Events and Outreach
There were numerous special School events and gatherings
over the past six months. Here are some of the highlights.
BERKELEY
On Sunday, September 27, 2009, Dean Deborah Fitzgerald attended the U.S. premier of Professor Evan Ziporyn’s new opera, “A House in Bali,” in Berkeley, California. Ziporyn, the Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT, composed the music, which combines Balinese and Western musical forms (libretto by Paul Schick). Other members of MIT’s Music and Theater Arts section were also involved in the production, including Associate Professor Jay Scheib, serving as Director, and Director of Design Sara Brown, working on scenic design. The opera premiered in June 2009 in Puri Saraswati in Ubud, Bali. ∎
LA JOLLA, LOS ANGELES, SANTA BARBARA, AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
In May, Dean Deborah Fitzgerald joined MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay for Campaign for Students events in Southern California. The three events in La Jolla (hosted by Frank Quick ’69), Los Angeles (hosted by Tom Leo ’75 ), and Santa Barbara (hosted by L. Robert Johnson ’63) had as their theme MIT Going Global: Preparing Students for the 21st Century. The Dean featured the activities of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) in the School. During the trip she also met with alumni in Northern California, including Howard Shao ’78. ∎ Photos L to R: MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay; Dean Fitzgerald; Howard Shao '78 with Dean Fitzgerald
CAMBRIDGE
On April 15, alumni and friends of MIT joined featured speaker Sherry Turkle, Professor in the Program inScience, Technology and Society, for a School Breakfast Seminar. Sherry’s talk was entitled “Falling for Science: The Transformative Power of Objects in Human Lives.” ∎
BOSTON
Emerson Program in Music Fellow Jennifer Lai ’11 joined the legendary Boston Pops at the 112th annual Tech Night at the Pops, as the pianist for Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” At the event, Bob Muh ’59 also narrated Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” See Profile of Bob Muh. ∎
WASHINGTON D.C.
Some 50 Economics alumni and friends gathered at the Cosmos Club, Washington D.C, on September 24, 2009 to hear Olivier Blanchard PhD’77 speak on "Sustaining the Recovery." Blanchard is Class of 1941 Professor of Economics, and a former Head of the Economics Department. He currently serves as Economics Counsellor and Director of the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund. ∎
CAMBRIDGE 02139
On Wednesday September 9, 2009, a small gathering of alumni and friends of the Institute joined Associate Provost Philip Khoury to hear from newly returned 2009 MISTI-Israel interns about their summer research projects. Local business leader Robert Kraft, our special guest, shared thoughts with the students. ∎
CAMBRIDGE 02139
On September 16, 2009, Dean Fitzgerald welcomed alumni guests to a talk in the School Breakfast Seminar Series by Professor David Mindell, Director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society. David spoke on “Digital Apollo, the Lunar Landing and the Social Relations of Automation.” ∎