Hello kids! I interviewed Assistant Dean Carter and it came out to be a really cool chat like anyone of you guy and I could’ve had. He is a really cool and humble guy who more than being my boss’ boss is also a very close friend mine, my advisor and mentor. He is the person that made this whole MIT dream become a reality for me and it is the person who inspires me to be better every day. I hope you guys like the interview and take notes on how to be more than successful in your life, but also how to stay true to yourself being humble and an inspiration to others! Enjoy!
This is an interview with Dr. Carter, Assistant Dean of Engineering for Development and Strategic Initiatives and Executive Director, Office of Engineering Outreach Programs (this means that he is our boss). We talk about life, sports and math of course. Enjoy !
Hey guys. After some weeks of hard work and not so much hard work I found time to post my intro. I hope you like it and keep giving us feedback so that this site can be as much yours than it is ours.
Yes, I am not kidding. John Legend performed in our athletics center this past Sunday afternoon. Why was he here among a group of nerdy kids? Three words: Global Poverty Initiative. (Also, who says we don’t like music too!?)
MIT’s Global Poverty Initiative aims to educate students all across the country to tackle the difficult and prevalent problem of poverty. MIT is known for taking the best and the brightest and then cranking out students who go on to be the next great national and even global leaders. GPI strives to make sure that these upcoming future leaders know the impact of the poverty crisis. By doing this, they allow us the opportunity to not only apply our intelligence to calculus or physics problems, but to also tackle the social problems plaguing our society.
This past weekend, MIT’s Global Poverty Initiative hosted the Millennium Campus Conference, a weekend of poverty awareness through various keynote speakers, lectures and movie screenings. There was even a Millennium Action Challenge, where students sent in proposals to “create sustainable water systems to raise living standards”.
Check out MIT’s Global Poverty Initiative website for more details: http://gpi.mit.edu. Challenge yourself to come up with a couple ideas to solve this year’s challenge. John Legend is on board, MIT Global Initiative is on board…you’re next!
Hey guys! So, when I was studying for my biology exam, I found this website with a really cool virtual lab that I thought you might find interesting. It’s on a process called gel electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis involves a substance very similar to Jell-o, except you can’t really eat it. Gel electrophoresis is used to identify different individual’s DNA. As some of you may know, DNA makes every person who they are. While about 99.9% of DNA is the same from person to person, the other .1% is what makes each person different. Gel electrophoresis allows engineers and scientists to identify people based on these differences. Gel electrophoresis is one of the ways crime scene investigators (like the guys on CSI or Law and Order, if you watch those) can tell who is guilty of committing a crime.
Although gel electrophoresis is rather complicated, it is still a pretty cool process. Basically, pieces of DNA are placed inside of little wells on one side of a gel. Then, electricity is run through the gel, causing the DNA to move from one end to the other. The reason the DNA actually moves is because of its chemistry. It is negatively charged and wants to go to the positive end of the gel, which is on the side opposite to the wells. The DNA strands that were placed in the wells are different sizes, and will move at different speeds. The bigger strands will move slower than the smaller strands. After a set amount of time, the electricity is turned off, and the gel is examined. There are several bands that are in different spots depending on the size of the DNA. The DNA in the gel can be compared to the DNA found at a crime scene, and can prove if a person is guilty or innocent.
This virtual lab walks you through the steps of gel electrophoresis. There is even an interactive part once they introduce you to the whole process. Check it out! learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/biotech/gel/
Again, I know some of this may be confusing, so feel free to ask me any questions that occur to you.
Haha…very interesting title I know. Well, you have been introduced to the Crespo-Bosque twins so I only see it’s fit to put up a post introducing myself…the third new blogger, Christina Johnson. (The video posting just doesn’t seem to be working out for us new kids…) I’m also a freshman here at the wonderful Institute. I’ve traveled across the country from my home in Los Angeles, California (Rancho Palos Verdes to be exact) to attend MIT and so far, it’s definitely been worth it. Let’s see…I plan on majoring in Course 6-1 (Electrical Engineering) with a minor in either 14 (Economics) or 15 (Management). My job for this site is to tell you all about what MIT has to offer beyond engineering, from urban planning to architecture to literature. Plus, aren’t you interested to see what we do around here for fun? We have hundreds of clubs and various organizations to fit all of your hobbies, however unique they might be. Look forward to hearing exciting things from me!
Hello! My name is Pablo Crespo and I am one of the bloggers for the Beyond Engineering section of MIT Insite (not Biological Engineering Rafa…)! I did a video intro (which I am having trouble posting into the page) so I will not write a lot about myself here. I just wanted to let you know that I will be showing you all the other side of MIT. I will show you that even though MIT is famous for its academic programs, there is a LOT of fun and cool things to do here! I will try to go on little “field trips” and record events and activities that all students in MIT can enjoy. Questions? Suggestions? Just post a comment!
What’s up guys? My name is Rafael and from now on I am going to be the second Electrical Engineering and Computer Science blogger. I am trying to upload an introduction video but, as of right now, I don’t know how to upload them into the website… I am originally from Puerto Rico. I have a twin brother who is currently the Biological Engineering blogger and an older sister who is a junior at MIT. I am a fun guy and I’m going to try to make this blog as fun and entertaining as possible! Any suggestions or comments about my posts please write them here so that I can make this blog as fun and interactive as I can!
Everyone has preconceptions about what school is like and what tests and finals are supposed to be, but in some classes (not just here, but at other schools too), the tests can be more interesting than you;d expect.
At Northern Illinois University, one class’s final was to design a car in a program and race it.
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