows the exterior in daytime. Protrusions in the expressed concern that the unusual for- Oman is now semi-arid, and most of the facade provide meeting areas attached directly to interior laboratories. est could be driven into extinction if hun- ancient tree vegetation is gone. This small gry camels continue eating too much of remnant has managed to survive in the the foliage. As the greenery disappears Dhofar Mountains. But it is under threat. it’s possible the trees will lose the ability Although many Omanis have moved to pull water from the mist and recharge into cities and towns as the country has Three at MIT conceive underground reservoirs. grown rich on oil, Eltahir explained, a A report on their research was pub- family’s prestige still comes from owning lished in a recent issue of Geophysical many camels, and people now tend to keep building in shape of cell Research Letters. They are also advising more camels than they need, which is part the Omani government on handling the of the problem facing the forest. problem. “It is an unusual place,” Eltahir said. Novel architecture planned for China The forest is especially unique, said “It’s a very good example of a unique and Eltahir and Hildebrandt, because it “is a fragile ecosystem,” where constant pres- Sarah H. Wright lar and cellular structures through bil- water-limited seasonal cloud forest” that is sure from over-grazing can have conse- News Office lions of years of molecular selection and kept alive by water droplets gathered from quences beyond defoliation. In fact, the evolution. passing clouds — ground fog. The water forest illustrates how small changes can “These invisible molecular and cel- dribbles into the ground and sustains the lead to major impact on far bigger sys- lular structures cannot be seen by the trees later when the weather is dry. The tems, Eltahir said. An innovative cell-shaped building naked eye, but can only be observed MIT work suggests the trees actually get The trees in wetter ecosystems would will house a new biomedical research with the most sophisticated scientific more of their water through contact with likely recover from small amounts of over- institute in Chengdu, China, thanks to tools, such as X-ray diffraction and clouds than via rainfall. grazing, Eltahir said, but “in this location, an unusual crossdisciplinary collabora- nuclear magnetic resonance, or mod- In general, cloud forests are not real- due to the nature of the interaction of the tion between Shuguang Zhang, a world- eled with advanced computers. But if ly rare. But they occur most frequently canopy structure with the clouds, the trees renowned bioengineer and scientist at they can be amplified billions of times in moist tropical regions where there may not recover.” MIT, his former student, architecture as in a building, then these molecular is ample rainfall. So it is unusual, the The two said the forest probably would major Sloan Kulper, and computer sci- structures can be seen, touched and researchers said, to find a cloud forest in a not regenerate naturally once it is gone. ence and electrical engineering major admired. At that large scale, they can region known for chronic dryness. Grass, even if abundant, cannot collect Audrey Roy. also be very educational for people of all The researchers studied the area in enough moisture from fog to let a forest Kulper (S.B. 2003) and Roy (S.B. ages,” Zhang said. Oman to learn how the Dhofar Mountain regrow. 2005) designed the cell-shaped build- According to Zhang, the pioneering ing for the Institute for Nanobiomedi- design for the cell-shaped building was cal Technology and Membrane Biology inspired by “elegantly folded protein in Chengdu, China, the regional capital structures and their simple and beautiful of Sichuan province in southwestern structural motifs. The cell-shaped build- China. The proposed new facility will ing attempts to combine the architecture contain 170,000 square feet of labora- and the biology structures,” he said. tory, research and meeting spaces; it Kulper said the design of the build- is slated for construction over the next ing also arose from the pioneering spirit three years. The building is intended to he discovered among life scientists and look like a cell from the outside and to biological engineers. “They are always include an assortment of forms inspired working at the threshold of understand- by molecular biology inside. ing,” Kulper said. Shuguang Zhang, associate director “When I took Shuguang’s course, of the Center for Biomedical Engineer- I was thrilled to learn that structural ing, will serve as founding advisor of biologists had developed such an amaz- the new Nanobiomedical Institute, to be ing language for describing new and sited at Chengdu’s Sichuan University, complex forms. Also, structural biology where Zhang received his undergradu- is basically concerned with the sort of ate degree in biochemistry. geometries that architects and design- Zhang met Kulper in 2002, when he ers often work with, though on a com- took Zhang’s course, “Molecular Struc- pletely different scale. It’s a very visual ture of Biological Materials: Structure, field that communicates more through Function and Self-assembly.” illustration than through symbol,” Kulp- In the class, Zhang frequently dis- er said.

