Muddy Charles Pub ~ MIT Extracurricular Hub!

Nice short piece in the latest Tech Review by Kenrick Vezina on The storied past and uncertain future of the Muddy Charles: A Physicist Walks into a Bar...

"On a campus dominated by cold concrete and hard science, the Muddy Charles pub exudes warmth [and] welcomes Nobel laureates and graduate students alike. [...] Begun as a Friday afternoon club, the pub became an official MIT institution (and got its current name) when the Graduate Student Council began running it in 1968. Roughly equidistant from many major departments at MIT, the Muddy pulls together people from across campus [...] The combination of cheap drinks and big ideas draws a smart, eclectic crowd and prompted Media Lab lecturer Joost Bonsen '90, SM '06, to hold his informal venture capital meet-and-greets there. (Bonsen was among the "venture catalysts" in Venture Café, a book about high-tech entrepreneurs that puts the Muddy on its list of places where great ideas can meet great funding.) Bonsen points to MIT's Energy Club as an example of a big idea hatched at the pub. Now one of MIT's largest clubs, it was originally "a small group of students who gathered over beer at the Muddy once a week to talk about various energy topics" [Indeed, the pub is] "a crucial aspect of the MIT experience." As of November, [ill-considered] plans to renovate Walker [and kick out the pub] were still up in the air, leaving the Muddy's fate uncertain. Yet one thing is clear: athletes, teachers, and scholars all feel welcome there, and the people who find their way inside seem to end up with a lifelong affection for the place."

It's a wonderful venue for ethanol-fueled ideation and creativity! Indeed, the Muddy is perhaps the single most important piece of extracurricular infrastructure at MIT and yet our current Institute senior administration is quite clueless about its legacy. Not only was the MIT Energy Club born there, but also the MIT Energy Conference, TechLink, TinyTech Club, Acoustic BBQ, i-Teams class, project collaboration, multiple startup companies, and more, nevermind all the Welcome-to-MIT initiations, PhD defense celebrations, alum reunions. We'll see if those currently in power figures out that Walker Memorial really ought to be a graduate student, post-doc, and alumni center or something actually useful. In any case -- for now -- the Muddy is still serving affordable joy by the pint & pitcher!

MIT Neurotechnology Ventures 2009 ~ Top Plans!

Earlier today my colleagues Ed Boyden, Rutledge Ellis-Behnke, and I hosted the finale session of our 2009 joint MIT Media Lab - Brain & Cognitive Science - Biological Engineering - Health Science & Technology - Sloan School of Management Neurotechnology Ventures seminar. Neurotech is an emerging and important theme which embraces a broad array of issues and opportunities including: Neuroimaging, Neurology/Psychiatry Diagnosis, Rehabilitation, Neurosurgery, Neuropharmacology, Brain Stimulation, Prosthetics, Sensory and Motor Augmentation, Gaming, Learning, Neuroveterinary Solutions, Regenerative Neuromedicine, and more. I'm pretty happy with these new venture proposals, including...

• NeuMitra ~ Anxiety Sensing and Advisory System
  
• Luxalzion ~ Small Molecule Alzheimer's Therapy
  
• SeventhSense ~ Quadraplegic Brainwave Interface
  
• WizGum ~ Controlled-Delivery Energy Gum
  
• Signature Studios ~ fMRI Neurocinematics
  
• VitroStroke ~ Vitrification for Neurosurgery
  
• SafetySpine ~ Back-Strain Sensory Alert Brace
  
• Foveo Health ~ Diabetes Management Informatics
  

And, yes indeed, I'm here afterwards at the Muddy Charles Pub, MIT's fountainhead of over-the-counter neuroceuticals;-) This was another pretty good year of neuroventures. As I noted last year, the emergent Neurotechnology Ventures Cluster in New England is blossoming as a substantial element of our greater Boston biotechnology - life-science - healthcare megacluster.

Clinician Panel @ MIT Neurotechnology Ventures!

We had an excellent group of Boston-area clinicians join us last night in our MIT Neurotechnology Ventures class...

