Three MIT students — Ugwechi Amadi, Caroline Huang and Steven Mo — have won Rhodes Scholarships to study next year at Oxford University, the highest number of winners from the U.S. that the Institute has ever had in a single year.

The seniors join a distinguished company of 40 former MIT recipients who have won the prestigious international scholarships since they were first awarded to Americans in 1904, according to the Distinguished Fellowships office.

“The success of these students in the Rhodes competition demonstrates that MIT’s insistence on strength in analytical skills, breadth of exposure to both technical and non-technical endeavor and deep commitment to human service are highly regarded by the selection panels, which seek academically accomplished future leaders who can understand complex world problems and provide innovative solutions to them,” said Linn Hobbs, chair of the Presidential Committee on Distinguished Fellowships and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Nuclear Science and Engineering. “Our three new Rhodes Scholars have been recognized for already demonstrating these leadership skills.”

Ugwechi Amadi

A brain and cognitive sciences major with a minor in literature, Amadi, 21, of Camden, N.C., is an aspiring neurologist.

Since 2007, Amadi has participated in Professor Ki Ann Goosen’s research laboratory in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, where she is investigating a novel behavioral technique for use in rodent models of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Amadi also works at the Brad Dickerson Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, researching the effect of age on the atrophy of brain regions traditionally implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease.

She has held a number of leadership roles at MIT, including president of the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Society and founder of the brain and cognitive sciences freshman pre-orientation program. In 2008, she was selected as an MIT Burchard Scholar on the basis of excellence in the humanities.

Amadi has also mentored middle-school girls through MIT’s Science Technology & Math (STEM) program for the past three years.

“Ugwechi is not a young woman whose passion and obvious commitment for science have suppressed her love of fun,” said Kimberly Benard, program advisor for Distinguished Fellowships. “She is a young woman who smiles and laughs easily; she puts others instantly at ease with her outgoing personality.”

Amadi will pursue an M.Sc. degree in psychological research at Oxford.

Caroline Huang

The second Rhodes Scholarship winner is Caroline Huang, 21, of Newark, Del. A brain and cognitive sciences major with minors in psychology and political science, Huang plans to dedicate her life to healthcare advocacy.

“Her voice has called for support for children of cancer patient parents, victims of domestic violence, Massachusetts constituents of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, inner-city children, child sufferers of hemophilia, and even her MIT classmates,” Benard said. 

As an undergraduate research assistant for Professor John Gabrieli’s cognitive and affective neuroscience lab, Huang is using MRI imaging to investigate the area of the brain associated with reading and its applications to dyslexia. She is also researching causal learning in children at MIT’s Early Cognition Lab, which includes collecting data at the Boston Children’s Museum.

Huang has been involved in a variety of public-service efforts. Since June, she has interned for Sen. Paul Kirk’s Boston office, formerly the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s office, where she focuses on arts, disability, education, environment, Social Security and women’s issues. She also interns for the Cambridge Women’s Commission.

In addition to being an EMT and contributing editor to The Tech, Huang is co-chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee, leading the student portion of a five-year strategic health plan assessment.

As a freshman, Huang was a founder of MIT’s chapter of Camp Kesem, a nonprofit student-run summer camp for children of cancer patients.

Huang will pursue a doctorate in public health from the Ethox Centre at Oxford, where she will study the ethics of healthcare practice.

Steven Mo

Steven Mo, 20, of Pearland, Texas, is MIT’s third Rhodes Scholarship winner.

A biology major with a concentration in economics, Mo spent his junior year studying biochemistry and molecular biology at Cambridge University in Britain. At Cambridge, he interned for the Department of Pathology and used bioinformatics tools to analyze chromosomal rearrangement of breast cancer cell lines.

In 2007 and 2008, Mo was an undergraduate researcher and summer intern for the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, a collaboration that integrates science, medicine and engineering to solve problems in human health. He conducted more than 2,400 hours of research in Professor Sangeeta Bhatia’s laboratory, where he researched regenerative technologies.

Mo is actively involved in the MIT community. Since 2006, he has been an instructor for MIT’s Educational Studies Program, supervising science and math classes for high school students in the greater Boston area. He is president of the MIT Student Ambassador Program, as well as MIT’s Chapter of National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Mo was selected as a Burchard Scholar in February and has won numerous prizes in biology and biomedical engineering.

He also enjoys singing classical opera music and Broadway songs and has given solo performances at MIT and at Cambridge University.

“Steven is a very special, multitalented student,” said Bhatia. “He is not only an excellent scholar, but a glorious opera singer with a warm, generous heart. We are proud of him and happy that he is being recognized for his unique gifts.”

Mo plans to be a researcher after he receives his doctorate degree in biomedical engineering at Oxford.
 
Each year, 32 U.S. citizens are among the more than 80 students from around the world awarded Rhodes Scholarships to study at Oxford.

Video Transcript: Howard M. Heller, MD, MPH, Chief of Medicine, MIT Medical, shows how to try to avoid flu and colds during air travel. Video consists mainly of Dr. Heller on camera, interspersed with some 50s-era archival footage of people on airplanes.


Dr. Heller walks in, sits down in an “airplane seat,” buckles his seat belt, then speaks into the camera.

People at MIT travel a lot, especially during the holiday season, and a common concern is, “What can I do to prevent myself from getting sick while I’m traveling?”

So we wanted to take a minute or so just to talk about things that you can do to prevent getting sick and catching infections during the holiday season while you travel.

What about that airplane air?

There’s a common myth that the air on the airplane, especially re-circulated air, is one of the reasons why people tend to get sick when they travel on airplanes. Actually, it has more to do with being in close proximity to other people who are coughing or sneezing in your general direction—nothing to do with the air in the cabin in itself.

If someone next to you is coughing or sneezing and not covering their face with either a tissue or coughing into their elbow the way they’re supposed to do, don’t hesitate to ask them to do so. And if they still insist on being rude and doing that, don’t hesitate to pull out your own mask and protect yourself.