cusses the striking similarities between The seeds of Kulper’s involvement PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY architecture and biological structures, he said. “Nature has produced abundant See CELL BUILDING Research led by MIT professor Elfatih Eltahir indicates that trees in a desert forest in Oman magnificent, intricate and fine molecu- Page 7 survive by extracting moisture from low-lying clouds. West Coast native crab nabbed; circumstances fishy

Andrea Cohen Sabo, educator at the Gloucester Maritime out that the male crab could carry hitch- MIT Sea Grant Heritage Center, for verification. hikers, such as native Pacific barnacles, After distributing photographs of the or diseases that could harm native crusta- crab to several scientists, the researchers ceans, such as Jonah and rock crabs. MIT researchers have confirmed the received confirmation of the species, Can- While the crab’s method of entry is first sighting of a Dungeness crab in the cer magister, from several experts: Julie unknown, Pederson notes that the cap- Atlantic Ocean. The male, whose species is Barber, Massachusetts Division of Marine ture underscores the importance of not common on North America’s West Coast, Fisheries; Thomas C. Shirley, Texas A&M releasing any seafood into natural waters. was caught off Thatcher Island, Mass., University at Corpus Christi; David Tapley, In addition, Wilbur notes that this finding on July 19 by Lou Williams, captain of the Salem State College; and Richard Strath- should put seafood distributors and fisher- fishing vessel Orin C. mann and Eugene Kozloff, the University men on watch. The origin of the crab is not known. PHOTO / BRANDY WILBUR, MIT SEA GRANT of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laborato- MIT Sea Grant will be producing and One possibility is that it may have been ries. distributing “most wanted” posters to help purchased from a live seafood market and This Dungeness crab, a West Coast spe- Judy Pederson, MIT Sea Grant’s man- those who might come across a Dunge- released. The size of the crab (18 centi- cies, was caught by Captain Lou Williams ager for coastal resources and an expert ness crab identify it and alert authorities. meters) and its gender suggest it most of the Orin C two miles east of Thatcher on marine invasives, said that the finding Suspected sightings can be report- Island, Massachusetts, on July 19. It’s likely arrived as an adult exotic species. of a female crab would have raised greater ed to Judy Pederson, MIT Sea Grant, at about 18 cm wide. Also known as invasive species or bioin- concerns about the possibility of a marine [email protected] or 617-252-1741. For vaders, exotic species are of concern bioinvasion. In the West Coast fishery more information about marine bioinva- because they can establish themselves in a was gillnetting for groundfish at 45 fath- for Dungeness crab, only males may be sions, visit massbay.mit.edu/exoticspe- new ecosystem, where they can proliferate oms. Suspecting the crab to be a Dunge- caught and sold. Pederson adds that the cies; for information about the hazards of and push out native species. ness, he took it to Brandy Wilbur, aquacul- chance of two species of crabs cross mat- dumping seafood, visit massbay.mit.edu/ The crab was caught while Williams ture specialist for MIT Sea Grant, and Eric ing is highly unlikely. However, she points seafood. PAGE 6 September 13, 2006 NEWS MIT Tech Talk

single ranking system captures accu- rately all that a university does well, HOCKFIELD it was a pleasure to see our commit- ment to service recognized recently Continued from Page 1 by MIT’s No. 1 ranking in Washington major interdepartmental initiatives, and help to devel- Monthly’s annual survey. op and implement a strategic plan for our international “An essential complement to ser- engagement. Professor Canizares will have overall respon- vice is leadership, and one of our criti- sibility for research policy as well as oversight of several cal tasks as an educational institution is major interdepartmental laboratories and centers and of to offer students opportunities to lead MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Professor Gibson will be respon- and to reflect on and learn from those sible for academic and space planning and for faculty experiences. We are working now to affairs; she will also play a lead role in issues involving bring greater coherence and visibility graduate education, working in close collaboration with to these opportunities, and to increase the Graduate Students Office. their range and depth. International “Associate Dean Deborah K. Fitzgerald is serving as experience has a particularly important the interim dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and role in educating leaders for an increas- Social Sciences. And Professor Steven R. Lerman, who ingly globalized world. served as chair of the faculty from 1999 to 2001, has gen- “My own travels last year brought erously and graciously agreed to serve out Professor Gib- home to me that MIT is viewed around son’s unexpired term as chair this year. the world as a model for the university “In June, the provost announced that Dr. Eric D. Evans of the future. Our own international would succeed Dr. David L. Briggs as the next director of programs have continued to flourish. MIT Lincoln Laboratory. And I announced that Director of The pioneering MIT-China Manage- Resource Development Stephen A. Dare would serve as ment Education Project sponsored by interim vice president for resource development. