View this email in a web page MIT San Club of Diego April 2014 Newsletter Editor's Note: We are trying a new approach to our website and newsletter. Instead of lots of text on the home page or in the Newsletter, we will have titles, summaries and links to each article. This should make our Home Page and Newsletters more concise and make it possible to input the content only once. If you would like to participate in this project to improve our communications, including our social media communications, please email me. Thanks, Ollie Smoot News Jerry's Thoughts: Our Club is "Running at Full tilt." We have a lot going in San Diego. I hope that our activities are attractive to you. If you think of other things we can do, please send me an email. Dan Oliver '60 SB II, one of our most active members, will be running in his 42nd marathon including his 4th Boston Marathon on Monday, 21 April. In addition to this set of remarkable athletic accomplishments, Dan was also instrumental in organizing the “MIT Strong Team” (http://mitstrong.mit.edu/team/oliver) after speaking with President Rafael Reif during his visit to LA a few months ago. He also garnered more than $3,100 in donations to the Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund. Let’s cheer Dan on and wish him and his fellow runners the very best of luck! We continue to have organized many excellent Programs during the past two months, including: 23 Feb - Alumnae Happy Hour 6 Mar - Toast to Friends with UC-Berkeley and Ohio State at R-Gang 8 Mar - FIRST Robotics Event 12 Mar - UCSD Prof Todd Coleman (ex-MIT) Lab 27 Mar - Admitted Student Reception 3 Apr - Presentation by Prof. Kerry Emanuel (MIT Earth and Planetary Sciences) 10 Apr - Toast to Friends at & 100th Anniversary of Sloan 14 Apr - Tour of Silicon-Based Nanomedicine by Prof. Mike Sailor at UCSD 16 Apr - Play Group for parents of young children Although all these events were excellent, I particularly enjoyed both recent tours of high-tech labs at UCSD. Professor Todd Coleman '02 SM VI, '06 PhD VI, gave a brilliant and articulate presentation on “functional tattoos” and other brain-machine interfaces that incorporate ingenious combinations of neurobiology, bioelectronics and statistical processing. It was inspiring to learn how science fiction is rapidly turning into science fact in his lab, and very advanced applications are being developed that can almost invisibly monitor key physiological functions to help handicapped people, as well as possibly enhance the capabilities of other individuals. Last week, a small group of 10 Club members and guests enjoyed another dazzling lecture by Professor Mike Sailor '88 PhD NU, on imaginative drug delivery systems using biocompatible silicon etched with nanochannels. These structures harmlessly degrade while steadily releasing small amounts of potent drugs in difficult-to- access tissues, such as the interior of the eye to effectively treat wet macular degeneration. We were treated to an intensive lab tour staffed by several undergrads, Ph.D students and postdocs, showing how these devices are fabricated. The finale was a delicious buffet served on the balcony overlooking a great sunset. Please consider participating in the following upcoming events and initiatives. Regularly check out the Events/Calendar section of the Club Website for details: 29 Apr - MIT Chancellor for Academic Advancement: Eric Grimson 1 May - Toast to Friends 15 May - Board Meeting 21 May - Weekday Play Group 28 May - View from the Top - organized by the AA featuring prominent local alumni 5 Jun - Toast to Friends 18 Jun - Weekday Play Group 19 Jun - Board Meeting 21 Jun - Club Elections: The 2014 Nominating Committee has been very active in offering nominees to replace at least five Officers and Board members. It is still not too late to volunteer or suggest someone else to serve on our new slate. Please email the Chair of the Nominations Committee: Touradj Barman within the next few days. Join us at the Club’s Annual Meeting and Election at San Dieguito County Park. Thanks again for your support and participation. Jerry '75 SB VII Membership Memo: I am happy to report that the core membership in the MITCSD is up to 170 paid memberships. This is a significant increase over where we stood at the beginning of the year. Thank you to all alums who have joined our dynamic alumni group. As you know, the Club also offers complimentary membership to parents of current MIT students. When those names are included, our Club membership is up to 185 persons. Congratulations to all for spreading the word. Update on Campaigns: 1. We initiated the 15 month membership offer for 12 month price to new members. At least three new members have accepted this offer. 