Markus Zahn, left, the Thomas and Gerd Perkins Professor of Electrical Engineering and director of the VI-A Internship Program, signs an agreement March 14 with Hsiao-Wuen Hon, managing director of Microsoft Research Asia. The agreement will send EECS students to the Beijing-based facility--dubbed 'the world's hottest computer lab' by Technology Review magazine--as part of the MIT EECS VI-A M.Eng. Thesis Program. The program, which has existed since 1916, matches industry mentors with EECS students who have demonstrated excellent academic preparation and motivation to provide practical work experience combined with a funded Masters of Engineering thesis. Photo / Patsy Sampson

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 19, 2008 (download PDF).