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY the MIT Sloan School of Management celebrated its 10th anniversary in June. Strengthening MIT’s resources and systems President Hockfield greets incoming freshman Katie Mingo of Minnesota at the Aug. 27 Freshman Convocation. In July, Singapore’s Research, Innova- “We continue to develop the financial resources need- tion and Enterprise Council approved ed to sustain excellence. Private support plays a critical a new concept for a major collabora- role, especially in allowing us to maintain financial policies Building a new northwest campus neighborhood tive research initiative, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for that make MIT accessible to all admitted students—poli- “Progress continues on projects that are transform- Research and Technology (SMART) Center. The SMART cies such as the MIT Pell Matching Grant established last ing the northwest sector of the campus. Site work is now Center is expected to launch its first research programs spring. During the past year, we built on the extraordi- underway for the new graduate residence at 235 Albany during this academic year. nary pace in fund raising achieved during the successful St. (building NW35), which is scheduled to open in late Campaign for MIT. The Class of 2006 set a marvelous summer 2008. This new building, designed by the award- Looking ahead example with its Senior Gift: More than 50 percent of the winning firm headed by alumnus William Rawn (M.Arch. “As we look ahead to the new academic year, we can class made gifts or pledges, vastly exceeding the previous 1979) will provide housing for more than 550 graduate anticipate continued progress on crucial initiatives. In May, record of 39 percent participation. Resource Development students, with social facilities and courtyard spaces that the Institute-wide Energy Research Council released its also had a banner year, reaching the second-highest level will further strengthen the vibrant graduate community recommendations on how to amplify and build on MIT’s in the history of the Institute for both cash receipts and emerging in the neighborhood. When NW35 is complete, current strengths and growing interest in energy supply new gifts and pledges. New gifts and pledges topped $300 more than 1,700 graduate students will live in the north- for the developed and the developing world. The council million—up more than 40 percent from the previous year. west campus; to strengthen this emerging graduate com- highlighted three broad areas: developing new technolo- “The successful transition to a new payroll system at munity, we have involved the other graduate residences in gies for global energy systems; making today’s energy sys- the beginning of July marked a significant milestone in our planning for NW35. tems more effective, secure and sustainable; and fueling a our continuing implementation of state-of-the-art admin- “The development of NW35 represents an intensively rapidly developing world. Enthusiasm for tackling energy istrative systems. Large-scale system transitions always collaborative design process that has brought together challenges is evident all across campus. In one example carry the potential for disruption, but feedback from the students, faculty and staff and has generated a strong com- this summer, the student-initiated and -driven MIT Vehicle community has been very positive. One staff member in mitment to sustainability as well as to community building. Design Summit brought together student solar car design- the Office of the Dean for Student Life went so far as to Efforts like these will advance our goal of knitting togeth- ers from 21 universities to develop vehicles capable of trav- say, “I really LOVE the new time sheet system. Thank you er our residential and student life activities. eling at least 500 miles on a gallon of fuel. We will capitalize so much for all the hard work put in by everyone involved “We will begin another project that will also enhance on the MIT community’s enthusiasm for energy-related to get this up and running. GREAT job!” the community in the northwest part of campus in a few work as we move ahead to implement the ERC’s recom- “Staff throughout the Institute—not just in Information weeks, when we will break ground for the second phase mendations and will announce details of the next steps in Services and Technology, the Payroll Office, the HR-Pay- of the renewal of Vassar Street, extending the renovation this important initiative in the coming weeks. roll Service Center and Human Resources, but reaching of the streetscape through the campus west of Massachu- “In July, Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. through many academic and administrative areas—col- setts Avenue. The project will make the entire length of Hastings announced administrative and organizational laborated on this complex implementation, and its success Vassar Street bicycle-friendly and pedestrian-scaled. We changes in response to