Slice of MIT: Stories from MIT Presented by the MIT Alumni Association

Dana Dabbousi ‘20, Omar Obeya '18, MEng '19, Mayce El Mostafa MEng '13, and Mamoun Toukan AF '17, MAP '18 sit down with Slice of MIT to share their experience of launching the podcast UnliMITed, a production of the MIT Arab Alumni Association. In this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, you'll hear a featured episode of UnliMITed, in which host Omar Obeya talks to Dr. Ayman Ismail MCP '99, PhD '09. Dr. Ismail is the director of the AUC Venture Lab at the American University in Cairo's School of Business. Listen to more episodes of the UnliMITed podcast: https://bit.ly/3QOeLDo Read more, and find the transcript of this episode, on Slice of MIT: https://bit.ly/3BhQujp Follow the MIT Alumni Association and let us know what you thought of this episode. Twitter: http://twitter.com/MIT_alumni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MITAA Instagram: http://instagram.com/mitalumni

Julia Yoo ‘10, MBA ‘14 shares her experience of hosting the podcast, MIT Catalysts, a production of the MIT Alumni Club of Northern California. In this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, you'll hear Yoo's interview with John Whaley ‘99, MEng ‘99, founder of the tech company UnifyID—along with her advice for other MIT alumni clubs that might want to start their own podcast. Read more, and find the transcript of this episode, on Slice of MIT: https://bit.ly/2XqAauq

MIT professor Alan Guth ’69, PhD ’72 pioneered the theory of cosmic inflation: a period of rapid expansion that occurred a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. And he also supports the idea that our universe is just one of many in a much larger multiverse. “What we call the Big Bang Theory is really just a theory of the aftermath of some kind of a bang,” Guth says. “And inflation is a possible answer to what propelled this expansion. It's based on the idea that gravity itself can, under some circumstances, act as a repulsive force instead of an attractive force.” Read the transcript to the lecture on the Slice of MIT blog: https://alum.mit.edu/slice/podcast-inflationary-cosmology-our-universe-part-multiverse

Andrew Rader PhD '09, SpaceX mission manager, discusses his book Beyond the Known: How Exploration Created the Modern World and Will Take Us to the Stars, published in 2019 by Scribner, a book Kirkus calls "an astute—and highly flattering—view of human aspirations." Read more, and find the transcript of this episode, on Slice of MIT: https://bit.ly/2KEVjtI

Ingredion's recently retired CEO, Ilene Gordon ’75, SM ’76, sat down for an interview with the MIT Alumni Association during a spring 2019 visit to campus. In this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, you'll hear her thoughts on the importance of having a plan B (and C), how doing laundry in London helped her career, and what she wishes more mentees would ask her. Read more, and find the transcript of this episode, on Slice of MIT: http://bit.ly/2Z70WsW

Hiba Bou Akar MCP '05, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, talks about her book For the War Yet to Come: Planning Beirut's Frontiers, published in Fall 2018 by Stanford University Press. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2WrOzX1 Full story on Slice of MIT: https://alum.mit.edu/slice/alumni-books-podcast-war-yet-come

Omar Al-Midani SM ’98 and his company have a way to drastically decrease mercury contamination to wastewater. Listen to this Slice of MIT podcast to hear Al-Midani talk about why his business model makes sense, of sometimes losing money. Read more on Slice of MIT: https://bit.ly/2ZiWwwx Read a transcript of the podcast: https://bit.ly/2VVyci7

According to novelist/essayist and theoretical physicist Alan Lightman, unstructured time that allows our minds to roam freely can lead to more creativity. “We need a new mental attitude,” he advocates—one “that values our inner reflection, values stillness, values privacy, values personal reflection—that honors the inner self.” Lightman—who is a professor of the practice of the humanities as well as a senior lecturer in physics at MIT—shared these and other thoughts on creativity with an audience of MIT alumni in late 2018. He delivered his lecture at MIT’s Endicott House during a holiday luncheon event jointly organized by the MIT Alumni Association’s Cardinal and Gray Society and Emma Rogers Society. Read more on the Slice of MIT blog: bit.ly/2TTn3MX Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/2UuF2gT Photo: Jack Mohr ’50

