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77 cool things in 17 minutes
- 1. 77 Cool Things about in 17 Minutes Your Name & Class Here – YOU present this next time
- 23. MISTI Germany
- 45. • H Robert Horvitz ‘68, Physiology/Medicine • Carl E. Wieman '73, Physics • Elias J. Corey Jr. '48, PhD '51, Chemistry • Sidney Altman '60, Chemistry • Buron Richter '52, PhD '56, Physics • John Robert Schrieffer '53, Physics • Robert S. Mulliken '17, Chemistry • Richard P. Feynman '39, Physics • Robert Burns Woodward '36, Chemistry • George Smoot '66, PhD '71, Physics • Oliver E. Williamson '55, • Eric A. Cornell PhD '90, Physics • Leland H. Hartwell PhD '64, Medicine/Physiology • Robert A. Mundell PhD '56, Economics • Robert B. Laughlin PhD '79, Physics • William D. Phillips PhD '76, Physics • Lawrence R. Klein PhD '44, Economics • Murray Gell-Mann PhD '51, Physics • William Shockley PhD '36, Physics • Andrew Fire PhD '83, Physiology/Medicine • Robert J. Aumann PhD '55,
- 53. Guatemala City March 25-27, 2015
- 80. 77 Cool Things about
- 81. Cool ways to Engage with MIT • Send in class notes • Host an event • Reach out to a classmate • Update your records • Host an extern • Mentor a student • Join or start an interest group • Follow #mit on Twitter • Take an edX course • Make a gift • Tell a friend why MIT is cool
Editor's Notes
- The original Bosworth Buildings, still the heart of MIT, were like the Internet of 1916. They uniquely connected people and departments through one large network of hallways.
- Bob Langer, one of only 11 Institute Professors, the highest title awarded to an MIT faculty member, has over a thousand patents. He specializes in engineering genes and polymers to control drug delivery. He specializes in polymers that can deliver drugs continuously at controlled rates for prolonged periods of time. He specializes in polymers that can deliver drugs, genetically engineered proteins and DNA, continuously at controlled rates for prolonged periods of time. His work at the intersection of biotech, materials technology, and nanotechnology, have made him only one of 7 individuals to win both the US National Medal of Science and US Nation Medal of Technology and Innovation. Bob Langer has over a thousand patents in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
- Cheetah, from the Biomimetic Robotics Lab, can run at 22 km/h. Cheetah’s energy efficiency rivals that of real animals. 22 kph = 13.7 mph Demonstrated in 2012 The MIT team, led by Professor Sangbae Kim, believes that electric motors can replace hydraulics in many robots. Conventional electric motors are not very good at providing both high speed and high torque; but Kim’s group developed its own "three phase permanent magnet synchronous motor," which reportedly doubles the torque density of the commercial motors they were using in the robot.
- Baker House has held its annual piano drop since 1972. Everyone wants a piece of the action.
- Co-directed by economist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Esther Duflo, the Poverty Action Lab’s real-world experiments reveal the best economic incentives for immunization, improved education, and more. Co-directed by Esther Duflo, the lab combines behavioral economics with global development to discover which foreign aid and incentives best effect such outcomes as immunization and improved test scores.
- Geologist and physicist William Barton Rogers founded MIT in 1861. His last words were “bituminous coal.” 1804-1882
- Launched in 2002, OpenCourseWare made available MIT course notes, problem sets, and exams free to anyone. Today, over 2000 courses are available online. OCW paved the way for MITx, edX, and the online learning revolution.
- MITx expanded Open CourseWare into online courses in 2011. The following year, MIT and Harvard created edX using the MITx platform. Over 7,000 took and passed the first MITx course, Circuits and Electronics, as many as had taken and passed it in the preceding 40 years at MIT. More than 154,000 enrolled and over 7,000 passed that first course.
- The 150-foot high Great Dome is the Center of the Universe. Energy-efficient lighting installed in 2007 to illuminate the dome uses the same amount of electricity needed to run two hair dryers. The new lighting to illuminate the dome, the columns, and the “1916” uses the same energy as two hair driers.