Is the wipe-down worth it?

Wiping down your tray table or your armrest are probably of very little value in protecting you from picking up germs and viruses from other people. The most important thing is to be careful when you’re around things that other people have touched that still have moisture on them. So on the airplane, the bathroom is probably the highest-risk place for picking up germs that other people have left.

So if you want to be extra cautious, just carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer with you, and then if you do need to go to the bathroom and use the faucets and other things that other people have touched, when you get back to your seat, just put some hand sanitizer on your hands, and clean off before your hands go anywhere near your face.

Snacks on a plane?

The greatest risk of picking up germs and viruses that cause colds are when the viruses or the germs are on your hands and you touch your nose and your mouth. And that’s why eating on the plane is one of the ways that the viruses can get into you.

There are safer ways of eating on the plane… as well as some unsafe ways.

Flight attendant approaches with tray of drinks and snacks, coughs into her hand, and says, “Sir, can I offer you a snack?” Dr. Heller responds, “Why, thank you, I’ll have that one.” “Oh sure,” responds the flight attendant and hands him a bag of chips. Dr. Heller brings his hands and the bag of chips to his mouth and rips it open with his teeth. He then pours some chips into his other hand, eats the chips, and tells the flight attendant, “Very good!”

That was an example of an unsafe way to eat a snack on a plane. And this is an example of the safest way of doing it.

Flight attendant approaches with tray of drinks and snacks, coughs into her hand, and says, “Sir, would you like a snack?” “Why, yes, thanks,” responds Dr. Heller, “I’ll have that one.” He points to a bag of chips and she hands it to him.

In a voice-over, as he demonstrates the safe eating technique, Dr. Heller says to himself, “I’m pretty sure I saw her cough into her hand. How can I eat this snack, but do it safely? First I open my napkin, then I’ll pour the snack into the napkin. And then, of course, I sterilize my hands using the alcohol wash that I always keep in my pocket. Now that my hands are nice and clean, I can eat my snack.” He eats the chips and says, “Really good!” to the flight attendant.

So there are unsafe ways of eating on the plane, and very safe ways, and everything in between. And you need to decide for yourself how safe—or unsafe—you’re going to be.

One other thing that’s very important is that, since most people are going to be traveling during the peak flu season, get the flu shot. That’s at least one infection that you can prevent so you don’t get sick on your trip.

And with all the advice and everything that we’ve talked about today, you, too, can have a great vacation and not get sick on your way there or on the way back. I know that I will.

Dr Heller puts a lei around his neck, leans back and reads a magazine as the plane “takes off.”


Film footage: Prelinger Archives
Copyright MIT, 2009

Video produced by MIT Medical and MIT Academic Media Production Services

MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) has awarded four student projects funding for international collaborations through its new initiative, MISTI 2.0.

 

MISTI 2.0 encourages MISTI alums to build on their international experience by teaming with former host country employees and other relevant partners to pursue collaborative research and projects. By integrating their applied knowledge from MISTI training and internships abroad, students can continue fostering global collaborations between faculty, research scientists and peers and learn how to facilitate projects across cultures.

 

Of the 18 proposals received, four were awarded funding. Three were awarded in the School of Engineering, and one was in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. MISTI worked with MIT Venture Mentoring Service (VMS) members to select awardees.

Students will use the grant money to collaborate with international partners in India, China, Belgium and Germany. MISTI will provide cultural preparation for the students before departure and host an international project management workshop.

"Since today’s technical innovations are global in scope, MIT graduates must be able to work closely with colleagues from all over the world to maintain leadership. The educational impact of MISTI 2.0 on the future of these students is immense," said Afarin Bellisario, founder and president of Transtrategy Inc., an MIT alum and VMS Mentor

 

MIT’s largest international program, MISTI is a pioneer in applied international studies. Since 1994, the program has placed nearly 4,000 MIT students in professional internships and research positions with its network of leading companies, universities, research institutes and NGOs around the world. MISTI currently operates in ten countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Spain. The program is a part of the Center for International Studies.

 

MISTI 2.0 AWARDEES

 

A Financial Literacy Campaign to Foster the Penetration of Microfinance Institutions in Rural Karnataka, India (India)

Arun Chandrasekhar and Horacio Larreguy Arbesu

Department of Economics

 

A Rural Household Energy Production Cooperative (China)

Scot Frank, Amy Qian and Wendi Zhang

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

 

Multi-scale Population Connectivity in the Great Barrier Reef (Belgium)

Latifah Hamzah

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 

Quantitative Stress Measurements of Bulk Microdefects in Multicrystalline Silicon (Germany)

Vidya Ganapati

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

The post office in the basement of W20, which had faced possible closure, will instead remain open, the U.S. Postal Service announced this week.

The move will come as welcome news for members of the MIT community and represents a victory for the group of MIT administrators who met with USPS officials and argued in favor of keeping the facility open.

In a statement, the USPS said Charles K. Lynch, district manager of the Greater Boston Postal District, “has decided, at this time, that the MIT Post Office will remain open and will continue to operate at its present location.”

Lynch’s decision followed a meeting last month between USPS representatives and MIT Executive Vice President and Treasurer Theresa M. Stone and other MIT administrators.

During the meeting, which was the result of combined efforts by staff from Campus Activities Complex, Mail Services, Government and Community Relations and the MIT Investment Management Co, the MIT officials presented the Institute’s rationale for keeping the facility open. Specifically, they noted that MIT is a year-round operation with large numbers of graduate and international students who use the services at the branch.

“This is a terrific decision by the USPS and we are grateful for their reconsideration based upon the importance MIT places on this branch and its services,” said Phil Walsh, director of the Campus Activities Complex. “The MIT community is well-served by this positive outcome.”

MIT’s branch office is one of several college campus postal facilities that the USPS had been looking to close in order to cut its costs. Over the summer, the USPS closed the facility for six weeks to save money.

