Volume 52, Number 9 Wednesday, November 14, 2007 TechTalk S ERVING THE MIT CO mm UNI T Y Study sees potential for acceleration in U.S. emissions Sarah H. Wright technology has the potential for reducing results. News Office energy use while meeting the tests of eco- The researchers studied the periods nomics. It’s politically unappetizing in the 1958 to 1996 and 1980 to 1996 and project- U.S., but in Europe, gas costs six dollars ed from 2000 to 2050. Based on their find- U.S. greenhouse gas emissions could a gallon. Make energy more expensive: ings from the past 50 years and adjusted grow more quickly in the next 50 years People will use less of it,” Eckaus says. for a more realistic expectation for techno- than in the previous half-century, even In their paper, “The Implications of the logical changes, they found that the rates with technological advances and current Historical Decline in U.S. Energy Inten- of growth for energy use and emissions energy-saving efforts, according to a new sity for Long-Run CO2 Emission Projec- may accelerate from the historical rates of study by Richard Eckaus, the Ford Inter- tions,” published in the November issue of 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. national Professor of Economics, emeritus, Energy Policy, Eckaus and Wing portray “The rates of growth could be higher and his co-author, Ian Sue Wing (Ph.D. the changing interplay among technology, by a half percent or more, which becomes 2001). energy use and CO2 emissions, based on a significant when compounded over 50 What’s more, technology itself may be simulation of the U.S. economy. years,” Eckaus says. more the stuff that dreams are made on “We found that, in spite of increasing He acknowledges it has become coun- than the most available tool for reducing energy prices, technological change has terintuitive to question technology’s poten- CO emissions or solving the global ener- not been responsible for much reduction PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY 2 gy crisis, cautions Eckaus. in energy use, and that it may have had See ECKAUS Richard Eckaus “There is no a priori reason to think the reverse effect,” Eckaus says of their Page 6 Reporting now from the future Sarah H. Wright News Office A producer of the megahit computer game, “The Sims,” an MIT-alumnus-turned-social-media-guru at Yahoo! and a folklorist who specializes in Harry Potter fan-fiction will join industry and academic leaders in a two-day conference, Futures of Entertainment 2, to be held Nov. 16-17 at the MIT Media Lab’s Bartos Theater. Futures of Entertainment 2 (FoE2) will “get right to the nuts and bolts of developments in the media space,” said Josh- ua Green, research manager of the Convergence Culture Con- sortium (C3), organizer and host of the event. Henry Jenkins, director of the Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Flo- rez Professor of Humanities, PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY will open FoE2 with an over- view of media convergence. Building bridges in the brain Jesse Alexander Jenkins’ books on media and From left, Picower Center professor Morgan Sheng, Menicon Professor of Neuroscience, joins research scientist popular culture include “From Myung Jong Kim in the lab. They have shown how manipulating a brain scaffolding protein called PSD-95 could Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gen- boost cognitive function. See story on page 7. der and Computer Games” and “Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Cul- ture.” Jonathan Gray, author of “Watching the Simpsons,” C. Team analyzes genomes of 12 fly species Lee Harrington, co-author of “Soap Fans,” and Jason Mittell, Approach could unlock secrets of human genome author of “Genre and Televi- sion,” will open the Nov. 17 ses- Leah Eisenstadt shaped the fruit fly’s fam- sion. Broad Institute ily tree, and to discover FoE2 will offer five in-depth the working parts of the Tina Wells panels during the two-day fly genome in a system- event. The panel on Cult Media In work that reveals important clues in the evolution of atic way,” said Manolis includes Danny Bilson, co-producer of “The Sims” for genes, an international consortium of MIT scientists and Kellis, associate member Electronic Arts, and Jesse Alexander, of “Heroes” (NBC), colleagues has analyzed the genomes of twelve species of of the Broad Institute of who will discuss how to stay true to the few while build- the fruit fly Drosophila in one of the first large-scale com- MIT and Harvard and PHOTO COURTESY / SCOTT BAUER, USDA ing properties attractive to the many and the role of fans parisons of multiple animal genomes. one of the project leaders. in mainstreaming cult media. The Mediterranean fruit fly, a The researchers’ approach may