Solve announces next global challenges

At the March 1 launch event for MIT’s Intelligence Quest, MIT Solve Executive Director Alex Amouyel announced Solve’s next set of challenges: Coastal Communities, Frontlines of Health, Teachers and Educators, and Work of the Future.

Solve’s challenges are open to anyone with a relevant solution and the deadline to submit is July 1. Once the new Solver class is selected in September, Solve will then deploy its global community of private, public, and nonprofit leaders to form partnerships these tech entrepreneurs need to scale their impact.

“These are big challenges — the type that MIT, founded as a school of practical application, of problem-solving, and of real entrepreneurial spirit, has sought to tackle since its inception,” said Amouyel. “At Solve, we are opening up the doors of a world-class institution to those without an MIT card — because we believe that talent and ingenuity are everywhere.”

Over the past six months, the Solve team has consulted over 500 cross-sector leaders and experts to determine the 2018 challenges. Solve hosted 26 Challenge Design Workshops in eight countries, in locations ranging from Detroit, Standing Rock, Riyadh, London, and Paris, to source insights around the most pressing problems communities around the world are facing today. In the spirit of open innovation, Solve encouraged community members to vote and propose new challenge ideas on the Solve website and in doing so received over 12,000 votes.

The Solve team will be reviewing all of the solutions to decide the next Solver class and will hold Solveathons to help Solve applicants further refine their ideas. Solve’s Challenge Leadership Groups, comprising cross-sector leaders and MIT faculty, will select the finalists who will then be invited to Solve Challenge Finals on Sept. 23, 2018 in New York City during UN General Assembly Week and will have the opportunity to pitch their solution for the chance to become a part of the next Solver class.

1. Coastal Communities: How can coastal communities mitigate and adapt to climate change while developing and prospering?

2. Frontlines of Health: How can communities invest in frontline
   health workers and services to improve their access to effective and affordable care?

3. Teachers and Educators: How can teachers and educators provide accessible, personalized, and creative learning experiences for all?    

4. Work of the Future: How can those left behind by the technology-driven transformations of work create meaningful and prosperous livelihoods for themselves?

Solve is a global community of private, public, and nonprofit leaders accelerating positive impact. Corporates, foundations, investors, and nonprofits interested in supporting the Solver class and joining the community can apply for membership here.

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Letter regarding update on MIT's support of its DACA students

The following email was sent yesterday to the MIT community by Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart.

To the members of the MIT community:

I had very much hoped that the next time I wrote to you about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, it would be to celebrate the passage of a permanent legislative solution that MIT and other universities have repeatedly called for since the White House decided to end the program.

Congress’ inaction means that fear and uncertainty are a part of the daily life for hundreds of thousands of young people protected by DACA who were brought to this country before they were 16. They are now deeply immersed in our nation’s education system, members of our workforce and, through their studies and hard work, actively advancing our national interests. We are very fortunate that some of those brilliant students – also known as Dreamers – call MIT their home.

I know that in this moment MIT's Dreamers are on the minds of many in our community. You may be wondering about the status of recent legislative activity and litigation; what we are doing to support our students; or you how you can help. That is why I write today – to provide you with an update.

I will start by sharing what Vice President and General Counsel Mark DiVincenzo and I have told MIT’s DACA students as part of our regular check-ins with them:

Legislative Activity and Litigation

The news on the Congressional front is not good. Neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives appears to be able to agree on a bill that can be supported by the full Congress or the President. MIT’s DC Office will continue to closely monitor this situation and assist us in advocating for passage of legislation that protects DACA students.

There have, however, been some positive developments: in two separate lawsuits – one in California and one in New York – the federal courts have blocked, at least temporarily, the federal government from terminating the DACA program, allowing those who are already DACA-protected to maintain their protection and ordering the Department of Homeland Security to accept applications from DACA recipients for two year renewals. As we have previously reported, MIT joined eighteen peer institutions in submitting amicus – or “friend of the court” – briefs that urged the courts to rule the way they did.