There’s one major drawback to most proposed renewable-energy sources: their variability. The sun doesn’t shine at night, the wind doesn’t always blow, and tides, waves and currents fluctuate. That’s why many researchers have been pursuing ways of storing the power generated by these sources so that it can be used when it’s needed.

So far, those solutions have tended to be too expensive, limited to only certain areas, or difficult to scale up sufficiently to meet the demands. Many researchers are struggling to overcome these limitations, but MIT professor Donald Sadoway has come up with an innovative approach that has garnered significant interest — and some major funding.

The idea is to build an entirely new kind of battery, whose key components would be kept at high temperature so that they would stay entirely in liquid form. The experimental devices currently being tested in Sadoway’s lab work in a way that’s never been attempted in batteries before.

This month, the newly established federal agency ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency, Energy) announced its first 37 energy-research grants out of a pool of 3,600 applications, and Sadoway’s project to develop utility-scale batteries received one of the largest sums — almost $7 million over five years. And within a few days of the ARPA-E announcement, the French oil company Total — the world’s fifth-largest — announced a $4 million, five-year joint venture with MIT to develop a smaller-scale version of the same technology, suitable for use in individual homes or other buildings.

Because the technology is being patented and could lead to very large-scale commercialization, Sadoway will not discuss the details of the materials being used. But both Sadoway and ARPA-E say the battery is based on low-cost, domestically available liquid metals that have the potential to shatter the cost barrier to large-scale energy storage as part of the nation's energy grid. In announcing its funding of Sadoway’s work, ARPA-E said the battery technology “could revolutionize the way electricity is used and produced on the grid, enabling round-the-clock power from America's wind and solar power resources, increasing the stability of the grid, and making blackouts a thing of the past.”

Andrew Chung, a principal at Lightspeed Venture Partners in Menlo Park, Calif., which has no equity stake in Sadoway’s project at this point, says that “grid-scale storage is an area that’s set to explode in the next decade or so,” and is one that his company is following closely. The liquid battery concept Sadoway is developing “is an exciting approach to solving the problem,” he says.

Big is beautiful

Most battery research, Sadoway says, has been aimed at improving storage for portable or mobile systems such as cellphones, computers and cars. The requirements for such systems, including very low weight and high safety, are very different from the needs of a grid-scale, fixed-location battery system. “What I did was completely ignore the conventional technology used for portable power,” he says. The different set of requirements for stationary systems “opens up a whole new range of possibilities.”

A large, utility-owned system “doesn’t have to be crash-worthy; it doesn’t have to be ‘idiot-proof’ because it won’t be in the hands of the consumer.” And while consumers are willing to pay high prices, pound-for-pound, for the small batteries used in high-value portable devices, the biggest constraint on utility-sized systems is cost. In order to compete with present fossil-fuel power systems, he says, “it has got to be cheap to build, cheap to maintain, last a long time with minimal maintenance, and store enormous amounts of energy.”

And so the new liquid batteries that Sadoway and his team, including graduate student David Bradwell, are designing use low-cost, abundant materials. The basic principle is to place three layers of liquid inside a container: Two different metal alloys, and one layer of a salt. The three materials are chosen so that they have different densities that allow them to separate naturally into three distinct layers, with the salt in the middle separating the two metal layers —like novelty drinks with different layers.

The energy is stored in the liquid metals that want to react with one another but can do so only by transferring ions — electrically charged atoms of one of the metals — across the electrolyte, which results in the flow of electric current out of the battery. When the battery is being charged, some ions migrate through the insulating salt layer to collect at one of the terminals. Then, when the power is being drained from the battery, those ions migrate back through the salt and collect at the opposite terminal.

The whole device is kept at a high temperature, around 700 degrees Celsius, so that the layers remain molten. In the small devices being tested in the lab, maintaining this temperature requires an outside heater, but Sadoway says that in the full-scale version, the electrical current being pumped into, or out of, the battery will be sufficient to maintain that temperature without any outside heat source.

While some previous battery technologies have used one liquid-metal component, this is the first design for an all-liquid battery system, Sadoway says. “Solid components in batteries are speed bumps. When you want ultra-high current, you don’t want any solids.”

Inspiration from aluminum

The initial inspiration for the idea came from thinking about a very different technology, Sadoway says: one of the biggest users of electrical energy, aluminum smelting plants. Sadoway realized that this was one of the few existing examples of a system that could sustain extremely high levels of electrical current over a sustained period of years at a time. “It’s an electrochemical process that runs at high temperatures, and at a current of hundreds of thousands of amps,” he says. In a sense, the new concept is like an aluminum plant running in reverse, producing power instead of consuming it.

Chung says that from the point of view of a venture capitalist, the research is particularly intriguing for several reasons. Not only does it offer the potential to significantly lower the cost and increase cycle life [the number of times it can be charged and discharged] of large-scale electricity storage, but it also suggests that the risk typically associated with an early stage research project may be lower because the system draws on decades of experience in the design and operation of aluminum production facilities. “That gives us added confidence that some of the targets around cost, scalability and safety have merit,” he says.

The team is now testing a number of different variations of the exact composition of the materials in the three layers, and of the design of the overall device. Sadoway says that thanks to initial funding through the Deshpande Center and the Chesonis Family Foundation, he and his team were able to develop the concept to the point of demonstrating a proof-of-principle at the laboratory scale. That, in turn, made it possible to get the large grants to develop the technology further.

“It’s an example of work that sprang from basic science, was developed to a pilot scale, and now is being scaled up to have a real transformational impact in the world,” says Ernest Moniz, director of the MIT Energy Initiative.

The laboratory tests have provided “some measure of confidence,” Sadoway says. But many more tests will be needed  to “demonstrate that the idea is scalable to industrial size, at competitive cost.” But while he is very confident that it will all work, there are a lot of unknowns, he says, including how to design and build the necessary containers, electrical control systems, and connections.

“We’re talking about batteries of a size never seen before,” he says. And the system they develop has to include everything, including control systems and charger electronics on an unprecedented scale.