also help unlock the Kellis is also the Karl Van species of Drosophila. Advertising and Convergence Culture is a discus- secrets of other genomes, including our own. Tassel Career Develop- sion of the implications of breaking down the distinc- The work appears in the Nov. 8 issue of Nature and in ment Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and tion between content and advertising. Tina Wells, CEO more than 40 accompanying papers in Genome Research Computer Science at MIT, and is affiliated with the Insti- and other journals. See FUTURE “Having the sequences of many closely related spe- See FLY Page 2 cies allows us to study the evolutionary forces that have Page 2 NEWS PEOPLE RESEARCH BREATHING SPACE FACULTY PROMOTIONS GOING FOR THE BURN MIT will host its first Great American Smokeout. The Corporation approves faculty for tenure. Civil engineering students build a pedal-powered Page 2 Page 4 laptop. Page 7 JUST IN TIME PASSAGE TO INDIA Six MIT projects named best inventions of the year President Hockfield will visit New Delhi, Mumbai and NEW HOPE WITH YEAST by Time magazine. Bangalore. Susan Lindquist speaks on yeast’s role in Page 8 Page 3 neurobiology. Page 7 PAGE 2 November 14, 2007 NEWS MIT Tech Talk MIT Tech Talk NEWS November 14, 2007 PAGE 3 MIT will host first Great American Smokeout DIGITALK: Where IT’s at Forum on MIT VoIP Sloan students ready for leading roles Thirty percent of all cancer deaths are planning and preparation.” counseling and FDA-approved stop-smok- On Monday, Nov. 26, attributable to smoking, so helping friends Setting a quit date, preferably at least ing medications, including nicotine patch- Stephanie Schorow “Henry V.” Slobodnik, a co-founder of Options for “We are so caught into what we want the and family to stop will be the focus of es, gum and nasal spray than by quitting Information Services and Technology (IS&T) will News Office Correspondent These two SIP classes, held during the Change and a co-teacher in the improvisa- other person to think or feel, we plow over the first ever cross-campus Great Ameri- cold turkey. October 2007 session, may seem more tion class. She and Giardella challenged the clues” offered by the other person, can Smokeout event at MIT on Nov. 15. Information on these methods, along host a community forum on the new MIT Voice over suited for Broadway than the boardroom their students through skits and exercises Giardella said. In conjunction with the American Cancer with quit kits, will be available across cam- The head surgeon (played by Vic but both underscore the message that to examine their own style of influence— In an intense exercise, students were Society’s annual event, MIT’s Community pus on Nov. 15. Look for tables in Lobby IP (VoIP) telephone service. It will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Malla) hands a scalpel to a first-year medi- leadership requires multiple skills—skills their “default” setting—and adopt new asked to describe their “inner critic” and Health Working Group will provide infor- 10, the E25 Atrium and the Wolk Lobby cal student with a startling command: that can be taught and practiced. styles: “You need to be able to pivot,” pretend to kick it around. After first hold- mation and “quit kits” in three campus in Sloan. There will also be a cold turkey W20-306 (Twenty Chimneys). MIT VoIP provides telephone and voice-mail services Start cutting on the patient. The student In Kelly’s class, for example, partici- Giardella said. ing back, Alejandra Santamaria smashed locations. sandwich giveaway, courtesy of Subway. (played by Jean Ng) decides this isn’t a pants improved their speaking and pre- Some of the exercises seemed silly at her inner naysayer with improvised karate The Smokeout aims to inform the MIT Other resources include a seven-week over MITnet rather than over traditional telephone wires. Key advantages include good idea and snaps out a response to sentation styles while considering the first: Emi Fong had to sing a ditty about moves. We never really lose that internal community about the many resources quit-smoking class that the Center for deflect the direct order: “You want me to management techniques of the boy king of her shirt, while Alex Prieux had to play critic, Giardella said, but we can use the available to smokers through the Center Health Promotion offers. The next class, the ability to set rules for handling calls and to receive voice-mail messages via operate on George Clooney?” The surgeon, England. In the play, Henry V uses threats, an alien journalist describing a human inner demon to our advantage. “You can for Health Promotion and Wellness at MIT which meets weekly, begins Jan. 9. just as quickly, replies: “George Clooney guile, charm and inspiration to get what house.