PROMISE & Connections with MIT’s Media Lab. Virtual Meeting Aug. 28; In-person Opportunity Oct. 27

15 thoughts on “PROMISE & Connections with MIT’s Media Lab. Virtual Meeting Aug. 28; In-person Opportunity Oct. 27”

1. Hi everyone!

   I attended the MIT Media Lab Open House on Oct.27, 2014. I would like to say that the event was memorable and a great experience! I signed up to attend Dr. Boyden’s lab on Synthetic Neurobiology and Dr. Roy’s lab on Social Machines. I was interested in visiting laboratories that had a biological aspect. When I went to Dr. Boyden’s lab tour, a member from his research group, Desiree, gave a PowerPoint presentation about the lab. I learned from Dr. Boyden’s lab tour that the group is very diverse and unique; there are several projects being done, but all are interesting. I liked the idea of integrating two fields, neuroscience and engineering, together. I also went back to this laboratory in the late afternoon and spoke with a current graduate student in his lab. I appreciated how the graduate student took some time out to speak with me.

   In the afternoon, I visited Dr. Roy’s research lab. Two members of his lab spoke about the current research questions they are focusing on answering. It was interesting to actually meet with the members of Dr. Roy’s lab group. After meeting with their research group, I found that this laboratory uses a lot of data mining and computer softwares, such as Python, which was interesting, but it does quite match where my interest lies. However, the ability to meet with the research group face-to-face was very useful in understanding what research has been done in the lab, how the lab environment was, and the ability to meet with current students in-person on their experience of working in the research laboratory.

   I would like to thank the PROMISE AGEP, Monica Orta, and anyone else who was involved in coordinating this event. It was a rare opportunity and an eye-opening experience. Also, the members of both labs were very courteous and supportive.

   Once again, thank you for providing such a great experience! I really appreciated having the opportunity to see the labs in person.

   Sincerely,

   Amanda Lo

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2. MT @PROMISE_AGEP: COEIT @UMBC students & Dr. @Renetta_Tull visit @medialab pic.twitter.com/9891DiIbbt @UMBCGradSchool @UMBCscitech

   — MIT Media Lab (@medialab) October 29, 2014

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3. View this post on Instagram

   A post shared by PROMISE: Maryland's AGEP (@promiseagep)

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4. View this post on Instagram

   A post shared by PROMISE: Maryland's AGEP (@promiseagep)

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5. Hi Everyone,

   On Monday I had the privilege of attending the MIT media lab visit. This was a very enlightening and unique experience and I am grateful to the PROMISE program and the organizers for making it happen. I visited the Fluid Dynamics and Tangible Media groups and found both to be very inspiring.

   The fluid dynamics group, led by Dr. Patti Maes, has produced several very interesting projects geared around using technology to enhance and augment interactions in the physical environment. Several of these projects used augmented reality to take advantage of digital information about the physical world. These technologies are used to enhance a users ability to learn in the context of activities.

   The Tangible Media group, led by Dr. Hiroshi Ishii, was probably the most inspiring. A lot of the work challenges the boundaries of digital information and I have been interested in their work since I started grad school. The goal of their research is to create tangible representations of data that change and challenge the way we interact with and think about digital information. Several of the projects demonstrated during the visit were manifestations of metaphors found in everyday life. For instance, one project demonstrated a user opening “bottles of sound” representing different parts of a musical composition. Another project used projection and a player piano to give the user experience of playing piano along with another person or themselves. The cohesion of the ideas and goals of the group were well represented in the interactive demonstrations during the visit.

   Overall, it was also very interesting to hear about how the graduate program, funding, and student life differ at the Media lab in comparison to other institutions I have had the privilege of visiting around the world. It is a truly unique place. That being said it was also good to see the practicality of the research being conducted and to discuss with researchers the real challenges they face when conducting research.

   This was a very valuable experience and it was great to go as a group representing UMBC.

   -Patrick

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6. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Renetta Tull, PROMISE staff, and Monica Orta for making this trip possible. It was a great experience, and honor, having participated in the MIT Media Lab Open House. I was part of the sections that visited the Changing Places group, and then we visited the Fluid Interfaces group.

