January 2003

Faculty News

Olufemi (Femi) Olowolafe will be spending the calendar year 2003 as the MLK Visiting Associate Professor in DMSE. Femi is on leave from the University of Delaware where he is Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Femi's office is in Room 13-4134 and he will be working in collaboration with Prof. Chris Schuh.

Alan Schwartzman has assumed the position of Director of the Nanomechanical Technology Laboratory, effective Jan. 2. Following doctoral studies in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University, Alan briefly taught at Hampshire College. After that, he directed the Central Facility for Electron Microscopy in the Division of Engineering at Brown University for 13 years. He can be reached at alan_s@mit.edu or x2-3837. His office is located in the NanoLab.

Student News

Abel Hastings, M.Eng. '02 and current SM student, was recently quoted in a Boston Globe article on MIT's Center for Sports Innovation.

Upcoming Events

Plenary: Learning Sciences Applied to Science and Engineering Education Thursday, January 9, 2003
4:00 PM 5:30 PM MIT Building E25-111 Dr. John Bransford, Centennial Professor of Psychology and Education and Co-Director of the Learning Technology Center at Vanderbilt University, is a scholar in human learning and its implication on instruction. He recently co-edited a report by the National Research Council, called How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School (National Academy Press 1999), which synthesis research and best instructional practice to define the How People Learn (HPL) Framework. This framework represents important principles for designing effective learning environments that promote learning with understanding. Dr. Bransford's presentation will describe how these new insights in learning and instruction have shaped the design of instruction in a range of disciplines. This presentation is a must for anyone interested in human learning and the design of effective instruction that prepares students for future learning.

The following IAP events have been announced by the MIT Libraries.

Beyond the Basics in Finding Scientific Information Anne Graham, Eileen Dorchner, Chris Sherratt Tue Jan 14, 11am-12:00pm, 14N-132 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up. Need to find articles quickly and don't have time to come to the library? This session will show you how to access electronic journals, databases, and other online services for engineering and science disciplines. This session is designed for those who use the Science Library and/or Barker Engineering Library to locate information for others, such as administrative staff. Contact: Anne Graham, 10-500, x3-7744.

Copyright Issues and MIT Policy Tue Jan 14, 10am-12:00pm, 1-390 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up. Hear a great talk about copyright and how it impacts MIT policies. Staff from MIT's Intellectual Property Office and the MIT Libraries will discuss topics germane to the MIT community. Get answers to questions such as: Who owns the copyright in the university environment? Does MIT own copyright of student work? What are the important issues for licensing electronic materials and content? Who owns the copyright to course materials? What about software copyright? What copyright issues should web authors think about for electronic materials? Related IAP activities include: "Everything You Wanted to Know about Patents: The Patent Process" on January 21st and "Everything You Wanted to Know about Patents: Patent Searching Fundamentals" on January 28th. Contact: Carol Robinson, 10-500, x3-7749.

Finding Business Information for Engineers Wed Jan 15, Thu Jan 16, 01-02:30pm, 14N-132 Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below). Limited to 20 participants. A hands-on introduction to business research for engineers. The class will show how to take advantage of business databases available at MIT in order to efficiently gather information on industries, markets, products, and companies. Contact: Anita Perkins, E53-100.

Introduction to MDL CrossFire Beilstein Wed Jan 15, 10-11:00am, 14N-132, No enrollment limit, no advance sign up. This workshop will introduce you to the basics of finding information on organic compounds and their properties using CrossFire Beilstein. Chemical structure and reaction searching will be highlighted. Contact: Erja Kajosalo, 14S-134, 253-9795.

Introduction to MDL CrossFire Gmelin Fri Jan 17, 11am-12:00pm, 14N-132 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up. This workshop will introduce you to the basics of finding information on inorganic and organometallic compounds and their properties using CrossFire Gmelin. Chemical structure and reaction searching will be highlighted. Contact: Erja Kajosalo, 14S-134, 253-9795.

What's the Melting Point of H2O?: Finding Materials Properties Information Tue Jan 14, 02-03:00pm, 14N-132 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up. You probably know the melting point of H2O is 0 degrees C (or 32 degrees F or 273.15 degrees K). But what would you do if you didn't know? Come learn about the wide variety of resources you can use to locate property information. Contact: Angie Locknar, 14S-134, x3-9320.

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Please contact Rachel Kemper with news and announcements for this page. The DMSE community will be informed of changes and updates to this page through regular e-mail notifications. Please see recent award opportunities and job postings in relevant fields.