• Elizabeth Hoge -- HMS, Psychiatry/Anxiety, MGH
• Elizabeth Lawson -- Neuroendocrine Clinic, MGH
• Steven Schachter -- CIMIT, Neurotechnology, BID
• Carl Marci -- HMS, Social Neuroscience/Psychiatry, MGH
• Emad Eskandar -- HMS, Neurosurgery, MGH
• Darin Dougherty -- HMS, Psychiatric Neuroimaging

Hearing from these doctors about their challenges in treating patients, what kinds of devices, systems, and services would be helpful, and, in some cases, of their "dream solution" game-changers was hugely instructive. Afterwards, a couple of us went over to MIT's Muddy Charles Pub for some "over-the-counter neuroceuticals" and brainstormed at least a dozen venture IdeaPitches stemming directly from this clinician discussion!

Venture Leaders 2009 ~ Our MIT Innovation Tour!

Thanks to Dania Gerhardt of Amazee for writing about my MIT Innovation Tour for the ninth class of Venture Leaders hosted in Boston by Swiss Consul Pascal Marmier of swissnex, the Swiss Venture Consulate (a new kind of VC)! You can see from Dania's photos our walk around MIT where I could spotlight the many startups and businesses created by MIT faculty and alumni -- e.g. Cambridge Innovation Center, Biogen, Genzyme, iRobot, TI, among others. We also discussed emerging innovation themes and the larger innovation ecology around the Institute, plus a few historical highlights including perfecting radar and Newton's inspiration;-) Naturally we ended up at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub!

MIT ID-D-Drinks ~ MuddyMonday June 15 7p+

Interested folks are invited to join me and Seeding Labs founder Nina Dudnik and friends this coming Monday night, June 15th, at the Muddy Charles Pub from 7pm-onwards for our informal International Development Discussion & Drinks gathering! Come meet others thinking about science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and transformative global development! Alas, because of harshly enforced unconstitutional drinking age laws in our police state, everyone's expected to bring their Proper ID showing an age exceeding 21 years. Spread the word to those who might appreciate and add to the conversation!

Pointless Regulations ~ Ruining Pub Life & Liberty

My MIT alum friend, the entrepreneurial HongKong'ster Cory Kidd, sent me this provocative piece by Josie Appleton, director of the pro-liberty Manifesto Club, about the ruination of British pub life through pointless regulations -- Two Pints of Non-Alcoholic Lager and a Packet of Fat-Free Crisps. Published in Reason -- one of the few consistent and long-lived public voices of... reason -- Appleton lists a litany of ludicrous laws. She then concludes with a call to... reason!

"The state has replaced the traditional pub landlord. Yet the authorities meddle with the pub at their peril. While the government yearns for a British public that drinks nicely "like the French," it forgets the essential role played by voluntary association. The truth is that pubs have long had a civilizing influence, particularly on younger drinkers. Pub owners judged the right moment to say, "you've had enough, mate" and ban those who caused trouble. Underage drinkers were tolerated so long as they behaved themselves, and as a result young people learned to drink like adults -- whereas now they behave like teenagers, drinking noisily and messily on park benches. The commonsense authority of the pub landlord had more force than these rule-happy bureaucrats will ever enjoy. Meanwhile, the licensing system has chased out some of the more wholesome pub activities. Both the police and the politicians should keep their prying hands and peeping eyes away from pub doors."

Sounds like a Commonsense Manifesto to me! We see the same kind of ridiculous rules and regulations right here in the so-called "birthplace of liberty." Land of the free? US?! Bullshit.

Beer & Civilization ~ Inspiring Hunters to Farm...

I overheard tonight at the MIT Muddy that beer was supposedly the central catalyst getting humans to civilize -- that is, settling, cultivating, and urbanizing. At first blush, very humorous. Inebriation = Civilization! But a quickie search reveals no less than George Wills on the Survival of the Sudsiest where he salutes the saving graces of tasty brews...

