MIT
Reports to the President 1994-95
The Technology and Development Program's (TDP) primary mission is to provide a
focus at MIT for research and education related to the role of science and
technology in the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. Its specific
objectives are to:
- Promote an awareness of the relationship between science, technology, and
development on the part of faculty and students at MIT;
- Provide a focal point for the activities of faculty, students, and visiting
scholars interested in the field of technology and development;
- Assist the faculty, students, and staff of collaborating institutions in
other countries to develop research and academic interests consistent with
their national needs;
- Serve as a contact for interested organizations outside MIT (government,
academic, private sector) to access the Institute's resources and its knowledge
of developing countries -- particularly of their socio-economic and
technological problems.
TDP carries out these objectives through research, academic programs, and
contacts with international and national organizations that have an interest in
broad areas of technology and development. In order to fully utilize available
resources, the TDP is structured to interact with other academic departments
and research centers throughout MIT.
The past year saw the conclusion of a five-year Collaborative Program on
Science, Technology, and Development between MIT and the American University of
Beirut. This program involved seven joint research projects relevant to the
reconstruction and redevelopment of both physical and institutional resources
in Lebanon. These projects included: Wastewater Treatment: Municipal Waste
Disposal; Lebanese Power System Reconstruction; and Residential Sector
Rebuilding. Four other projects are currently underway: Passenger
Transportation Options; Human Resources Development; Multi-Media Technology;
and Geographic Information Systems. A new multi-year collaborative program was
established with the Government of Mendoza to provide research, education, and
administrative assistance to a newly created Center for Technological
Innovation in Argentina. Four joint projects have been initiated:
Internationalization and Competitiveness; Multimedia Authoring and
Applications; Electric-Water Resource Project planning and Evaluation; and
Transportation Systems and Infrastructure Development.
The TDP-sponsored Middle East Program at MIT completed its ninth year with
10-12 graduate students participating each semester. The program enables
students with an interest in the Middle East to develop an expertise in the
area in addition to their own academic fields of specialization. The program
examines the processes of socio-economic change, technological development,
political change, institutional development, capital flows, and business and
investment patterns in the region. Two interdepartmental courses are offered
by the program: Politics, Growth, and Development in the Middle East;
Technology, Business and Public Policy in the Middle East. The Middle East
Program is under the direction of Professor Nazli Choucri, TDP Associate
Director, and involves faculty from the Department of Political Science,
Department of Economics, the History Faculty, the Department of Urban Studies
and Planning, the Sloan School of Management, the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, the Science, Technology and Society Program, and the
Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture.
The TDP Director is Professor Fred Moavenzadeh, George Macomber Professor of
Construction Management in the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering. Professor Nazli Choucri of the Department of Political Science is
the Program's Associate Director and Chairman of the Policy Committee.
Fred Moavenzadeh
MIT
Reports to the President 1994-95