- Professor Ed Boyden has engineered light-sensitive neurons that can be controlled by light sources outside the skull, thus potentially eliminating the need for invasive surgery for treatment of conditions such as epilepsy. Professor Ed Boyden has engineered neurons that are sufficiently light-sensitive that the light source can be outside the skull, thus eliminating the need for invasive surgery for treatment of conditions such as epilepsy. Center for Neurobiological Engineering Optogenetics uses light to control neurons which have been genetically sensitized to light, for example, to quiet neurons in the brain which cause epilepsy. Until recently, use of the technique required invasive surgery to implant light sources in the brain. Professor Ed Boyden of the MIT Center for Neurobiological Engineering has led the genetic engineering of neurons that produce proteins that are sufficiently sensitive to red light that the light source can be outside the skull, thus eliminating the need for invasive surgery.
- Designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and dedicated in 1955, Kresge Auditorium is one-eighth of a 50-foot-high sphere. He also designed the chapel and Kresge Oval green lawn as an ensemble and dedicated at the same time.
- The MIT Chapel was also designed by Saarinen and opened in 1955. Light from the rippling water of the moat reflects onto the inside walls. A classic example of mid-century modern architecture. Non-denominational.
- Vannevar Bush became Dean of Engineering and VP of MIT in 1932. During WWII, he directed all US government R&D including the Manhattan Project. His differential analyzer led to digital circuit design, and his 1945 “Memex” used microfilm and presaged the Worldwide Web and hyperlinks. Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) joined the MIT EE faculty in 1919. In 1932 he became VP of MIT and Dean of the School of Engineering, and founded Raytheon. His differential analyzer, an analog computer with digital elements, led to digital circuit design. He served as head of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II to which the Manhattan Project reported and many attribute the allied victory in the war. His 1945 “Memex” used automated microfilm and viewers that presaged hyperlinks and the Worldwide Web.
- Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the Stata Center opened in 2004. It houses EE/CS, the CS and AI Laboratory (CSAIL), the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS), and Linguistics and Philosophy. Linguist Noam Chomsky and WWW founder Tim Berners-Lee have offices there.
- In the fall of 2006, Doonesbury's daughter Alex entered MIT as a freshman. Zipper Harris declared his fictional alma mater, Walden College, to be "the MIT of southern Connecticut.” Kim and Mike Doonesbury's daughter Alex
- Economics professor Daron Acemoglu’s Why Nations Fail shows how inclusive rather than extractive institutions determine whether nations succeed or fail over the centuries. Today, federal governments are the main extractors. The US and Canada have generally been inclusive, with laws and institutions established by settlers; Latin America has generally been extractive with laws set by colonial rulers.
- “Serpentine” Baker House was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and built in 1949. Its undulating shape gives most rooms a view of the Charles River.
- Made in France and installed in 1966, Alexander Calder’s 33-ton sculpture “The Great Sail” rises 40 feet. Its five intersecting, curved steel forms barely touch the ground, creating a playful tension between the massive structure and lightness of its footprint.
- The MIT Infinite Corridor, is actually 825 feet long. It has 5 levels including the basement. From west to east, it connects buildings 7, 3, 10, 4, and 8.
- During the semi-annual MIThenge, the Infinite Corridor lines up with the plane of the ecliptic, causing sunlight to fill the entire corridor. Happens in mid-November and in late January. These events, which typically recur on 3 consecutive days and and last for 2-3 minutes each time, are celebrated by students and faculty alike.
- The MIT Hobby Shop, a fully equipped wood and metal shop, has taught students the art of design for over 75 years.
- MISTI -- MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives -- matches hundreds of MIT students each year with internships and research abroad. Both undergraduate and graduate students
- Sir Tim Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, is professor at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, or CSAIL, where he directs the W3 Consortium. The Marshall Islands issued a stamp in his honor in 2000. The Marshall Islands, half-way between Hawaii and Papua New Guinea, issued a stamp in his honor in 2000.
- In 1979, a fiberglass cow from Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus appeared on top of the Great Dome. After the cow was returned, she sported a graduation cap.