Lucile Jones PhD '81 discusses her new book The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them), published in April 2018. Jones is the founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society and a Research Associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2H6y38z

Asked what one book all MIT alumni should read this year, Nancy Hopkins, Amgen Inc. Professor of Biology Emerita at MIT, selected The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist by Ben Barres '76, published this fall by MIT Press. In this Q&A, Prof. Hopkins shares insights on Barres's career, advocacy, and legacy. Join the book club and the conversation on this book at alum.mit.edu/learn. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2EfsF0x

Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner MCP '06, PhD '13, Assistant Professor of Politics & Global Studies at the University of Virginia, talks about her new book, Claiming the State: Active Citizenship and Social Welfare in Rural India, published in August 2018 by Cambridge University Press. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2RJg9Kh

Former United States Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz HM ’11 addressed a sold-out MIT audience in Washington, DC and discussed his thoughts on the United States’ role in climate research, nuclear security, and technology innovation. Read more on the Slice of MIT blog: http://bit.ly/2u5wSwz. Moniz is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor Emeritus of Physics and Engineering Systems at MIT, and he was awarded honorary membership in the MIT Alumni Association in 2011. He delivered his talk at the historic Cosmos Club during a Spring Lecture and Luncheon event jointly organized by the MIT Alumni Association’s Cardinal and Grey Society, Emma Rogers Society, and Katherine Dexter McCormick Society. Episode transcript: http://bit.ly/2tXIZM4

The MIT Alumni Book Club's pick for February 2017 is Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, selected by Adam Berinsky, Professor of Political Science at MIT. Join this month's discussion to read and discuss the book. To join the discussion: visit alum.mit.edu/learn and click on "Alumni Book Club." Episode transcript: http://bit.ly/2LrH1hJ

Amy Brand PhD '89, Director of the MIT Press, discusses Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds, published in May 2017 by MIT Press, in this podcast for the MIT Alumni Book Club. Join the book club and the conversation on this book at alum.mit.edu/learn. Episode transcript: http://bit.ly/2LJhM7w

Asked what one book he would have all MIT alumni read, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus Sylvain Bromberger selected Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Speed of Thought, by MIT Professor of Management Andrew Lo. Here, Prof. Bromberger explains his choice and shares his thoughts on Lo's theory. Episode transcript: http://bit.ly/2LznPhS

Hear the advice from three speakers at the MIT Women's unConference-Suzanne Frey, a 2006 graduate of the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA Program; Catherine Crawford, a mechanical engineering graduate from the Class of 1991, and Bel Pesce a double major in engineering and computer science and management from the Class of 2010. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2EBYqPS

Hemant Taneja '97, MNG '99, SM '99 discusses his new book, Unscaled: How AI and a New Generation of Upstarts Are Creating the Economy of the Future, published in spring 2018. Episode transcript: http://bit.ly/2JHHN6d

Raisa Deber '71, PhD '77, a professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at University of Toronto, discusses her new book, Treating Health Care: How the Canadian System Works and How It Could Work Better, published in 2018 by University of Toronto Press. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2q0SN5O.

David N. Schwartz PhD '80 discusses his new book, The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2IrxLon.

Steven Lubar '76, Professor of American Studies at Brown University, discusses his new book, Inside the Lost Museum: Curating Past and Present, published in August 2017 by Harvard University Press. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2H4DQrq.

Andrew Bunnie Huang '97, MNG '97, PhD '02 talks about The Hardware Hacker: Adventures in Making and Breaking Hardware, published in March 2017 by No Starch Press. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2JbhTI5.

Rob Wesson '66, Scientist Emeritus with the USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, discusses his book Darwin's First Theory, published in April 2017 by Pegasus Books. Read more: http://bit.ly/2wEHn9I. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2GxFCAv.

Lana Swartz '08 discusses Paid: Tales of Dongles, Checks, and Other Money Stuff, co-edited by Swartz and Bill Maurer and published in spring 2017 by MIT Press. "Money is not being dematerialized, Swartz, an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, suggests, "but rematerialized" in other forms. Read more about Swartz's book at: http://bit.ly/2uee9Ap. Episode: https://bit.ly/2IpJ00E.

Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed more than 1,800 new MIT graduates on Friday, June 9, and shared a message of humanity deeply connected to his Apple experience. Speaking at the 2017 MIT Commencement, Cook described his relationship with Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple; described a meeting with Pope Francis; and called on the new graduates to focus the exciting power of technology on improving the world. “Thanks to discoveries made right here, billions of people are leading healthier, more productive, more fulfilling lives," Cook said. "And if we are ever going to solve some of the hardest problems still facing the world today — everything from cancer, to climate change, to educational inequality — then technology will help us to do it.” Read more about Tim Cook's Commencement address: http://bit.ly/2sjDKFc Learn more about MIT's Commencement history: https://slice.mit.edu/2017/06/08/a-brief-history-of-mit-commencement-speakers/ Transcript: https://bit.ly/2H5CBse

Mark Zupan PhD '87, President of Alfred University, discusses his new book, Inside Job: How Government Insiders Subvert the Public Interest (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Read more about Zupan and his book: http://bit.ly/2sah2Pr Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2Gv4JHY.

Lynne B. Sagalyn PhD '80 discusses her book Power at Ground Zero: Politics, Money, and the Remaking of Lower Manhattan, published in September 2016 by Oxford University Press. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2JgpjtJ. Read more about Power at Ground Zero: http://bit.ly/2pw2RGn

Toby Ayer '96 discusses his book The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker, published in October 2016. Ayer, who rowed crew at MIT and served as assistant coach for Parker in the early 2000s, shares his thoughts on Parker's legacy in rowing and how Parker's half-century of coaching at Harvard came to a close. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2q6GJAf. Read more about Ayer: http://bit.ly/2oUGtBR

The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ow their electric blue skies, golden yellow brick road, ruby red slippers, and fiery landscapes to Technicolor...an innovation that came out of MIT. In this Slice of MIT podcast, we take a trip back in time to learn just how Technicolor came to life and discover the MIT alumni behind many classics of the golden age of Hollywood. The Color by Techniolor podcast includes interviews with William Uricchio, and additional research and audio from the Old Time Radio Researchers Group, the National Archives, and the MIT Archives. Additional narration was provided by Jay London and Russell Boulais. “Darxiland,” “Plucky Daisy,” and “Merry Go Slower” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Read more about Technicolor at MIT: http://bit.ly/2mpPjGH Transcript: https://bit.ly/2q4jtm7

Robert Coles MArch '55 discusses his book, Architecture and Advocacy, published in November 2016. The memoir traces Coles's journey to becoming one of Buffalo's most prominent architects and reflects on the continued dearth of African Americans in the field of architecture today. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2Ego5L2. Read more about Coles: http://bit.ly/2klvUqy

On a campus with a wealth of acronyms, one is on everyone’s lips this time of year—IAP. The Independent Activities Period (IAP) provides members of the MIT community “with a unique opportunity to organize, sponsor and participate in a wide variety of activities.” This means that each year more than 600 non-credit IAP activities give students, staff, alumni, and faculty a chance to learn and do just about anything. Read more: http://bit.ly/2jdmyvr Transcript: https://bit.ly/2JdtNRC Music: "The Builder" "Lewis and Dekald" "Sheep May Safely Graze" and "Fretless" All songs by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Dean Karlan PhD '02, Professor of Economics at Yale University, discusses his new book, Failing in the Field (Princeton, 2016), an exploration into the most common pitfalls of field research in which both researchers share some of their costly errors in conducting randomized controlled trials in the developing world. Read more about Failing in the Field: http://bit.ly/2iZUIpT

Eric Jay Dolin PhD '95 is the author of a dozen books, most recently Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse. In it, he chronicles tales of the 701 extant lighthouses in America, from Boston Light to the farthest reaches of Alaska. Listen to an audio interview with Dolin about the inspiration for this book and his development as a writer dating to MIT. Read more about Brilliant Beacons: http://bit.ly/2esLf5Z Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2q1jt7r

