Development Ventures ~ Exponential Prosperity!

My MIT colleague Alex (Sandy) Pentland and I are offering our Development Ventures action lab class this Fall 2015 at the Media Lab starting Thursday September 10th from 10a-12noon, with special focus on frugal, DIY, and ultraffordable technologies as well as exponential innovations including mobiles, big data, and analytics. This will be our 15th year!

Every year, we look forward to the latest new venture concepts our students propose -- in domains ranging from Health & Wellness, Energy & Sustainability, Education & Creativity, Commerce & Financial Services, Civic Engagement and beyond -- and we try to help the most motivated teams and promising ideas actually start and thrive! Alumcos since 2001 include FirstMileSolutions/United Villages, blueEnergy, WAY Systems, Dimagi, Howtoons, CellBazaar, Global Cycle Solutions/GCS, Assured Labor/EmpleoListo, ClickDiagnostics/mPower/ClickMedix, Dinube, Sanergy, WoundPump/WiiCare, ESSMART, Wecyclers, Ghonsla, Logistimo, Apportunidades, CrowdSOS/WiseSystems, MoringaConnect, TrueAfrica, MDaaS, MAX, and more. What will blossom this year?

Tyson vs Stewart ~ On The Rise of Geekosphere!

Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Daily Show debating merits of superheroes with Jon Stewart...

"We only enter the future on the intellectual capital brought to this world by the geekosphere!"

Ove Arup ~ 20th Century Philosopher Engineer

Excited to see trailer from Taghi Amirani and imminent arrival of new bio-pic on entrepreneurial engineer Ove Arup!

Development Ventures ~ Solving Global Problems

My MIT colleague Alex (Sandy) Pentland and I are again hosting our Development Ventures action lab class this Fall 2014 at the Media Lab starting this Thursday September 4th from 10a-12noon, with special focus on frugal, DIY, and ultraffordable technologies as well as exponential innovations including mobiles, big data, and analytics. As always, we look forward to the latest new venture concepts our students propose -- in domains ranging from Health & Wellness, Energy & Sustainability, Education & Creativity, Commerce & Financial Services, Civic Engagement and beyond -- and we try to help the most motivated teams and promising ideas actually start and thrive!

Howtoons ~ Tools of Mass Construction 2014!

The ultimate Tools of Mass Construction are shipping!

"The Howtoons book is out in comic books stores! This 360 page book celebrates our 10th anniversary with over 70 projects!"

PowerUp 3.0 ~ Smartphonified Paper Airplane;-)

Jack Nicas in the WSJ spots the PowerUp 3.0, a smartphone-controlled paper airplane just successfully Kickstarted!

"Aerial drones have fought in wars, filmed movies and factored into the ambitious plans of high-tech executives who want to supply Internet service from the air. Now there is a new but familiar shape to the fast-growing world of unmanned aircraft: the paper airplane. The PowerUp 3.0, brainchild of former Israeli Air Force pilot Shai Goitein, is a lightweight guidance-and-propulsion system powered by a dime-size battery. It clips onto origami aircraft and connects to iPhones using Bluetooth, transforming them into remote-control drones."

Here's their successful Kick video...

Roominate ~ Building Toys for Creative Girls!

I just heard MIT Professor Emeritus Rod Brooks of iRobot and now Rethink Robotics fame speaking this morning about his venture experiences. He was particularly proud of his MIT alumna daughter's company which is making Roominate -- building toys encouraging all girls to be creative artists, architects, engineers, and visionaries! Alice Brooks is clearly a chip off the old block;-)

"The Roominate line is designed by Alice and Bettina -- two engineers out of Caltech, MIT, and Stanford on a mission to get more girls interested in engineering. They believe that early exposure through toys will inspire the next generation of female technology innovators. They designed Roominate to get young girls to have fun with STEM, while building hands-on skills and confidence."

Ecosystem Engineers ~ Wolves Change Rivers?

MissC at Neatorama spots How Wolves Change Rivers by the folks at Sustainable Man...

"When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable "trophic cascade" occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains in this movie remix."

Update: Whoops, stop the presses, in NYTimes OpEd piece Is the Wolf a Real American Hero?, Yale Forestry & Enviro Studies Post-Doc Arthur Middleton calls "BS" on this simplistic myth...

"This story -- that wolves fixed a broken Yellowstone by killing and frightening elk -- is one of ecology’s most famous. It’s the classic example of what’s called a “trophic cascade,” and has appeared in textbooks, on National Geographic centerfolds and in this newspaper. Americans may know this story better than any other from ecology, and its grip on our imagination is one of the field’s proudest contributions to wildlife conservation. But there is a problem with the story: It’s not true. [...] When we tell the wolf story, we get the Yellowstone story wrong."

As DailyKos quotes, this is damning...

"Perhaps the greatest risk of this story is a loss of credibility for the scientists and environmental groups who tell it."

Building Turbofans ~ Rolls-Royce's Trent Engine!

Epic engineering masterpiece, the Rolls-Royce Trent turbofan engine!

GoldieBlox ~ Girls Construction Book & Kit...

Check out GoldieBlox girls construction toys! Plus see earlier Kickstarter campaign.

Executive Suite ~ Epic Film's Boardroom Finale!

Here we revisit the climactic finale scene from one of my favorite films, the 1954 entrepreneurial epic Executive Suite, where the young VP R&D Don Walling (played by William Holden) prevails in a boardroom battle royale over VP Finance Loren Shaw (played by Frederic March). Asks Walling: Why do men work? His answer: Pride!