- Mechanical Engineering professor John Lienhard, through large-scale desalination of seawater, is helping turn the world’s deserts green and eliminate drought.
- The Media Lab’s self-driving electric CityCar holds two passengers. Each wheel has its own motor. The vehicles fold up for compact parking.
- The MIT Chamber Music Society celebrated its 40th anniversary this year under the direction of its founder, music professor and violist Marcus Thompson.
- The MIT Ballroom Dance Club also celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. MIT’s Ballroom Dance Team is perennially top-ranked.
- DRACO, a new drug developed by Todd Rider at MIT Lincoln Labs, fights viruses. DRACO halts infection by making cells invaded by a virus commit suicide. Todd Rider at MIT Lincoln Laboratory is developing a new drug called DRACO that may fight viruses as effectively as antibiotics like penicillin fight bacteria. DRACO triggers suicide in cells that have been invaded by a virus, thereby halting infection, while leaving healthy cells alone. DRACO stands for Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizers.Rider works in the Chemical, Biological, and Nanoscale Technologies Group at Lincoln Labs.
- In 1896 in Athens, Greece, the first medal awarded at the first modern Olympics went to Tom Curtis, class of 1894, who won first place in the 110 meter hurdles. In those days the medals were silver rather than gold.
- A fleet of 34 fiberglass Tech dinghies ply the Charles River Basin.
- The 27-foot oculus (skylight) of the Great Dome was covered during WWII to avoid being targeted. After 71 years, the oculus was re-opened in 2013, restoring natural light to the Engineering Library reading room. http://www.boston.com/yourcampus/news/dome.jpg
- What better time than to re-connect with your classmates than 3.14 years after graduation? Recent MIT classes rendezvous in Las Vegas to celebrate their pi reunions.
- Founded and directed by Bangladesh-born entrepreneur Igbal Quadir, the Legatum Center’s 50 graduate fellows each year create businesses and innovations that contribute to economic growth and good governance in developing countries. The MIT Legatum Center recognizes that entrepreneurship is key to economic progress and good governance. Headed by Igbal Quadir, the center’s roughly 50 graduate fellows each year create businesses and innovations in developing countries.
- Dominican Republic-born writing professor Junot Diaz received a $500,000 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2012. His first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize.
- Another MacArthur “Genius,” Amy Smith, founder and co-director of the D-Lab, helps the world’s poor make their own charcoal, a cleaner and more efficient alternative to wood, from agricultural waste like cow dung. D-Lab stands for design, develop, dialogue, disseminate, and duct tape.
- Tony Stark, American billionaire, playboy, industrialist, brilliant engineer, and the superhero of Marvel’s Ironman comic book and film series, can sometimes be glimpsed wearing his brass rat.
- Four of the 12 astronauts who walked on the moon were MIT alumni: Buzz Aldrin, Charles Duke, Edgar Mitchell, and David Scott. They are Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin (ScD in aeronautics and astronautics, 1963), Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke, Jr. (SM in aero/astro, 1964), Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell (ScD in aero/astro, 1964) and Apollo 15 astronaut David R. Scott. Was during the Apollo program.
- The MIT Media Lab was co-founded in 1985 by professor Nick Negroponte and former MIT president Jerome Wiesner. Today, under director Joi Ito, the Media Lab has diversified into neurobiology, bionics, and social robots. Today, under director Joi Ito, the Media Lab has diversified into neurobiology, biologically-inspired fabrication, socially-engaging robots, emotive computing, bionics, and hyperinstruments, as in musical instruments.
- The MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team’s “Valkyrie,” an aerodynamic integration of solar cells and batteries, uses an aluminum carbon fiber chassis on 3 wheels.
- Venezuelan-born Rafael Reif is MIT’s 17th President, inaugurated in 2012. A faculty member since 1980, he has served as director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories, as EECS department head, and as provost. He comes to Hong Kong in November. He spearheaded both MITx and edX.