a DUE-wide strategic plan that will depended on the participation of the community in count- are enormously grateful to the family of Corporation mem- strengthen the work of his office and support the imple- less ways. Controller James L. Morgan played an absolute- ber Richard P. Simmons ’53 for making possible a project mentation of the forthcoming recommendations of the ly critical role in leading the effort; special thanks also go that will unify the campus visually and improve the quality Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons. to Charlotte Watson of the HR-Payroll Service Center and of student life. The new organization will further strengthen the office’s Leslie Wright in Payroll, who helped ensure broad under- connections to faculty and its outreach to students. Dean standing and participation in the project. This is truly an Reaching from MIT to the world of Science Robert J. Silbey and his colleagues on the task example of how collaboration among administrative and “In the spirit of service that defines MIT, members of force will soon complete the final draft of their report, academic departments can drive MIT’s success. the Institute community have engaged in efforts to repair and will present their conclusions at the October meeting “A working group led by Executive Vice President and the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New of the faculty. Their work will ensure that MIT’s under- Treasurer Sherwin Greenblatt is now turning the impor- Orleans and the Gulf Coast just over a year ago. Among graduate education gives our students the knowledge and tant recommendations of the Task Force on Medical Care them is a team from the Department of Urban Studies and experiences, as well as the curricular flexibility, that they for the MIT Community, issued last November, into action. Planning that was recently selected by the U.S. Depart- need to become leaders for the nation and the world in the Information on the progress of the working group is now ment of Housing and Urban Development to help plan a decades ahead. available online at web.mit.edu/task-force/medical/. In new 900-home development in the historic Treme/Lafitte “This great Institute has a unique impact on the the challenging context of the current healthcare environ- neighborhood. The $35-million project aims to re-house world—in generating new knowledge, in fueling innova- ment, we must focus our resources where they are most the former community in a manner that is equitable, tion, and in educating the next generation of leaders. I needed and where they can create the greatest impact. affordable and sustainable. look forward to working with all of you this year, as we The working group will issue its next progress report in “Katrina reconstruction efforts are just one of the many continue to bring knowledge to bear on the world’s great October. ways that MIT serves the nation and world, and, while no challenges.”

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Lynn Heinemann who walked through the exhibition last Office of the Arts week, lottery slip in hand. But Switala said he also liked the idea of having an abstract piece in his room at New House — “some- thing simple that makes you think a lot.” Approximately 400 original posters, William Ho, a graduate student in prints and photographs by such famous urban studies and planning and the Cen- artists as Nancy Spero, Jasper Johns and ter for Real Estate Development, had his Roy Lichtenstein are now on display at the eye on Sarah Sze’s lithograph, “Near Site,” List Visual Arts Center. remarking on what he called its “chaos And when the show is over, MIT stu- and disorder.” “I love the intricacy and dents will take the works off the wall and detail and how it relates to city planning,” walk out the door with them. he said. “There’s something that’s seem- “This is definitely not a traditional ingly simplistic about it.” museum show,” said Steven Moga, a grad- Students who do not receive art uate student in urban studies and planning, through the lottery will have another who came back to the gallery this year opportunity to win one of the pieces for to chose another piece after “winning” the a year. Works that are not claimed by the lithograph “Stumblers’ Paradise” by David last distribution day are made available to Storey last year. “I’ll never forget when I students on a first-come, first-served basis, came out carrying the work under my arm said David Freilach, administrative officer and seeing all the other students doing the for the List Center. Students often start same, all of us with gleeful expressions.” lining up in front of the gallery early in Nearly 1,000 students are expected to the morning in the hopes of acquiring an participate in the List Visual Arts Cen- unclaimed work. ter’s Student Loan Art Program this year, Each year, new pieces are added to the competing, by lottery, for work by art- collection to expand the breadth of offer- ists the likes of Berenice Abbott, Louise IMAGE COURTESY / MIT’S LIST VISUAL ARTS CENTER ings. The 17 latest acquisitions, which will Bourgeois, Joan Miro, Nam June Paik and be available for loan next year, can be seen Students visit MIT’s List Visual Arts Center to view art available for loan through the Student