For Sadoway, the project is worth pursuing despite its daunting challenges, because the potential impact is so great. “I’m not doing this because I want another journal publication,” Sadoway says. “It’s about making a difference … It’s an opportunity to invent our way out of the energy problem.”

The Office of Faculty Support is soliciting proposals for projects for the 2010-2011 academic year that improve the quality of teaching, enrich students’ learning experiences, and uphold the tradition of innovation at the Institute.

The Alumni Class Funds are made possible by contributions from members of the classes of 1951, 1955, 1972 and 1999. Over the past 15 years, more than 140 projects have been funded, making a substantial contribution to education both inside and outside MIT. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $50,000 and cover a wide variety of creative curricular and pedagogical projects.

Proposals are due on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. Guidelines, necessary forms, instructions, and descriptions of previously funded projects can be found at http://web.mit.edu/alumnifunds. Please contact the Office of Faculty Support at 617-253-6776 or alumnifunds@mit.edu for more information.

On the weekend before Thanksgiving, more than 2,500 middle and high school students from Massachusetts and across the country will come to the MIT campus to take classes in subjects ranging from black holes to Egyptian mythology, “Cheesecakeology” to design and analysis of roller coasters. They’re coming for the MIT Splash, a high-energy student-run program that shows why learning is fun. With more than 2,500 students expected to attend, this year’s event will be the largest since its creation more than two decades ago.

Splash has been run every year since 1988 by the MIT Educational Studies Program, a volunteer student group. Run by students, for students, Splash is a chance to learn just about anything. The program is so successful that over one out of every five students at Splash 2008 reported that they learned “more than a whole month of school” in just that one weekend.

This year, the MIT students have organized a program that will feature more than 650 classes taught by hundreds of college students and community members. Ranging from serious material in science and the humanities to more esoteric and wacky classes, the program provides a chance for students to get their feet wet in any number of different topics.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for everyone involved,” said Stephanie Bachar, a junior at MIT and chair of the Educational Studies Program. “Our students get the chance to explore topics of their choice that are often beyond the scope of a typical high school class. Our teachers can teach what they’re passionate about to students who are willing and excited to learn. Program directors and volunteers get to make a difference in a fun way, and really grow their creativity and leadership skills in real-world situations.”

“Working on Splash is a thrill,” agreed Paul Kominers, a sophomore and director of this year’s Splash. “When else am I going to get the chance to make something like this happen?”

Putting on Splash may be very rewarding, but it’s also a great deal of work, especially as the program gets larger. The students in charge stay up late reviewing classes, organizing teacher trainings, printing signs, and programming their student-run website (at http://esp.mit.edu). Somewhere in there, they also fit in their academic work.

This work allows them to run Splash as a community service: with volunteer teachers and space provided by MIT, the cost is kept down to just $30 for a full weekend (up to 20 hours of classes). An optional lunch and dinner can also be purchased. Generous financial aid is available for those with need.

Since its beginnings, the Splash program has spread to four universities and is on its way to several others. Why is it so attractive to college student volunteers? “Volunteering for this program is different because it’s really your program,” said Chris Kennedy, a senior at MIT and co-director of Splash. “It’s such a unique opportunity to be able to work with your friends and make it happen, then see first-hand the impact it has on the students.” Even as it expands to other colleges, though, the program at MIT remains the largest, and draws students who live as far away as Hawaii, California, and even Singapore.

Middle and high school students who would like to attend the program or find out more can visit the MIT Educational Studies Program web site at http://esp.mit.edu. Online registration for Splash is open now through Nov. 18, and on-site registration is available. Students who miss Splash will also have many more opportunities: at the web site, there is information about other programs run by the group, including more in-depth, semester-long versions of Splash classes, Advanced Placement courses, and SAT Preparation programs.

MIT Medical will hold a free undergraduate H1N1 influenza vaccination walk-in clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the dining room at MacGregor House (W61) from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until vaccine supplies last. Students must present a valid MIT ID to get vaccinated. Please wear short sleeves or sleeveless shirts for ease of vaccine administration.

H1N1 vaccine supply is limited at this time, but MIT Medical expects to offer more vaccinations later in November and December when additional shipments of vaccine arrive. Keep checking MIT Medical’s Flu Central web site at http://web.mit.edu/fluinfo for the latest information on vaccine availability.

Until three years ago, Marcus Causton, 31, a graduate student in MIT’s engineering logistics program, hadn’t played much tennis. But after a rock-climbing accident in Wales five years ago left him paraplegic, he took up wheelchair tennis. Since it can be played on any court using regular rackets and balls, Causton can hit with anyone — even able-bodied players. The only difference is that wheelchair players are allowed two ball bounces on their side of the net rather than one.

“You can do it on your own terms; you don’t have to rely on a team,” Causton explained recently as he prepared to hit some balls at MIT’s James B. Carr Tennis Center, an indoor facility otherwise known as “the Bubble.” He was waiting for Spritely Roche, the assistant coach for MIT’s men’s tennis team, to play.

It was 4 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon. Three weeks earlier, Causton had won the Men’s Open singles division at the National Collegiate Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Alabama, where he represented MIT as the number-one seed in the Tier 1 singles competition.

The last time he checked, he was ranked 77th in the world among players of wheelchair tennis, one of the fastest-growing wheelchair sports, according to the International Tennis Federation. Causton didn’t know his current national ranking and didn’t seem to care. “The world ranking is the main indicator of how good you are,” he explained.

Causton had been resting for a few weeks and was eager to play. He twisted a yellow and black Babolat racket in his right wrist and swung his torso from side to side to warm up. “The mobility aspect is the hardest,” he said. “You have to get your wheelchair in the right spot. There’s a lot more anticipation than in able-bodied tennis. You are always moving and have to get used to pushing while also holding your racket.”

He strapped his waist and feet into his tennis wheelchair, which has wheels angled inward, like a skier would angle his skis, to provide more stability and make it easier to turn. On the back of the chair there is also a small wheel, similar to an office chair’s, that keeps him from tipping over. While able-bodied players stuff balls into the pockets of their shorts, Causton puts his between the spokes of his wheels.

