Lock The Quill MIT Mechanical Engineering Pappalardo Lab

As campus prepares for inaugural events, MIT's 18th President, Dr. Sally Kornbluth, visits the lab to talk with us about her move from Provost at Duke University in Durham NC to President of MIT. We talk about leadership, the early read on campus, and some thoughts about getting the job done.
We meet Lock the Quill's newest feet on the street, Danny and Dylan, of the Grounds Department, and we close the episode with an MIT presidents quiz with a number of students.

President Kornbluth's podcast, Curiosity Unbounded: https://news.mit.edu/2023/curiosity-unbounded-podcast-desiree-plata-0419

 
Podcast specific:
Podcast Instagram: @lockthequill
Comments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu

The Lab at MIT:
Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolab
Comments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu
Pappalardo Lab website

MIT mechanical engineering professor Sangbae Kim drops by after 2.007 lecture to talk about the virtual / physical divide and his concept of physical intelligence - the  seemingly impenetrable category of subconscious physical tasks and motions that carries so much potential for the future of robotics and physical services.
We talk about his research and his group's shift to the integration of machine learning and model-based control, Moravec's paradox, and a couple of cats.

Cognitive bias: https://spectrum.ieee.org/humans-cognitive-biases-facing-ai
Professor Kim: https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/SANGBAE@MIT.EDU

Keep those entries coming for the Lock the Quill Global Challenge!
Podcast specific:
Podcast Instagram: @lockthequill
Comments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu

The Lab at MIT:
Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolab
Comments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu
Pappalardo Lab website

Professor Maria Yang comes to the lab to talk about the early years at MIT and Stanford, and her research in design processes. We also chat about the discipline, and she shares the latest scuttlebutt on the Morningside Academy for Design.

We send off another sticker to the March Global Challenge winner, and test Maria's acronym and abbreviation recall skills.  Spoiler: she knows them...really well.

Morningside Academy for Design: https://design.mit.edu/
Maria Yang: https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/MCYANG@MIT.EDU
Podcast specific:
Podcast Instagram: @lockthequill
Comments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu

The Lab at MIT:
Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolab
Comments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu
Pappalardo Lab website

We first met Kait when she was an undergrad with us at MIT, and now she's back home as Professor Becker with the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
We talk about her experiences with the MIT Glass Lab and Pappalardo Lab, her post-graduate research with Rob Wood at Harvard, and her current projects at MIT.

We also chat about music and hatch a plan to roam the infinite corridor in T. Rex costumes.

So happy to have you back as part of the team, Kait!

 https://kaitbecker.com/
https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/kait@mit.edu

...and Bill responds to a heartfelt email. 
Podcast specific:
Podcast Instagram: @lockthequill
Comments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu

The Lab at MIT:
Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolab
Comments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu
Pappalardo Lab website

We intercepted Sanjay Sarma before he took off for Logan Airport and meet in building 35 to discuss his book, Grasp - the Science Transforming How We Learn, education, and MIT.
Professor Sarma recently stepped down as MIT Vice President of Open Learning where he led MIT initiatives, such as MITx, edX, OpenCourseware, the Integrated Learning Initiative, and many others.  He is now heading to Malaysia, to take the tiller as President and CEO of the Asia School of Business.
https://asb.edu.my/

Another Lock the Quill Global Challenge winner is announced, and we reset the meter for March. Email your address to lockthequill@mit.edu. The farthest listener in March will win a Lock the Quill sticker, and *may* be a contender for a coveted T-shirt, though the competition is fierce.

Thanks to Professor Evan Ziporyn for the MIT Gamelan track!
https://arts.mit.edu/cast/
Podcast specific:
Podcast Instagram: @lockthequill
Comments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu

The Lab at MIT:
Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolab
Comments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu
Pappalardo Lab website

Alex Slocum comes by the lab before we head out to a talk. We chat about mentors, influential professors, and his early days at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST). Alex takes us on his journey bouncing between MIT and "the Bureau", finally landing in building 35 at MIT. 
He talks about our sophomore design class, 2.007, a special project at the National Archives, and shares his thoughts on fixing things and moving us forward. 
Professor Dave Hardt drops in to clarify the record. 
Podcast specific:
Podcast Instagram: @lockthequill
Comments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu

The Lab at MIT:
Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolab
Comments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu
Pappalardo Lab website