MIT MITES Program: Alumni Newsletter Fall 1999

Welcome to the first edition of the MITE²S Alumni News, and welcome back to the program many say was a gateway to their adult success. Whether your summer experience was called MITE, UNITE, MITES or MITE²S, or your program lasted for two, three or six weeks, this publication is for and about you.

The purpose of this semi-annual newsletter is two-fold: (1) to communicate news about the program to the 1,100 plus MITE²S alumni, sponsors and friends, and (2) to serve as a networking tool for gathering and disseminating the successes that you and your fellow graduates have experienced since leaving the hallowed halls of MIT after that challenging but magical summer. We hope you will take the time to read and contribute to its content.

Status report

Since taking over the program in January 1998, I am humbled by the national reputation of MITE²S. In my travels to recruit students and raise money for the program, I often meet a MITE(ES)/UNITE alumnus (or someone who knows an alumnus) who speaks enthusiastically and affectionately about their experience. Quite honestly, during my first year, I was most concerned about staining the program's spotless reputation for quality and excellence! Despite my fears, I am pleased to report that MITE²S 1998 and MITE²S 1999 were both highly successful. The 1999 program featured the second largest class ever (60), and the largest in 9 years. MITE²S 1998 also distinguished itself by producing the largest class to enter MIT in the year following the program, 29 out of a class of 58!

From MITE to MITE²S

The program has changed significantly since the days when its founder Professor Ernie Cravalho did most of the lecturing. Back in 1974, the Minority Introduction to Engineering (MITE) program was established as a survey course to encourage minority high school juniors with exceptional aptitude in mathematics and science to pursue engineering careers. The first summer session in 1975 hosted 37 students for two weeks. In 1983, MITE was extended to three weeks, then to six weeks in 1984. At that time, it also became MITES with the addition of science to the curriculum. In 1997, the program became MITE²S in entrepreneurship were added, enabling us to leverage the hotbed of entrepreneurial activity in and around the Institute.

Today, the program boasts an intense, six-week program that features a slice of freshman college life and a summer staff of 10 instructors, 14 tutors, a faculty director and administrative personnel. The students spend about 30 hours a week in classes taking calculus, physics, chemistry or biochemistry, writing, engineering design and entrepreneurship. Besides the course study, the 50-60 participants discuss career options with MIT faculty and with practicing scientists and engineers we invite to campus. We expose them to working laboratories such as MIT's Media Laboratory, chemical engineering laboratories and the Sloan School of Management Trading Room. We also invite distinguished panelists of color, many of whom are MIT alumni, from academia, corporations and small businesses to speak about their experiences and successes.

Reaching out

Approximately 1,140 participants have successfully completed the program. Over 80 percent of MITE(ES)/UNITE alumni majored in engineering and science in college; and about 29 percent enrolled in MIT. Despite all this success, we have shamefully lost touch with our alumni, those most enthusiastic supporters who can help assure the continued success of the program. This newsletter is one of three ways that we will stay connected with you. The other two ways are the Alumni Locator and the planned 25th Anniversary Reunion to take place during the MITE²S 2000 Design Contest. We are taking these steps to build the extended community that will benefit us all. I invite you all to rediscover MITE²S, and to help shape the next generation of engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs by leveraging your experiences, talent and resources.

Robot with More Than a Snowball's Chance

Material for this article was taken from an article by Denise Brehm, MIT Tech Talk, Wednesday, July 14, 1999.

A robot that didn't work until the 11th hour surpassed all expectations, beat out 19 opponents and took first place in the engineering design competition.

Dubbed "Snowball's Chance" by its designers, the robot was equipped with a design modification that gave it the advantage in the end, but kept its young designers up late the night before the competition trying to get it to work.

The objective

The tabletop robots had to collect eight three-inch yellow balls from a platform called No Man's Land and dump them into a bin while trying to push 16 smaller orange balls through a tunnel over to the opponent's side.

The multiple-round contest is patterned after the MIT Design 2.007 competition. The 60 students were given a box of components including electric motors, wheels, springs, gear sets and pieces of wood, metal and plastic. Each team had three weeks to design and build a remote-controlled device.

The result: all the robots looked nearly identical, a little like small snow plows with adjustable arms on top. One student remotely "drove" the robot while another operated the arm.

Snowball's Chance

The advantage Snowball's Chance held was in its top arm and its team strategy. While most of the other wheeled robots had an arm that either swung laterally from one side to bat at the balls or worked like a snow shovel to push the balls, the arm on Snowball's Chance could be raised, lowered, pushed and pulled.

The machine reached over the pile of balls to enclose them on four sides, then pulled them back onto a small platform on top, much like the mechanism that clears bowling pins from the alley. The robot then wheeled along, carrying the balls on top, and dumped its booty safely in the bin.