"The development of civilization depended on urbanization, which depended on beer. To understand why, consult Steven Johnson's marvelous 2006 book, "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World." It is a great scientific detective story about how a horrific cholera outbreak was traced to a particular neighborhood pump for drinking water. And Johnson begins a mind-opening excursion into a related topic this way: "The search for unpolluted drinking water is as old as civilization itself. As soon as there were mass human settlements, waterborne diseases like dysentery became a crucial population bottleneck. For much of human history, the solution to this chronic public-health issue was not purifying the water supply. The solution was to drink alcohol."

I personally suspect that the tasty additional qualities of beer had a lot to do with its "rapid adoption" and, indeed, inspired many hunters to shift to farming;-) Especially precious is Wills' closing comments...

"...the good news is really good: Beer is a health food. And you do not need to buy it from those wan, unhealthy-looking people who, peering disapprovingly at you through rimless Trotsky-style spectacles, seem to run all the health food stores. So let there be no more loose talk -- especially not now, with summer arriving -- about beer not being essential. Benjamin Franklin was, as usual, on to something when he said, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

MIT Neurotechnology Ventures 2008 ~ Top Plans!

Earlier today my colleagues Ed Boyden, Rutledge Ellis-Behnke, Barbara Barry, and I hosted the finale session of our joint MIT Media Lab - Brain & Cognitive Science - Biological Engineering - Health Science & Technology - Sloan School of Management Neurotechnology Ventures seminar. Neurotech is a theme which embraces a broad array of issues and opportunities including: Neuroimaging, Neurology/Psychiatry Diagnosis, Rehabilitation, Neurosurgery, Neuropharmacology, Brain Stimulation, Prosthetics, Sensory and Motor Augmentation, Gaming, Learning, Neuroveterinary Solutions, Regenerative Neuromedicine, and more. I'm quite delighted by and proud of the teams which pulled together some bold and even excellent new venture proposals, including...

• Aivot ~ ePatch Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Quit Smoking
• NeuroExtend ~ Veterinary Longevity Neural Implant
• MindLight ~ Children's Autism Detection System
• Vibraint ~ Learning Assessment Systems
• BrainState ~ Image-Guided Stroke Rehabilitation
• Data Driven Diagnostics (D3) ~ MRI Tests for Depression
• StrokeDx ~ Stroke Diagnostic Imaging Systems
• iSight ~ Vision Recuperation Solutions
• Sight Beyond Sight ~ Retinal Implant Vision Systems
• PsychCSR ~ Voice-Pattern Call Center QC Systems

And, yes indeed, we had a nice after-party at the Muddy Charles Pub, MIT's fountainhead of over-the-counter neuroceuticals;-) All told, a dedicated and diverse group of participants and newco proposals! The emergent Neurotechnology Ventures Cluster in New England continues to grow and -- I'll bet -- will soon rival Energy, Cleantech, and Games, and is poised to be a substantial element of our greater Boston biotechnology - life-science - healthcare megacluster.

Zimi's Story ~ One Child's Laptop in South Africa

MIT Sloan MBA student Amanda Peyton from the Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development (SEID) club has been working with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) this past semester. Today at SEID "office hours" at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub, she told us about this new bit of OLPC promo, a delightful little video featuring Zimi, a South African laptop user who is asking you to Give One & Get One (like I have)...

Developmental Entrepreneurship @ MIT ~ Update!

