A roundup of the latest ESD news and media coverage:

ESD Best Thesis Award Winners – June 17, 2013

The MIT School of Engineering and the Research Support Committee awarded Noelle Selin $75,000 in Jeptha H. and Emily V. Wade Award funding for her proposal entitled “Integrated Assessment of Mercury Health Impacts." Selin also received this year’s Technology and Policy Program (TPP) Advisor Award.

Professor Nancy Leveson gave the keynote address at the STAMP Workshop Europe 2013 organized by the University of Stuttgart and the Technical University of Braunschweig. STAMP is Professor Leveson's new accident causality model and the subject of her book Engineering a Safer World: Systems Thinking Applied to Safety. This book is part of the MIT Press Engineering Systems Book Series.

PHI Learning of India has agreed to publish an English language reprint edition of the book, Engineering Systems: Meeting Human Needs in a Complex Technological World, for distribution in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, and the Maldives. Publication of this reprint is due later this year. (This book is also part of the MIT Press Engineering Systems Book Series.)

Tom Heaps-Nelson, who recently successfully defended his ESD PhD dissertation, received the 2013 Graduate Student Extraordinary Teaching and Mentoring Award on May 23 in the MIT Faculty Club. The audience included the students of the Supply Chain Management Program whom Tom TAed in fall 2012. The award honors a graduate student who has demonstrated extraordinary teaching and mentoring as a teaching or research assistant.

ESD PhD candidate Sahar Hashmi was awarded the 2013 Bridge Builder Leadership Award at the 2013 Student Leader Awards by the MIT Student Activities and Leadership Committee for her efforts in establishing personal and physical wellbeing in the MIT community. The Bridge Builders Award “honors civic leaders who have formed partnerships across racial, social, economic and geographic barriers for the betterment of their communities.”
Coverage of research led by Randolph Kirchain and Elsa Olivetti in MIT Materials Systems Laboratory (MSL)

MIT Technology Review article about new energy secretary Ernest Moniz:
“Grasping for Ways to Capture Carbon Dioxide on the Cheap” – MIT Technology Review – May 30, 2013

David Simchi-Levi quoted in article about companies preferring to manufacture in the US: “Made in the USA back in style for small businesses” – Bloomberg Businessweek - Online – May 22, 2013

John Sterman’s research mentioned in article on data science: “Spotting Black Swans with Data Science” – The Wall Street Journal – May 17, 2013

Dava Newman talks about spacesuits of the future: “Will We Ever Have Star Trek-Style Spacesuits for Our Astronauts?” – Forbes – May 24, 2013

AgeLab director Joe Coughlin quoted in article about retirement costs: “Trimming transportation costs in retirement” – MarketWatch – May 30, 2013

Article about essay by Norbert Weiner (who is included on a timeline of ESD and engineering systems on the ESD website): “In 1949, He Imagined an Age of Robots” – The New York Times – May 21, 2013

Coverage of research led by Randolph Kirchain and Elsa Olivetti in MIT Materials Systems Laboratory (MSL):
“Footwear’s (carbon) footprint: Study finds the bulk of shoes’ carbon footprint comes from manufacturing processes” – MIT News – May 22, 2013
“Running shoes leave large carbon footprint, study shows” – The Guardian – May 23, 2013

Ongoing coverage of Ernest Moniz, unanimously confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Energy, including:
“U.S.: Ernest Moniz sworn in as 13th Secretary of Energy” – PV Magazine – May 23, 2013
“Ernest Moniz - The New U.S. Energy Secretary” – Energy Matters – May 22, 2013
“US Senate confirms Moniz as nation's new energy secretary” – Biodiesel Magazine – May 16, 2013

Blog post (with video) by Steven Spear: “Don't Be a 'Zombie' Organization!” – The Huffington Post – May 21, 2013

Supply Chain Management Review article written by Edgar Blanco and Jason Mathers (Senior Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund): “Talent Strategies: To Succeed at Sustainability, First Learn to Communicate” – Supply Chain Management Review – May 14, 2013

Article about human mobility study led by Marta González: “Study shows that people organize daily travel efficiently” – MIT News – May 8, 2013

MIT News article about final competition for 2.007 mentions lead instructor Dan Frey: “In 2.007, slow and steady wins the race” – MIT News – May 10, 2013

Bryan Reimer demonstrates how MIT AgeLab researches how drivers cope with today's distracted roadway (video) – “Older Drivers in Future Cars” – The Weather Channel – May 15, 2013

MIT Sloan Experts blog post by Thomas Kochan: “Making good = profitable — Managing Sustainable Businesses” (includes video) – MIT Sloan Experts blog – May 9, 2013

Missy Cummings quoted in article on study of drone operators: “Video gamers make ideal drone operators but only when there's action: study” – The Huffington Post Canada – May 9, 2013

Joseph Coughlin quoted in article about college grads planning for careers and retirement: “Tips for college grads: How to retire rich” – The MarketWatch blog – The Wall Street – May 16, 2013

Article on consumer-developed innovations mentions research paper by Eric von Hippel: “Federal government looks for next great invention” – The Canadian Press – May 5, 2013

Michael Cusumano quoted in Financial Times article about Microsoft: “Microsoft has just blown its oldest trick” – Financial Times – May 9, 2013

Professor Ernest Moniz was confirmed, in a unanimous vote, as Secretary of Energy by the U.S. Senate. (Moniz was nominated on March 4.) Read more details in the Associated Press story, “Senate Confirms Physicist Moniz as Energy Chief.” (This story has been picked up by many major media outlets.) MIT announced that Robert C. Armstrong will be the new director of the MIT Energy Initiative.