- Founded in 1946, RLE was the first inter-departmental laboratory at MIT. Its innovations include the atomic clock, computer timesharing, the first Bose-Einstein condensation, and the LISP programming language. The successor to MIT’s “RadLab” which developed radar during WWII, RLE’s many innovations include the atomic clock, computer timesharing, the first graphical user interface and speech synthesis, the tokamak, optical coherence tomography, the first Bose-Einstein condensation, the cryotron, and the LISP programming language.
- Daniel Chester French, class of 1871, was sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, dedicated in 1922.
- 28 Nobel Prize winners are MIT alumni.
- The MIT Nuclear Research Reactor, the second-largest university research reactor in the US after the University of Missouri, has operated since 1958 and is the fourth-oldest operating reactor in the country.
- Tim the Beaver, MIT’s mascot since 1914, turned 100 this year!
- The MIT.nano Research Center will bring together advanced design and fabrication tools and cleanrooms for nanotechnology where Building 12 is today. Construction will begin in 2015 with occupancy scheduled for 2018. The new research center will replace the WWII-era building 12.
- Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the Sloan School Center for Digital Business, studies how IT and bio-tech are advancing at an exponential pace and transforming the workforce and the economy.
- In the 1997 film, Matt Damon stars as a math genius working as an MIT janitor.
- Known as the “Sponge”, Simmons Hall by architect by Steven Holl, opened in 2002 and has over 5,000 windows. 5,538 windows
- The Bronze Beaver, the Alumni Association’s highest award for service to MIT, was designed and sculpted by the late Beverly Seamans of Marblehead, MA. The Bronze Beaver, the Alumni Association’s highest award for service to MIT, was designed and sculpted by the late Beverly Benson Seamans (1928-2012) of Marblehead, MA, whose sculptures of birds and children at play can be seen at dozens of public buildings and parks along the north coast of Massachusetts.
- Hundreds of MIT entrepreneurs and thought-leaders will descend on Guatemala City this coming March 25-27 for the MIT Global Startup Workshop, organized and run entirely by MIT students. I’ll be there – don’t miss it! Recent cities: 1. Tallin, Estonia (GSW 2013) 2. Istanbul, Turkey (GSW 2012) 3. Seoul, South Korea (GSW 2011) 4. Reykjavik, Iceland (GSW 2010) 5. Cape Town, South Africa (GSW 2009) 6. Madrid, Spain (GSW 2008) 7. Trondheim, Norway (GSW 2007) 8. Buenos Aires, Argentina (GSW 2006)
- Now age 85, professor emeritus Noam Chomsky is the father of modern linguistics. He has been an outspoken political activist since the 1960s, when he opposed the Viet Nam War.
- MIT alumni Tom and Ray Magliozzi are the hosts of National Public Radio's Car Talk, and spoke at MIT's 1999 commencement. Tom has a degree in chemical engineering (1958) and Ray has a degree in humanities and general science (1972). Also known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers."
- Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president of research, leads NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to map the surface and interior of the moon. She has also mapped the surfaces and interiors of the Earth and solid planets, and discovered the moon’s metal core. Earlier, she developed the laser altimeter to map the surface of Mars.
- The 125,000 square foot Z Center has been the central athletics facility at MIT since 2002. Al & Barrie Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center
- Directed by Tyler Jacks and opened in 2010, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research includes five Nobel prize winners. Research areas include cancer detection and monitoring, nanotech therapeutics, personalized medicine, metastasis and the immune system.
- Across Main Street from the Koch Institute is the Broad Institute, specializing in genomics. Founded and directed by MIT biology professor and another MacArthur “Genius,” Eric Lander, the Broad Institute includes the Whitehead Institute, central to the Human Genome Project. The Broad and Stanley families have together provided over $1.3 billion in funding for the Broad Institute. Founded and directed by MIT biology professor and MacArthur Fellow Eric Lander, the Broad Institute is a joint venture of the Whitehead Institute, which played a central role in the Human Genome Project; MIT; Harvard; and affiliated hospitals.
- In "The Clicker Blues” in her 2000 album, Timeless, Barbra sings: "Nowadays you need a degree from MIT to operate your own TV."
- In 2014, team MIT took first place on the Putnam Competition, the world’s most prestigious university-level math exam. The six-hour exam has 12 questions. In most years, the median score, out of a possible 120 points, is zero.