Cindy Sherman. on display on the third-floor mezzanine of Loan Art Program. The collection of artworks for loan—about 400 pieces—may be viewed The program began in 1966, but more the Student Center. at the List through Sept. 17. and more students are taking advantage Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. daily of the opportunity to live with signed art- for this exhibition. On Sept. 14 from 5 to 7 work for a year, according to John Rexine, added in the last five years. through Sept. 17. p.m., a special reception will be held in the registrar of MIT’s permanent collection. Until the artworks are snapped up by “I thought it would be cool to pick up gallery for graduate students. The number has nearly doubled in recent MIT students, all visitors to the List can Edgerton’s bullet through the apple,” said For more information, call x3-4680 or years, he said, and the collection has view the eclectic collection at the annual Benjamin Switala, a sophomore in electri- visit web.mit.edu/lvac/www/collections/ grown as well, with about 100 new works salon-style Student Loan Exhibition cal engineering and computer science, slap/slap_genl.html. Five new department heads, two chairs named at SHASS Five new heads in the School of recent book, “Dreamwork for Actors.” Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences have Professor David Mindell has been been named, effective July 1, 2006. appointed to serve as director of the Pro- Professor James Poterba has been gram in Science, Technology and Society, appointed to serve as head of the Depart- succeeding Rosalind Williams. The Dib- ment of Economics, succeeding Bengt ner Professor of the History of Engineer- Holmstrom. Poterba received the D.Phil. ing and Manufacturing, and professor of from Oxford in 1983; he has been the Mit- engineering systems, Mindell received sui Professor of Economics since 1996 the Ph.D. in the history of technology at and has served as associate head of the MIT in 1996 and joined the MIT faculty as Department of Economics since 1994. assistant professor that year. His research Poterba’s research specialty is the econom- interests focus on the history of human ics of the public sector, with an emphasis relationships with machinery. on the interplay between taxation, finan- cial markets and the financial decisions of Chairs appointed households and firms. Deborah Fitzgerald, interim dean of Professor Anne McCants will succeed SHASS, also announced two new appoint- PHOTO / STEPHANIE MITCHELL Harriet Ritvo as head of the history faculty. ments to chairs in SHASS: McCants arrived at MIT as an assistant pro- Agustin Rayo, associate professor in the A glimpse of Bali fessor of history in 1991, after receiving her Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Ph.D. from the University of California at has been appointed to the Ford Founda- Young dancers from a children’s gamelan in Singaraja gather on stage in Stephanie Berkeley. Her research focuses on the eco- tion Career Development Professorship. Mitchell’s photo ‘Singaraja Spirits,’ part of the ‘Back to Bali’ exhibition on view at the nomic and social history of the later Mid- Rayo received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2000 Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center through Oct. 20. Mitchell’s work documents the dle Ages and early modern Europe, with and joined the faculty in 2005. His areas Gamelan Galak Tika’s first Bali tour. particular interests in wealth and income of interest include philosophical logic, phi- inequality, as well as global trade networks losophy of language and the philosophy of and the emergence of European consumer- mathematics. ism. She was the recipient of the Edgerton This professorship was established Faculty Achievement Award in 1996 and by the Ford Foundation to encourage Shareholder committee discusses investments was named a MacVicar Fellow in 2004. research and scholarship in the areas rep- The Advisory Committee on Share- Members of the committee are: Alan Professor Susan Silbey has been resented in SHASS. holder Responsibility (ACSR) met on Sept. Spoon, chair of the ACSR and member of appointed to serve as head of the anthro- Jonathan Rodden, associate professor 7 and began its deliberations regarding the Corporation; Barrie Zesiger, member pology program, succeeding Jean Jackson. in the Department of Political Science, MIT’s investments in multinational com- of the Corporation and the Executive Com- Silbey received the Ph.D. at the University has been appointed to a Ford Foundation panies that may be doing business in the mittee; Richard Lester, professor of nucle- of Chicago in 1978 and joined MIT in 2001 International Professorship in Political Sci- Sudan. The committee’s charge is to make ar science and engineering and director of as professor of sociology and anthropolo- ence. Rodden received his Ph.D. from Yale a recommendation to the MIT Execu- the MIT Industrial Performance Center; gy. Her areas of research include the soci- University in 2000 and joined MIT imme- tive Committee about whether any action James Poterba, professor of economics ology of science and socio-legal studies. diately as an assistant professor. His areas should be taken with regard to these and head of the economics department; Professor