The federal government has appealed the two court decisions. And, earlier this week, the US Supreme Court declined to consider the government’s request for a direct appeal. This means that protections for individuals with DACA status will remain in place while legal appeal proceedings play out in the courts, a process that is likely to take at least several more months.

In light of these rulings, individuals who have DACA status are again permitted to file for renewals, so we have been strongly advising our DACA students whose status is expiring to submit their renewal applications as soon as possible.

Federal Immigration and Law Enforcement

We have been clear that the Institute will do everything legally possible to protect DACA students regardless of the program’s ultimate fate. As I have previously noted in messages to the community, MIT Police have a longstanding practice of not inquiring about individuals’ immigration status, and our officers are not responsible for enforcing federal immigration law.

Additionally, the Institute does not voluntarily share information about individuals’ immigration status with federal or state agencies, and the Division of Student Life is discussing with residential life staff how to refer requests from immigration or other law enforcement officials to MIT’s Office of the General Counsel in the unlikely event these officials come to campus.

Support for MIT’s Dreamers

For several years now, MIT has directly connected undocumented students to a Student Support Services (S3) dean. Gerardo Garcia-Rios, associate dean and co-director of S3, offers one-on-one and group personal support to this close-knit community of students, and works to ensure that they can have the same student life and learning experience as documented students.

More recently, we have taken two key steps to give MIT’s Dreamers the help they need now:

• MIT has retained an outside immigration lawyer to be available to DACA students so that they can seek legal advice; and
• We have committed to them that, if they lose their work authorizations because of the end of the DACA program, MIT will adjust their financial aid to meet their needs.

Moving Forward

Because we are one MIT, there are many members of our community who are wondering how they can assist our DACA students. If you want to help, one of the best ways to show your individual support is to lend your voice to the growing chorus of Americans who are calling on our elected officials – both in Congress and the White House – to pass immigration legislation that protects Dreamers.

MIT will continue to work with national associations and leverage other critical partnerships to convey to Congress that ending DACA would harm not only the individuals protected by the program but all of higher education if we can no longer welcome talented young Dreamers to our communities.

You can learn more about the different immigration proposals that have been put forward and, if you are inclined to do so, you can call your elected officials to voice your support for DACA.

MIT’s Dreamers have secured their place in America’s education system and workforce by applying their intellectual gifts, putting in the long hours, doing the hard work, and never giving up on big dreams. Like all MIT students, we want them to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities they’ve earned, and the chance to see where those opportunities take them.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Barnhart
Chancellor

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Jani Adcock and Drew Bent named Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Two MIT seniors, Jani Adcock and Drew Bent, will be part of this fall’s inaugural class of Knight-Hennessy Scholars. The fellowship funds the full cost of graduate education at Stanford University. Over 3,600 college seniors and recent graduates from around the world applied to this new program; 49 scholars from 20 countries were selected.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars aims to develop a community of future global leaders who can address complex challenges through collaboration and innovation. The fellowship is named for the 10th president of Stanford University, John L. Hennessy, and Nike Inc. co-founder and philanthropist Phil Knight, a Stanford alumnus who is contributing a $400 million endowment to the program.

Criteria for selection as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar include independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset. Applicants were also required to apply to and be admitted by the Stanford graduate program of their choice. In addition to funding for their academic studies, the Scholars will receive leadership training, mentorship, and experiential learning across multiple disciplines.

Jani Adcock from Seattle, Washington, is a senior majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science. She aspires to develop numerical methods for more accurate and rapid simulations to open new avenues for renewable energy generation and efficient energy use. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Adcock leveraged field data to improve a wind farm model; at Navigant Consulting, she assessed grid modernization efforts; at Tesla Motors, she analyzed vehicle data to improve reliability; and at Natel Energy, she designed components for a novel hydropower system. At MIT, she has served as an adviser for the student-run MIT Fall Career Fair, and as vice president of career development for MIT Society of Women Engineers. As a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Adcock will pursue a PhD in computational and mathematical engineering at the Stanford School of Engineering.