   The Changing Places group conducts research based on the challenges encountered by the amount of space we have, where we live and work. They try to analyze and develop potential ways to commute to and from these places, and eventually optimize the space being utilized. I was particularly interested in this group since a little while ago, I saw a documentary on mega engineering challenges that our society is approaching, or trying to solve. One of these challenges was the traffic congestion, and limitations encountered by the increased amount of people that work in the DC/Metro area. One of the projects being researched in this group is the way to reduce the footprint of commuter vehicles when they are parked. Potential uses of human powered vehicles, with some electric propulsion capabilities, to commute in highly concurred cities. I found these extremely fascinating since these are current issues, and concerns that we have. I greatly enjoy seeing the next 20 years of technology, but I’m more drawn towards what can we do now to make our lives even better.

   The Fluid Interfaces research was interesting as well, since they try to merge physical environments using technology. I enjoyed seeing how they develop their test areas, and with the use of controls, and sensors, they are able to create modules that while interacting with someone they also track changes on screen, in a computer.

   I would definitely look forward being able to contribute to many of the projects they are currently developing in the various groups, and, if given the opportunity, become a visiting researcher to experience the magic behind the MIT Media Lab.

   Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity, and I hope this becomes a recurring event for UMBC students, since this demonstrates what can be done with the correct amount of preparation.

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7. Attending the MIT Media Lab Open House on the 27th of October, 2014 will go down as one of the defining moments in my life. First of all, I would like to say thank you to Monica Orta and MIT Media Lab and most importantly, Dr. Reneta Tull, for making this possible.

   I first visited the Speech and Mobility group (Living Mobile), led by Chris Schmandt, and I was opportune to see all the projects that students were working on. It was very inspiring for me to see young people not only working towards their PhD but in the process also creating technology that helps to improve life for disabled people. I met a young man, Dhruv Jain, who has a speech and hearing disability and is working on creating technologies to help people just like him.

   The Opera of the Future group, led by Tod Machover was the most inspiring for me. I love music a lot and I love IT and to see a lab that incorporated both for me was mind blowing. From chandeliers and Opera pieces that also serve as music instruments, to robots, I felt like a kid in a candy store. This made me really that research can be enjoyable and that passion and research are not two parallel lines. In fact, they can be a two piece cord, intertwined.

   Apart from getting to see research, meeting the people behind the research, especially the students, was very exciting. I got to talk to students about their work and the motivation behind it. They were very open and willing to help.
   The whole experience helped me see how graduate school in MIT Media Lab differs from UMBC and every other school I have visited or read about. Their specific emphasis on projects as opposed to classes I think is very effective. “Demo/Deploy or die” (which is their maxim) to me, should be the emphasis of graduate school instead of “Publish or Perish”

   This trip has open my eyes to see amazing work and research being carried out by my peers and also helped me realize that anyone can do anything as long as your set your mind on it and work hard. Great work can be replicated anywhere. I am encouraged to come back here to UMBC and not settle for anything less than the extraordinary!

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8. Hello everyone,

   My name is Franklin Phillips and I attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab Open House on October 27th, 2014. First, I would like to thank Monica Orta, Dr. Renetta Tull, Dr. Charles Eggleton, Adrienne Wheeler, and the PROMISE Staff for making this trip possible. It is rare for an undergraduate student to have the opportunity to travel 400 miles away and be immersed in the culture and research of an outstanding institution such as MIT. I had the opportunity to visit Dr. Pattie Maes’ Fluid Interfaces Lab and Dr. Hiroshi Ishii’s Tangible Media Lab.

   The Fluid Interfaces Group focuses on rethinking the way humans interact with digital information and services to achieve life enrichment. I was especially interested in the projects related to assistive technology. One project discussed was the “FingerReader”, which is a wearable device that assists visually impaired people in reading printed text. Essentially, the device allows the wearer to scan a line of text with their finger and receive audio feedback of the words. Projects like this interest me because my uncle lost his sight at the age of 32. My uncle has influenced me by being a founding member of the Monroe County Council for the blind and works to improve the services and opportunities for the blind community. Just as he advocates for the blind in his region, I hope to develop devices that create opportunities that were once considered “impossible”, not only for the visually impaired but also for all people.

