Secrets of George Eastman and W-1

Chris Colombo, Dean for Student Life

There’s a saying that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. If that’s true, there’s a poem going on at MIT right now.

W1 First Floor Plan

The first line happened nearly a century ago when MIT planned its shift across the river from Boston to Cambridge. In 1912, George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, made the move possible with a $2.5 million donation to fund the construction of the main academic complex.

It was a marvelous, historic gift—but Eastman declined to take public credit for it. Instead, because Eastman insisted on anonymity, MIT President Richard Maclaurin identified the donor only as “Smith” or “Mr. Smith.”

Not even the members of the Corporation knew the source of the millions. For years, no one was in on the secret except President Maclaurin, his wife, and his secretary.

Indeed, Mr. Smith was the subject of national speculation. According to a 1932 article in The Tech, two other New York millionaires, each of whom suspected the other, had a dinner in which they cagily danced around the issue, “but separated without having discovered any secrets and with enlarged respect for the bluffing power of each other.”

And the need for secrecy created awkward moments for President Maclaurin. In 1916, an ambassador from MIT boarded a train to upstate New York to ask Eastman for money to support the Department of Chemistry. An embarrassed Maclaurin sent a hasty note. “I have just heard by accident that Mr. A. D. Little, a member of the Corporation of the Institute, is going to Rochester today … I could not dissuade him from his project without revealing your identity as a benefactor,” he wrote to Eastman.

Eastman did meet with Little and agreed to donate $300,000 although, perhaps to obscure his role as Mr. Smith, he made the gift public. Ultimately, Eastman gave substantial sums of his fortune to higher education, with the University of Rochester as the largest benefactor. MIT received nearly $20 million—most of it anonymously as Mr. Smith.

So why is history rhyming at MIT? Because similarly modest donors continue to shape our campus today.

The grande dame of the dormitory system, Old Ashdown House, presides over the gateway to MIT at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Memorial Drive. We have a new Ashdown House now: NW35, which houses graduate students in the northwest corner of campus.

W1, as we now call the majestic residence, has been gutted and is in the midst of a complete renovation. When the financial crisis threatened to bring work to a halt two years ago, anonymous gifts ensured that the project moved forward. To date, unnamed benefactors have given $20 million—crucial funding at a critical moment.

Eastman’s generosity laid the foundation for MIT’s academic buildings at the start of the last century. We may not know the identities of the current set of “Smiths,” but we can be certain that they are helping to set the cornerstone for residential life for the next century.

Whoever they are, every Mr. or Ms. Smith has our thanks.

 

Have You Checked Out OCW Recently?

This photo, of vendor Mike Jones arriving at an antiques show/flea market with his dog, was taken by an MIT student in the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism class. Click photo to view more.

By now, you’ve likely heard of the OpenCourseWare (OCW) phenomenon. But an OCW newsletter I received last week put it into perspective nicely. It reports that according to the OCW Consortium,

• In one year (2008-2009), 4,727 courses were made available online—an increase of 58%.
• More than 250 institutions have published some 13,000 free courses online.
• Courses are available in more than eight languages.

MIT’s OCW is always updating and adding courses. Among the new offerings:

• Economic History of Financial Crises
• Ethics
• Chinese Foreign Policy: International Relations and Strategy

And, OCW has improved the supplemental resources section, which includes online textbooks, multimedia content, image galleries, and exams and assignments (with and without solutions), among other things—all categorized by discipline. So if you’re looking for a textbook for calculus, fluid dynamics, or electromagnetic field theory; video demonstrations in lasers and fiber optics; or examples of student work from intro writing subjects, you’re in luck.

Be sure to check out student photos from the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism class. You’ll see a day in the life of a Boston Latin history teacher, how scuba divers celebrate Easter, and the real story and characters behind an antiques show and flea market.

 

MIT Women Need You!

Women have always been a minority at MIT, albeit a growing one, and a new student group, Graduate Women at MIT, seeks to support the personal development, individual growth, and empowerment of all graduate women while enhancing connections among existing women’s services. In 2009, 31% of grad students were female (compared to 45% of undergrads), a number that has increased 55% in the past 15 years. GWAMIT founder Kay Furman wanted to ensure that valuable resources were not underutilized by this growing population and that their needs were addressed Institute-wide.