Causton asked Roche to serve some balls. “Should I mix up spins?” Roche asked. “Sure, do some tough, do everything,” Causton said. And so began an hour of tennis between a pair of squeaky sneakers shuffling across the court from two constantly circling wheels.

“I’m free to hit any way I want to when I play with him. Our levels match up nicely,” Roche explained, noting that the strongest part of Causton’s game is his serve return. “He can really dictate points when he is returning serve. He can also produce tremendous power on his ground strokes and has terrific court coverage.”

Roche acknowledged that he tends to avoid certain shots when he plays with Causton — a drop shot and then a lob or a big high spin to a backhand followed by a short ball to the other corner — because he is able-bodied and might be able to cover responses to those shots more easily than Causton’s wheelchair opponents.

For almost every play, Causton’s game followed a pattern regardless of whether he was hitting a forehand or backhand. He angled his chair so that his body faced somewhat away from the court. He turned his head to face Roche, both hands grasping the wheels while one hand also clenched his racket, as he prepared to spin the chair one way or another. Once the ball was served, Causton quickly turned toward it, fiercely pushed his weight across the court, let go of his right wheel, raised his racket and whacked the ball back to Roche with such force it sounded, thanks to the echo effect of the Bubble, like a bullet.

Causton has always been a dedicated athlete. Before his accident, he played rugby in college and loved rock climbing, skiing, hiking and cycling. He still skis and also plays wheelchair basketball, but tennis is his main focus. He met Roche while practicing at the court one day, and Roche was immediately taken with Causton’s skill. “There is a very rare combination of power and touch,” he said of Causton’s style. “And he’s just a cool guy.”

Born in France, Causton has lived “all over the place,” including 12 years in the United States, most recently in Vermont, where he worked as a quality engineer for an aerospace company. He is studying the supply-chain field in his engineering graduate program, and hopes a master’s degree in logistics will give him more flexibility in his career choices. After graduation in the spring, he hopes to score a job for a company like Adidas. When he is not playing tennis or immersed in schoolwork, Causton hangs out with friends and follows professional soccer, rugby and tennis. His favorite able-bodied tennis player is Roger Federer because of the “very smooth way he hits the ball.”

Causton practiced his serve next, bouncing the ball three times before throwing it up, eyeballing it and hitting it across the court. While his hit is so powerful that it often swings his chair in the opposite direction, it appears that Causton’s true skill is how well he maneuvers his chair across the court, making tight turns within split seconds. He missed a ball and rolled his eyes. “It’s a frustrating sport when you don’t get it the way you want it,” he said.

In January, Causton plans to go back to his intense training schedule of playing three to four times a week for up to two hours. He mentioned the Paralympic Games, the elite sporting event for athletes with a disability, and the World Team Cup, the largest annual international team competition for wheelchair tennis. “It depends on what work will allow,” he said.

As Causton wheeled himself across the Bubble and packed up his racket, Roche pointed out a new player on this year’s team who was practicing on a nearby court. Causton asked to be introduced.

The MIT community is mourning the loss of Kabelo Zwane, a 21-year-old sophomore from Swaziland who was studying mechanical engineering.

Zwane’s body was found Saturday, Nov. 7, in a wooded area in Bedford, Mass. The cause of death is still being investigated, but authorities have ruled out foul play.

MIT administrators have worked with diplomatic authorities in Washington and Swaziland throughout the week to notify Zwane’s family members; they were notified on Wednesday.

“The MIT community is deeply saddened by this terrible loss,” said Chancellor Phillip L. Clay. “Our thoughts are with Kabelo’s family and friends during this very difficult time.”

Holly Sweet, associate director of the Experimental Study Group, was Zwane’s freshman adviser. She said he was well-liked by his peers and teachers, and that his loss was felt strongly within ESG.

“He was one of the sweetest people I have ever met — hard-working, kind. We are all devastated by this,” she said about Zwane, who was a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ and the African Students Association. “It is just so tragic because he was a really good person and had so much to offer.”

MIT is making counseling services available. Those who feel affected by the tragedy are encouraged to contact Mental Health Service for assistance at 617-253-2916. The service also offers walk-in counseling between 2-4 p.m. every weekday on the third floor of E-23.

Follow MIT cross country, field hockey and women’s soccer in NCAA Championship action
(Click here for details)

Field hockey, women’s soccer defeat Springfield College to win NEWMAC Championships
(Recap)

Cross country sweeps NEWMAC Championships for third year in a row
(Men's Recap/Women's Recap)

NEWMAC Fall Postseason Honors

Men’s Cross Country – NEWMAC Champions
Runner of the Year: Hemagiri Arumugam
All-Conference: Hemagiri Arumugam, Bill Phipps, Gihan Amarasiriwardena, Dawit Zewdie, Dan Harper, Paul Welle, Stephen Serene, Ben Mattocks
Academic All-Conference: Hemagiri Arumugam, Jack Bourbonnais, Logan Daum, Ben Mattocks, William Phipps, Stephen Serene, Matthew Weaver

Women’s Cross Country – NEWMAC Champions
Runner of the Year: Maria Monks
Rookie of the Year: Brooke Johnson
All-Conference: Maria Monks, Jacqui Wentz, Brooke Johnson, Missy Showers, Tania Morimoto, Alina Gatowski, Katherine Eve
Academic All-Conference: Katherine Eve, Alina Gatowski, Margaret Lloyd, Maria Monks, Jacqui Wentz

Field Hockey – NEWMAC Champions
Coach of the Year: Cheryl Silva
All-Conference: Molly McShane (First Team), Anna Teruya (First Team), Keri Dixon (First Team), Kimberly Barker (Second Team)
Academic All-Conference: Keri Dixon, Jessica Oleinik, Danielle Smith

Men’s Soccer – NEWMAC Quarterfinalist
All-Conference: Zachary Kabelac (First Team), Christian Therkelsen (First Team), Max Stein-Golenbock (Second Team), Ben Lewis (Second Team)
Academic All-Conference: Samuel Acquah, Akara Ambak, Peter Bojo, Max Stein-Golenbock, Christian Therkelsen