I'm pleased to have founded the formal Developmental Entrepreneurship (DE) activities at MIT back in 2001 together with MIT Professor Sandy Pentland. And, of course, I have been involved in Entrepreneurship @ MIT since the late 1980s -- entering in and ultimately serving as Lead Organizer of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, conceiving of and running the MIT Founders Project, and even naming (and building the first website for) the MIT Entrepreneurship Center. Continuing in that vein, I helped start the Metcalfe Salons, the Tech Breakfast Series, the Venturefests, the IAP JazzLinks, multiple classes, including the first credit-bearing offerings over IAP including the Nuts & Bolts of Business Plans, and much more. The center of my efforts in International Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT has been a combination of starting and running our MIT Development Ventures classes, supporting and engaging with over a dozen DE alum ventures, co-founding the MIT International Development Network (IDN) which just ran the latest MIT-wide International Development Fair, serving as Board Member on the MIT Enterprise Forum Global organization (as well as here in Cambridge), collaborating with the ever-growing International Development Initiative (IDI) at MIT, co-creating the Development Track by expanding the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, and starting-running the DE-IDRC Seed Grant program. As ardent readers of Maximizing Progress know, this Developmental Entrepreneurship theme is something I've commented on frequently. A lot is happening, including tonight we hosted AfricaNight at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub in partnership with the MIT Sloan African Business Club, a newly founded club I'm honored to help by serving as an Advisor. And it's good to see MIT's Energy Initiative hosting a real developmental entrepreneur, SELCO founder Harish Hande, this Tues October 7th 4:15p-5:45p in 66-110 to speak about providing Energy Services for the Poor. This is an area where actual practice counts most -- which is usually not something people win Nobel Prizes for, alas, certainly not in Economics! And it's also a domain where one must look at who really did the work, since there are, unfortunately, at least one too many "famous" people who are most well known for "founding" companies which became successful after they left and whose legacy is neither legitimate nor worth emulating!

Generations of Research ~ Alums & Vintage Innovators as Advisors

I was hanging this past Thursday night at the Muddy with MIT professors Drew Endy and Ed Boyden and the founding director of Fraunhofer-MIT energy center Nol Browne. Fantastic and wide-ranging conversation, of course, about new research themes, the challenges of running a research institution, the promise of both synthetic biology and neuroengineering, and much more. When Ed Boyden brought up his latest Tech Review blog post -- Research as a Community-Building Activity -- I mentioned the still-amazing talk by Edwin Land -- the founder of Polaroid -- who in 1957 (!) spoke about the Generation of Greatness in his Arthur D Little Lecture at MIT. Land intended Generation to be a double-entendre, meaning both a new generation of remarkable young innovators as well as the process of generating. What especially struck me during our Muddy chat is Ed Boyden's welcoming more vintage researchers into his lab and his description of the advisory role they play for the up-and-coming younger students and post-docs. Curiously, Edwin Land is most known in MIT circles for having inspired UROP -- the MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program -- something Land called a "Personal Project" for each Freshman. But what's less well remembered, and what I emphasized with my Muddy mates, is that Land also advocated a radically improved form of advising, encouraging all Freshman to be linked with a more vintage researcher -- what Land unfortunately called an "Usher". This is what Ed Boyden is approaching in his own lab with the help of his retiree colleagues. And the powerful advisory role such folks play makes for yet another powerful variation on the "Generations" moniker -- how older generations can assist and advise ever-newer generations of scholars in generating the latest great discoveries!

Jatropha in Mali ~ Three P's: People-Planet-Profits

MIT Energy Club founder Dave Danielson and I were hanging at the Muddy Charles Pub last night and in walked Full Belly Project founder Jock Brandis and colleagues from the International Development Design Summit (IDDS). We got to chatting about Jock's Universal Nut Sheller and specifically its use with Jatropha nuts in Mali. Turns out Jock helped a Dutch biofuel startup, Mali Biocarburant, deploy shellers to allow pre-processing in the village in anticipation of the drive-by mobile oil press, as you can see in this video featuring company president Hugo Verkuijl... The Sheller allows village coops to locally process the nuts cleanly into seeds -- i.e. without the dirt picked up by the traditional approach of whacking them on the ground -- with the added bonus that the presscake -- i.e. what's left after squeezing the oil out -- is good fertilizer which local farmers happily use. And there's icing on the cake: they make additional coin through carbon credits! This is a stellar example of orchestrated development, with tools, cooperatives, financing, supply chain all weaving together. Verkuijl's motto for the business? The Three P's: People + Planet + Profits all powered by biodiesel!

Ending of an Institution ~ Off To the Grad Student Ghetto...