Janet Sonenberg will succeed of interest include comparative and inter- investments, and if so, what that action Ann Wolpert, director of the libraries; Evan Ziporyn as head of the music and national political economy, public finance should be. The committee welcomes Allan Bufferd, treasurer, emeritus; Andrew theater arts section. Sonenberg received and the European Union, and economic thoughtful input from the members of the Lukmann, Undergraduate Association an M.F.A. from New York University and political geography. community as it continues discussions in president; Eric Weese, president of the in 1978 and joined MIT in 1992 as assis- The Ford professorships were estab- the next several weeks. Given the con- Graduate Student Council. tant professor of theater arts. Her areas lished to encourage research and scholar- straints of time and logistics, written com- Staff to the committee: Beth Ogar, of interest include actor training and play ship in the international aspects of such munications would be preferred and can director of finance and administration, direction. She has developed an original areas as political science, economics, his- be sent to [email protected]. Resource Development. acting methodology, put forth in her most tory, management and urban studies. CELL BUILDING

Continued from Page 5 ing advisor of a new research institute at summer months in Beijing with Roy, els while simultaneously studying cellular in the Sichuan University project began in Sichuan University. where they collaborated on a preliminary structures that had formal similarities to conversations he had with Zhang, a known Zhang said he challenged Kulper with design for the building with architects the spaces we were designing. We worked admirer of architecture, during the year in incorporating “as many biology motifs as at Tsinghua University’s Architectural with images of proteins, membranes and which he took Zhang’s course. possible” into his design and with using Design and Research Institute. organelles alongside photos and textbook The next year, Zhang contacted Kulper realistic construction materials. Together, the international architec- images of glazing systems and cantile- with the news that he was now the found- Zhang then sent Kulper to spend three ture team “developed sketches and mod- vers,” Kulper said. PAGE 8 September 13, 2006 NEWS MIT Tech Talk MIT ranks first in engineering

Deborah Halber News Office Correspondent

MIT ranks fourth among national uni- versities, first in undergraduate engineer- ing and second in undergraduate business programs, according to the 2007 US News & World Report guidebook, “America’s Best Colleges.” The rankings appear today online and the guidebook will be available on newsstands Aug. 21. MIT shares the number four slot with Caltech and Stanford. Princeton, Harvard and Yale, respectively, are ranked the top three schools. Among the key criteria for judging schools is selectivity as gauged by the low- est acceptance rate (MIT’s is 14 percent), and class size as gauged by the highest proportion of classes with fewer than 20 students (MIT’s is 68 percent). MIT’s School of Engineering is the top-rated undergraduate program in engi- neering nationally, and the Sloan School of Management ranks second in undergradu- ate business programs. In engineering specialties, MIT was ranked first in more disciplines than any other school -- five out of 12. PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY In undergraduate engineering special- ties, MIT ranked first in aerospace/aero- Community cleanup is a class act nautical/astronomical; chemical; computer engineering; electrical/electronic/com- More than 700 freshmen volunteered at dozens of com- the Public Service Center. munications; and mechanical engineering. munity agencies in the Cambridge and Boston area on “CityDays provides service agencies with volunteers and In environmental/environmental health Sept. 1 as part of the 15th annual campus-wide CityDays with the opportunity to inform participating students about engineering, MIT ranked second, and the Festival sponsored by the MIT Public Service Center. issues facing the community at large. With the energy, cre- Institute ranked fourth in civil engineer- Some of this year’s service projects included cleaning ativity and determination of the student volunteers, tasks of ing, tied with Stanford and University of debris and underbrush from the banks of the Charles River all sizes can be accomplished. Organizations and students Texas at Austin. MIT tied for fourth with (above), carpentry work at a local children’s center, land- have the chance to establish strong initial bonds leading to Georgia Institute of Technology in bio- scaping at the Stone Zoo, yard work at a senior center, and medical engineering and tied for second future service commitments,” Trickett said. assisting with a preschool graduation. with the University of California at Berke- “Traditionally, this event kicks off the school year at MIT,” CityDays 2006 was coordinated by Daniel Mokrauer- ley in materials engineering. said Heather Trickett, volunteer and outreach coordinator in Madden, a junior in mathematics. In undergraduate business special- ties, MIT was ranked first in management information