The Snowball's Chance team's strategy was offensive rather than defensive: they focused on grabbing the large balls for big positive points and didn't worry about the negative points accruing from the little balls pushed on their side by the competition.

Entrepreneurship From Theory to Practice

After a three-week crash course in entrepreneurship, the students of MITE²S 1999 had to convince an audience of real-life entrepreneurs to invest in their companies. After presenting their business plans, these 10 “new start-up companies” had to raise capital without giving up too much company equity.

Nutritech was able to efficiently and effectively raise the needed capital to support its entry into the sports nutrition field. They convinced investors that their Bite Counter system with its comprehensive software program for planning and easy recording of an individual's nutritional intake for the PC and companion Palm Pilot was a winner. The team showed that by targeting NCAA Division I schools as their direct customers, they would show a positive cash flow within the first year.

[Top of Page]

Looking For a Few Good People

Who is better qualified to promote the benefits and challenges of attending MITE²S than an alumnus of the program?

Yes, MITE²S has successfully increased the number of underrepresented minorities entering engineering and science degree programs. However, we want to broaden the type of students we reach. We especially want to reach underserved rural and urban areas. We would like alumni to reach out to the schools in their area and let them know about the program. We even have a compelling 20-minute video about MITE²S that you can use.

If you're interested in helping to promote the program, let us know. You can phone (617.253.3298), e-mail (mites@mit.edu), or use the 'net. Just go to the Alumni Locator to update your profile and answer "Yes" to the question about recruiting.

[Top of Page]

Applying Made Easier

This year marks the first time that prospective MITE²S students can apply online. Now students can complete the application form online and download the rest of the application packet. If you know of students who may be interested in attending MITE²S and who are currently high school juniors, point them to http://web.mit.edu/mites/www. Even potential tutors and instructors will be able to apply online in the coming months.

[Top of Page]

The William H. Ramsey '51 Fund

Each year, corporations, foundations, and individual sponsors provide 80% of the operating funds for the MITE²S program. While in recent years, the program has been able to host 58-60 students, there have been times when that number has been as low as 42. To reduce the impact of economic fluctuations, our goal is to grow the William H. Ramsey '51 Fund, named in honor of a former director.

By growing the Fund, we can secure a consistent number of participants from year-to-year. We can also introduce an initiative to replicate the successful methodologies of the MITE²S Program at colleges and universities that serve students from a broader range of academic backgrounds. Thus, we could increase by an order of magnitude the number of students impacted by the MITE²S experience. Since MIT is a 501(c)3 organization, contributions are tax-deductible.

[Top of Page]

About William H. Ramsey

William Ramsey grew up in Brooklyn, NY and attended MIT as an undergraduate. He received his bachelors degree in electrical engineering in 1951, then worked in military electronics for 20 years. In the following 15 years, he moved on to management consulting and the vice presidency of Ault Inc., an electronics company in Minneapolis. He returned to the Institute in 1987 as an officer in the Industrial Liaison Office where he coordinated research interactions between MIT and computer and electric power companies in the United States and Europe. In 1988, he was appointed director of MITES and the Engineering Internship Program (EIP) in which students combine academic programs and on-the-job experience.

William H. Ramsey died on January 14, 1995 at the age of 67.

Mr. Ramsey was a board member of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; was active in his church in Newton; and was a former president of the board of the City Mission Society in Boston. He was also a glider pilot. Mr. Ramsey had a home on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and was planning to retire there in the summer of 1995.

[Top of Page]

Help Us Keep in Touch

You can find out what's happening with the MITE²S program by surfing http://web.mit.edu/mites/www. Check out the Alumni Profiles and see what other members of your class are doing. Use the Alumni Locator to help keep our records up-to-date by telling us the college you attended, your major, and your current career status. You decide whether you want the information posted in the Alumni Profiles.

[Top of Page]

Fall 1999

A word from the director, Karl Reid

Status report

From MITE to MITE²S

Reaching out

Robot with More Than a Snowball's Chance

The objective

Snowball's Chance

Entrepreneurship From Theory to Practice

Ramsey Award Winners

MITE²S 1999 Sponsors

Looking For a Few Good People

Applying Made Easier

The William H. Ramsey '51 Fund

About William H. Ramsey

Help Us Keep in Touch

Fall 1999

A word from the director, Karl Reid

Status report

From MITE to MITE2S

Reaching out

Robot with More Than a Snowball's Chance

The objective

Snowball's Chance

Entrepreneurship From Theory to Practice

Ramsey Award Winners

MITE2S 1999 Sponsors

Looking For a Few Good People

Applying Made Easier

The William H. Ramsey '51 Fund

About William H. Ramsey

Help Us Keep in Touch

From MITE to MITE²S

MITE²S 1999 Sponsors