At the internal kick-off dinner, sponsored by the MIT police, Sergeant Cheryl Vossmer and Captain Al Pierce spoke on the role of MIT police on campus and legal issues in domestic violence cases.

GWAMIT will host a spring kick-off week April 26-30 (coinciding with Sexual Assault Awareness Week) that will include a keynote speaker, negotiation and invention workshops, panel on work-life balance, and more.

Here’s where you can help. The group is currently seeking collaborators, sponsors, and panelists for the week as well as other programs in the works. Are you a successful alumna? Have you studied women’s issues or workplace interactions? Could you lead a workshop on a particular skill set (i.e. leadership, negotiation, etc.)? Contact GWAMIT.

GWAMIT’s upcoming plans for the 2010-11 school year include a mentoring program, fall leadership conference, and spring empowerment conference. Check out the Web site to learn more (some events will be open to all alumni), join the student and alumni membership list, and support GWAMIT.

Some 20 women, representing various schools and departments, attended GWAMIT's internal kick-off dinner. Front row, from right: executive board members Megan Brewster, Kay Furman, and Jean Yang.

 

What did you do during IAP?

Drum roll, please.

Ernie ’12: Over IAP, I became more Korean, won the 6.190 competition with Ryan, took UPOP, played hockey, went to church, and coded websites.

Jason ’10: I danced excessively for various dance groups on campus.

Pooja ’11: I worked at a strategic healthcare consulting firm, Decision Resources, as an analyst.

Dan ’11: Bonded with the fam. And I guess the LSAT.

Claire ’11: I did the 6.470 web programming competition and went on outdoor adventures with Winter School!

Giulia and Diana ’11: Studied for the MCAT!

Kimmee ’12: I was in course 4 studio 28 hrs a day. ‘Nuff said. Ohhhh but I got an A for the class!

Juhee ’13: Worked in the admissions office!

Ariadne ’10: I practiced twice a day for the varsity swim team, worked for UPOP (the undergraduate practice opportunities program) and attended a course on project management in Vermont.

Ryan ’10: I coded like a fiend over IAP for the 2010 Speech Recognition Competition! (Ed note: So modest; he also WON!)

Elizabeth ’13: I went to Disney World!

Evelyn ’12: I worked at Donorschoose.org – a great nonprofit in NYC.

Troy ’13: I enjoyed the sun back home!

Tina ’12: I set up a chapter of Leadership Training Institute in Brazil.

Jamie ’11: I did an externship at a Medical Devices start up!

Leigh ’10: I took an HST class in which I dissected a cadaver.

Jess ’11: I participated in MLK Seminar and completed an installation about minorities in media.

Chris ’10: I backpacked through Europe with 2 of my friends- 10 countries in 31 days!

Tom ’10: I built a ceramic water filter factory in Northern Ghana.

Beth ’10: I ice climbed and hiked in the pretty Patagonian mountains of Chile!

And finally, a friend who shall remain nameless, just walked into my room after having a little too much fun at a Super Bowl party at his frat. I asked him to tell me what he did during IAP in a sentence.

“I just worked in my…” His eyes widened and he was silent for a few moments.

“…I need to go into lab right now. To check on my cellies…”

With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of my room.

I’m worried for the cellies [sic].

 

#1 University Web Site: MIT

A university’s Web page is an institution’s new front door since many prospective students virtually visit colleges these days and alumni are scattered worldwide. Good thing MIT is on top of that. In fact, MIT’s Web site has just been named the top university Web site by 4 International Colleges and Universities, which bills itself as an online directory of accredited, four-year institutions around the world.

A New York Times article wrote: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was deemed No. 1 in Web popularity, followed by Stanford University, Harvard, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Inquiring minds at MIT wanted to know just what was the criteria? 4ICU’s response: “The algorythm is based on three web metrics. Page rank of the home page (i.e. http://www.mit), Alexa Traffic Rank of the entire site, and number of inbound links (Yahoo!) pointing to the entire site pages.”

In fact, OpenCourseWare Executive Director Cecilia d’Oliveira says MIT has been ranked #1 for several years by a Spanish research group’s Webometrics Ranking of World Universities. That ranking is based on global performance and visibility of the universities with points given for criteria ranging from Nobel prizes to highly cited researchers to size of the site.  The MIT Web site has well over one million pages!

