contests and academic competitions archive

MIT class asks: Fly me to the moon? - An MIT graduate class, aimed at figuring out whether MIT could, or should, mount an entry into the $20-million Google Lunar X-Prize competition announced last fall, has arrived at the bottom line: Yes, we can (technically)! May 21, 2008

Contests reward energy, diagnosis plans - Business plans focused on harnessing clean energy and making fast, inexpensive medical diagnostic devices were big winners this week in a series of high-profile entrepreneurship competitions at MIT. May 16, 2008

Beaver-like robots face off in annual MIT contest - Robots designed to toss pool-noodle trees into a river of ping-pong balls ruled over competitors focused on rescuing fuzzy toy beavers in this year's 2.007 contest, "Da (yes) MIT, or Save the Baby Beavers," held on Thursday, May 8, at MIT. May 9, 2008

Steel away - An MIT team from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering prepares for the American Society of Civil Engineers National Steel Bridge Competition. May 6, 2008

MIT robot tourney concludes May 7-8 - The final rounds of MIT's action-packed annual robot competition will be held Wednesday, May 7, and Thursday, May 8, in the Johnson Athletic Center. The events are free and open to the public. May 5, 2008

MIT crowned regional champs in battle of brains - A team of MIT students was named regional champions--and placed second overall--in an annual competition, sponsored by IBM, that challenged students to solve a semester's worth of computer programming problems in just five hours. April 11, 2008

MIT third overall in Putnam math competition - MIT's math team made a strong showing at the William Lowell Putnam intercollegiate mathematics competition, finishing in third place. Two MIT math majors finished in the top six: sophomore Qingchun Ren and junior Xuancheng Shao. March 27, 2008

MIT's crossword king girds for annual battle of wits - Teamwork is encouraged in the MIT math department when it comes to solving New York Times crossword puzzles, but one person usually stays on the sidelines: professor Kiran Kedlaya--"he's too good," says the head of the department. February 22, 2008

Teams battle to on-screen victory - Tanks, soldiers, snipers and bombers fanned out rapidly over unfamiliar undulating terrain, searching for their enemy counterparts and trying to seize control of battle towers. Their commanders? MIT coders, duking it out in the BattleCode programming competition. February 6, 2008

Express yourself this January in video, photography - MIT TechTV presents MIT's video and photography enthusiasts with two opportunities this January to create and share their work: The IAP Video Contest for MIT students, and YourMIT, a chance for the broader community to help reflect MIT life. January 7, 2008

Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize established - The goal of the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize of $200,000, announced Nov. 28 by MIT, NSTAR and the DOE, is to spark the next generation of energy entrepreneurs. November 28, 2007

Siemens Competition finalists exhibit projects at MIT Nov. 9-10 - The New England regional finals of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, a scholarship and awards program, will be held at MIT on Nov. 9 and 10. November 8, 2007

Hundreds attend iGem Jamboree - After a thought-provoking presentation on bioengineering a "bacterial assembly line," a team from Peking University won the grand prize "BioBrick" award in the fourth annual International Genetically Engineered Machine competition held Nov. 3-4 at MIT. November 5, 2007

MIT finishes fourth in DARPA Grand Challenge - MIT's automated Land Rover, packed with computers and electronic sensors, finished fourth in the DARPA Grand Challenge. The MIT vehicle, competing for the first time, was one of only six to complete the challenging 55-mile course. November 5, 2007

Department of silver linings - For members of MIT's first Solar Decathlon team, what worked was the success of their Solar7 home with the 25,000 visitors who toured the 20 student-built solar homes that competed in the 10-day contest held in Washington, D.C. November 1, 2007

MIT's 'robocar' named finalist - Team MIT has made it to the finals of the DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition for cars and trucks that run without human help. The goal of the contest is to develop vehicles that can operate on their own in battle and keep humans out of harm's way. November 1, 2007

MIT hosts first ever Elevator Pitch Contest - Noisemakers and a raucous audience helped launch the first annual MIT Elevator Pitch Contest on Oct. 13, with entrepreneurs from across the country pitching their ideas to judging panels of venture capitalists looking for the next big thing. October 31, 2007