U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Allan J. Katz led a Business Development Road Show. The MIT Portugal Program participated as a partner in this six-day event (April 28-May 3, 2013) bringing 24 Portuguese companies and institutions to Boston as well as to Kansas City, Missouri. While in Boston on May 1st, the ambassador and the companies visited the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) and MIT Media Lab. Read more here. You can read more MIT Portugal news in the latest MPP newsletter.

Article about energy challenges and incoming U.S. energy secretary Ernest Moniz
“The importance of being Ernest” – Nature Physics (nature.com) – May 3, 2013

Ed Crawley talks about Skolkovo Institute Science and Technology: “MIT Helps Russia Create New Innovation Hub” (video) – Bloomberg Businessweek – April 30, 2013

Bryan Reimer quoted in article about semiautonomous cars:“Semiautonomous Cadillacs Hit the Road for Testing” – The New York Times – April 30, 2013

Missy Cummings quoted in article about military drones: “Living in Terror under a Drone-Filled Sky in Yemen” –The Atlantic – April 29, 2013

Professor Nancy Leveson recently delivered the keynote address at the 17th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She spoke on “Applying Systems Thinking to Aviation Psychology.”

Jarrod Goentzel was elected president of the POMS College of Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management at the recent Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) conference in Denver.

Excerpt of Yossi Sheffi’s book Logistics Clusters: Delivering Value and Driving Growth featured in Supply Chain Quarterly: “Clustering for competitive advantage”
Supply Chain Quarterly – Quarter 3, 2012 issue

Joseph Coughlin and MIT AgeLab featured in BBC program about aging and technology: Horizons – “Ageing Populations” – watch video

Article about the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Edward Crawley quoted): “MIT in Moscow Creates Sputnik Moments for $300 Million” – Bloomberg Markets Magazine - April 29, 2013

Thomas Kochan participated in recent panel on anchor institutions in urban cities driving economic development: “MIT and University of Maryland host Panel Discussion on How Anchor Organizations Build Community Wealth” – The Wall Street Journal – May 1, 2013

A paper by Jason Bartolomei (ESD PhD grad), Daniel E. Hastings, Richard de Neufville, and Donna Rhodes was selected as the recipient of the 2012 INCOSE Systems Engineering Journal Best Paper Award. The paper is “Engineering Systems Multiple-Domain Matrix: An organizing framework for modeling large-scale complex systems.” (View figures here.) Theaward will be formally announced during the Tuesday plenary session at the INCOSE International Symposium in Philadelphia, PA, June 24-27

Bryan Reimer quoted in article about semiautonomous cars: “Semiautonomous Cadillacs Hit the Road for Testing” – The New York Times – April 30, 2013

Missy Cummings quoted in article about military drones: “Living in Terror under a Drone-Filled Sky in Yemen” – The Atlantic – April 29, 2013

Excerpt of Yossi Sheffi’s book Logistics Clusters: Delivering Value and Driving Growth featured in Supply Chain Quarterly: “Clustering for competitive advantage” – Supply Chain Quarterly – Quarter 3, 2012 issue

Joseph Coughlin and MIT AgeLab featured in BBC program about aging and technology – Horizons – “Ageing Populations” – watch video

Article about the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Edward Crawley quoted):
“MIT in Moscow Creates Sputnik Moments for $300 Million”
Bloomberg Markets Magazine - April 29, 2013

Thomas Kochan participated in recent panel on anchor institutions in urban cities driving economic development: “MIT and University of Maryland host Panel Discussion on How Anchor Organizations Build Community Wealth”
The Wall Street Journal – May 1, 2013

A paper by Jason Bartolomei (ESD PhD grad), Daniel E. Hastings, Richard de Neufville, and Donna Rhodes was selected as the recipient of the 2012 INCOSE Systems Engineering Journal Best Paper Award. The paper is “Engineering Systems Multiple-Domain Matrix: An organizing framework for modeling large-scale complex systems.” (View figures here.) Theaward will be formally announced during the Tuesday plenary session at the INCOSE International Symposium in Philadelphia, PA, June 24-27.

President Emeritus of Tufts University and former MIT chancellor Larry Bacow presented the annual Charles L. Miller Lecture (co-sponsored by ESD and CEE) on April 22nd. Dr. Bacow spoke on “The Research University in the Digital Age.” Read the news item on the MIT website and watch the video on TechTV.

Ernest Moniz among the nine MIT faculty members recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: “Nine MIT faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences” - MIT News - April 24, 2013

MIT News Office coverage of recent CTL event featuring president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Commerce’s call to action” - MIT News - April 12, 2013

Read older news articles here.