MIT program bridges Mideast divide
Much has been said about the political, religious and historical rifts that divide Israelis from Palestinians, but two MIT students have found something young people from these groups have in common: an interest in technology.
Inspired by the MIT spirit of using academic knowledge and resources to address real-world problems, the students and a friend founded Middle East Education Through Technology (MEET) two years ago with the goal of using education and technology to bring Israeli and Palestinian high school students together.
"The vision behind MEET is to use technology to create a common language between Israelis and Palestinians that can be translated into future cooperation between the communities," said co-founder Anat Binur, a graduate student in political science at MIT. "The program is not about creating friendships. We want our students to see that, despite their political differences, they have common interests and can work together as professional partners."
Binur's brother, Yaron Binur '06, got the idea for the program from MIT's Africa Internet Technology Initiative. He interested his sister and a friend, Assaf Harlap, in the idea, and the three Israelis founded MEET in 2003.
Based on MIT curricula and taught by MIT students, the intensive two-year program, held in Jerusalem, focuses on providing Palestinian and Israeli high school students with computer science, entrepreneurship and leadership skills. The program encourages students to work together as professional partners in an environment of mutual understanding and respect.
By making technology the common denominator, MEET attracts students across the political spectrum--not just ones already open to meeting "the other side," Anat Binur said.
"Yeah, we know there are political problems, but among the students this doesn't really come up; the kids would rather talk about Java," said Jake Abernathy, who graduated from MIT in 2004 and just spend his second summer with MEET. "For me, coming out of MIT, this was such an amazing idea: that computer science can bring people together."
To be selected for MEET, students need strong academic and leadership skills plus an interest in technology and an understanding of the role it can play in the world. There were more than 250 applications for this year's MEET class of 31 youths. The students themselves pay nothing for the program; teaching materials, transportation and food are provided. The curriculum consists largely of Java programming, problem solving, business skills and an emphasis on team building.
The program begins with an intense five-week summer session on computer programming taught by MIT students, followed by yearlong programming projects that are mentored by high-tech professionals from the region. MEET students then return for a second, more advanced summer course that teaches them additional computer languages as well as basic business skills such as presentation tools and how to write a business plan. After that, students move on to work on projects for real clients and to do internships at top companies in the region.
Would-be MIT instructors face a highly competitive selection process. This year, MEET had nearly 60 applicants, from 17 different countries, for five open positions. MEET pays all instructor expenses, including air fare, and provides a stipend.
"We look for highly professional and committed MIT students and alums who want to utilize their skills to make a positive impact," Binur said.
The MIT instructors provide a neutral environment. "When you put 50 Israeli and Palestinian students together, it's rather difficult to get them speaking a common language," said Harlap. "In MEET, the kids are told to speak English because their teachers are Americans from MIT and not because they are being forced to interact."
"We not only teach and empower the students, but when we are around, the kids have no choice but to speak English and come together as a team," said Abernathy, who worked as an instructor in 2004 and returned to provide managerial help this summer. "As MIT students, MEET provides us not only with a unique teaching and leadership experience but also with an in-depth and balanced view of the Middle East--as well as an understanding of how the skills we have learned at MIT can be used creatively to make a difference in the world."
MEET has received support from the MIT community--particularly from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and from Charles M. Vest when he was president of the Institute--as well as from Hebrew University, the Japanese government and from academic and business leaders around the world.
"During a tense time in the region, the MEET program represents a hope for the future. The experiences of the Israeli and Palestinian students, as well as our MIT student staff, is one which changes their entire perspective and shows the way in which, despite conflict, people can work together on common professional goals," says Abeer Hazboun, MEET's regional manager, who is responsible for recruitment and logistics.
source : web.mit.edu
MIT starts second wireless revolution
Technology being developed at MIT promises to pave the way for the next generation of wireless networks, saving consumers hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 20 years.
Wireless companies are investing big in new infrastructure that can handle the ever-increasing demand for inexpensive delivery of voice and data. But the solid-state amplifiers that the nation's roughly 200,000 wireless base stations now use to communicate with cell phones and other electronic devices are costly, generate excessive heat (requiring bulky cooling equipment) and need large backup batteries.
MIT researchers are developing an alternative: the first radio frequency (RF) power amplifier based on a ribbon-beam vacuum electron device. The new amplifier combines a half-century-old technology-vacuum electron devices, or "vacuum tubes" in the old terminology-with a recent MIT breakthrough: an elliptical, or "ribbon," electron beam.
