R.I.P. Jay W Forrester ~ Sociodynamics Pioneer...

Alas, RIP, Jay W Forrester. Through his panache, presence, and personal feedback (to me!) and through his inventing core memory & CNC machines, the Whirlwind real-time digital computer, Sage air defense network, Lincoln Labs, building up the MIT Sloan School, teaching Professors Ed Roberts, John Sterman, Donella Meadows, Jurgen Randers, etc, et al, founding the System Dynamics discipline, and providing essential inspiration to dozens of MIT alumcos -- i.e. his students were founders of Digital Equipment Corp (DEC), MITRE, 3Com, Pugh-Roberts, Patni Computer Systems (birth of Indian offshoring), Ventana, and many, many more -- plus inspirational role in creating SimCity, pioneering management flight simulators, e.g. creating the Beer Game, writing Industrial Dynamics, Urban Dynamics, World Dynamics and provoking LImits to Growth, C-ROADS simulators, etc, etc, Jay Forrester remains an awesome and iconoclastic inventor, a personal inspiration to me and thousands more, and one of MIT's most epic and innovative heroes. I'm so sad at losing him but so happy to have had him too...

Star Trek + XPrize ~ Roddenberry's Worldview!

Thanks to my MIT Sloan colleague Anjali Sastry for spotting Gene Roddenberry's Worldview on the XPrize Foundation site!

Profiling Our Parks ~ Envisioning Natural Legacy!

MIT Sloan alum RJ Andrews of Info We Trust fame shares how we Profile Our Parks!

R.I.P. Narendra Patni ~ Father of IT Outsourcing

I'm very sad to discover today that MIT Sloan alumnus Narendra Patni passed away this past June.  Together with his wife Poonam and brothers, Narendra founded Patni Computer Systems, the first of the Indian IT outsourcing firms and an inspiration to many including Narayana Murthy who worked for Patni before leaving with his software team to start Infosys. The Globe's Robert Weisman first wrote in 2004 of the Patni's offshoring revolution starting in a Central Square apartment in 1972 and beginnings of operations in Pune, India in 1973. Overall, it's a epic saga and his passing is a real loss for us all.

Printeer ~ 3DP Tools for Kids & Schools Kickin'

Our MIT Imaging & Fabrication Ventures class alumco Mission Street Manufacturing led by Brian Jaffe and team are now Kickstarting their Printeer!

"Unlike other 3D printers, using Printeer doesn't require advanced technical or engineering skills. For starters, you don't need to learn CAD (computer aided design) software, a professional-grade tool that is required to generate the 3D designs used by other 3D printers. Printeer design software is different in the following ways: (1) It runs on iPad, a platform most kids are more comfortable with than a PC. (2) It can be learned in about 30 seconds. (3) It doesn't require any intermediate steps between design and 3D printing. No PC, no complex software, no fancy configuration settings. Just touch the "print" button and watch it go."

GlobalHealth Lab ~ MIT Sloan's 2013 Highlights...

View here highlights from MIT Sloan's Groundwork Initiative signature program, GlobalHealth Lab 2013...

"The GlobalHealth Lab gives students a unique opportunity to work on the front lines of health delivery on-site in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, cumulatively over 50+ Projects in 13 Countries since 2008 with more than 40 host organizations, including clinics, hospitals, startups and non-profits."

Africa Innovate 2013 ~ MIT Action Conference!

Excellent to see our MIT Sloan African Business Club led by Mercy Wakweika & Philip Emeka Obi dialup Africa Innovate 2013 this Saturday March 16, 2013 at MIT Media Lab! Rockstar business speakers including Makhtar Diop, VP Africa of World Bank, Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Chairman of Emerging Markets Telcoms Svc Ltd, Njeri Rionge, Founder/CEO of Ignite Ltd, and Kayode Akinkugbe, Mging Dir/CEO of First Bank Nigeria Plc. And more!

Climate & Conflict ~ MIT's Sterman on Soapbox...

Sloan Systems Professor John Sterman on Soapbox at MIT Museum!

