One fish, two fish, fake fish Computer models of marine communications tease out ecosystem management trade-offs
I like to joke that I study imaginary fish. People often remember that or, even better, ask what it means. Then, I get to tell them that I study theoretical ecology; I use mathematical tools to investigate how organisms interact with each other and with their environment. I am studying in the MIT Joint Program with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, so my organisms of interest tend to be marine, but the only places they swim are in my computer, in equations, and, always, in my heart.
Generalist vs. Specialist
The increasingly globalized workforce means that large multinational companies recruit graduates from all over the world. Given that various countries have their own university systems, there will certainly be differences in how students are prepared to meet the challenges of employment. I’m in the fortunate position of having studied in two countries — my first two years of college were spent at Cambridge in the U.K., and I am now at MIT through the Cambridge-MIT Exchange for junior year. My firsthand experience of how both universities teach has shown surprising contrasts.
Events Feb. 5 – Feb. 11
Events Feb. 5 – Feb. 11 Tuesday (10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Spring Career Fair — W33 (Rockwell Cage) (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) 2013 IROP Summer Reseearch Exchanges Info Session — 56-162 Wednesday (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Science and Action: International Mercury Treaty Negotiations (free Swiss chocolate) — 24-411 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) 4,000 Years for Choice (Artist Talk) — 6-120 Thursday (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Greentown Labs’ EnergyBar February (2013 MIT Clean Energy Prize Competition kickoff) — Greentown Labs (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Egyptian Movie Night - Hassan and Morcos — 35-225 Friday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) LSC shows Wreck-It Ralph — 26-100 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) MITSSS Chinese New Year Celebration 2013 — NW10 large lounge Saturday (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT’s Musical Theatre Guild presents The Rocky Horror Show — La Sala de Puerto Rico Sunday (7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MISTI Foreign film series shows Footnote (soup and popcorn served) — 32-123 Monday (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) Boston Aquarium outreach program — W85 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Bonding beyond college
Have you ever met an MIT alum purely by chance? Maybe on a plane someone asked you about your cardinal and grey sweatshirt. Perhaps you found out an older neighbor once walked through the Infinite to class. We immediately connect to these MIT alumni, trading stories about late nights and tunnel escapades and comparing Brass Rats. We have shared experiences and a common history.
Beauty, brains, and talent
This year, two MIT students will be among the 16 contestants in the Miss Boston pageant on Feb. 10. Both Jacqueline “Chacha” Durazo ’14 and Kira S. Kopacz ’15 are a reflection of the best aspects of the Institute, passionate about their fields of study and dedicated wholly to their passions in life. Perhaps what is most striking about these women are their similar yet different perspectives on the pageant experience, how it reflects the current trends in society, and how it gives them a platform to spread their ideas and inspire others.
The right way to write
The hardest thing about taking the SAT was writing the honor code in cursive. Well, that’s kind of an exaggeration, but after having drilled the essays and math, the cursive was the only thing that took me by surprise. I spent agonizing minutes, trying to remember how to form capital letters. When that was over with, I thought that I would never touch cursive ever again.
Fig. 3 versus the editor
“May I suggest you consult the senior authors of your paper who should know how to label a scientific graph properly so that our readers can understand them even if they are non-specialists” read the e-mail from an unnamed scientific journal’s editor in chief (EIC). With my eyes and mouth wide open, I read it again: “…There is still not enough clarity about the labeling of the figures. …May I suggest …”
Events Dec. 11 - Dec. 17
Events dec. 11 – dec. 17 Tuesday (4:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) The White House and Regulation: Myths and Realities talk sponsored by MIT Energy Initiative — 66-110 (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) MIT Snowriders Holiday Party — Muddy Charles Pub Wednesday (5:15 p.m.) Advent Service of Lessons and Carols — MIT Chapel (8:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.) Roadkill Buffet Presents: Finals Are For Mayans — W16-035 Thursday (4:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) A New Class of Industrial Robot — 34-101 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Urban Films: Play Time movie showing — 3-133 Friday (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Safe Skies and Little Black Boxes — MIT Museum (7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) Anime Brain Reset — 3-133 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Institute Double Take
A barred owl was spotted in the East Campus courtyard last week. Residents report having seen it and another barred owl hunting mice at night. Another barred owl (perhaps the same one!) was also spotted near the Student Center and near Simmons Hall recently.
Relieving stress
MIT is a stressful place, as we all know and our survey shows. However, despite all the the p-sets, tests, essays, and weather, 85 percent of students still manage to graduate in four years. In order to keep your stress levels in check, try these tips:
Surviving the Institute
Since I first arrived at MIT, I have acted as a counselor for my friends and peers as a MedLink (I now live off campus and am no longer an official MedLink), listening to them share their most stressful experiences. From these conversations, the following are the three biggest pieces of information that I wish MIT students understood about seeking help.
