June 2014 Newsletter
In This Issue

39th MITES class welcomed to MIT


Beginning a journey to the intersection of engineering and medicine


SEED Academy concludes semester with Graduation and Final Ceremony


Dean of Engineering speaks to OEOP families during annual dinner


Mechanical arm wrestling demonstrates muscles' electrical signals for middle schoolers



We're hiring a Manager of Programs
 
The Office of Engineering Outreach Programs is seeking a Manager of Programs to oversee the work of our program staff, who run the day-to-day tasks of each program.
 


Spotted at the Interphase Gala
 

 
Interphase, a program for rising MIT freshmen offered by the Office of Minority Education, recently celebrated its 45th anniversary. OEOP EDs Karl Reid (1998-2005), Dedric Carter (2006-2008), and Shawna Young (2008-) were among the attendees.
 


OEOP advisory board member
pens op-ed
 
Google Cambridge Director Steve Vinter, an OEOP advisory board member,
co-authored an op-ed on computer science policy in MA with House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
 


Give to OEOP
 
Without the generous support of friends of the office like you, we wouldn't be able to offer our programs free of charge to our incredible students. 
 



OEOP sponsors
 
Executive Director Circle
$100,000 -
 
* Edward C. and Linda 
   Dresner Levy Foundation
Google Inc.
Lemelson Foundation
Linde Family Foundation
Lloyd G. Balfour 
   Foundation
SanDisk Foundation
 
 
Partners Circle
$50,000 to $99,999
 
* Boeing Company 
Charles Hayden 
   Foundation
Enel Green Power 
   North America
Kurtz Family Foundation
Massiah Foundation
 
 
Collaborator
$25,000 to $49,999
 
484 Phi Alpha Foundation
Amelia Peabody 
   Foundation
Biogen Foundation
Broad Institute
Corning Inc.
Fred J. Brotherton 
   Foundation
Goldman Sachs
LARS Foundation
NSF Center for 
   Sensorimotor
   Neural Engineering
NSF Center for 
   Energy Efficient 
   Electronic Science
Reginald Van Lee 
   Foundation


   

It's once again one of the most exciting times of the year for us in the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs -- the beginning of the summer! As you'll see below, 72 amazing students from across the country have moved into Simmons Hall and hit the ground running in the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) Program.

We're also eagerly preparing for the arrival of over 300 additional students, who will arrive over the course of the summer to participate in one of our other two programs for rising high school seniors from across the country -- Engineering Experience at MIT (E2@MIT) and MIT Online Science, Technology and Engineering Community (MOSTEC) -- or our summer institute for local middle school students -- the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Program.

In recent months, we've brought on exceptional new staff members, launched innovative new courses, and even relocated to a new collaborative office space in Kendall Square, a true hub of innovation. Thank you for your continued support of all we do, and happy summer!

Sincerely,
Shawna Young
Executive Director
Office of Engineering Outreach Programs
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 


The MITES class of 2014 met in Simmons Hall for a welcome dinner.

On June 13, 72 rising high school seniors from across the country joined instructional staff and administration at MIT's Simmons Hall for the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) Welcome Dinner. It marked the beginning of the 39th session of MITES, the longest-running offering of the Office of Engineering Outreach Programs.

Yonatan Tekleab, summer program coordinator for MITES, greeted the students and charged them with one task: to change the world. "Changing the world can mean something different for everyone," he said, while recounting his own academic and career path. He also commented on the social experience of the MITES program. "The bonds you create with one another will be everlasting," he said.

"The bonds you create with one another will be everlasting."
- Yonatan Tekleab


Roya Edalatpour, MOSTEC '11,was accepted into an M.D./Ph.D. program.
Growing up, Roya Edalatpour wanted to be an astronaut. "Completely different from being a doctor," she says, smiling. "I didn't really consider medicine, I didn't think I had the guts to do it," she explains. She speaks with clarity and collectiveness, in a mature, light tone.

Roya, a MOSTEC '11 alum, is now a rising junior at the University of Texas, El Paso, where she studies engineering on a pre-med track. During her sophomore year, she was accepted to the Early Medical School Selection Program (EMSSP) offered through her school and the Boston University School of Medicine, where she'll be this summer to complete a six-week residential program. After she graduates from the University of Texas in 2016, she'll begin an M.D./Ph.D. track in engineering and medicine at BU.


"Knowing [my family's sacrifices] really pushes me to do better in school, to strive to learn and achieve my hopes and dreams, because I know that makes them happy, to see me succeed."
- Roya Edalatpour




"You have to believe the sky's the limit. You can't have limitations on your thoughts," Dr. Yvonne Spicer, Ed.D. told students of MIT's Saturday Engineering Enrichment and Discovery (SEED) Academy at their Graduation and Final Ceremony on Friday, April 2.

Over 150 students, staff and family members filled the auditorium on 50 Vassar Street, where, as part of the ceremony, students showcased their work from the semester's classes: Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Robotics, and Synthetic Biology.

"Know that failure is good. Very rarely do we hear failure is good, but in engineering, it's good. We want things to fail early. We don't want things to be built and then fail."
- Dr. Yvonne Spicer


"Pick the thing that's most exciting to you," MIT Dean of Engineering Ian Waitz told students during the annual event.
On May 19, the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs (OEOP) hosted its annual Dinner with the Dean event, featuring a talk by MIT Dean of Engineering Ian A. Waitz. Over 60 high school and middle school students - all participants of OEOP's programs for public school students from Boston, Cambridge and Lawrence, Massachusetts - arrived with their families at the Ray and Maria Stata Center for dinner, refreshments, and a chance to learn more about engineering and MIT from the dean.

Waitz, a faculty member of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics since 1991 and dean since 2011, highlighted several important elements of the engineering student experience at MIT, including a hands-on approach to learning, opportunities to work abroad, and a special focus on collaboration in projects. "Engineering is not a job where you're working in a box by yourself," he said.

"Engineers are people solving problems that matter. 
We really value when we look at the world and 
see how something has changed.
"
- Dean Ian A. Waitz


 
On April 5, dozens of local middle school students stuck electrodes to their arms and observed the power of the electrical signals that travel through their muscles. The activity was part of the Office of Engineering Outreach Programs' Middle School Mentoring Program, which pairs undergraduate and graduate mentors with middle school students from Boston, Cambridge and Lawrence, MA. 
 
In the activity, developed by the NSF Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering - a partnership between MIT, the University of Washington and San Diego State University, among other institutions - electrical signals from the students' muscles, captured by electrodes, controlled motors in two mechanical arms. Together, those two mechanical arms formed a simulated arm-wrestling game called WrestleBrainia 3000, in which students competed to pin their opponents by generating stronger electrical signals.