Cardboard boaters sink or skim - The Head of the Charles may have been last weekend, but the real nautical excitement was found in the Zesiger Center swimming pool on Friday, Oct. 19, when four teams of MIT students took to the pool in cardboard crafts. October 24, 2007

A good luck send-off for 'Robocar' - CSAIL Director Victor Zue makes remarks at a send-off barbeque lunch in early October for MIT's self-driving "Robocar." October 17, 2007

Make hay (and a lot more) while the sun shines - A team of MIT students, faculty and volunteers has taken on the challenge of designing and building a house that relies entirely on solar energy to meet the electricity needs of a typical American family, from drying towels to cooking dinner. October 3, 2007

Students shape materials for their own devices - A team of MIT students has taken the concept of using biomass to generate energy and shrunk it to fit inside a handheld device that could be used to charge cell phones. September 27, 2007

Nothing like the sun - Corey Fucetola, graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science, gave a tour of Solar7, MIT's entry in this year's US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, to President Susan Hockfield and her daughter Elizabeth Byrne. September 10, 2007

Ph.D. student Jhingran is public speaking champ - An MIT doctoral candidate from India has won first place in the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking with a speech about finding himself through meditation - and about getting into MIT. August 21, 2007

MIT student seeks public speaking championship - An MIT doctoral student who devoted the past seven years to detailed research on offshore drilling will have just seven minutes to make his mark in the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking, starting Aug. 15 in Phoenix. August 15, 2007

DARPA names MIT's 'robocar' a semifinalist - An MIT vehicle that effectively drives itself has been selected as a semifinalist in this year's DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition for cars and trucks that run without human help. August 9, 2007

TechTV launches with 'Tech Video Showcase' - Images of the 2.007 design contest, working on a housing redevelopment plan for New Orleans or building a nacho-cheese fountain in a dorm could all be winners among videos MIT students will enter in the Tech Video Showcase. April 11, 2007

MIT programmers strike gold - A team of MIT programmers won a gold medal in the world finals of the 31st Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest, held mid-March in Tokyo.   April 3, 2007

High school students compete in 'brain bee' at MIT - More than 30 students from Boston-area high schools will compete Feb. 10 in the 2007 Boston Regional Brain Bee at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at 43 Vassar St. February 9, 2007

Siemens Competition finalists exhibit projects at MIT - The New England regional finals of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, a scholarship and awards program, will be held at MIT on Nov. 3 and 4. November 2, 2006

Kids come to MIT for Solar Sprint - More than 80 middle school students built and raced miniature solar cars at the Boston Area Solar Energy Association's Eastern Massachusetts Junior Solar Sprint held at MIT on May 20. May 30, 2006

New $100K doubles entrepreneurial prize - Infection-reducing coating technology and affordable housing for transient job seekers in developing countries took top prizes this year in the new $100K Entrepreneurship Competition at MIT. May 24, 2006

Students float Caribbean Museum Boat - Many Caribbean islands can only dream about having their own science and technology museum. So, MIT senior Solomon Hsiang is hoping they may eventually be able to share one. May 24, 2006

2.007 robots face off at finals - The final rounds of this year's iteration of the annual robot contest put on by MIT mechanical engineering students boiled down to a machine named Charlie and a simple plan for victory. May 23, 2006

Competition 'ignites' clean-energy startups - Energy entrepreneurs in solar power, hydro power and waste processing convinced a panel of industry leaders and venture capitalist judges that their businesses can make clean energy competitive with conventional energy -- earning prizes in the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition. May 17, 2006

Scrabble spells sweet success for sophomore - The game of Scrabble played by MIT sophomore Jason Katz-Brown bears little resemblance to the parlor game played by word lovers the world over. But then, Katz-Brown is the No. 1 Scrabble player in the country. May 10, 2006

Students compete in Boston MovieFest finals - As many as four MIT student filmmakers will compete in the Boston Grand Finale of Campus MovieFest, the world's largest student film festival, to be held Friday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. at John Hancock Hall in Boston. April 20, 2006

Water purifier wins soldier design prize - Keeping soldiers healthy and safe was the theme of the day for competitors from MIT and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, who vied for the top prize in the third annual Soldier Design Competition. March 8, 2006

Newton student wins Brain Bee at Picower - A student from Newton (Mass.) South High School took top place in the first Boston Regional Brain Bee, held Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT. February 16, 2006