Drew Bent from Stanford, California, is a senior pursuing a double major in physics and electrical engineering and computer science. At MIT, Bent conducted research in the fields of economics and engineering, and was a features editor and reporter for The Tech newspaper. He interned at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Bridgewater Associates, Khan Academy, and Sony Ericsson, and was a consultant at the World Bank. Through MISTI’s Global Teaching Labs, he taught high school physics in in Crema, Italy. Bent aspires to work at an education startup to develop new types of K-12 schools in California, and ultimately reform education policy through public office at the national level. As a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Bent will embark on a master’s degree in policy, organization, and leadership studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

“Jani and Drew are remarkable students, who will greatly benefit from the new Knight-Hennessy program,” says Kimberly Benard, assistant dean for distinguished fellowships and academic excellence in MIT's Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming. “They are both innovators who plan to use their combined MIT and Stanford educations to improve the world through renewable energy and educational initiatives, respectively.”

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Eric Schmidt provides support to MIT Intelligence Quest

Alphabet senior advisor and former executive chairman and CEO of Google Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, have pledged to help fund MIT’s recently announced intelligence initiative, the MIT Intelligence Quest. The Schmidts’ gift will help launch the initiative with unrestricted support for the new MIT Intelligence Quest Fund, which serves to support the critical and evolving needs of the initiative.

Announced in February, the MIT Intelligence Quest is an Institute-wide initiative that will advance both human and machine intelligence research to discover the foundations of human intelligence and drive the development of technological tools that can positively influence virtually every aspect of society through new research and approaches, as well as developing and advancing the technologies of intelligence.

“There is tremendous enthusiasm from our faculty to advance bold research initiatives around AI, and the Schmidts’ generous gift will enable us to kick-start the MIT Intelligence Quest with real vigor,” says Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of MIT’s School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “Their early support, along with Eric’s leadership on campus, will ensure that the Intelligence Quest’s first year lays a strong foundation and framework for success and will energize the initiative with investments in tools, software, support, and research."

The gift builds upon Schmidt’s involvement in conversations around human and machine intelligence at the Institute. MIT President L. Rafael Reif announced in February that Schmidt will join MIT as a Visiting Innovation Fellow for one year, starting in spring 2018. “Eric’s brilliant thought leadership has been crucial to the development of the MIT Intelligence Quest,” says Reif. “He recognized that MIT would play an important role in advancing human and machine intelligence, and we have benefitted enormously from his time, wisdom, and financial support during a pivotal moment in this emerging and critical field of study.” 

An innovation leader for nearly four decades, Eric Schmidt has been executive chairman of Alphabet, CEO and chairman of Google, and in leadership positions at Sun and Novell. He is currently technical advisor at Alphabet and the founder of Schmidt Futures, which aims to advance society through technology, inspire scientific breakthroughs, and promote shared prosperity. Wendy Schmidt is a businesswoman and philanthropist who works on issues related to climate change and sustainability through the Schmidt Family Foundation. In 2005, she founded the 11th Hour Project to raise awareness about climate change.

At a time of rapid advances in intelligence research across many disciplines, the MIT Intelligence Quest will encourage researchers to investigate the societal implications of their work as they pursue hard problems lying beyond the current horizon of what is known. 

The MIT Intelligence Quest consists of two linked entities, The Core and The Bridge. The Core will advance the science and engineering of both human and machine intelligence. A key output of this work will be machine-learning algorithms. At the same time, the initiative seeks to advance our understanding of human intelligence by using insights from computer science. The second entity, The Bridge, will be dedicated to the application of MIT discoveries in natural and artificial intelligence to all disciplines, and it will host state-of-the-art tools from industry and research labs worldwide. The Bridge will provide a variety of assets to the MIT community, including intelligence technologies, platforms, and infrastructure; education for students, faculty, and staff about AI tools; rich and unique data sets; technical support; and specialized hardware.