Women’s Soccer – NEWMAC Champions
Athlete of the Year: Lauren Hernley
All-Conference: Lauren Hernley (First Team), Emily Kuo (First Team), Alisha Lussiez (Second Team), Katie Pesce (Second Team)
Academic All-Conference: Kerry Box, Lauren Hernley, Alisha Lussiez, Katie Pesce, Edith Reshef, Liz Theurer

Women’s Tennis – NEWMAC Semifinalist
All-Conference: Leslie Hansen (Second Team No. 1 Singles and No. 1 Doubles), Anastasia Vishnevetsky (Second Team No. 2 Singles and No. 1 Doubles)
Academic All-Conference: Sheena Bhalla, Jenny Dohlman, Leslie Hansen, Jenny Hillary, Sonya Makhni, Anastasia Vishnevetsky

Women’s Volleyball – NEWMAC Runner-Up
All-Conference: Barden Cleeland (First Team), Alex May (First Team), Jenny Li (Second Team), Alyssa Rothman (Second Team)
Academic All-Conference: Katrina Ellison, Kate Kelly, Alex May

Joint MIT/Harvard MBA student Leland Cheung made history on Nov. 3 by becoming the first university student and the first Asian American to be elected to the Cambridge City Council. He will join his new colleagues in January as the youngest member of the nine-member body.

Enrolled in a dual-degree program, Cheung is pursuing an MBA at Sloan and a Master’s of Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School. At Sloan, he is on the entrepreneurship and innovation track, which involves a group of about 60 students who focus on for-profit and not-for-profit entrepreneurship. Cheung expects to complete both programs in 2011.

Twenty-one people ran for City Council, including all incumbents, one of whom staged a successful write-in campaign after missing the city’s campaign filing deadline. Since 1941, Cambridge has used the unique proportional representation system of election, whereby a group of voters equaling more than one-tenth of the turnout on Election Day may elect one of the nine members of the City Council. Voters rank the candidates on their ballots, and all ballots are initially assigned to the first choice ranked on each ballot. If a candidate surpasses the one-tenth threshold, any excess is transferred to other candidates according to the next ranked choice. The next phase of the election is a series of runoffs in which the candidate at each stage with the fewest votes is defeated and that candidate’s ballots are transferred to other candidates. This continues until the field is reduced to the nine who are elected. It is in this manner that Cheung secured the ninth spot on the council.

Voter turnout in Cambridge was high for a municipal election, at just more than 16,000 ballots. Surprisingly, Cheung’s 754 #1 votes and subsequent transfer votes did not come exclusively from university students. Political observer Robert Winters, who hosts a web site dedicated to local politics called the Cambridge Civic Journal, tracked the voting results. “Newly elected Leland Cheung was not, in fact, carried into office by waves of MIT and Harvard students,” said Winters. “Though he did well among the relatively few students who voted, Leland's votes were spread uniformly across the city.”

Councillor-Elect Cheung has stated that his priorities for Cambridge are job creation, education, affordable housing, university/community relations, and transparent government. Cheung plans to spend the next several weeks meeting with City Council and School Committee colleagues to discuss how to advance mutual priorities. He will also be meeting with City administrators and department heads to learn about the operations of the City of Cambridge. Shortly after his election, Cheung posted the following message on his website:

“I want to express a heartfelt thanks again to all my supporters. I couldn’t have done it without you and I look forward to advocating on your behalf when I officially join Cambridge City Council in January.”

For more information about Leland Cheung, please see: www.lelandcheung.com

Nationally, the Class of 2009 faced the worst job market in over a generation. Early in the year, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported employer projections for hiring graduating seniors fell by 21 percent from the previous year. The decline affected nearly all industries. Consequently, only 20 percent of graduating seniors had offers at the time of graduation. For those who did receive offers, the average salary fell by 1.2 percent to $48,633.
 
In contrast, 89 percent of graduating MIT seniors, who were pursuing work, had accepted a job offer by the time of graduation. The average starting salary rose to $67,270 which represents a 2.5 percent increase and continues a five-year upward trend [see figure 3]. While this is a significantly higher salary than the national average for all disciplines, it is also higher than the average starting salary for engineering graduates ($59,670) and finance graduates ($49,163). A large number of graduating seniors accepted offers in the finance and technology sectors.
 
The decline in college hiring was very evident at MIT. During the 2008-2009 recruiting season, which runs from September-March, the Global Education and Career Development Center (GECDC) experienced a 29 percent decrease in on-campus recruiting by employers. While this resulted in fewer job applications and fewer interviews than in previous years, on-campus recruiting continued as the primary source of employment [see figure 2]. At the same time, it is clear that MIT students were resourceful in this challenging job market. They continued to use networking as a key source of employment and relied more heavily on developing opportunities through internships, career fairs and contacts acquired through the GECDC [see figure 2]. The ultimate outcome was an increase in the average number of offers [see figure 3].
 
Several factors influenced the success of graduating seniors in finding lucrative employment:

• MIT students have strong analytical skills which are highly valued in many sectors including finance, technology, management consulting, and aerospace and defense.
• Employers continue to believe that hiring top talent directly from universities is an essential strategy for future growth and leadership. 
• Nationally, engineers earn the highest starting salary and continue to see the largest increases in average salary.
• Students accepted offers from their internship employers more than ever before: 30.3 percent in 2009 and 28.3 percent in 2008.
• The GECDC developed a “Troubled Economy Series” featuring a series of workshops and panels to help students gain internships and employment. More than 100 students attended.
• The GECDC initiated two new career fairs. The Federal Agency Career Fair brought in 30 recruiting organizations and 375 students. The Spring Career Fair, held in April, had more than 45 companies and more than 600 students in attendance.