Flying Paper Premiere ~ Palestine Fest @ MFA

Exciting to hear that Nitin Sawhney's collaborative film production Flying Paper has its local premiere at the Boston Palestine Film Festival (BPFF) at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). Nitin not only co-founded the festival, but will be here to speak and share the film.

MIT Development Ventures ~ Action Lab 2013

My MIT colleague Alex (Sandy) Pentland and I are again hosting our Development Ventures action lab class this Fall 2013 at the Media Lab starting this Thursday, 5 September, with special focus on frugal, DIY, and ultraffordable technologies as well as exponential innovations including mobiles, big data, and analytics.

As always, we look forward to the latest new venture concepts our students propose -- in domains ranging from Health & Wellness, Energy & Sustainability, Education & Creativity, Commerce & Financial Services, Civic Engagement and beyond -- and we try to help the most motivated teams and promising ideas actually start and thrive!

One Day I Too Go Fly ~ Africans Studying @ MIT

Check out teaser for One Day I Too Go Fly film-in-production by Arthur Musah and Brook Turner. It's the ongoing...

"...story of students from Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Nigeria as they go through undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As they arrive from diverse African backgrounds and immerse themselves in the challenge of rigorous academics and navigating a new world, we embark with them on a unique quest -- for knowledge and for the adults they will become. What happens to them over the next four years as they are molded into first-class engineers at America’s premier technological university?"

Plus check out their completed Kickstarter campaign.

R.I.P. Amar Bose ~ Epic MIT Acoustic Engineer...

Very sad to hear that MIT Professor Emeritus and BOSE Founder Amar Bose has passed away at 83. As Glenn Rifkin writes in NYTimes obit...

"Dr. Bose focused relentlessly on acoustic engineering innovation. His speakers, though expensive, earned a reputation for bringing concert-hall-quality audio into the home. And by refusing to offer stock to the public, Dr. Bose was able to pursue risky long-term research, such as noise-canceling headphones and an innovative suspension system for cars, without the pressures of quarterly earnings announcements. [...] Dr. Bose made a lasting impression in the classroom as well as in his company. His popular course on acoustics was as much about life as about electronics, said Alan V. Oppenheim, an M.I.T. engineering professor and a longtime colleague. “He talked not only about acoustics but about philosophy, personal behavior, what is important in life. He was somebody with extraordinary standards,” Professor Oppenheim said."

So true. I had the good fortune of inviting Dr Bose to address the thousand newly incoming MIT grad students during my first year. I asked him to summarize in his remarks his lessons-learned on "How to make the most of your time at MIT and beyond." He delivered a seemingly extemporaneous stellar lecture on just that, drawing forth a dozen top lessons from his own time as MIT grad student and professor-teacher and company founder and more. Epic. R.I.P. See here Dr Bose in 1996 speaking to his acoustics students last class...

"Like" Flying Paper ~ Vote for ArcLight Filmfest!

MIT alumnus filmmaker Nitin Sawhney writes the exciting news re: his Flying Paper documentary about resilient kids crafting kites...

"We have a unique opportunity to get Flying Paper into the ArcLight Documentary Festival in Hollywood as a "Fan Favorite," but we need your help by going to this link on YouTube and LIKING it. Only 5 films competing will win a spot in the festival as a "Fan Favorite" so our participation in this film festival is completely in your hands. Please go to YouTube and "Like" the link and share it with your friends and encourage them to do likewise."

Absolutely! Click thru to YouTube to vote...

Flying Paper ~ Resilient Creative Kids Make Kites!

Check out latest trailer from upcoming Flying Paper kids and kites documentary by MIT Media Lab alum Nitin Sawhney and colleague Roger Hill premiering at the London Palestine Film Festival on May 7th, 2013...

"While the record-breaking event is what drives the film’s narrative arc, it is the everyday stories of the young kite makers that will touch audiences through their humor and playful spirit. The film seeks to humanize the conflict through a touching cinematic rendering of the fascinating kite culture among children as a form of creative resistance in Gaza."

Jet Beetle ~ Ron Patrick's Streetlegal VW-Mod;-)

Ron Patrick's badass VW-mod streetlegal jet-powered Beetle!

Speculative Futures ~ How SF Inspires Engineers

I'm fascinated by what inspires people to greatness. Among the most powerful sources for engineers are the various forms of Science Fiction -- especially books, movies, TV shows, games, and comics.

Superomniphobicity ~ Liquid-Repeling Nanocoats

Paul @ GeekPress spots Gizmag summary piece by Darren Quick on Superomniphobic Nanoscale Coatings at UMich...

"Similar to the way water droplets are suspended by air pockets created between tiny hairs on the surface of lotus leaves, the coating creates a structure that is 95 to 99 percent air pockets. This means that liquids coming into contact with the coating barely touch a solid surface, thereby reducing the intermolecular Van der Waals forces that normally draw two states of matter together. [...] Already proven effective on coffee, soy sauce, vegetable oil, gasoline, and various alcohols, the coating can also repel acids that could burn skin, such as hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. Tuteja says the coating is also the first demonstrated to repel low surface tension non-Newtonian liquids. These are liquids, such as shampoos, custards, blood, paints, clays and printer inks, that change their viscosity depending on the amount of force applied to them."