The MIT Intelligence Quest Fund gives MIT flexibility to provide support to the MIT Intelligence Quest where it’s needed most. Examples of areas this fund may support include staff, computation, seed funding for research projects, and symposiums that bring together researchers from across the Institute who will collaborate across all of the Intelligence Quest efforts.

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Leading MIT.nano

Vladimir Bulović has been named the inaugural director of MIT.nano, MIT Provost Martin Schmidt has announced. 

The largest capital project in the Institute's history, MIT.nano is opening this summer as a 214,000-square-foot laboratory dedicated to the characterization and fabrication of nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and processes. Science and engineering on the scale of nanometers — about 1/100,000 the thickness of a human hair — can only be done in highly specialized, uniquely outfitted environments. As much as a quarter of current MIT research activity depends on these kinds of resources.

“MIT.nano satisfies an important need for MIT,” says Schmidt. “Even more importantly, it will create opportunities for things we still can’t even imagine. Vladimir’s appointment as director formalizes his status as one of MIT’s most adamant and persuasive advocates for nano-scale research and practice. He has a remarkable ability to facilitate and encourage innovation and collaboration.”

In accepting the appointment, Bulović will step down as associate dean of the School of Engineering and transfer his responsibilities as the founding co-director of the MIT Innovation Initiative. Michael J. Cima, the David H. Koch Professor of Engineering, will take on both roles.

The new facility will open “on time and on budget,” Bulović says. He should know. As the faculty lead on the building’s design and construction team, Bulović has been intimately involved with every step of the project since it was kicked off over six years ago.

The unique research spaces within MIT.nano will make it an unparalleled workshop for tinkering with nanoscale, nurturing discovery, sparking invention, and propelling hard-tech startups. But Bulović also calls attention to the social opportunities that were built into the MIT.nano design from the beginning: “MIT.nano is proximal to the Infinite Corridor, is adorned by views of the Great Dome, and houses a lush courtyard with the recently named Improbability Walk. Its inside corridors and meeting and teaching spaces are bathed with daylight. It is a spectacular addition to the heart of our campus that will enhance our everyday social environment.” He adds that given the ubiquitous nature of nanoscale inquiry among MIT researchers, MIT.nano will be a powerful convening space for the Institute.

While keeping an eye on the nuts and bolts of getting the remarkably complex building erected, Bulović has also been working on an operational plan to match. There are staff members who will create systems and schedules as well as maintain and upgrade instruments and processes, allowing researchers structured, reliable, and safe access to MIT.nano’s ever-evolving capabilities. Other staff will work with Bulović to coordinate MIT.nano’s collaborations with industry, develop new hands-on education programs, and communicate the expected impact of recent discoveries and scaled technologies with a broader community.

Bulović also has set up processes and committees through which faculty can weigh in on decisions about equipment, governance, and general research directions for MIT.nano. “We need to make sure that any faculty member who raises their hand can be a part of it,” he says. “In tandem, we need to always be ready to support ideas for programs we can not yet imagine.”

The need to stay nimble, Bulović says, may be one of the most important features of the new lab. “If we had made all of the equipment decisions six years ago,” he says, “we would now be opening a building with six-year old equipment in it.”

For example, he says, the cryo-electron microscope, whose inventors won the Nobel Prize in chemistry just few months ago, didn’t exist as a robust commercial tool six years ago. “Yet it’s the first tool we are installing in MIT.nano.”

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Cima takes on new role to promote innovation

Michael J. Cima has been named co-director of the MIT Innovation Initiative and associate dean of innovation for the School of Engineering.