When MIT was founded in 1861, the Institute originally filled Boston’s newly developed Back Bay neighborhood. In the decades that followed, the departments and students increased, and in 1916, MIT crossed the Charles River for a new campus in Cambridge. Since its move to Cambridge, the Institute continued to establish itself as one of the world’s top universities and its alumni and faculty have tackled society’s most pressing challenges. Earlier this year, as part of MIT’s campus centennial celebration, the Institute hosted the symposium, “Beyond 2016: MIT’s Frontiers of the Future.” (http://mit2016.mit.edu/) In this Slice of MIT podcast, you’ll hear a selection of the faculty presentations that took place at the symposium. Learn how solar power is creating more drinkable water in rural India; how texting is helping transform Kenya’s financial system; how cities can help solve climate change; and how mucus is solving global health problems. Transcript: https://bit.ly/2q38auq Featuring (in chronological order): Assistant Professor Amos Winter SM ’05, PhD ’10 Department of Mechanical Engineering; Director, Global Engineering and Research Lab Associate Dean Yasheng Huang MIT Sloan Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management Associate Professor Tavneet Suri MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Katharina Ribbeck Department of Biological Engineering Assistant Professor Heidi Williams Department of Economics Professor John Fernandez ’85 Director, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative More information on the symposium: http://bit.ly/2bGJ5OK Watch the Beyond 2016 symposium: http://bit.ly/2c2EUNP Music: “Inspired," Call to Adventure,” “Cut and Run,” “Space Fighter Loop,” “Backed Vibes Clean,” and “Floating Cities” All songs by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

"How did this gaudy jewel come to be?" asks John Shelton Reed '64 of barbecue, the closest rival, in his mind, that America has to Europe's wines and cheeses in terms of cuisine. In his second book on the subject, Reed offers 51 recipes that, for him, exemplify American Southern barbecue. In this interview, Reed offers his take on "chefs" who cook barbecue, why North Carolina sauce is the most authentic, and how a poli-sci major from MIT turned sociologist at UNC came to the topic of barbecue in the first place. Read more about Barbecue: http://bit.ly/2fzm4TH Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2uNhRmG

Myra Strober PhD '69, Emerita Professor of Education and Emerita Professor of Economics at the Graduate School of Business(by courtesy)at Stanford University, shares recollections, advice, and thoughts on women in work in this interview. Strober's new book, Sharing the Work: What My Family and Career Taught Me about Breaking Through (and Holding the Door Open for Others), was published in spring 2016. Read more: http://bit.ly/2bc3q0u Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2q6HmK7

MIT Projects That are Making a Better World: Highlights from Tech Day 2016 talks on Education and Health of the Planet Initiatives. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2GyxT5j. Can our brains show us when we’re ready to learn? That’s the question that professor John Gabrieli ’87 posed to the audience at the Tech Day program in June as he joined members of the MIT faculty to talk about problems in education and the environment that are being addressed here in Cambridge and around the globe. In this Slice of MIT podcast, hear audio from several talks given by alumni faculty at Tech Day, which focused on two of the themes from the MIT Campaign for a Better World, a $5 billion comprehensive fundraising initiative that launched in May. The first is teaching learning and living, and the second, the health of the planet. AeroAstro Professor Karen Willcox ’96, PhD ’00, an innovator in education, discusses her fly-by-wire project, an app which uses digital technology to help students and teachers similar to the way the system works in an airplane. Professor John Gabrieli ’87 use his understanding of the brain to figure out how learning works. Professor John Fernández ’85 talked fabout the drastic rise in urban development and its impact on the use of resources and energy throughout the world. Professor Elsa Olivetti PhD ’07, says making the world a better place starts with a better understanding of the ordinary materials that are used and thrown out daily. Learn more: http://slice.mit.edu/2016/07/29/listen-making-a-better-world-through-education-and-environmental-research/. Music: "Pamgaea" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) "Out of the Skies Under the Earth" Chris Zabriskie

What creates a community? At MIT it can be courses, clubs, and classes, but also where students live. Nearly 6,000 students live in some form of MIT housing, with each different living group building its own unique community. From roller coasters at East Campus to aged milk at Random Hall, living groups at MIT are full of stories and shared memories. We recently invited students and alumni to share some favorite memories from their community at MIT. Hear what they had to say. Transcript: https://bit.ly/2uK5Fmn Music: "Life of Riley" "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" "Chillin Hard" and "Hep Cats" All songs by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In his new book, Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, Fred Kaplan SM '78, PhD '83, recounts some of the U.S. government’s first simulated tests on hacking its own infrastructure with off-the-shelf hardware, its first successful incursions into foreign cyber terrain, and the “new tension in American life between individual liberty and national security.” Learn more about Dark Territory: http://bit.ly/23dSErU Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2uIP3vw

