My First One Hundred Days
by Dean Subra Suresh, Fall 2007
Late October marked the end of my first 100 days as dean and the culmination of many exciting developments and activities. I'm pleased to share with you the recent news of the School of Engineering in several areas:
- Research Highlights
- Recent Significant Developments
- Faculty Honors and Achievements, including NAE, AAAS, and NIH awards
Research Highlights
I'd like to bring your attention to articles highlighting some of the many cutting-edge research projects and other exciting activities in which our faculty and students are involved. Just look in the leftmost section of this page to link to articles in each category: bioengineering, nano- and micro- technologies, energy, emerging technologies, engineering systems, diversity, educational innovation, and global perspectives.
Recent Significant Developments
In late July, MIT announced plans for the new Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Leadership Program. More recently, I was pleased to announce the appointments of Edward Crawley and Joel Schindall, leaders of this exciting program. Established with a gift of $20 million by Bernard Gordon (S.B. 1948, S.M. 1949) and his wife, Sophia, through the Gordon Foundation, the Gordon-MIT Program is a major undertaking by the School to institute a more comprehensive approach to project-based learning and leadership development for engineering students. It comprises three main initiatives: a progressive set of enhancements to MIT’s core educational program with a focus on product development and project engineering, an industry mentoring and practice program for students, and an active program to disseminate best practices to other universities.
Also on the educational forefront, MIT announced a $30 million gift from Joan and Irwin Jacobs (S.M. 1957, Ph.D. 1959) in October that will support graduate fellowships for students in the School of Engineering, focused on electrical engineering and computer science. The Jacobs' gift creates the Irwin Mark Jacobs and Joan Klein Jacobs Presidential Fellowships and will support at least 15 Jacobs Presidential Fellows annually.
In a major development in biomedical engineering, MIT announced the MIT-Novartis partnership in pharmaceutical manufacturing in late September. This long-term research collaboration, known as the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing, is aimed at transforming the way pharmaceuticals are produced.
In October, David H. Koch (S.B. 1962, S.M. 1963) made an extraordinary gift of $100 million to MIT for cancer research. One of the largest gifts in MIT history, it will establish an integrative research institute bringing together scientists and engineers under one roof to develop new paradigms in cancer research. Multidisciplinary efforts at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research will undertake to find new and powerful ways to detect, diagnose, treat and manage cancer.
Faculty Honors and Achievements
Among the significant honors that the School and our faculty have received and appointments that we have announced in recent weeks, I'd like to highlight a few:
The National Academy of Engineering
We congratulate our newest MIT members of the NAE:
- George E. Apostolakis, professor of nuclear science and engineering and engineering systems, for "innovations in the theory and practice of probabilistic risk assessment and risk management."
- Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, senior research scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, was named an NAE foreign associate for "development of the World Wide Web."
- James L. Kirtley Jr., professor of electrical engineering and computer science, for "contributions to the theoretical analysis, design and construction of high-performance rotating electric machinery."
- Silvio Micali, professor of computer science and engineering, for "contributions to modern cryptography, through the development of zero-knowledge protocols and the theory of pseudo-randomness."
- John N. Tsitsiklis, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, for "contributions to the theory and application of optimization in dynamic and distributed systems."
The American Association for the Advancement of Science
Congratulations to our faculty members recently awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow:
- Jeffrey P. Freidberg, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, for "distinguished contributions to research and teaching in the areas of theoretical plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics as applied to problems in magnetic fusion."
- Klavs F. Jensen, the Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering and department head of Chemical Engineering, for "the elegant use of detailed simulations of reactive systems to gain new insight into the underlying basic physical and chemical rate processes."
- Leona D. Samson, a professor of toxicology and biological engineering in the Department of Biological Engineering and the director of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, for "distinguished contributions to cancer prevention and treatment, particularly for elucidating ways in which cells, tissues and animals respond to carcinogenic and chemotherapeutic agents."
- Joseph M. Sussman, J.R. East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, for "contributions to understanding large, complex engineering systems with emphasis on transportation, freight and traveler systems, and for pioneering work in transportation systems education."
National Institutes of Health New Innovator Awards:
- Ed Boyden, who has a joint appointment in the Department of Biological Engineering, will "invent and study new methods of controlling the neural circuits that malfunction in neurological and psychiatric disorders." The Benesse Career Development chair holder in media arts and sciences at the Media Lab, Boyden also has an appointment at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research.
- Alan Jasanoff, N.C. Rasmussen Assistant Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering with an additional appointment in the Department of Biological Engineering, will "devise genetically controlled, noninvasive methods for measuring brain activity in animals." Jasanoff also has appointments in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research.
- Mehmet Fatih Yanik, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, will "develop microchip technologies to perform extremely fast studies of gene function in small animals to rapidly identify genetic targets for new drugs." Yanik also has an appointment in the Research Laboratory of Electronics.
American Physical Society Prize
MIT Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus has been named winner of the 2008 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize from the American Physical Society "for pioneering contributions to the understanding of electronic properties of materials, especially novel forms of carbon."
Horton Medal
Rafael Bras, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been named this year's winner of the Robert E. Horton Medal, the highest award given to hydrologists by the American Geophysical Union; he will formally receive the award in December.
Caribbean American Heritage Award for Excellence in Science and Technology
Cardinal Warde, professor of electrical engineering, has received the Caribbean American
Heritage Award for Excellence in Science and Technology which recognizes immigrants and
children of immigrants from the Caribbean "who by their work have helped build America."
Looking Ahead
In the coming months, I look forward to telling you more about the future goals for the School. Meanwhile as we approach the end-of-year holidays, I wish you and yours the very best of the season and a Happy New Year.