Afterhours with Woodie Flowers
Woodie C. Flowers PhD ’73 is best known as one of the founding members of the FIRST Robotics Competition, a high school science and technology competition. He is also an Emeritus Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MIT. I got a chance to talk with Flowers over the phone, as he’s currently on the road for various FIRST competitions. He told me about the MIT class that started the competition and tells potential freshmen how to succeed at the Institute.
NOT RELATED TO TIGER Thinkers Anonymous
It all started when I was using StumbleUpon and came across a satire. It was modeled after an Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet and began:
Hung up on MIT: The Game
This February, MIT: The Game was unleashed on the public. Now boasting an user base of over five thousand players, the Facebook application is an addicting and entertaining experience — in other words, don’t start playing until you’re done with your psets. Victor Hung ’14, the programmer behind the game who dedicated about two hundred hours to its creation, and Chris Peterson, the admissions officer who recruited Victor, sat down to talk with The Tech about the inspiration behind the game, ghost roller coasters, and those players masterful enough to hack its code.
QUARKINESS Colorful strands
It’s kind of a thing at MIT to dye your hair unusual colors. Okay, I clarify: the colors are unusual by outside world standards, but not by MIT standards. Many people at the Institute have their hair dyed in an interesting assortment of colors, including hot pink, fire-truck red, construction-sign orange, Lady Gaga yellow, neon green, bright blue, deep purple, and ultraviolet (kidding about this one … I think) — it’s enough to make a rainbow, maybe even a double rainbow.
Institute Double Take
Most of us are familiar with 77 Massachusetts Avenue (Building 7) — it’s our gateway to the Infinite Corridor. We just hurry on through without looking around or thinking too much about the place. I was the same way until I decided to take a midnight walk after a long day and looked up. The lighting and contrast reminded me of the various effects that can be achieved with long-exposure photography and inspired me to try it out.
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU MIT Not your typical spring break
Spring break is always a highly anticipated time, and this year’s break could not have had a better start: record-high temperatures and beautiful sunny weather. But like any break from classes, spring break is tragically ephemeral, and like any weather system in New England, the spring weather is not here to stay. So why not live vicariously through various MIT courses and student groups who used the week off as an opportunity for fieldwork and service projects? The Tech profiled seven MIT students representing five MIT groups that traveled off campus over spring break.
MAY CONTAIN NUTS How to save a life
If you’ve ever seen Mrs. Doubtfire, you will understand why I love the movie so much — after all, a man dressed as an endearing old lady … what’s not to love? But when I saw the movie for the 30th time, I realized that it was also instructional. In a pivotal scene, Robin Williams’s character — disguised as the congenial Mrs. Doubtfire — saves his ex-wife’s lover from choking on a horrible piece of chicken by using the Heimlich maneuver. Though “Mrs. Doubtfire” reveals his true identity in the process, the scene demonstrates the importance of knowing basic life support techniques.
Events: Apr. 5 - Apr. 11
Events Apr. 5 – Apr. 11 Tuesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Brain and Cognitive Sciences Undergraduate Poster Session — Building 46, third floor atrium (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.) Empowering Women: How to Impress when Interviewing and Networking — 4-231 (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Science, Technology and the Future of International Development: A Conversation With USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah — 10-250 (3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) CSAIL Research Information Session. Learn about summer UROP opportunities — 32-G449 (Stata Center, Kiva Conference Room) Wednesday (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Free Russian Folk Puppet Show — 36-156 Thursday (9:00 a.m.) CPW registration begins — Student Center (W20), La Sala de Puerto Rico (Student Center second floor) (9:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.) CPW Welcome Festival — Johnson Athletics Center Friday (10:00 a.m. — 11:30 a.m.) CPW’s President’s Welcome and Featured Faculty Speakers — Kresge Auditorium (3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) The Tech invites prefrosh to interview Chancellor W. Eric L. Grimson PhD ’80 in a Q&A that will be printed in next Tuesday’s issue of The Tech — W20-483 (8:00 p.m.) LSC shows Good Will Hunting — 26-100 Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT Recreational Sports Annual Dodgeball Tournament — duPont Basketball Courts (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) CPW Student Activities Fair — Johnson Athletics Center (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) CPW Closing Remarks and Variety Show — Kresge Auditorium Sunday (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Next Century Convocation — Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (transportation provided from Audrey Street, Ashdown House, and Hayward Street) Monday (3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Contemporary East Asia: A Roundtable Discussion with former UK Foreign Secretary David W. Miliband SM ’90 — E40-496 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Two Sense, a cello/piano duo featuring Ashley Bathgate and Lisa Moore, perform — Killian Hall Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Gotta be fresh…which room do you pick?
With over 1000 bathrooms on campus to explore, The Tech went out of its way to show you the best of the best. From antibacterial flushers to Dyson Airblades and automatic doors, MIT hosts a cornucopia of places to do your business.