R.I.P. Jennifer Mapes ~ MIT MOT/SF Memory

Very sad to hear MIT friend and colleague Jennifer Mapes was laid low by an angry cancer. Jennifer has been the institutional memory of the MOT and now Sloan Fellows programs, my MIT Sloan alma mater, and very much the glue that bound together classes across multiple decades.

P.S. Here's info about the MIT Sloan Memorial fund for Jennifer. And there are memorial services Sunday, June 10, at 1pm in the MIT Chapel.

Africa Innovate ~ Conference @ MIT 4/14/2012

The MIT Sloan African Business Club student organizers have opened registration for the Africa Innovate conference coming up on Saturday 14 April 2012 here at the MIT Media Lab! Panels on Mobile & Technology, Media & Entertainment, Food & Agriculture, and China & India in Africa. And great Keynotes, Enterprise Africa competition, Vision Talks. Plus excellent connection-making. See you there!

Trust Center ~ MIT Sloan Entrepreneurship Home

Very exciting to see MIT alumnus Martin Trust '58 step up with a US$10 Million gift to name the MIT Sloan-based Entrepreneurship Center! While both organizationally and physically based on the far eastern-end of campus at the management school at MIT, this Center seeks to serve students from all parts of the Institute. Hosting many of MIT's key entrepreneurship classes and clubs, the Trust Center collaborates with us at the Media Lab and other parts of MIT to properly support our venture-minded students! P.S. While I'm really delighted about the new Trust Center nomenclature, it's also bittersweet since I was the guy who renamed the then-MIT Venture Initiative -- something previously known as the regretably stillborn MIT Center for Entrepreneurship -- and decided to call it the MIT Entrepreneurship Center all the way back in 1995, when yours truly was running the now MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition!

MIT Africa Business Club ~ Innovate Action 2011

Very good to see the MIT Sloan Africa Business Club kickoff this Tuesday, 20 September 2011. Building on the successful first-ever MIT Africa 2.0 conference this past Spring, the leadership aim to dial things up this year with Innovate! Africa initiatives, including conference, speakers, trek, and more. Plus they're building up the cross-MIT connections -- e.g. with Media Lab's Africa Initiative and the DUSP Urban Africa effort. Plus, fully 40% of the people in our MIT Development Ventures class this Fall 2011 have an Africa interest, which is disproportionate -- and quite exciting and promising.

MIT SEID 2011 ~ Entrepreneurs International...

On Wednesday 21 September 2011, MIT SEID -- the Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development -- had their kickoff meeting for the year. Very exciting happenings afoot, including guest speakers, career treks, international trip, support for student-inspired Study Tours, and organizing action learning project teams to work with developmental entrepreneurs from around the world -- including EGG, Assured Labor, Sanergy, and Global Cycle Solutions! SEID is also key as the extracurricular club complement to our MIT Development Ventures class and D-Lab activities more broadly.

Überbars ~ Coolest Rooftop Brews w/ Views!

Steph at WebUrbanist serves up the aesthetically tasty Brew with a View: 13 of the World’s Coolest Rooftop Bars...

"Top-shelf cocktails, fine cuisine and unparalleled views of some of the most exciting cities in the world -- what can beat that? These [key] sky bars represent the coolest, most chic rooftop recreation spots..."

These are the kind of social hubspots which should have graced the roof of our MIT Media Lab Makiplex and the new MIT Sloan Porter Center, but no.

Global Health ~ Models for Sustainable Scaling

Very exciting to see MIT Sloan colleague Anjali Sastry's new Fall 2011 offering, 15.S02 Global Health Delivery and Management: Business models for scale and sustainability in low-resource settings exploring...

"...what differentiates successful enterprises from those that fall short in delivering healthcare in the most challenging settings. A survey of bottlenecks, constraints, and opportunities sets the context for our investigation of the business model and social enterprise innovations that hold the most promise. We draw on an engaging mix of content, case studies, and class guests to develop our own insights."

Replication and reach, accessibility and affordability, effectiveness and endurance -- all key needs for effective global health solutions.