A ribbon electron beam is much more efficient for RF amplification than the one-dimensional, pencil-like electron beam that conventional vacuum electron devices emit. A ribbon-beam vacuum electron device requires less energy than either conventional vacuum electron devices or the solid-state transistors that replaced them in many applications decades ago.
In January, Chiping Chen, principal research scientist in the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and his colleagues published a paper for the American Physical Society on the first-ever successful demonstration of a ribbon electron beam.
Ronak Bhatt, a physics graduate student involved in the project, received a best-student-paper prize at the Particle Accelerator Conference in Knoxville, Tenn., this spring for a paper describing how a ribbon beam is generated.
To build the amplifier, the team also invented a ribbon-beam focusing system and a coupling device between the beam and the RF signal.
"This technology could change how radio-frequency amplifiers are made," said Chen.
Ribbon beam amplifiers (RBAs) are smaller, generate less heat, require smaller backup batteries, are more electrically efficient and cost thousands of dollars less than solid-state amplifiers. And because they could be mounted directly on a base-station tower, less signal decay would occur during transmission.
These new amplifiers would enable the completion of next-generation wireless networks by dramatically improving throughput and reducing the cost of base stations by 65 percent. Chen believes RBAs have the potential to reduce the cost of delivering voice and data from the current 50 cents per megabyte to five cents per megabyte.
Moreover, their high power and their capacity to operate at low and high frequencies (from 1.9 GHz for third-generation U.S. wireless base stations to 5.8 GHz for WiMAX, or wireless broadband networks) make them "future-proof" for successive generations of wireless networks.
Wireless and power-amplifier companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Andrew and PowerWave have expressed interest in RBA technology and are willing to test prototypes, said Chen. He expects that the first RBA will be on the market in two years.
RBAs are a broad-platform technology with a range of applications in not only communication (telephony, WiMAX, satellite communications), but also defense (radar, missile defense) and scientific research (particle acceleration).
This work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation.
source: web.mit.edu
Study to explore risks, benefits of synthetic genomics
At a time when biologists are faced with more ethics and security concerns than ever, three organizations--MIT, the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Md., and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.--today announced a new project to examine the societal implications of synthetic genomics, a new field involving the development of viruses and cells using designed and engineered DNA.
The 15-month study will explore the risks and benefits of this emerging technology, as well as possible safeguards to prevent abuse, including bioterrorism. It will be jointly directed by Drew Endy of MIT, Robert M. Friedman of the Venter Institute and Gerald L. Epstein of CSIS.
"The project will serve as a model for policy makers, scientists and engineers who are evaluating potential 'dual-use' research," said Endy, an assistant professor in MIT's Biological Engineering Division and co-founder of the MIT Synthetic Biology Working Group.
"The field of synthetic genomics has the potential for groundbreaking scientific advances, including the development of alternative energy sources, and the production of new vaccines and pharmaceuticals," said J. Craig Venter, founder and president of the Venter Institute. "Synthetic genomics has the potential to enable significant societal, environmental and medical benefits, and with this study we are trying to help ensure that outcome."
Funded by a $570,060 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the multi-organization effort will engage scientists and policymakers to better understand the potential risks and benefits associated with synthetic genomics.
"The scientific and security communities have the responsibility to prepare for the opportunities and misuse that may arise from any new technology," noted Epstein, of the Homeland Security Program at CSIS.
The study, expected to be completed by July 2006, will include a series of workshops analyzing technological and societal concerns. In addition, a meeting including policymakers, scientists and the media will be conducted to discuss oversight, governance and monitoring issues. Study results, including a suite of evaluated policy options, will be reported in numerous scientific and policy journals and will be disseminated broadly to the public.
source: mit.edu
MIT takes on world's energy crisis
MIT President Susan Hockfield and Provost Robert A. Brown announced today the establishment of an Energy Research Council to spearhead efforts to address the world's mounting energy problems.
The council will develop an outline for an Institute-wide response to the global energy crisis by Feb. 1.
The council will be co-chaired by Chevron Professor Robert C. Armstrong, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Professor Ernest J. Moniz of physics and engineering systems and director of energy studies at the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. Moniz was undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Energy from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton administration.
"This is arguably the pre-eminent opportunity in the 21st century for bringing science and engineering to bear on human needs," said Moniz. "Fossil fuels make up 85 percent of the world's present energy use, and developing economies will greatly increase their use of fossil fuels to meet their economic and social goals. This need for more energy, coupled with the cumulative effects of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, have the world running headlong toward climate change. By midcentury, we will have a very real problem and we cannot wait until then to find the technological answers."
