MIT 150 | MIT Commencement Program 2006 - includes Address by Ben Bernanke, 14th Chairman of the Federal Reserve ROSCOE: Good morning, and welcome, family and friends, of the MIT graduating class of 2006. We are speaking to you from the stage behind the podium. My name is Tom Roscoe, and I'm the MIT Archivist and Head of Archives and Special Collections here at MIT. JONES: My name is Marilee Jones. I'm the Dean of Admissions at MIT, and I come to you as the representative of the Office of Personnel who admitted the students who will be graduating here today. Commencement is the most special day of all at MIT. At an academic institution, it really is a sacred rite. And this year, we have this remarkable opportunity to bestow these degrees on all these young men and women who are a member of a special and exclusive club of people about to claim membership as MIT alumni. Remember, one of the many special things about MIT is that we have no honorary degrees. So there's only one way through here. There's only one way in, and there's one way out, and that's the hard way. We'll be visiting with you for the next 90 minutes as we await the arrival of our graduates, who will be coming over soon. They're currently gathering over on the west side of campus in Johnson Athletic Center. You can see them on the Jumbotron over here in this corner. We're pointing. And you'll see them on the screen. They'll be coming here about 9:50. We have some video pieces to share with you today about varying perspectives of the MIT student experience. And as you look around Killian Court, it's the perfect setting for commencement. We wish that the weather was a little better. We have the MIT big weather machine working on this to clear up all the drizzle today. But at least it's not pouring rain, as it has been in the East for the last three months. But the reason we're here today in this great Court is because it's really the only space at MIT that can accommodate a crowd this size. When everyone is in here at 10 o'clock, there will be 13,000 people gathered in this one space. It's a remarkable gathering. The Court has a rich and interesting history. And no one knows more about this history than my pal, MIT archivist Tom Roscoe. ROSCOE: Thank you, Marilee. MIT was founded in 1861. It was chartered on April 10 of that year. And actually, two days later the Civil War broke out. So it took a little while before the first classes were held, which were in 1865. MIT was originally located in Boston's Back Bay, across from the Charles River, and it moved to Cambridge in 1916. We're surrounded here by the original main buildings, which made up the Great Court. This Court was then renamed Killian Court in honor of James Rhyne Killian, MIT's 10th president. In 1979, it was renamed. And since 1979, all commencement services have been held in the Court, except 1992 when there was some really bad weather. JONES: Maybe snow. ROSCOE: Marilee? JONES: Video coverage of these proceedings is being webcast live throughout the world right now. No pressure, Tom. Those of you here in Killian Court will be able to watch a recorded version of this from the webcast from your home or office computers. But this year, very exciting, we're actually for the first time offering a podcast of this. Now, all of the students gathering here at 10 o'clock will know what we're talking about. Those of you adults may not know what we're talking about by a podcast, but you'll be able to download this commencement onto your iPod, or your child's iPod, or your personal digital device later on. ROSCOE: Earlier this year, MIT began producing a video podcast magazine with the purpose of capturing and communicating the richness and diversity of MIT. Each episode features stories on student life, research, special events, interesting people, and the occasional hack. We'll be showing you sample episodes of ZigZag throughout the morning. This episode you're about to see was podcast on April 5 of this year. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] - Welcome to ZigZag at MIT. We've got another selection of events from around the campus to show you. My name is Marsha Bolton, and I will be your host for the month. This week, we have been busy searching around for more brilliance and zaniness that MIT is so famous for. First, let's start with some science. MIT researchers Rutledge Ellis-Behnke and Gerald Schneider have restored vision to blinded hamsters thanks to a tiny biodegradable scaffold invented by these MIT neuroscientists and bioengineers. - It's a material that looks like water. So you put it into the brain wound and it flows into the wound and comes into immediate proximity of all the wound edges. So you don't have any separation. In them it immediately starts to form this gel. When you look at the material later with the electron microscope so you get a really close look at it, it would be easy to fool an anatomist into thinking that this was part of the brain. - This technique may one day help patients with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries as well as stroke victims. Up next, we're going to bring music to your ears, so get ready to rock. OK, ever heard of a theremin? Well, it turns out the theremin is one of the oldest electronic instruments, dating back to 1919 and named after its Russian inventor, Leon Theremin. The coolest thing is you don't actually touch the instrument to make a sound. You just kind of wave your hands around like this. Well, in honor of Valentine's Day, Assistant Professor Brian Robison presented "Waves of Pleasure." [MUSIC PLAYING] Pretty amazing. But the most fun was that Professor Robison invited audience members to try it themselves. [THEREMIN PLAYING] Although it might not feel like it from the weather, spring is definitely in the air. Last week, MIT students went on their spring break. We were curious what MIT students would do while they were away, so we decided to ask them. What do you plan on doing for spring break? - I play varsity lacrosse, and so for thing break, we're going down to West Palm Beach in Florida for training. - I'm road-tripping down the East Coast. - Oh, that's wonderful. - Me and six of the guys from the house, we're going to drive from here to DC and then to Atlanta. - I'm going to Chile for one of my classes. We'll be climbing the volcano, ocean kayaking, and-- yeah, some other cool stuff, I guess. - Hi, I'm Sonia. I'm '07, and I'll be going down to New Orleans with InterVarsity for the Katrina Relief Urban Project. - I'm helping a doctor from Hawaii pick up a new two-seat airplane called a Diamond Eclipse, and we are going to fly the airplane from London, Ontario to Hayward, California. - I'm going to be going to California with my fiancee, and we're going to be looking for places to have our wedding after senior year. And then I'll probably go skiing. And I'm probably going to eat a lot of Asian food. - For all you sports fans out there, we've got just the thing for you. Senior Caitlin Murray is leading an innovative project called Sportcast using high- definition cameras and a live computerized switcher with software developed by MIT grad student Keith Winstein. [GYM AMBIENCE] - Stand by, one. Stand by, three. Take three. Three is online. - I try to do anything I can to get more sports into my life at MIT. It would be great if we could have it on television or on the radio or something like that. - Well, we've got four cameras. They come into our computers here, and we go out on MIT Cable. - One of the reasons we did this is that we couldn't get any of the national networks to cover MIT. - Here they come. [CHEERING] - You can find out more about the latest developments with the project by going to sportscast.mit.edu. MIT professors are famed for tackling some of the world's most difficult questions. One of the big questions has been heatedly debated at MIT for years. Last week, six MIT professors gathered to debate the merits and pitfalls of two Jewish delicacies-- the latke, a fried potato pancake served during Hanukkah, and the hamantash, a three-sided, fruit-filled cookie traditionally eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. In true debate format, the professor was given seven minutes to speak. - There's research in brain and cognitive sciences. Recent studies in the Kanwisher Lab shows there's a latke place in the brain. You show somebody a latke, it lights up like a madman. You show somebody hamantaschen, nothing. - This graph shows the graph of the density fluxuations as seen by the WMAP satellite. And as you see, the hamantaschen curve fits it perfectly. - The latke is a single elegant trochee, a nice variation on the iambic norms of English verse. It's a classic. It is transparently superior to the ungainly double-trochee of hamantaschen, which lends itself only to nursery rhymes and bad advertising jingles for Good 'N Plenty.