Ring masters - The winners in the MIT Hyperscore Ringtone Competition, held by Harmony Line Inc., were announced at a gala ceremony on Friday, Jan. 27. February 8, 2006

'Note'-worthy contest seeks new ringtones - Why have a cell phone that merely rings, beeps or squawks when you can create your own ringtone and compete for prizes while doing so? A new contest using MIT-developed software will let community members do just that. January 10, 2006

Contest spurs Filipino entrepreneurs - "Uncommon Solutions to Common Problems," a talk aimed at transforming the Filipino business climate, highlighted the work that Neil Ruiz and a dedicated team of graduate students have done in the past year with the Philippine Emerging Startups Open (PESO). December 14, 2005

Calling all inventors - The Lemelson-MIT Program invites inventors to apply for its annual $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize. All currently enrolled MIT seniors and graduate students are eligible, regardless of area of study. December 7, 2005

Teams lay BioBrick foundation - Thirteen international teams unveiled their biological designs at MIT last weekend at the 2005 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, using standard interchangeable biological parts called BioBricks. November 8, 2005

Teams gather for genetic engineering competition - More than 150 students and instructors from 13 universities across North America and Europe will convene at MIT Nov. 5-6 to unveil their biological designs at the 2005 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. November 3, 2005

Sun shines on solar car team - The MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team's car placed third in the North American Solar Challenge, completing the 2,500-mile course along U.S. Route 75 and Trans-Canada Highway 1 from Austin, Texas, to Alberta, Calgary, in just over 56 hours. August 5, 2005

Alumna vies to become Miss Massachusetts - An MIT alumna who finds beauty in physics and mathematics will compete in the Miss Massachusetts 2005 pageant, to be held in Fall River, Mass., on June 24 and 25. June 21, 2005

IDEAS Competition awards - 2005 awards listings. June 1, 2005

Robots go for Tic-Tech-Toe - Mark Cote's squeezer-grabber-thingy-bopper ruled over Robert Panas' flipper-upper-doo-hoppy in the final tie-breaking rounds of Tic-Tech-Toe, the robot competition for students in MIT's course 2.007. May 17, 2005

Disco's staying alive on East Campus - Saturday night fever runs high all week long at MIT's East Campus dormitory, thanks to the 128-square-foot dance floor students built in the lounge. May 16, 2005

Balance aid wins $50K competition - A medical device company has won the grand prize in the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition held May 9. Balico, which has designed a wearable balance aid, was awarded $30,000 in startup money. May 13, 2005

Best investor pitches rewarded - Old water pipes and bacteria ruled the day at the $125,000 Igniting Massachusetts' Clean Energy Technology Future Business Presentation Competition held at MIT on April 27. May 11, 2005

Robot contest puts design into action - Visitors have a unique chance to view a video history of MIT's famed robot contest 2.007, and get an insider's preview of the 2005 contest in an inauguration week event, "Learning by Design," on Thursday, May 5. May 4, 2005

Science becomes art in 'Weird Fields' - The whorls and swirls of color may look like something by art nouveau painter Gustav Klimt, but the winning images from MIT's annual 8.02 "Weird Fields" contest are really computer-generated visualizations of vector fields. April 6, 2005

Power scavenger wins soldier prize - Power, cooling and casualty evacuation were recurrent themes at the final judging of the second annual MIT Soldier Design Competition--a reflection of the harsh realities of soldiers' lives in combat. March 8, 2005

A robot high for Archimedes Pi - MIT sophomore Andrew Spann recounts how his team's robot, Archimedes Pi, prevailed over the competition during IAP's Maslab, a course where student teams build camera- and sensor-equipped robots to navigate an unknown course. February 1, 2005

Sleepless, they hunt the mystery coin - Sleep was scarce for close to 1,000 people on dozens of teams who logged more than 50 hours seeking the solution to a variety of puzzles on campus as part of MIT's annual IAP Mystery Hunt. January 24, 2005

Energy products focus of 2.009 students - Mechanical engineering seniors designed and built prototypes of products united by the theme of energy--alternative, conservation or clean--in just three months this term in 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes). December 15, 2004

Regional finalists compete this weekend at MIT - The New England regional finals of the Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition, a scholarship and awards program for high school students, will be held Nov. 5 and 6 at MIT. November 4, 2004