Cima, the David H. Koch Professor of Engineering, will begin his new roles on March 1. He will also continue as faculty director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, a role he took on in 2009. Peko Hosoi, the Neil and Jane Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, also serves as an associate dean in the School of Engineering.

“Michael’s enthusiasm is contagious,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “His passion for hands-on innovation and entrepreneurship education will be of great benefit to students.”

Cima is taking over from Vladimir Bulović, the Fariborz Maseeh (1990) Professor of Emerging Technology, who had served as the associate dean of innovation in the School of Engineering and co-director of the MIT Innovation Initiative since 2013. Bulović has been named the inaugural director of MIT.nano.

A professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cima has an appointment at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. He studied chemistry and chemical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and joined the MIT faculty in 1986. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2011, and to the National Academy of Inventors in 2016.

Cima is a recognized expert in the field of materials processing. He is actively involved in materials and engineered systems for improvements in human health, such as treatments for cancer, metabolic diseases, trauma, and urological disorders. He is also a co-inventor of MIT's three-dimensional printing process, co-founder of four companies in the health-technologies field, and advisor to the MIT Glass Lab.

“I am excited by the opportunity to serve MIT in these new capacities,” says Cima. “These roles provide an opportunity to work with my colleagues in the School of Engineering and across all five schools in developing our next generation of innovators.”

As the new co-director of the MIT Innovative Initiative, Cima will help to equip the Institute community and its partners to move powerful ideas from conception to impact. Fiona Murray, co-director of the MIT Innovation Initiative and the Bill Porter Professor of Entrepreneurship and associate dean of innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management, sayse she's gratefor to Bulović “for his tremendous leadership of MITii over the past years.”

“At the same time, the entire MITii team is really excited to welcome Michael and value his expertise as a a researcher, innovator, and successful entrepreneur,” Murray says.

Gene Keselman, the executive director of MITii who took on his role on the team last September, says: “We welcome Prof. Cima’s perspective, and his deep experience as a scientist and inventor, as we embark on the next phase of the Innovation Initiative.”

Cima’s passion for both invention and the advancement of educational opportunities is also evidenced by his ongoing commitment as faculty director with the Lemelson-MIT Program, which recognizes outstanding inventors, encourages sustainable new solutions to real-world problems, and enables and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.

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JDA Software collaborates with MIT to advance research in intelligent supply chains

MIT will work with JDA, leveraging their business domain expertise and client base, to advance research in intelligent supply chains.

The collaboration aims to improve supply chain performance and customer experiences by leveraging data, computational power, and machine learning.

Professor of civil and environmental engineering David Simchi-Levi says, "I am very pleased JDA has entered into a multiyear research collaboration with MIT, and I look forward to working with the JDA Lab and teams. The collaboration will support our students and advance research in machine learning, optimization and consumer behavior modeling. “

This collaboration with JDA brings real world challenges, opportunities, and data, and will help to further the advancement of MIT’s world-class research in supply chain and retail analytics.

The MIT and JDA research teams will create real-world use cases to expand predictive demand, intelligent execution, and smart supply chain and retail planning that will yield a unique business strategy. These use cases will explore new data science algorithms that combine natural language processing, predictive behavior, and prescriptive optimization by taking into account past behaviors, and predicting and changing future behaviors.

“It is more critical than ever to infuse innovation into every aspect of the supply chain, as edge technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are essential to digitally transforming supply chains. This collaboration allows us to tap into the extraordinary mindshare at MIT to accelerate the research into more intelligent and cognitive capabilities moving forward,” says Desikan Madhavanur, executive vice president and chief development officer at JDA. 

“We are excited to be working on the future of supply chain with MIT to double down on researching enhanced, innovative, and value-driven supply chain solutions,” Madhavanur says.

The multiyear collaboration will support students on the research teams and the development of knowledge and education.

Simchi-Levi will speak at JDA’s annual customer conference, JDA FOCUS 2018, in Orlando, May 6-9, 2018.

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