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Date: Wed, 25 Oct 1995 13:21:57 +0000
To: rdshydur@MIT.EDU
From: amparo@MIT.EDU (Annemarie Amparo)
Subject: DC Middle Schoolers Learn Ropes from MIT Pros

THE LEMELSON-MIT PRIZE PROGRAM
Celebrating American Invention and Innovation


For Immediate Release
October 18, 1995
Contact: Virginia Randall/Hillary Deutschman
          (212) 546-2359


Invention 101
D.C. Middle Schoolers Learn the Ropes From MIT Pros

        Washington, D.C. -- On October 27, MIT student Thomas Massie and
alumnus James McClurkin -- two brilliant young inventors -- will show 60
middle school kids from the D.C.-metro area a new way to drive their parents
crazy.
        In an effort to spark interest in the field of invention, Massie and
McClurkin will offer common household items for inspection, destruction and,
yes, resurrection at an "Innovative Lives" lecture/demonstration held at the
National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.  The event is
sponsored by the Lemelson Center in conjunction with the Lemelson-MIT Awards,
 the nation's largest
for invention and innovation.
        In the Museum's Information Age Theater, these two "old hands" of
invention will also proffer their own creations -- a virtual reality (VR)
device and a bevy of "robotic ants" -- for exciting demonstrations that are
sure to electrify even the most ardent technophobe.  Massie's PHANToM is a
VR computer interface that allows the user to feel what (s)he sees on a
computer screen.  From round balls to
rough surfaces, the PHANToM provides a truly realistic experience that has
already sparked interest from government and commercial high-tech
communities.
        McClurkin will show off his matchbook-sized "ant colony" of robots that
playfully search for food and enjoy spirited games of tag as a cooperative,
like ants.  "I was fascinated by the idea of individual robots working
together to accomplish difficult or dangerous tasks," he says, and predicts
that someday
these 'bots will clear minefields, fix nuclear reactors and sort garbage for
recycling.
        If anyone personifies a life-long drive to invent, it is Massie: in the
fourth grade, he constructed a blender out of a medicine bottle, a boat
propeller and a 9-volt battery -- he brought it to the lunchroom and made
milkshakes for his classmates.  He even cannibalized Christmas ornaments
(taking care to avoid the holiday season) for robot parts.
        As an engineering student at MIT, Massie embarked on the PHANToM, his
most intriguing venture to date.  His ingenuity won him the honor of
becoming the first recipient of the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize
(awarded each year in June) -- something for which no less than three of his
professors nominated him.  "Thomas Massie is one of the most inventive and
productive students I have
encountered in my 12 years at MIT," says Dr. J. Kenneth Salisbury, principal
research scientist at the college's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and
one of Massie's nominators.  "He has an uncanny knack for
asking all the important questions, and then he goes ahead and answers
them."
        "As long as I can remember," says Massie, "I was always taking things
apart.  "Innovative Lives" will give young kids the chance to explore their
creative side, and show them that the fun world of invention is only as far
as their kitchen.  Or their Christmas tree..."
        McClurkin, a recent MIT alumnus, based his work for the micro-robots on
earlier research conducted on robot communities, such as a cooperative-robot
project by Ph.D. student Maja Mataric, who produced "toaster-bots" (named
for their resemblance to kitchen appliances) with names like Brioche,
Zwieback and Wonder.  The discovery, it seems, is the fun part of the
process for McClurkin, as he considers his work to be very much in progress.
 "The overnight discovery only happens in the movies,"
he explains.  "But the day-in and day-out process of discovery is
fascinating.  I can spend hours following-up a theory or experimenting with
a new way to do something."
        The Lemelson-MIT Awards ("The Ingenious Awards") are the most recent
development in the history of MIT, a school with a rich tradition of forging
new solutions to real-world problems, and the leader in patents granted to a
university.  The Awards are intended to generate excitement about science,
engineering and entrepreneurship, and to inspire young Americans to invent
and to innovate.  Through initiatives like the "Innovative Lives"
lecture/demonstration, the Awards will indeed bring the excitement
of innovation to the nation's youth.
        Later in the year, MIT and a blue-chip panel chaired by Dr. Lester
Thurow, world-renowned economist and Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Professor
at MIT's Sloan School, will be reviewing the nominees for the Lemelson-MIT
Award, awarded to an outstanding established U.S. inventor.  The winner of
the prize will be announced April 11 and celebrated in an evening gala in
Washington, D.C.,
where the winner will receive a $500,000 cash prize.
        For more information, please contact Virginia Randall at (212) 546-2359
or Hillary Deutschman at (212) 546-2019.


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