Berry a finalist in competition - Graduate student David Berry of the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology was a finalist in last week's Collegiate Inventors Competition at the National Inventors Hall of Fame. October 6, 2004

Active Joint Brace wins MIT $50K contest - A team developing a device to help those with muscular disabilities was selected as winner at MIT's $50K Entrepreneurship Competition. May 14, 2004

Ingenious machine wins "Big Dig" contest - An extreme Boston driving experience unfolded at this year's 2.007 contest, named "The Big Dig" in honor of the city's sprawling Central Artery/Tunnel project. May 12, 2004

Science on display - Sam Davies, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science (left), congratulates King Open School students Malika lacy and Amia Headley. May 5, 2004

2.007 contestants gear up - MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering will celebrate its annual competition of maximum design and engineering on May 5 and 6 at 6 p.m. in the Johnson Athletic Center. April 28, 2004

Contest adds artistic spin to electromagnetism - The winning images in the first annual 8.02 "Weird Fields" contest are not only beautiful but also educational, helping their creators understand abstract phenomena. March 11, 2004

Contest adds artistic spin to study of electromagnetism - The winning images in the first annual 8.02 "Weird Fields" contest are not only beautiful but also educational, helping their creators understand abstract phenomena. March 3, 2004

Rocket-launched photo system wins ISN contest - The challenges that American soldiers are facing in Iraq were foremost on everyone's minds at the final judging of MIT's first annual Soldier Design Competition. February 25, 2004

Rocket-launched photo system wins ISN contest - The challenges that American soldiers are facing there were foremost on everyone's minds at the final judging of MIT's first annual Soldier Design Competition. February 19, 2004

Arts deadlines - List Fellowship applications due; MITSO seeks soloists; and Arts grants available. January 14, 2004

Computing team goes to world finals - The MIT computing team qualified once again for the world finals of the Association for Computing Machinery's International Collegiate Programming Contest by winning the regional competition Nov. 8 in Rochester, N.Y. November 21, 2003

HS students receive grants - Teams of students at 10 U.S. high schools will create inventions that benefit their schools or communities using grants from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams program. October 22, 2003

Contest is just plane fun - Creative and colorful handmade paper creations took flight -- usually -- during last week's MIT Libraries Paper Airplane contest. September 24, 2003

$10,000 soldier design contest - MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) is launching its first annual Soldier Design Competition, where teams compete for $10,000 in prizes. September 10, 2003

Cinderella team in contest - A team of MIT undergraduates won $1,500 for finishing second in a robotic competition sponsored by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) August 27, 2003

Robot plays Cinderella/Terminator - A pick-up team of five MIT undergraduates with only a week to prepare won $1,500 for finishing second in a robotics competition sponsored by INCOSE. August 14, 2003

Awards and Honors - Three of the 187 newly elected Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences are from MIT. June 17, 2003

IDEAS awards - Seven invention ideas won awards at the second annual IDEAS Competition for innovations that help the community. June 4, 2003

SmartCells wins competition - A life sciences team won the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition for the fifth year in a row on Wednesday, May 14. May 21, 2003

SmartCells wins competition - SmartCells team wins the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition, marking fifth year in a row a life sciences team has taken the grand prize. May 15, 2003

2.007 'bots groove - The annual contest (now in its 33rd year) challenges sophomores in mechanical engineering to design, build and compete with autonomous robots, or 'bots. May 14, 2003

An urban planning proposal for D.C. - A team of MIT students' proposal was progressive -- maybe too progressive for the judges in the Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. May 9, 2003

Competition goes to the Dogs - This year's aero/astro's unified aerial competition took place at the Johnson Athletic Center's indoor track, proving to be the perfect spot for the event. May 7, 2003

2.007 contest - The Department of Mechanical Engineering will host the 33rd annual Design 2.007 contest in the Johnson Athletic Center. April 30, 2003

Ballroom dance competition - Hundreds of twinkle-toed competitors will converge on MIT's du Pont Athletic Center for the MIT Open Ballroom Dance Competition on April 5-6. April 2, 2003

Violinist vied in competition - Freshman Amy Lee is is a violinist who traveled to Salt Lake City last month as a national finalist in the MTNA collegiate string competition. April 2, 2003