   The Tangible Media Group strives to give a physical form to digital information that can be both digitally and physically manipulated. I particularly liked the “inForm” and “Tangible CityScape”, which gives physical representation to digital information and allows user interaction. I am interested in these projects because I am passionate about engineering education, and I believe physical representations of fundamental concepts and theories would greatly enhance the learning process and give students a deeper understanding. The applications for these Tangible Media Group projects are only limited by ones imagination.

   Although each lab explores different topics and embarks on different projects, they all shared a belief in the “4 P’s”. The Media Lab groups value Passion, Play, Peers, and Purpose in their students, and it was evident in the spirit of their community. This experience has inspired me to push the boundaries of my education and truly question what is “possible” and “impossible”. In pushing the boundaries I know that sometimes I will fail, but I will always remember the words of Dr. Hiroshi Ishii. Dr. Ishii said, “We are here to fail and share the experience with the world.” I believe the MIT open house will encourage collaboration so that we, as engineers, can share failure and success. Thus allowing us to improve together and push each other to greatness.

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9. Greetings everyone,

   On October 27, 2014 I was fortunate to travel to the Massachusetts of Institute of Technology. In this trip I had the privilege to access their Media Lab and I was able to see first hand projects from very extraordinary researchers. I am an undergraduate from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on route to pursue a graduate degree. During this experience I was able to explore different projects that can possibly assist me with figuring out my research for graduate school. Visiting research labs at MIT like Changing Places and Fluid Interfaces was one of the initial steps to help me narrow down and discover areas I find interesting.

   The first research lab was Changing Places led by Kent Larson. This research group explores the synergistic use of new technology, materials, and strategies for design to solve complexities in our lives. Changing Places showed me an interesting perspective of how to design and revolutionize the culture, and society of individuals in big cities. The project that inspired me the most was the autonomous vehicle. As cities increase in population, the amount of congestion of cars and housing increases as well. As a car enthusiast, I can see this project being implemented in big cities throughout the world therefore changing the environment. This would be a project that I would like to get involved in, and share my ideas.

   The second research lab was Fluid Interfaces led by Dr. Patti Maes. The purpose of this research lab is to design and develop interfaces that will augment interactions with natural experience, and improve people’s cognitive abilities. This trip to MIT Media Lab showed me what kind of research I would like to pursue in graduate school. It exposed me to several ingenious projects, and gave me inspiration to continue working towards graduate research.

   I would like acknowledge and thank the PROMISE staff, Dr. Renetta Tull, Monica Orta, Adrienne Wheeler, Dr. Charles Eggleton for making this wonderful experience to MIT Media Lab possible. If I was given another opportunity to go to MIT Media Lab, I would do it again.

   Best,

   Andrew Phaviseth

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10. Hi All,

    I was part of the UMBC PROMISE group that attended an open house @ MIT’s Media Labs. The experience was a great one to say the least. The Media Labs is designed to produce some of the most fascinating interdisciplinary (or anti disciplinary as Joi Ito will say) research. The main moto is to build not just great technology for the future but also think about this technology can be deployed in society. The open house is a place where students (or potential students) get a chance to interact with the faculty and the other students at the Media Labs.

    I got a chance to visit two labs viz. the Human Dynamics Lab and the Viral Communications Lab. The Human Dynamics Lab is led by Dr. Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland. The group main deals with data science projects, analyzing interesting questions such measuring political polarization during elections and studying voting patterns. The group works on some of the most cutting edge data science problems analyzing human behavior to gain valuable insights which can be used by people and by governments.

    The other lab I visited was the Viral Communications lab led by Dr. Andrew Lippman. The group works on disruptive technologies for news and information media such as using virtual reality to organize news and other personal information, to providing new ways to feed to news to people and create networks to share data securely. Talking to the students in the lab, I got an idea for what the environment was, how they worked and more importantly how they arrived at problems and their solutions.