There is no denying that the job search for the Class of 2009 was more challenging than recent years. In looking forward, there are some early signals that the economic downturn may be turning around. However, job creation is not immediately following. A recent NACE report noted that employers expect to hire 7 percent fewer graduates from the Class of 2010 than the previous year. In spite of continuing projected declines in college hiring, it appears that MIT graduates are well positioned to continue to beat the odds.
 
The details of the immediate post-graduation plans of graduating MIT students are gathered via the Graduating Student Survey. The results for the Class of 2009 Graduating Student Survey results will be posted on the GECDC website by early December.
 
Data cited from the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) can be found in the following press releases and underlying reports:

• College Class of 2009 Sees Declines in Starting Salary Offers, September 8, 2009
• Hiring Down 7 Percent for College Class of 2010, September 16, 2009

Donal Fox, Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Artist at MIT for the 2009-2010 academic year, is internationally acclaimed for fusing classical music, jazz and improvisatory technique in his piano playing.
 
"Donal Fox occupies a unique position in contemporary music, not so much because he straddles the line between jazz and concert music, but because he includes improvisation in both genres with equal enthusiasm and expertise," said Peter Child, professor of music in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
 
In Fox's new Music and Theater Arts class in musical improvisation, MIT students are examining relationships between improvisation, composition and performance from a score.
 
"The results have been amazing," Child said, noting that class enrollment has exceeded expectations. "It's been delightful to watch Donal become increasingly engaged with our talented and unusual students, and the perspective of total immersion in music that he brings to the classroom is important and refreshing for them."
 
Fox applauds the commitment of his students. "The fascinating and challenging thing about my class is how wide-ranging it is," he said, noting that the springboard for his course material is the music the students used for their auditions. The musical interests are wide, he said, including classical, jazz, pop, world music, electronic, Klezmer, Afro-Cuban and any other musical genres that come up in discussion.
 
On October 10, Fox exemplified his subject matter in performing two sets with his quartet at the Regattabar in Cambridge. Among the 20 MIT students who took advantage of free tickets purchased through the Council for the Arts excursion series was Anne Goldberg, a cross-registered Wellesley senior who's taking Fox's improv class. Goldberg appreciates what she calls Fox's holistic approach.
 
"He really has shown me, through his performance at the Regattabar and through daily classroom experiences, that my growth as a musician is dependent on all aspects of my life, and that music draws upon the whole person, not simply on a series of exercises in a practice room."
 
As an example, Goldberg recounted an activity Fox conducted with the class, in which the students listed various emotions, which they transmuted into vocal sounds to be translated to their respective instruments.  She called these exercises "tools to get in touch with our inner voices," adding that the students made some "incredibly expressive sounds by imitating our intuitions."
 
Classmate Paula Te, a senior in mechanical engineering and industrial design, has been interested in musical improvisation since she was a 14-year-old violinist in a church band, where her sheet music consisted of chords above a lyric sheet. "That was my first exposure to the world of improvisation, using my creativity and what musical sense I had to make up melodies on the spot," she recalled, relishing the chance to actually learn about improvisation from Fox.
 
This fall, in addition to a performance as a guest artist with MIT's Festival Jazz Ensemble on Saturday, November 14, where he will demonstrate some of his musical ideas with solo piano and small student ensemble pieces, he is planning for the world premiere performance of Peace Out for Improvised Piano and Orchestra, a work that will showcase his signature method of pairing an improvised solo part with notated orchestral writing, at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall.
 
Peace Out will be part of an American Composers Orchestra program titled "Traditions and Transmigrations," with Orchestra Underground. The concert is on Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m., and tickets, which range from $38-$48, can be purchased at CarnegieCharge at: 212-247-7800, or visit www.carnegiehall.org.

MIT students and staff worked together last month to install wind-monitoring equipment on a lighting post in the west campus athletic fields to evaluate whether to erect a wind turbine there in the spring.

The planned turbine, a Skystream 3.7 with a rated output of 2.4 kilowatts, about enough to power an average home, is a gift from Philip Deutch as a tribute to his father, Institute Professor John Deutch. In addition to providing some power for the tennis bubble, the turbine would provide a teaching and research tool for MIT students. Already, the spring-semester class Projects in Energy plans to use the wind measuring equipment as part of its wind  project.

But before installing the windmill, it's essential to quantify the wind resource that's available amid the many campus buildings. To do so, recording anemometers were mounted atop and at different levels on a light pole. A Lidar system, from NRG Systems, may be tested next to it. The Lidar system enables continuous monitoring of wind speeds at various levels, up to 200 meters above the ground, to determine exactly how much the wind speeds vary with height. A second monitoring station will be installed later at the far western end of the field, to provide a second set of location-specific data.

Peter Cooper, manager of sustainability engineering and utility planning for MIT's Department of Facilities, says that additional turbines might eventually be installed in other campus locations, including some building rooftops, as well as at MIT's Bates Linear Accelerator facility in Middleton, Mass. After the monitoring tower is taken down in the spring to make way for the first on-campus turbine, the tower may be set up in Middleton to begin monitoring wind speeds at that location, he says. The planned turbine "is certainly not the last wind project here, by any means," he says.

Robert Armstrong, deputy director of the MIT Energy Initiative, says that one of MITEI's four major objectives is "using the campus as a living laboratory," and having a working wind turbine on campus would help to meet that mandate.

Graduate student in engineering systems Katherine Dykes, vice-president of the MIT Energy Club and founder of the Wind Energy Group, says that wind monitoring equipment for site evaluation would usually use its own free-standing tower, but the athletics department were concerned that the guy wires needed to support such a tower would interfere with sport activities in the area. The solution was to make use of a light pole already in place.

Monitoring the wind is crucial because it's hard to predict exactly how wind will flow in a complex environment surrounded by many buildings, and even small differences in average wind speed can make a big difference. Because the energy of the wind varies as the cube of the speed, explains NRG representative Larry Jacobs, if you find a spot where the average wind speed is twice as high, the amount of power that could be generated would increase by a factor of eight.