In her new book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos, Priyamvada Natarajan ’91, SM ’11 tells the stories of Einstein’s troubles with gravity, an expanding universe, and dark matter. For Natarajan, a professor of physics at Yale University, Einstein is just one of a cast of characters in 20th century astronomy and cosmology whose struggles are at times amusing and at other times most inspiring. Read more: http://bit.ly/23YS3ct Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2GsVlod

On March 28, 2006, a group of young men, disguised as movers and armed with phony work orders, arrived on the Caltech’s Pasadena campus. Within a few hours, the crew departed with the college’s two-ton Fleming Canon in tow. Eight days later, the canon reappeared 3,000 miles away, on MIT campus, with a massive MIT class ring on its barrel. The movers, it turns out, were MIT students who had just carried out perhaps the longest-distance MIT hack of all time. So, How does one borrow a cannon, drive it cross-country, and place it in the middle of a crowded campus, completely undetected? In this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, we’ll hear from the MIT hackers involved in heist, as we celebrate the prank’s 10-year anniversary. Read more: http://bit.ly/1WuVkQj. Transcript: https://bit.ly/2Gws64c Music: "Marty's Got a Plan" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Since the publication of Clay Christensen's The Innovators' Dilemma nearly two decades ago, Michael Tushman PhD '76 and his colleague Charles O'Reilly III have studied successful firms, large and small, that didn't exactly fit the new norm of disrutpive innovation. The result of this study is Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator's Dilemma. In this interview, Tushman discusses his new book, a well-researched corrective for Christensen's formula for success in business. Read more: http://bit.ly/1pNnWHV Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2uNh5WO

Robert Gordon PhD '67 calls his new book a revised version of his thesis for Professor Robert Solow, "47 years late." The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War upends the typical narrative about the wonders of twenty-first century American innovations. In this interview, Gordon shares his thoughts on American growth and shares some memories of his MIT years. Read more: http://bit.ly/21bLmTd Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2Je9zY4

On this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, we bring you stories from alumni who found love at the Institute. Read more: http://bit.ly/20Q0TNF. Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2EdCuYv The interviews in this episode are part of the Reunions Access Memories Project. Music: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

On this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, we bring you stories from alumni who found love at the Institute. Read more: bit.ly/20Q0TNF. In this episode bonus clip, Megan Pasquina '08 tells the story of how she met her husband, Lincoln. The interview in this clip is part of the Reunions Access Memories Project. Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2q1DuL3

On this episode of the Slice of MIT podcast, we bring you stories from alumni who found love at the Institute. Read more: bit.ly/20Q0TNF. In this episode bonus clip, Tim Chambers '84 tells the story of how he met his wife, Robin. The interview in this clip is part of the Reunions Access Memories Project. Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2GuCDIR

Costa Rica is home to ten percent of the world's known species of butterflies, more than 800 species of birds, and 200 volcanoes. Listen in on the journey of the MIT Alumni Travel Program as they witnessed sloths, howled with howler monkeys, and met with an American Quaker who left prison to start a Costa Rican town. Read more: http://bit.ly/1ZT98mf. Transcript: https://bit.ly/2H6LLEV Music Credits: "Cuban Sandwich," "Carnivale Intrigue," "Cumbia No Frills," and "Pennsylvania Rose," Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

If you're a newly-manufactured or rebooted android, you'll want to pick up a copy of the latest book from Nic Kelman '94, How to Pass as Human: A Guide to Assimilation for Future Androids. The book, however, proves just as entertaining and informative for human readers. In his fourth novel, Kelman gives a delightful glimpse of the human world through an android's eyes. Kelman discusses the novel with a fellow human being in this latest MIT Alumni Books Podcast. Read more: http://bit.ly/1NRgN0N Episode Transcript: https://bit.ly/2uHHogK