systems, productions/opera- tions management and quantitative analy- sis/methods; second in supply chain man- agement; and fifth in entrepreneurship and International events highlight MISTI Week finance. MIT is one of 15 schools noted in the Sasha Brown meaningful, intellectually stimulating and Throughout the week, both graduate “Programs to Look For” category for hav- News Office fun things students can do during their and undergraduate students will be able ing a senior capstone project in which stu- time at MIT,” Widdig said. to attend panels and discussions, including dents integrate and synthesize material Established in 1994 to give MIT stu- “First-Hand Perspective on International they’ve learned as undergraduates. Chinese lions, Mexican dance and dents work, study and research experi- Careers” on Sept. 19, where representa- In campus diversity, where a rating of Indian yoga are all in the lineup for MISTI ence in another culture, MISTI currently tives from different industries will discuss 1.0 is the highest, MIT’s diversity index is Week, a showcase of MIT’s international runs eight country programs — in China, the pros and cons of working outside the 0.64. Its largest minority is Asian Ameri- program offerings that kicks off Sept. 18. Japan, India, France, Germany, Italy, Spain United States. The panel will run from 7 to cans, who make up 29 percent of the stu- The annual celebration of the MIT and Mexico — as well as pilot programs in 9 p.m. in Room 4-370. dent body. International Science and Technology Ini- Africa and Singapore. Another highlight of the week will be MIT also ranked high in economic tiatives (MISTI) highlights the increasing MISTI educates students in the lan- a screening of “An Inconvenient Truth,” diversity, measured by the percentage importance of international education at guage and culture of a host country before Al Gore’s documentary on global warm- of undergraduates receiving federal Pell MIT, said Bernd Widdig, director of the placing them in positions. ing, on Sept. 22. The film will be followed grants, typically awarded to undergradu- MIT Germany Program and MISTI’s asso- MISTI is the largest international by a discussion with Professor Ernest J. ates with family incomes less than $40,000. ciate director. opportunity program for students on cam- Moniz, co-director of the Laboratory for Fifteen percent of MIT undergrads receive The week’s events will expose students pus, sending roughly 200 students abroad Energy and Environment and co-chair of Pell grants. to a variety of cultures while introducing per school year. the MIT Energy Research Council. The MIT ranked fifth among national univer- them to MISTI, which matches undergrad- MISTI Week will start with a cultural event begins at 6 p.m. in Room 26-100. sities in the “Best Value” category because uate and graduate students with profes- fair on Sept. 18 featuring Indian dance, MISTI will also hold orientation ses- 60 percent of its students received need- sional internships around the world. Mexican mariachi, Chinese lion dance, sions for its different programs through- based financial aid in 2005. This ranking “An international experience is not just Japanese taiko drumming and Spanish fla- out the week. relates a school’s academic quality to the a valuable addition to a student’s resume, menco at the Student Center beginning at For more information, visit web.mit. net cost of attendance for a student who it’s also one of the most educationally noon. edu/misti. receives the average level of financial aid. FRESHMEN Continued from Page 1 Bjornson’s home lab was least a couple of sleepless nights in my a good place future,” she said. for him to run Still, Scolnik said she would not have it experiments. any other way. The passion she saw in the Still, it was students was a large part of what drew her not without to MIT, she said. “Even if their interests mishaps. A are not the same as mine, it was their centrifuge he passion that really impressed me.” constructed in Freshman Zachary Bjornson is his lab broke also planning a full plate at MIT. He is apart and a scheduled to take a full course load and piece flew also plans to enroll in an undergraduate across the research opportunity (UROP). Zachary Bjornson room and hit “I figured I might as well challenge his mother. myself since all the courses are pass/fail “No one PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY in freshman year,” Bjornson said. was seriously injured,” Bjornson said with No stranger to challenges, the San a laugh. Building bridges Francisco native built a lab in his basement While at MIT, he plans to continue his Professor Jan Wampler of architecture tests the strength of a truss constructed by because he wanted to advance his school’s lab work. “I am really a hands-on learner,” students for one of the architecture department’s pre-orientation activities, held Aug. science program at home. Stocked with Bjornson said. “I have known my future 26 in front of Kresge Auditorium. Teams were charged with creating a 6-foot beam out a modified bioreactor and a $10,000 was in science since the fifth grade. MIT of string, tape and cardboard, and a 6-foot truss out of newspaper, tape and string. incubator he bought on eBay for $200, seemed like an all-encompassing place.”