The Lidar system that NRG has developed allows continuous monitoring of wind speeds from ground level all the way up to 200 meters, using just a box on the ground that takes up less than one cubic yard. The work is being carried out by a group of graduate students led by Dykes and Wind Energy Group president Kathy Araujo. They have been working with the Facilities Department, with MITEI's "walk the talk" program for campus energy improvements, and with donors and industry representatives.

Planning for this project, dubbed Project Full Breeze, has been underway for well over a year. Even before the eventual windmill is installed, the project has an educational function — for now, a hands-on demonstration of the equipment and procedures needed for site evaluation, as well as access to the local, real-time data being provided by that equipment. The team hopes to make that real-time data available online, so that any students can use the information for their own research projects. "Each phase is a stand-alone project that will provide information for student-related research," Dykes explains.
 

A fire broke out at around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in a construction trench on Amherst Alley outside the ATO building. Cambridge firefighters had the blaze under control by around 8:50 a.m.

There were no injuries, although several nearby student residences were evacuated as a precaution.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by members of the Cambridge Fire Department and by MIT safety officials.

MIT senior running back DeRon Brown '10 is the subject of a feature article in yesterday's USA Today. Brown's average of 170 yards per game is tops in Division III.

Read the article on the USA Today website here:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2009-11-02-mit-brown_N.htm

See Brown play in his last game for MIT this weekend versus Endicott College:
http://mit.prestosports.com/sports/m-footbl/2009-10/schedule

On Thursday, Oct. 29, the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team completed the World Solar Challenge in Australia, finishing in second place in the Silicon category — cars racing with off-the-shelf, terrestrial-grade silicon solar cells — and fifth place overall among 25 competitors.

The team raced their newest vehicle, Eleanor, a total of 3,021 kilometers from the northern city of Darwin to Adelaide in South Australia, in five days. Eleanor is the 10th solar vehicle that the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team has built and raced since 1984. The vehicle’s performance in this year’s competition ranked among the team's best finishes.

Designed and built by the SEVT in 2008 and 2009, the car, weighing 430 pounds without a driver, is a fully solar-powered electric vehicle built from high-tech composites and containing the state-of-the-art in power electronics.

Power is provided by an array of six square meters of silicon solar cells that outputs a maximum of 1200 watts — less than most hairdryers. Despite this, the car with a driver can maintain highway speeds throughout the day. The array charges a battery pack designed by Genasun, a company founded by a SEVT alumnus, composed of 551 extremely high energy density lithium-ion cells donated by Panasonic. The pack is able to power the car without recharging from Boston to New York.

The MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team is a student-run organization that designs, builds, tests, and races a solar vehicle on a two-year design cycle. Consisting mainly of undergraduates, the team competes in domestic and international competitions. The SEVT operates with the support of its sponsors, including Infinesse Corp., MIT's Edgerton Center, Ford, and Panasonic Corp.

The cold weather is almost here! Get rid of unwanted warm clothing and help those in need — donate to CASPAR (the Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Rehabilitation) during the Campus Winter Clothing Drive taking place Nov. 3 to Nov. 10 at five convenient locations around campus.

CASPAR is seeking donations of gently used clothing items such as mens' jeans, sweatshirts/fleeces, hats, gloves, winter boots, sneakers, warm coats, and (new) warm socks. Drop off your items in donation bins at: Copy Tech (11-004), Student Center (W20), Whitaker Lobby (E25), Environmental Programs Office (N52-496), and MIT Police Department (W89). See map here.

This effort is sponsored by the Office of Government and Community Relations, Office of Community Giving, and the Department of Facilities. Questions? Contact Anya Petroff at 617-253-1989 or at apetroff@mit.edu.

MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) has gained wide notice for its disarmingly simple suggestions about improving global welfare. In Kenya several years ago, J-PAL researchers noticed that the most inexpensive way to improve the school attendance of children is medical treatment that rids them of intestinal worms. Now, based on that finding, the Clinton Global Initiative is attempting to deworm 20 million schoolchildren in 26 countries in 2009.

In order to keep churning out its many studies — 181 since its inception in 2003 — J-PAL needs student help. For that, it has relied upon MIT’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).

Founded in 1969, UROP is one of the oldest programs in the United States that invites undergraduates to participate in research as the junior colleagues of Institute faculty. UROP gets undergraduates into campus labs; J-PAL makes the world a lab, by running randomized experiments testing the usefulness of anti-poverty programs. And labs require workers, which is where UROP and J-PAL join forces. Out of 105 current economics majors at MIT, according to J-PAL’s senior project manager, Tricia Gonwa, 17 participate in UROP, and nine specifically work with J-PAL.

“UROP gets undergraduates excited about economics research, and the undergraduates work with the data collected in the field, contributing to our research,” Gonwa told a panel discussion during UROP’s 40th-anniversary symposium on Oct. 29.

Specifically, UROP students make sure J-PAL’s survey data, collected by field workers around the globe, is accurate. And by poring over the numbers, the undergraduates learn development economics from the inside out.

Consider one J-PAL research project on health in India, which involved giving 25,000 residents 100 questions each. The resulting 2.5 million data points had to be confirmed multiple times before being analyzed, noted Richard McDowell, a J-PAL researcher who spoke on the panel. Yet as survey data is transferred from paper to computers — and often from one language to another — mistakes occur. UROP students must catch those errors to make sure J-PAL’s studies are valid.

“Let’s say you have a 25-year-old man who works as a farmer, owns a radio, uses a bike to get around, and the last time he was pregnant, he had three pre-natal tests,” McDowell said wryly. “That’s a definite red flag.”

One panelist who has spent hours double-checking such entries, senior Niveditha Subramanian, shows what UROP has brought to J-PAL. Subramanian wants to become an economist, has served as an intern as J-PAL’s Paris office, and recently used her language skills to translate survey data from French to English, as part of a J-PAL project aiming to bring clean water to residents of Tangier, Morocco.

“My family is from India, and every time we go back, it’s easy to see poverty,” said Subramanian. “At J-PAL you have a chance to change that reality in the world.”

One data-entry form at a time, anyway.