The MIT community is more diverse than any time in Institute history. And diverse communities require mindful leadership. So, how can leaders be more effective in creating a more inclusive environment? Assistant Professor Renée Richardson Gosline says start by being mindful: recognize the biases that affect us all, and question our own heuristics. Read more: http://bit.ly/goslinepodcast Professor Gosline is the MIT Sloan Zenon Zannetos 1955 Career Development Assistant Professor of Marketing. Her research studies how we process information about products, information, and each other. And she believes cognitive association and heuristics—decision-making shortcuts provided by the subconscious—are often at the root of bias. Transcript: https://bit.ly/2H7FMj4 Music: "Babylon," Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

MIT has a long history with food, from nutrition science to environmental costs, and today food innovation projects at MIT run the gamut. MIT’s newest food initiative, Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (JWAFS) is bringing together research across disciplines. Episode transcript: https://bit.ly/2q1Fi6G. Learn more about JWAFS and food projects at MIT in the Slice of MIT podcast, Food for Thought. This episode focuses on four things: an Institute-wide food and water security lab; a Media Lab Agriculture Initiative; a chemistry sensor project that can detect spoiling meat; and an alumnus chef that uses science to perfect his recipes. Read more: http://bit.ly/1R3UfMU This podcast is being released a few days before Thanksgiving 2015, so of course, we needed to address the Thanksgiving meal. Kenji Lopez-Alt ’02, culinary director of Serious Eats—a renowned food blog, offers insight into cooking with science and weighs in on the persistent Thanksgiving turkey question, to brine or not to brine? Renee Robins ’83, executive director for JWAFS, talks about the growth of food and water projects at MIT and the promising technologies that are coming from interdisciplinary collaborations. One promising research project is the Open Agriculture Initiative, run by Caleb Harper March ’14 in the Media Lab. Harper discusses his research that uses alternative growing methods, like aeroponics and hydroponics, along with LED lights, and controlled climate—all harnessed by open-source technology. He hopes his work can become the foundation for a new method of agricultural production to help produce food that can be eaten closer to the point of growing and to grow anything, anywhere in the world with similar technology and the right climate recipe. Jan Schnorr ’12 was working toward completing his PhD in Tim Swager’s lab in the chemistry department when he started C2Sense, a startup that is developing sensors that can detect food spoilage and therefore help reduce food waste. “We had a project around ethaline detection, which is very relevant for fruit freshness,” says Schorr. There are several types of low-cost sensors being developed to monitor fruit and meat ripeness, indicating if the food has gone bad. These sensors could help at all steps in the supply chain—in distribution and storage, in grocery stores, and at home in refrigerators. Music: "Cover Affair" and "Jarvic 8" All songs by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

As a young boy growing up in Prague, Michael Gruenbaum '53 witnessed firsthand the Nazi occupation of Prague before his family was sent to Terezin, a concentration camp. Seventy years after liberation, Gruenbaum penned a memoir of his life at Terezin. Published in 2015, Somewhere There Is Still a Sun recounts Gruenbaum's ordeals in Terezin, along with some of his life after the war. "I suddenly feel some sort of strange obligation to live some sort of perfect life," Gruenbaum writes of his emergence from Terezin, "one packed with heroic acts, so incredible I can't even begin to imagine what they might be." Read more: http://bit.ly/1M530PS Transcript: https://bit.ly/2Gvv5Kb

Some scientists say that human beings are more bacteria than human, with bacteria cells found in and on our body outnumbering human cells 10 to 1. Others claim that the bacteria found on each one of us could fill up a half-gallon jug. Others still are unsure how much bacteria we’re covered in, but it’s a lot, and probably more than the average person is comfortable thinking about. Thankfully, Mark Smith PhD ’14 isn’t the average person. A microbiologist, Smith came to MIT to study this huge community of bacteria known as the microbiome, focusing specifically on the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Smith worked in the Alm Lab developing computational and experimental methods to engineer to microbiome. He explains some of his research, “We would find healthy patients and a disease cohort, take stools samples to sequence their microbiome and find signatures that distinguish between them. We find there are a lot of diseases that have distinct microbial compositions. The question is does disease cause the altered microbiome, or does the altered microbiome cause the disease?” In this Slice of MIT podcast, you’ll learn how fecal transplants work, why they’re effective in combating C. Diff, and what the future of microbiome research looks like. Read more: http://bit.ly/1LCF9KI Transcript: https://bit.ly/2Gy4Pyw Music: “Monster Promenade” “The Show Must Be Go” and “Life of Riley” All songs by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0