 

Leadershape: 61 Undergrads Learn to Lead

Chris Colombo, Dean of Student Life

I just learned something really important about MIT students, and I had to leave the campus to find it out. Actually, it wasn’t so much that I left Cambridge—I was at a Salvation Army conference center in Sharon, Massachusetts—as it was that I turned off my Blackberry, gathered together with students, administrators, faculty, and alumni, and I listened. For six days.

Leadershape students begin a yearlong experience.

I was at a program called LeaderShape with 61 undergraduates. The goal of the program is for students to develop leadership skills and competencies. We want them to focus on the task at hand, so the Division of Student Life covers all their expenses, including transportation, food, and rooms. And the students are joined each year a dozen staff and faculty; this year the group included Institute Vice President Kirk Kolenbrander; Tracy Purinton of the MIT Leadership Center; and Alan Siegel, the chief of Mental Health Services from MIT Medical.

It may sound a little retreat-ish, if you know what I mean, but this was different than I expected—and much more intense.

We broke into five clusters, each led by two facilitators. Then, each group was asked to develop a community, creating visions for the future, constructing a blueprint for each of the student’s visions, understanding ideas like the value of one and the power of all and leading with integrity. The official schedule called for 15-hour days, starting at 7:30 a.m. with formal exercises until 10 p.m., but in true MIT fashion many of the students continued the conversation until the early morning.

I was amazed at how hard the students worked, their creativity and their passion. We know this about MIT students, but I was also astonished to hear them open up, to see how much pressure they put on themselves to succeed, and to take in how important it is for them to make a difference. It was powerfully moving—and I realized how much it matters that they feel connected to each other, to alumni, and to those of us who help shape their time at MIT.

Over six days and hours and hours of talking and listening and sharing, we bonded. When I got back to campus, I was exhausted—not by the time, but by the depth of the experience. Someone has created a listserve and email messages have been going back and forth. And I can’t step into the Infinite Corridor now without hearing a student call my name to say hello.

I’ll go again. It will be just as intense and just as exhausting and just as important that I learn these things all over again.

 

Baker Piano Drop Tops MIT150 Exhibit Vote

Archive photo of the annual Baker House Piano Drop.

As campus-wide preparations step up for the 150-day celebration of MIT’s 150th birthday, set for spring semester 2011, the MIT Museum is reporting the results of the popular vote for items to be displayed in the MIT 150 Exhibit, a collection of items that depict Institute life and culture.

Some of you were definitely watching and voting because when we reported it in Slice on Nov. 10, the count surged. “Hacking” had just edged past the “Baker House Piano Drop” as number one. However, a boost by Baker backers returned the piano to top ranking. And that helped secure the lead for good.

Although museum staff will make the final decision on what’s to go on view, you can view the results of the popular vote now. Here are the top five with the vote count:

1. Baker House Piano Drop, 721
2. Hacking, 647
3. Glass Lab, 572
4. Brass Rat, 487
5. IHTFP, 437

 

Happy 30…er…29th Birthday, Mystery Hunt!

Click map to find out where all the Mystery Hunt coins, 1981-present, have been hidden.

A few months ago, I began a project in honor of the 30th anniversary of the MIT Mystery Hunt—a map indicating all the coin locations over the years. Hunt originator Brad Schaefer ’78, PhD ’83 suggested it as a fitting tribute. The Mystery Hunt archives page and a lengthy, detailed article from the July 1991 issue of Games magazine, written by Hunt veteran Eric Albert, stated that the Hunt began in 1980. However, after extensive research and dozens of emails to past puzzle creators and participants (including Schaefer and Albert), one thing became clear. The Mystery Hunt actually began in 1981. It’s only 29. No matter. This anniversary may not technically be a milestone, but it is the 30th time the Hunt is being played. So we’ll just go with that. Learn more about the origins of the Hunt.

Mapping the Mystery Hunt Coin
Where to hide the coin can be a challenge. The location has to be accessible at all hours; impervious to outside forces like rain, squirrels, or cleaning crews; and easy to designate with clues—a lesson Schaefer learned during the first-ever Hunt when a mezzanine level he wasn’t aware of caused some participants to break into a librarian’s office (see 1981 on the map). In early Hunts, puzzle creators (usually one or two people) waited for teams to call when they arrived at the final solution. These days, the endgame includes a massive runaround with teams (often accompanied by puzzle creators) traversing campus based on an intricate set of instructions.