Chorallaries move up - The Chorallaries of MIT will compete in the semi-finals on Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. March 19, 2003

Competition for artists - Three prizes and an honorable mention ($1,500, $900, $600 and $200) will be awarded to registered MIT students based on a body of work. March 12, 2003

March sadness for MIT chess team - The MIT-Caltech match on the Internet Chess Club Sunday night was a quiet beginning to March madness. March 5, 2003

Students fold in contest - Seven students brought 15 origami sculptures for consideration in a juried exhibition of the art form, which uses only folding techniques. February 26, 2003

MIT team top in debates - MIT is the clear leader in parliamentary debate, with the top debaters majoring in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) and physics. December 4, 2002

Campus to be site of Siemens contest - "They are smart kids doing real science, sometimes in university labs but sometimes in their basement with a soldering iron." November 6, 2002

Inventor teams funded by Lemelson Program - Three New England high school teams have been chosen as the inaugural recipients of grants of up to $10,000 from theLemelson-MIT Program. October 30, 2002

Writing contest - Students are invited to enter a competition for the Benjamin Siegel Prize for the best-written work on issues in science, technology and society. October 23, 2002

Lemelson-MIT Program funds high school teams - Three New England high school teams have been chosen as the inaugural recipients of grants of up to $10,000 from the Lemelson-MIT Program. October 17, 2002

Luce Scholars are sought - The Center for International Studies has set a Nov. 18 deadline for applications to the Luce Scholars Program. October 9, 2002

Alumnus urges design contest - MIT alumnus Paul Spreiregen says the best way to memorialize the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is to hold design competitions to create public monuments. September 11, 2002

Student sub waves aside competition - Project ORCA, an MIT group for students interested in autonomous underwater vehicle technology, won the $5,600 first prize in the annual AUV competition. September 11, 2002

Forecasting team victory - MIT team won first prize in the National Collegiate Weather Forecasting Contest, beating out some of the nation's leading programs in weather forecasting. September 11, 2002

Victory in AUV contest - Project ORCA won the $5,600 first prize in the annual AUV competition organized by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Office of Naval Research. September 3, 2002

Team One is No. 1 in robot contest - Team One's whirring, spring-action robot triumphed over machines built by seven other teams as the two-week International Design Contest concluded with a bang on Aug. 16. August 28, 2002

Team One is No. 1 in robot contest - Team One's whirring, spring-action robot triumphed over machines built by seven other teams as the two-week International Design Contest concluded with a bang on Aug. 16. August 20, 2002

Robot contest draws worldwide talent - 42 students from seven countries are plunging into the 13th annual running of the International Design Contest , which is being held this year at MIT. August 14, 2002

64 complete MITE 2S program - Sixty-four high school juniors from 25 states completed a rigorous six-week regimen in the MITE 2S program on Aug. 2. August 8, 2002

IDEAS competition names winners - This year marked the first year of the IDEAS Competition, a design competition targeted at innovations that help the community. June 5, 2002

Ancora takes top prize - Ancora Pharmaceuticals won the Robert P. Goldberg Grand Prize in the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition. Runners-up in the competition were FishLogic and Greenfuel. May 22, 2002

Bright Idea - MIT students are hoping to bask in the limelight of the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition as they move into the final round. May 15, 2002

Salz makes TopCoder semifinals - With $100,000 on the line, four computer programmers sat behind white screens on a platform, their lines of code appearing in real time on monitors set up around the room. May 8, 2002

Programming competition - The MIT computer programming team took second place in the world finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest in Honolulu. April 10, 2002

Motor contest revs up class - Each of the 500-plus kids in Professor Walter Lewin's introductory physics classes had an assignment to make a motor in the Great Motor Contest. April 10, 2002

Sophomore wins oratory contest - Pius A. Uzamere II, a sophomore from New Castle, Pa., won the third annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Contest March 13. March 20, 2002

Students promote Ghana business - Six current and former students have founded Ghana New Ventures Competition Inc., which is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in the developing African nation. March 13, 2002

Contest seeks inventions - An event to launch a competition sponsored by Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Action and Service (IDEAS) , a new student program at MIT, will be held Feb. 7). February 6, 2002

Grad students win stressful $50k - Synthetic bone team wins entrepreneurship prize, defends theses on same day. May 23, 2001