    The larger motto of the lab is provide a different way of thinking of problems, being creative and working in collborative groups to improve themselves, while building awesome technology.

    I would like to thank Dr. Renetta Tull and Monica Orta (@ Media Labs) for an awesome opportunity and chance to meet some really great people. The experience leaves me (in a word) ‘inspired’ and hope that inspiration continues in my own work too.

    Regards,
    Ashwinkumar Ganesan.

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11. At MIT, brilliance met innovation. Technology and ideas mixed freely. I was inspired. Upon arrival, it was clear we were surrounded by greatness – greatness that continues to evolve and stay relevant in a dynamic world.

    I attended two sessions. The first was the Viral Communications lab led by Dr. Andrew Lippman. I was impressed by the depth and breadth of problems solved. What was most inspiring, however, was the out-of-the-box thinking that characterized the problem solving approach. Old ideas were challenged and conventions were tested. The second session I attended was the Affective Computing lab led by Dr. Rosalind Picard. The lab develops technology to help measure and communicate emotion. I was impressed by the novel methods technology was utilized in a multi-disciplinary space.

    On the way back to Baltimore, two things were clear to me. First, it’s okay to ask bold questions and try out “crazy” ideas – as long as they are logically justifiable. Second, success in technology is not measured by whatonly exists in the mind, but rather by what has been implemented and can be demonstrated. I am very thankful to PROMIS AGEP, Dr. Tull and her staff, for the opportunity to visit the MIT Media Lab. A seed was planted.

    Regards,
    Isaac Mativo
    UMBC Computer Science PhD Student

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12. Like Patrick above me, I had the opportunity to visit both the Fluid Interfaces and Tangible Media research groups. Both of which, I really enjoyed.

    While visiting Fluid interfaces which is led by Dr. Patti Maes, one project that particularly interested me was the FingerReader which Roy Shilkrot presented to us. The FingerReader is essentially a wearable ring that uses computer vision to enable the wearer to have a mini OCR device that allows them to read sequential lines of text. I feel as though this project has many potential real world applications and I plan on reading more about this project in the near futures.

    During my visit to the Tangible Media a group, one of the things that really stood out to me was their approach to research. Dr. Hiroshi Ishii shared that much of their work is inspired by art and nature and that after something is built, they can evaluate it with science. Good ideas are fundamental to their success. In addition to this, Dr. Ishii also had a very unique perspective on participatory design, crediting it for being able to provide smaller incremental improvements, but also sharing that it is not enough to make anything truly great. Once again, this was due to the belief that it is the idea that makes something great. My favorite projects while visiting this group were TRANSFORM, which is a tangible display that shows real time information, Physical Telepresence, which allows for shapes to be transmitted through physical interfaces (like the one with TRANSFORM), and MirrorFugue, which projects the face and hands of a pianist onto a piano, while song plays itself. Dr. Ishii was also kind enough to tell me about another project that they his lab had done in the past called glow caps (glow in the dark medicine bottles). The glow caps were initially done as more of an art project, but they helped to inspire sponsors to bring similar technology to market.

    Learning about Media Lab’s unique funding model was also of interest to me. Their sponsor-based model allows for them to research, and solve virtually any problem that they choose. In exchange for this money, sponsors visit twice the Media Labs twice a year and have non-exclusive rights to incorporate the research into their own products.

    William Easley

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13. “Cool stuff, but where is the impact?” Was my initial reaction to the lab. The lab seemed like a place where folks had “cool” ideas, but no real DEFINED direction or application. However, the more I spoke with students and professors, I began seeing the lab as an incubator of knowledge and creativity. After my experience, I believe The Media Lab is as an example of research curiosity at it’s simplest level. The type of curiosity that drove pioneers like George Washington Carver, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others to discoveries. The Media Lab harnesses simple curiosity, combined with systematic research, to answer complex problems that others haven’t begun thinking about.

    The Social Machine group is new to the Media Lab, and is led by Deb Roy(http://dkroy.media.mit.edu). Deb Roy uses social events and information to create new methods to look at big data. The lab intends to focus on social, academic, and industry research. The group wasn’t at liberty to share the intricate details about projects. They did share the interdisciplinary nature of the group, and how they intend to build social systems to impact change. I was not familiar with Deb Roy before the visit, but I watched his TED talk(http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word?language=en#t-32415). The talk added context to the culture of the lab, and how they plan to use simple social interactions to guide research.