Coins have evolved. Puzzle originator Brad Schaefer chose an Indian Head penny for its uniqueness, size, and indestructible nature. The 2008 coin, above, featured the thumbprint of Dr. Awkward's murderer, whom hunters had to identify. Each winning team member received one of these coins. Photo: nonelvis/flickr.com.

So what can be gleaned from this map? Buildings 4, 24, and 7 have each been used the most (three times) as hiding spots. East campus has only been used once, in 2006. Only two spots have been outdoors. And basements are especially popular—they’ve been used eight times. Check out the map and click on the coins for more insights and anecdotes, including when the first brute-force solution was required, what year the coin was hidden in someone’s pants, and which year even the puzzle creators didn’t know where the coin was hidden.

Also, please let us know if you have additional anecdotes or if you can supply any of the following information: the location of the ever-elusive 1992 coin (the only year, regrettably, not accounted for), the location of the large-team puzzle in 1986 (there were two versions that year), or confirmation for 1991 and 1997 (which were best guesses by those puzzle creators). Either reply in the comments or fill out our quick form.

Update: Check out video from the 2010 Mystery Hunt, where R2D2 made an appearance.

 

Dean Focuses on Public Service Center

Chris Colombo, Dean of Student Life

Next time you are using Google, try this search: enter “public service center” into the search box. When I did last week, MIT’s Public Service Center (PSC) was first out of 315,000,000 results.

Impressive results, I’d say, in a world full of service organizations. On the other hand, the PSC get results all over the world, so I can’t say I’m surprised.

Scot Frank ’09, from left, Catlin Powers, and Amy Qian ’11 developed a solar project pictured here in western China.

If you’re not familiar with the PSC, visit the website. Every year, 3,000 students come to the center to participate in service projects within the United States and all over the world—58 countries over the past five years. That’s a remarkable percentage of our students dedicating their time, energy, and skill to help others.

I had the opportunity in November to hear a presentation by Scot Frank ’09 and Amy Qian ’11, whose PSC project in the Himalayas inspired them to create a start-up nonprofit company, One Earth Designs. One of their first products is the SolSource 3-in-1, a solar-powered device for cooking, heating, and generating electricity.

The SolSource 3-in-1 is a solution that was conceived with the active participation of the local population, so it’s sustainable. And it became a reality with the best MIT has to offer: innovation, inspiration, vision, and entrepreneurship, all in service to a people in need. One Earth Designs now also has projects dedicated to water quality testing, textiles as a source of heat, and science books in local languages.

Not every PSC project evolves with this kind of breadth. A surprising number do, though. I’m not one to get caught up in rankings, but I can’t deny that I’ll enjoy their spot at number one on Google while it lasts.

 

10 Tips for Success for Engineering Students

U.S. News & World Report wanted to understand what could help aspiring engineers succeed, an important question since a recent survey indicated that one-third of college freshman plan to major in science and engineering. The good ones will solve big problems.

So, what can help students become the really good engineers? So they asked Edward Crawley ’76, SM ’78, ScD ’81, professor of engineering and director of MIT’s Bernard M. Gordon Engineering Leadership Program, to share the advice he gives to his MIT students.

Ed Crawley presents leadership ideas.

Here are a few of Crawley’s tips:

• Identify the people who inspire you, and find out what makes them tick. If you love Apple products, Steve Jobs may be your idol, or perhaps you love the Segway and its creator, Dean Kamen. You can easily find out a lot of information about Jobs and Kamen—or just about any other prominent person in technology—so use it to look into what’s helped these people and their companies become so successful. Then emulate their good traits in your personal, scholastic, and professional life.

• Find your flaws—and fix them. As with any skill, leadership needs constant improvement. When you are part of a team, try to create a way to get feedback from team members, group leaders, and professors. When you have concrete feedback on how people view you, you can work to improve your skills, including communication and leadership. Plus, you’ll learn how to accept—and give—constructive criticism. That’s absolutely necessary for your future career.

Read all of Crawley’s 10 Tips for Success for Engineering Students.