The Tufts Daily - Friday, February 23, 2018

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Assistant Professor of Music Frank Lehman unpacks “Star Wars” scores see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5

SPORTS FEATURE

Brown and (navy) blue: balancing NROTC and varsity sports

Career Center works with community senator to develop advising for international students see FEATURES / PAGE 3

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

VOLUME LXXV, ISSUE 20

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Segway inventor Dean Kamen speaks about innovative technologies in Dean’s Lecture by Anar Kansara News Editor

Yesterday, inventor, entrepreneur and founder of DEKA Research and Development Corporation Dean Kamen gave a talk on developing inventions and the potential of future engineers as a part of the School of Engineering Dean’s Lecture series. Kamen is known for pioneering inventions such as the wearable insulin pump, the peritoneal dialysis pump and the Segway, according to Dean of the School of Engineering Jianmin Qu. Kamen is also the founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering, and was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, Qu said in his opening remarks. Kamen began his lecture by speaking about how many different kinds of engineers and fields of expertise are necessary to create technological change. He emphasized the importance of collaboration in turning ideas into practical products for public use. “If you find the right intersection of a technology and a way to get it to people you can turn science fair projects into things that really improve the quality of life for people,” Kamen said. “We need people from different industries to solve problems [together].” The first part of the talk consisted of Kamen recounting the stories behind his various successful inventions, particularly in the medical sector. He began by speaking about his invention of a simply designed, wearable insulin pump that was inspired by a conversation with his brother, a physician, about the need to deliver critical drugs in an efficient, precise manner. Kamen built the initial prototype in his parent’s basement which was then successfully tested. Demand for the product grew, prompting Kamen to start his own company manufacturing insulin pumps. However, Kamen soon sold his company and moved on to other projects, saying that he did not want to remain in one field making small, incremental changes. “If you stay in your lane in the world of engineering, you can count on the fact that every year you’ll make your product two percent better or three percent cheaper … and there’s nothing wrong with that … but I wanted to do transformational stuff,” he said.

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He then spoke about his creation of a peritoneal dialysis machine and his contributions to improve the original PalmazSchatz coronary stent, explaining that he wanted to find a way to use elegant and simple designs to make people’s lives easier. “The instruction manual [of the dialysis system] has to be as complicated as the instruction manual that comes with your sneakers,” Kamen said. He also talked about his other inventions that contributed to human health and mobility, such as a water purification system and prosthetic arms capable of fine motor control. He also spoke about his collaboration with the U.S. government to found the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI). He emphasized the importance of work at the intersection of medicine and technology. “Most of the companies that are really good at understanding the biology don’t know about manufacturing,” he said. “There is so much work that needs to be done at the intersection of engineering and medicine.” Kamen also encouraged Tufts students to actively take part in the quest to reach these goals and work for his companies via internships or jobs, handing out DEKA business cards at the end of his lecture to students that came up to talk to him. Kamen closed his speech by speaking about FIRST, an organization that has spread globally and garnered the support of many U.S. Presidents, such as former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama as well as foreign leaders such as former President and former Prime Minister of Israel Shimon Peres. “FIRST is not about robots. It’s about self-respect, it’s about cooperation, it’s about giving kids the tools to understand nature,” Kamen explained. When asked about advice he would give to college students and future engineers, Kamen focused on encouraging students to make good use of their advanced education for fixing the world’s major issues. “I hope engineering students recognize how extraordinarily grateful they should be to get the kind of education they’re getting, especially at a place like Tufts, but they shouldn’t be lured into [thinking] they can use that power that education as a weapon. They should be using it as a tool,” he said. “Use this incredible privilege of an advanced education use it as a responsibility and use it in a way that’s good for the world.”

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School of Engineering celebrates National Engineers Week

ASHA IYER / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Science and Engineering Complex is pictured on Feb. 21. by Alexander Davis Contributing Writer

This week, the Tufts University School of Engineering celebrated Engineers Week (E-Week). Engineering students, in conjunction with faculty, the Career Center and the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO), organized and hosted a series of celebratory events and activities, according to Darryl Williams, the Dean of Undergraduate Education for the School of Engineering. Williams said the week-long programming displayed the achievements of Tufts students and helped build a community among prospective engineers on campus. Campus E-Week events corresponded to the national Engineers Week, which was initiated in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Williams explained the purpose of Tufts’ E-Week celebrations. “We were thinking comprehensively about how to really showcase the wonderful things that are happening at Tufts’ School of Engineering,” Williams said. Sopuruchukwu Ezenwa, a student organizer for the week and member of the engineering student council, added that community building was another important focus of E-Week. “We definitely want to build a community and let other people know that engineers are here [at Tufts] and, in a way, celebrate ourselves,” Ezenwa, a senior, said. According to the official event schedule, E-Week began with a kickoff event hosted in the Alumnae Lounge, and engineering-related activities followed throughout the rest of the week. Examples of such events include a “Sumo Bots Challenge” in which partici-

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pants were tasked with designing a robot that pushed its opponent out of the ring, and a “Family Feud”-style game involving survey responses from Tufts students. The university also hosted inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen for a keynote speech yesterday. Kamen is most widely known for inventing the Segway personal transporter and developing the iBOT mobility device. He continually advocates for science and technology education, according to the Tufts Alumni website. “We were really excited when Dean Kamen’s office agreed to participate. We know that a lot of people are familiar with the work he’s done,” Williams said. The Career Center played an important role in this year’s E-Week. For the first time, the engineering alumni networking night took place during E-Week. “We typically see over 100 students and more than 40 alumni for networking night, and this year we moved the event into [E-Week] to make it one of the big-deal events of the week,” Robin Kahan, the Associate Director of Engineering Career Services, said. In addition to the networking night, several alumni hosted lunches where students could meet and network with working professionals in a more private setting. Both events served to improve students’ networking skills and give them valuable insight into potential future careers, Kahan explained. Alumni from the School of Engineering are often eager to return to Tufts and view the E-Week events as a great way to give back to the Tufts community, according to Kahan. “The alums that come, come back year after year … They really view it as a great

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................5

see E-WEEK, page 2

COMICS....................................... 7 OPINION.....................................8 SPORTS............................ BACK


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