Events Dec. 04-Dec. 10
Events dec. 04 – dec. 10 Tuesday (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) MIT Astrophysics Colloquium: The First Stars and Galaxies — 37-252 (5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Book signing of Logistics Clusters: Delivering Value and Driving Growth by Dr. Yossi Sheffi — E14-633 Wednesday (4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Starr Forum: An American in China talk by James Fallows — E14-674 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Will the Workplace of the Future Have Any Workers? How Computerization is Changing the Nature of Work talk by Professor David Autor — 32-141 Thursday (4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.) Putting IBM Watson to Work — E51-376 (4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) Occupy the Future: Justice, Economics, Activism — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT DanceTroupe presents: Fifty Shades of Plié Friday (1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) Thomas Kuhn’s “Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” 50 Years Later: Reflections on the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science — E15-070 Saturday (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Polar Express — 26-100 Sunday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Sidney Pacific December Brunch — Sidney Pacific Graduate Residence (1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) A Conversation with The Silk Road Ensemble — MIT Museum Monday (3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) The Arab Uprisings as History talk by James L. Gelvin — E25-111 (5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Innovation Series Event: Brewing up Bucks: The Business of Beer, 21+ — 32-123 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
A conference cynic’s conversion
While the belief was totally unsubstantiated, I had long believed that conferences were a secret academic conspiracy. Yeah, you really need to go to Hawaii to meet with other scientists and share your work — this is something that just couldn’t be done via internet or phone. What a thinly veiled scheme to take a vacation and hang out with academic buddies! On my least cynical days, I thought it was merely a holdover from the pre-internet era when communication and dissemination of ideas would have been more difficult.
Corraling coral in the Pacific
As my plane began its steep descent to Christmas Island, 2’N, 157’W, middle of nowhere, I was reminded that the islands I was to visit are some of the most remote pieces of land in the world. I thought about the adventure of a lifetime I was beginning: meeting the sailing yacht Seadragon for a month-long expedition to study coral on three remote atolls in the central Pacific.
Endless forms most irregular
In the viscous, tiny world of plankton, there is endless, beautiful variation.
Events Nov 06 - Nov 12
Events Nov. 06 – Nov. 12 Tuesday (6:00 p.m.) Election Night Party, 21+ — Thirsty Ear Pub Wednesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Civil Wars, 1800-2012 — E40-496 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Dialogue with Dr. Hutter — 4-237 Thursday (11:00 p.m. – 12:00 p.m.) The Scientific Conversation and the Vail Collection: Gallery Talk & Tour — 14N-130 (7:15 p.m.) Forbidden Archeology talk on origins of humans — Student Center PDR 1, PDR 2 Friday (7: 00 p.m.) LSC shows The Dark Knight Rises — 26-100 (8:00 p.m.) Roadkill Buffet improv comedy show — 6-120 Saturday (12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Kopitiam! 2012 Singaporian food feast — Sydney-Pacific Multipurpose Room (2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Snooty Anime Discussion Hours — Student Center PDR 3 Sunday (6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) Diwali Night – Kresge Auditorium (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing with live music from the Cambridge Folk Orchestra — Student Center 491 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Studying the motion in the ocean
The ship’s engine roared to life at 2:30 a.m. and jolted me out of semi-consciousness. My head throbbed — in my dreams I hadn’t stopped cycling through the next day’s research plan, albeit in a strange, nightmarish way. I opened the curtain of my berth and took in my surroundings: the sounds of snoring shipmates — at least someone was getting extra sleep — the sight of my field notebook perched on top of the laptop with which I had spent my weekend synchronizing instruments, and the smell of coffee, coffee, coffee. Nightmare forgotten, reality filled me with eager anticipation.
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
Despite the 96 U.S. deaths during Sandy’s destructive course along the East Coast and the 69 killed as it swept across the Caribbean, Hurricane Sandy did very little to affect Boston in comparison to New York and Atlantic City. Since the storm avoided us and swung inland through New York and north into Canada, it is easy to forget the implications it had on our community. Nevertheless, MIT was both affected by the hurricane and is helping the recovery from the aftermath.
Events oct. 30 – nov. 05
Events oct. 30 – nov. 05 Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Climate and Conflict: Heat and Violence talk — N51, MIT Museum (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) The 2012 Election and the Twilight of the Elites book discussion — Simmons Hall Multipurpose Room Wednesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Service Member, Veteran, and Family Wellness: What Is It, and Why Should We Care? — E40-496 Thursday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Digitizing the Culture of Print: The Digital Public Library of America and Other Urgent projects — E14-633 (7:00 p.m.) A Late Quartet film screening — 26-100 Friday (3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) Energy Lecture Series: “A Day in the Life of the Grid” by FERC Chairman Wellinghoff — E25-111 (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows Moonrise Kingdom — 26-100 Saturday (8:00 p.m.) Persian Style Halloween Party — 50 (9:00 p.m. – 11:55 p.m.) Romanian dance party — W20-491 Sunday (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Shankar Tucker: Live in Concert, fusion Indian music — W16 Monday (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Disruptive Innovation: The Internet of Things & Long-range RFID + Sensors Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.