2. We are organizing a “Consumption Function” event for Sloan School graduates for the June timeframe. Several alums have stepped up to help. If you are interested, contact me or any of the others on the Membership Committee or Board of Directors. 3. New Initiative: We have started discussions with MITAA to develop other “affinity” groups within the Club. The idea is to generate lists of alums with a common link such as alums with military experience. If you have an idea for a sub-group, let us know. Remember these names if you want to contact the membership Committee: Mary Ann Beyster: [email protected] Laura Robinson: [email protected] Kevin Ver Hage: [email protected] Carol Willing: [email protected] Don’t forget to renew your membership for fiscal year 2014– 15 by June 30. Take advantage of multiple year renewal. Yours in Mens et Manus, Bill Collins '67 SM XV, '65 SB II VP Membership Sean Collier Donations Update. Thanks to generous donations in my name from alums, friends, and family to the Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, you have more than tripled my original goal. The MIT Strong Team has raised nearly $140,000 to fund this endowment to date. MIT will accept donations until June 1. http://mitstrong.mit.edu/team/oliver . On Friday, April 18 at MIT many others and I will attend a remembrance of Sean on the anniversary of his senseless death. The events on April 15, 2013 and after were an attack on our values. On this April 21st I will join the MIT Strong Team and 36000 other runners before 1 million spectators - all giving our answer. Dan Oliver ‘60 SB II Patrick McGovern Dies. Patrick J. McGovern, Founder of IDC publishing empire “ We report with great sadness the death of Pat McGovern on March 19, 2014. Since the founding of the institute, he has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. He will be greatly missed.” reported the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT on March 20, 2014. The Institute’s message does not convey the character of Pat McGovern. While not a San Diego Alum, Pat was known to many here in San Diego and all who knew him remember not just his business acumen, but more importantly, Pat’s humanity, and joy. Pat, who graduated from MIT in 1959 with a bachelor’s from Course 7 (focused on biophysics) had many achievement from the “….For Dummies” books to the McGovern Brain Institute at MIT. His International Data Group (IDG) grew to more than 300 publications in over 100 countries. “Uncle Pat” is remembered by loyal Fiji brothers from the Phi Gamma Delta chapter at MIT, IDG employees who frequently found him walking through their offices and approaching them personally, to the MIT Corporation in which he has long been active. Founded as a market research firm for the nascent computer industry in 1964, IDG soon moved into publishing, launching Computerworld in 1967, and was a pioneer in the conference business. The company grew fast as information technology penetrated all aspects of life, and mainframes and minicomputers were replaced by PCs, Macs and the Internet. In all, Pat oversaw the opening of more than 300 magazines and newspapers, hundreds of websites, and the “Webby Awards.” "He was a pioneer in proving that you could make what might otherwise be pedestrian trade publications into exciting, important—and profitable—journalism," said Steven Brill, the founder of American Lawyer Media, a group of magazines and newspapers for lawyers. IDG's publications ran as autonomous units, determining content by local needs. But they also cross- pollinated, and Mr. McGovern encouraged them with streams of congratulatory notes. "It was much more a federation than a republic," said Patrick Kenealy, a managing director of IDG Ventures USA, former IDG CEO and longtime editor at the company's publications. If technology growth in some of the world's most dynamic markets was IDG's sweet spot, Pat had more whimsical ideas as well. IDG in 1997 launched Computerworld Antarctica, an online-only publication that gave it a presence on all seven continents. It also entered a joint venture with Hearst Corp. to publish Cosmopolitan in China, but scrubbed of the magazine's racier content. Despite a fortune estimated at $5.7 billion, Pat had a modest image, flying coach and driving a used car. He was known for appearing on his employees' 10th anniversaries and whisking them to a lobster dinner or the local equivalent. At Christmastime he sometimes handed out bonuses and holiday cards, personally thanking every employee of the company. Employees were known to call him "Uncle Pat" behind his back. In 1992, Mr. McGovern created one of the first venture capital funds in China, at a time when little foreign capital was available there.