- Three start-up contests comprise MIT $100K: Pitch in Fall, Accelerate in Winter, and Launch in Spring. 2014 Grand Prize Winner was Disease Diagnostics Group for tracking and diagnosing malaria.
- Cardinal blazers signify the Cardinal and Gray Society, honoring alumni who have reached the 50th anniversary of their graduation.
- To help create a thriving bitcoin economy at MIT, the MIT Bitcoin Project is giving every undergrad $100 in bitcoin.
- In 1958, Oliver Smooth repeatedly lay down on the “Hahvard” Bridge and was used by his fraternity brothers to measure its length. It was 364.4 smoots plus or minus one ear. Lambda Chi Alpha October 1958
- At almost 300 feet, the Green Building is the tallest in Cambridge. Designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1964, it is home to Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and the world’s largest Tetris screen.
- Bill Aulet, author of Disciplined Entrepreneurship, heads the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.
- Spencer Tracy co-starred as an MIT graduate and computer expert with Katherine Hepburn in the 1957 film "Desk Set.” MIT graduate and computer expert Richard Sumner It was the last comedy co-starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
- Physicist Mark Vogelsberger’s simulation of the universe, Illustris, models the birth and evolution of galaxies and dark matter starting just 12 million years after the Big Bang. For the first time, the Illustris simulation covers a region large enough to represent the whole Universe but detailed enough to resolve individual galaxies, and gives rise to the full variety of spiral and other galaxies found in the universe.
- The campus patrol car that appeared atop the Great Dome in 1994 included a box of donuts on the dashboard. The license plate read, “IHTFP.”
- “The Alchemist,” located between the Student Center and Mass Ave, was commissioned for MIT’s 150th Anniversary in 2011. The sculpture by Jaume Plensa depicts numbers and math symbols in the shape of a human.
- Maseeh Hall, the largest and newest undergrad dorm on campus, sleeps 462. A renovation of Ashdown House, it opened in the Fall of 2011. Originally built in 1901 as the Riverbank Court Hotel, it was once the only hotel in Cambridge. MIT acquired it in 1937. MIT opened it as Graduate House in 1938.
- Completed in 2005, the Brain & Cognitive Sciences Complex houses the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and more. It is the largest neuroscience center in the world. Completed in 2005, the Brain & Cognitive Sciences Complex houses the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, the Martinos Imaging Center, and the Center for Biological and Computational Learning. It is the largest neuroscience center in the world.
- Since 1989, the “Galaxy: Earth Sphere” fountain, by Joe Davis, sculptor and researcher at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, has greeted visitors in Kendall Square. At the junction of Main and Broadway
- In the Broadway Musical “Rent,” macho gay anarchist Tom Collins is expelled from teaching at MIT for his theory of actual reality.
- The iCampus Student Prize recognizes innovation that enhances living and learning at MIT. The 2013 Grand Prize was for an app that lets students explore, filter, and visualize connections between MIT classes. The iCampus Student Prize recognizes innovation that enhances living and learning at MIT. The 2013 Grand Prize went to Aakanksha Sarda, ‘14, for her WhichClass app that lets students explore, filter, and visualize connections between MIT classes. went to Aakanksha Sarda, ‘14,
- With no external moving parts, M-blocks can jump, flip, roll, and self-assemble into larger shapes. Developed at CSAIL, each robotic block contains a flywheel, brakes, magnets, controls, radio, and battery. Developed at CSAIL by research scientist John Romanishin, post-doc Kyle Giplin, and professor Daniela Rus.
- Founded in 1951, the MIT Club of Hong Kong is among the oldest outside of the US. It is a hub for MIT alumni activities across the whole of Greater China and provides leadership for the “Ivy plus” alumni associations in Hong Kong.
- Cool thing #77 is Building 7 at 77 Mass Avenue, MIT’s main entrance. Dating from 1916, the ceiling inscription under its dome states MIT’s purpose: “Established for the advancement and development of science, its application to industry, the arts, agriculture, and commerce.”