Hockfield first announced a new energy initiative in her inaugural address May 6, saying that the Institute had a responsibility to address the world's energy problems. "Over the last 30 years, the words 'sustainable energy' have gotten a little tired--not from overuse but from lack of progress. I believe that the country and the world may now be ready to focus on these matters and it is MIT's responsibility to lead the way," she said.
"Given the global challenges to achieve continued and sustainable delivery of energy in the 21st century, MIT's interest in developing a significant energy initiative is clearly appropriate and timely," said John Darley, director of technology for Shell International Exploration and Production, in a letter to Brown.
Brown appointed the Energy Research Council to lead the planning for the initiative in energy-related research and education--including developing a picture of the current state of MIT energy-related research and expertise; developing a list of promising science and engineering research areas that match global needs and MIT capabilities; and recommending an organizational structure that would facilitate work in these areas.
"MIT is exceptionally well-suited for launching a major initiative in energy research and education because the Institute's strengths in engineering, science, economics and public policy can all be brought to bear on this important problem," said Brown. "Moreover, MIT has a long tradition of major research efforts that cut across disciplinary boundaries in precisely the way an effective energy initiative must work."
Council member Daniel G. Nocera, a professor of chemistry, said, "MIT's 'can do' history of solving big science and technical problems of national and global need is now needed more than ever to deliver the planet its future energy source."
The council will report to the provost and to Alice Gast, vice president for research and associate provost. The 16 council members come from all five of MIT's schools: science, engineering, management, architecture and planning, and humanities, arts and social sciences.
"All the schools will be engaged, because the involvement of economists, architects, urban planners, political scientists and management experts is crucial to make sure that the research results can be rapidly deployed in the real world," Armstrong said.
"Technology is ultimately the solution, but we don't have time to wait decades for it to make its way into the marketplace. Policy is important to help deploy the technologies more quickly," said Moniz, who pointed out that the development of carbonless forms of energy--nuclear and renewables (wind, biomass, hydro and solar)--is crucial. "The reaction to the major energy problems in the '70s--oil shocks and pollutants--did not go to the core structure of the energy industry itself. The confluence of problems we see today--climate change and the energy demands of the emerging economies--are going to require longer-lasting responses."
"Rising standards of living in a growing world population will cause global energy consumption to increase dramatically over the next half century," Nocera said. "A short-term response to this challenge is the use of methane and other petroleum-based fuels as hydrogen sources. However, external factors of economy, environment and security dictate that this energy need be met by renewable and sustainable sources."
The council expects to inform the search for five or six new faculty members whose research will address energy production and use; members will also recommend an administrative structure to facilitate interdisciplinary research on energy problems among other faculty at the Institute. The council also plans to engage the energy industry in its deliberations. "Industry will offer a very important perspective," said Armstrong.
In announcing her initiative, Hockfield observed: "Many MIT faculty are working already on new routes to renewable and sustainable energy. We need to advance this scientific and engineering work, while focusing our efforts and magnifying their impact, through our world-class expertise in economics, architecture and urban planning, political science and management."
Moniz and Armstrong ask that members of the MIT community contact them with ideas for the council's consideration at rca@mit.edu or ejmoniz@mit.edu.
In addition to Armstrong, Moniz and Nocera, council members are Professors Steven Ansolabehere of political science, Angela Belcher of biological engineering and materials science and engineering (MSE); Vladimir Bulovic of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS); Gerbrand Ceder of MSE; John Deutch of chemistry; William Green of chemical engineering; John Heywood of mechanical engineering; Jake Jacoby of MIT's Sloan School; Mujid Kazimi of nuclear engineering; Steven Leeb of EECS; Dale Morgan of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences; Karen Polenske of urban studies and planning; and Yang Shao-Horn of mechanical engineering.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 8, 2005 (download PDF).
source: mit.edu
What's In Your Laptop Bag?
TheTechZone is running a cool human interest story showing what their chief editor has inside his laptop bag. Some of the stuff in there could really make a geek salivate - like a mobile VoIP adapter and the world's smallest wireless router.
radio detection of deuterium
Researchers at MIT made the first radio detection of deuterium, an atom that the scientists claim is key to understanding the beginning of the universe.
Sonic 'Lasers' to be Deployed in Hurricane Region
Wired News is running an article about high powered acoustic technology to be deployed in the hurricane Katrina disaster recovery. Apparently, the technology will allow authorities to communicate with others up to a mile away along with providing a non-lethal means of crowd control. No word on additional busses and shelters...