Events: Mar. 29 - Apr 4
CORRECTION TO THIS ARTICLE: This events calendar indicates the incorrect time for a talk by Jonathan E. D. Richmond PhD ’91 on corruption in developing countries. The talk will begin at 12:30 p.m., and lunch will begin at 12:15 p.m (W20-307). This calendar also incorrectly states that LSC will show The King’s Speech this weekend; Good Will Hunting will still be shown on Friday and Sunday.
Hacking the curve: do less, but do it better
I step into the office of MIT postdoc Calvin C. Newport PhD ’09, and his dog Bailey greets me with a couple of excited, energetic yips, prancing back and forth between the open door and the room’s strange intruder. Newport watches with amusement from behind a thermos full of coffee. So here’s the man behind How to Win at College, written while he was still an undergraduate at Dartmouth, and Study Hacks, a study skills blog () with over 19,000 readers. Here’s the man who preaches “less is more, even when it comes to school,” and I get the sense that he applies this generously to his own life. He pursues his interests passionately, saying, “My friends and I had an N64, so we tried to master every level of Mario Kart.” He gives himself enough free space to create an enjoyable life.
Afterhours with John Gabrieli
John D. Gabrieli is known by many as the 9.00 [Introduction to Psychology] professor. He also heads up a lab in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, which seeks to understand the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the brain and how experience can alter brain function. After giving me a brief tour of the MRI machine in the Martinos Imaging Center in Building 46, Gabrieli explained why tired people cheat and why children who can make themselves wait to eat a marshmallow end up being more successful later in life.
MAY CONTAIN NUTS Kickin’ back
I entered the Rotch Library to a sea of coffee cups, books, laptops, and heads bent in intense concentration. As I took a sip from my own coffee cup, I realized that my life had evolved into this regimented schedule of sleep, work, extracurriculars, more work, food in between, and then back to sleep. I had no time to relax and from what I saw of my peers in the library, they didn’t either.
MIT’s funniest stand ups, in competition
Eight MIT students — Vanessa C. Bowens ’12, William D. Drevo ’13, Paul G. Hlebowitsh ’11, Michael T. Lin ’11, Ronan K. McGovern G, Matthew R. Rodriguez ’11, Jacob S. Sharpe ’11, and Xindi Song ’10 — will be competing in the Regional Rivals event against Tufts University in the 4th Annual National College Comedy Competition this Thursday at Mottley’s Comedy Club. The eight students were chosen by a preliminary competition held at MIT last month. This is the second year MIT has participated in the competition, which is sponsored by TBS and Rooftop Comedy. Thanks to the team’s performance last year, MIT was invited to compete this year, along with 31 other schools from across the nation.
Cheat Sheet aka that random stuff that never shows up on the test
The Tech: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Institute Double Take
Dazzling earthlings with a stunning view of the moon, the Boston skyline glittered with its jewel. Occurring every 18 years or so, an astronomical event called Supermoon (or more accurately, Perigee-Syzygy) was witnessed on March 19 around 7:20 p.m. in Boston. The Earth, Moon and Sun are in line, and the Moon is in its nearest approach to the Earth, thus appearing about 14 percent larger in size, and reflecting about 30 percent more light.
Extras: Penny Arcade Expo Video Footage
Watch The Tech’s Jessica J. Pourian ’13 interview conference attendees and game creators and see upclose footage of the conference floor.
Gamers invade Boston
The Penny Arcade Expo East came to Boston last weekend to a warm welcome from over 69,000 people. Fans of the Penny Arcade webcomic, tabletop games, and digital games made it to the convention to celebrate three days of gaming goodness. A number of exciting panels, concerts, game tournaments, and a stunning exhibit hall all contributed to the fun of the show. An atmosphere of gaming community was prevalent throughout the weekend; gamers showed their support for the Child’s Play charity and were generally warm to one another.
Events: Mar. 15 - Mar. 21
Events mar. 15 – mar. 21 Tuesday (8:00 p.m.) MIT Folk Dance Club throws its St. Patrick’s Day Party — W20-491 Wednesday (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) MIT150 Symposium: Conquering Cancer through the Convergence of Science and Engineering — Kresge Auditorium (11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Annual Transportation Fair. Free stuff provided! — Stata Student Street (3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Institute Faculty Meeting — 10-250 Thursday (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) 150 D-Lab Projects highlighted for MIT’s 150th Anniversary — Lobby 10 (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Howard Hughes Medical Institute Lecture presented by Dr. Thomas Tuschl — Whitehead Auditorium (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) MIT Recreation’s Indoor Golf Range Meet and Greet — W32 (DuPont lobby) (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Saxophonist Arni Cheatham and bass trombonist/tuba player Bill Lowe perform for the Killian Jazz Series — 14-111 (Killian Hall) Friday (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) 2011 MIT Polymer Poster Contest — Lobby 13 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents Romeo and Juliet — W20, La Sala de Puerto Rico Saturday (1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) Film Fest — 32-155 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.