June 6, 2020
Greetings. Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.
 
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Not One More
“We need those called to serve and change systems from within. And we also need those who shake the walls, the ceilings, and the very foundations of oppressive policies and systems from without,” said Associate Dean DiOnetta Jones Crayton at a community vigil Tuesday. “Today we need everyone who says they care not just to care but to do their part to fight the injustices that threaten to destroy us all.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Top Headlines
President Reif’s remarks from the MIT Community Vigil
“This is our community. I believe it is a wonderful community. But it is our responsibility to make it better.”
MIT’s first online Commencement, as seen through social media
Though the MIT community was spread around the world due to Covid-19, graduates and their families celebrated magic moments through social posts.
MIT Heat Island
Coatings for shoe bottoms could improve traction on slick surfaces
Material inspired by Japanese paper-cutting art could help to prevent falls in icy or slippery conditions.
MIT Heat Island
Town halls let students “Solve for Fall”
Student representatives, heads of house, and other MIT leaders came together to answer students’ questions and discuss a safe, gradual return to campus life.
Savoring time with baked goods
Professional violinist turned MIT biology major turned banker Umber Ahmad ’94 is now head chef and founder of Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery in New York City.
MIT Heat Island
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#ThisisMIT
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the Media
MIT elects first black woman student body president in its 159-year history // CNN
Rising junior Danielle Geathers has been elected president of the MIT Undergraduate Association. “Although some people think it is just a figurehead role, figureheads can matter in terms of people seeing themselves in terms of representation,” said Geathers. “Seeing yourself at a college is kind of an important part of the admissions process.”
The wearable tech helping plug the medical gender bias gap // The Guardian
Bloomer Tech, a startup founded by several MIT alumnae, is designing smart bras that gather cardiovascular data to help bridge the medical gender bias gap. “We transformed a typical medical device into everyday medical-grade garments that women will actually want to wear,” says co-founder and CEO Alicia Chong Rodriguez ’17, ’18.
The extraordinary way we’ll rebuild our shrinking islands // Popular Mechanics
Researchers from MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab are working on rebuilding islands in the Maldives using the power of ocean waves to redistribute sand.
Book review: “Quantum Legacies,” by David Kaiser // Forbes
“Quantum Legacies,” a new book by Professor David Kaiser, is “a very solid work both in terms of the history and the physics discussed in it, and Kaiser is a very engaging writer.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Homework
There is much work to do in the goal of eliminating racism in America. One important way to open past-due dialogues is through self-education via historic, sociological, and literary resources. As we end the week, members of the MIT community are encouraged to delve into free online offerings relating to Black studies and Black history — at MIT and elsewhere — by way of MIT OpenCourseWare, the MIT Press, and the MIT Black History Project, among others.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“
It doesn’t matter how hard the conversation is, it’s time we had it!
—Veronica M., rising junior in electrical engineering and computer science, in her recent post, “Outraged.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Featured Video
Move. Move.
From your pockets
With your voices
On your feet
The ancestors call us to
MOVE!

Corban Swain, a third-year PhD student in biological engineering, shared his poetry with participants in MIT’s Community Vigil Tuesday. Listen.
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