This is not a public advertisement... The Muddy's sister organization, the Thirsty Ear Pub, has been forced to close for good this week in its current location because unwise MIT higher-powers have chosen to sequester all new graduate student housing into an isolated ghetto in the styx to the northwest of campus. But fear not, MIT-folk can continue to get quenched when the New Thirsty re-opens end of August in the New Ashdown.

Make Like a Cylinder and Graduate! ~ Hector Hernandez Defends...

Just saw my MIT friend Hector Hernandez defend his doctorate! His world of extremophile organisms and biochemical pathways is beyond my merely 7.01 and 5.12 understanding, but he made a great presentation and showed some remarkable visualizations of chemical binding sites, plus lots of experimental data. As his advisor Prof Cathy Drennan pointed out, Hector's a get-it-done kinda guy and he cranked on a wide variety of experiments and instruments. Several hilarious Hector interludes, including his mentioning productive hours at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub while struggling to figure out what the hell was going on with his experimental system! His thesis co-advisor was the one who finally told him "Make like a cylinder and graduate!" after nearly 8 years;-) Congrats, Hector!

P.S. At the afterparty at Tommy Doyle's;-)

Experience Economy & Beyond ~ MIT Sloan alumnus Joe Pine

I was chatting last week at the Muddy with a couple of the newly arrived MIT Sloan Fellows -- an excellent group of over 100 technology and business executives drawn from the most diverse ever pool of countries worldwide -- and I mentioned how some past alums have turned their theses into books. Joe Pine comes especially to mind since his thesis on Mass Customization became a best-selling book! I appreciate Pine's later work especially his book on the Experience Economy where he discusses the evolution of economic value and how companies can best respond and profit from this new world. Listen to Pine for yourself, especially the video on his webpage.

The "In Club" @ MIT

Excellent Green Issue this past weekend in the New York Times Magazine. They mentioned the MIT Energy Club (and MIT Muddy Charles Pub) in a mini-article entitled The IN Club at M.I.T. Key club leaders Daniel Enderton and Lara Pierpoint were quoted discussing various events including the recent MIT Energy Conference (Version 3.0) and the MIT EnergyNights (co-created by yours truly and energy rockstar venture capitalist Dave Danielson, founder of the MIT Energy Club).

MIT Campus as Living Learning Lab

I had a great chat with Jason Jay and Elsa Olivetti at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub this evening about "Greening MIT" and turning the MIT campus into a Living Learning Laboratory for exploring energy and sustainability innovations. Rather than just studying or helping others be sustainable, the idea is to Walk the Talk and actually be ever more sustainable. Inspired by the new MIT Sloan Porter Building, which will achieve the highest level of LEED on campus, I suggested we try to generalize and begin to think about creating a LEED Campus (and for that matter aspiring towards LEED Cities, LEED Countries, and indeed, a LEED Planet).

Just a few hours earlier I hosted Professor Steven Lerman as guest speaker at our Understanding MIT seminar. Dean Lerman shared with us his experience starting and running Project Athena, a 1980's campus computing initiative. Project Athena was a remarkable technology testbed which also incubated several key inventions, including Kerberos authentication, X windowing system, and Zephyr instant messaging. Athena made it possible for MIT students to be among the first and fastest adopters of the web in the early 1990's. The key thing is that any anthropologist (or market researcher) observing student behavior would have seen the future first. Athena made MIT a predictive microcosm of the world to-come with people experiencing web-equivalent services -- e.g. anywhere email, online file storage, served applications, pervasive IM -- roughly 5-10 years before people in the rest of the OECD.

The ambitious Living The Future initiative (f.k.a. MIT Project Mercury) seeks to do the same thing at MIT for all things mobile and wireless.

This is starting to happen with energy and sustainability at MIT. Elsa's own efforts to document and minimize energy use in research labs lead to tangible efficiency gains. Other students are pushing for using biodiesel in campus vehicles. And more. But more coherent and faculty-driven support is needed to take this from being fragmented and extracurricular to central and enduring.