    I enjoyed myself at the Tangible Media group. TMG had a number of eccentric research approaches to create “tangible,” (physical) interfaces that embody digital information for manipulation. The group’s director, Dr. Hiroshi Ishii, was full of energy and passion. He took my group through a series of projects in his lab that ranged from changeable landscape desktop(http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/transform/) to physical telepresence (http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/physical-telepresence/). TRANSFORM, the changeable landscape desktop, is a device that creates a dynamic tabletop user display. The Physical telepresence is a tabletop that allows users to create physical representations of objects and people remotely. Two users can interact, remotely, through this tabletop. After visiting this group, I noticed the importance of having “childlike,” curiosity within research.

    I left the Media Lab inspired, inspired to take a different approach to my research. I have a new appreciation for creative research. I plan to seek new creative ways that could answer my research questions. As an undergraduate STEM major, you are “stuffed” with theories, equations, and principles. I have no problem with foundation, but I lost a sense of curiosity after being hammered by with what has been “PROVEN.” I lost that ORIGINAL creative spark that inspired me to pursue an engineering degree. The spark that allows scientist and engineers to think outside of the box. I am not saying everyone shares my experience, but I can imagine people can relate.

    Research + Curiosity + Innovation= MIT Media Lab

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    1. Thank you PROMISE and MIT Media Lab for the opportunity to visit the lab.

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14. “Cool stuff, but where is the impact?” Was my initial reaction to the lab. The lab seemed like a place where folks had “cool” ideas, but no real DEFINED direction or application. However, the more I spoke with students and professors, I began seeing the lab as an incubator of knowledge and creativity. After my experience, I believe The Media Lab is as an example of research curiosity at it’s simplest level. The type of curiosity that drove pioneers like George Washington Carver, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others to discoveries. The Media Lab harnesses simple curiosity, combined with systematic research, to answer complex problems that others haven’t begun thinking about.

    The Social Machine group is new to the Media Lab, and is led by Deb Roy(http://dkroy.media.mit.edu). Deb Roy uses social events and information to create new methods to look at big data. The lab intends to focus on social, academic, and industry research. The group wasn’t at liberty to share the intricate details about projects. They did share the interdisciplinary nature of the group, and how they intend to build social systems to impact change. I was not familiar with Deb Roy before the visit, but I watched his TED talk(http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word?language=en#t-32415). The talk added context to the culture of the lab, and how they plan to use simple social interactions to guide research.

    I enjoyed myself at the Tangible Media group. TMG had a number of eccentric research approaches to create “tangible,” (physical) interfaces that embody digital information for manipulation. The group’s director, Dr. Hiroshi Ishii, was full of energy and passion. He took my group through a series of projects in his lab that ranged from changeable landscape desktop(http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/transform/) to physical telepresence (http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/physical-telepresence/). TRANSFORM, the changeable landscape desktop, is a device that creates a dynamic tabletop user display. The Physical telepresence is a tabletop that allows users to create physical representations of objects and people remotely. Two users can interact, remotely, through this tabletop. After visiting this group, I noticed the importance of having “childlike,” curiosity within research.

    As an undergraduate STEM major, you are “stuffed” with theories, equations, and principles. Foundation is necessary, but I began losing my sense of curiosity after being hammered by with what has been “PROVEN.” The ORIGINAL creative spark that inspired me to pursue an engineering degree was withering away. The spark that allows scientist and engineers to think outside of the box. Everyone does not share my experience, but I can imagine people can relate. I left the Media Lab inspired, inspired to take a different approach to my research. I have a new appreciation for creative research. I plan to seek new creative ways to solve my research questions.

    Thank you PROMISE(Dr. Tull) and MIT Media Lab(Monica Orta and her staff) for the opportunity to visit the lab.

    Research(curiosity) + Innovation= MIT Media Lab

    -Adegboyega Akinsiku

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