Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams

I can’t believe it’s over. Well, saying it’s “over” isn’t exactly correct as this past week, or I guess simply this past year, has opened the door to so much for me. Rather than an ending to a simple school project, this is really the beginning to a pathway bigger than any high school project.

There’s so much to say, but first I’ll start with the actual EurekaFest. This past year has simply flown by and the culmination of a year’s hard work ended with a big bang at the 2008 EurekaFest. Truly, the journey has been unbelievable, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity. Leaving in the very early hours from LAX, I didn’t know exactly what to expect in MIT. I was excited to finally present our project and learn more about the other InvenTeams and, of course, in wonder of the opportunity to present on the same stage that Lemelson-MIT Awards would later be given out (much less have the chance to hear people like Dr. Martin Fischer and Dr. Joseph DeSimone speak). Arriving first on Tuesday in Logan, our team was welcomed with a torrent of rain in Cambridge. Excited to be back to the state of my birth, I looked forward to the action-packed week the schedule had for us. Nothing, however, could prepare me for what was yet to come. I didn’t expect to leave MIT Sunday morning with pure dread and wondering when I’d be back. But I did. Wednesday kicked off the EurekaFest. From the MIT museum to a special tour of the campus to the opening Kresge barbecue (which included some lovely intro skits…), the week started off well. Spending some time with Ms. Estabrooks (and Ms. Willis) in the Stata Center was great as we were able to finally talk face to face with the person who had helped us so much throughout the year (not to mention the person who introduced us to this wonderful adventure). As we learned and laughed about MIT hacks and just began to understand the phrase “drinking from the fire hydrant,” we all grew comfortable in the MIT atmosphere (a feeling I could definitely get used to!) I finished off the night with some quiet time by the Charles River which was very relaxing and, yet, energizing.

So Thursday was when everything just happened. Rising early for an opportune lecture by QualComm co-founder, Klein Gilhousen, Thursday began with the introduction to a shortened version of Sharon Ballard’s Advanced Invention to Venture (AI2V) Workshop. Honored that so many people such as most of the NCIIA team had come down to help us out, I began to truly realize how fortunate we were to be there. Leaving early to setup our presentation in the Stata Center’s Kirsch Auditorium, I unfortunately missed the 30 second Elevator Pitch part of the workshop. However, I was fortunate enough, along with a fellow team member, to be able to be a part of the AI2V workshop in Dallas this past March as a part of the 2008 NCIIA Conference. With the new knowledge that Troy (us) would be presenting the very first, a few butterflies of anticipation, excitement, and nervousness began to grow in my stomach. In my theatrical experiences, I’ve always been hidden under an alternate identity and layers of stage make-up. Presenting in an auditorium full of a few hundred people whose eyes would rest pretty much solely on myself and the two fellow members with me was a new experience. Watching Brillion and St. Thomas rehearse their fantastic presentations only caused my butterflies to grow. Anyway, after it was over, our presentation itself has hardly been the thing that has been occupying my mind. It is basically everything that happened after. From watching my peers present to Patrick Walsh’s work to replace kerosene lamps around the world with LED lamps to the grand finale of Dr. Martin Fisher’s presentation of his work with KickStart I was truly awed. I learned more in those minutes that Dr. Fisher spoke than I have ever learned in that same amount of time (The same can be said about this past week). His work really brought me to raise a lot of questions about our project and, obviously, helped us gain some invaluable insight. I just can’t put into words how grateful I am to have been able to hear him speak just feet away from where I was sitting in addition to being able to talk with him afterward. Later that night, I wandered into the Lemelson-MIT Awards along with other InvenTeam students. I could feel the electricity and knowledge in the air as people like Dr. Susan Hockfield and Dr. Subra Suresh spoke in addition to Mrs. Dorothy Lemelson, Dr. Merton Flemings, Dr. Robert Lemelson, and, of course, Dr. Joseph DeSimone. As I watched these simply amazing human beings speak, I realized that I was standing in just about the same spots only hours previously! I don’t know how to describe exactly what I was feeling and what I continue to feel, but I’m just so thankful and amazed that I, a simple high school student, has had the opportunity and pure honor to present on the same brochure schedule as these truly wonderful people. Not to mention the once in a lifetime, phenomenal, wordless learning experience involved!

So Friday brought more of the AI2V Workshop where we (Troy) actually had the chance for all of our team members present in front of others in the workshop which was great. The night finished with the lobster bake. Delicious food. Entertaining eating habits. Enough said.

With an relatively early rise and a mass of black and red (Troy colors!) setting out to the Museum of Science, the “Heavy Metal” challenge ended with, quite literally, a big bang. Dinner that night was one to remember. With feelings of nostalgia, excitement for the future, and last minute shopping stress mixed with slight feelings of homesickness and wondering when/if we’d be back, the 2008 EurekaFest finally came to a close. Unsurprisingly, most teams finished off with a relatively late night not wanting the week to really end.

But it did. This “ending with a beginning” thing probably sounds pretty cliche, but as they say, all good things come to an end…an end which is really a beginning. Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams has given us that beginning. That exposure to a bigger world. That opportunity to make a change. That knowledge that we can do anything we set our minds to. That chance to learn, grow, develop, and be somebody. As many InvenTeams students now graduate from high school and open the next chapter to their lives while many others just have a few more years to go, I know that we all have simply gained so much this year and will all use this experience in the future. This one year journey has made a change. A serious change for the better in our lives…and therefore a change for the better of others’ lives. Although the Lemelson-MIT 2008 InvenTeams has now officially come to a close, things are just getting started for the hundreds of students involved.

A final thank you to the Lemelson-MIT Foundation with a special thank you to Ms. Estabrooks and all those with the InvenTeams. I can’t say it or describe it enough. This is the beginning of a new season for all the students involved and Lemelson-MIT is to thank. Thank you.

…I’m not sure who is going to actually read all this–I just started writing and couldn’t really stop! Sorry for my blabber-I just realized how much I wrote!

Well, this may seem late since I lacked a computer at MIT, but now that I’m home, I can relate my story.

When I got there, most of the students regarded me in a way that expressed contempt in a classical xenophobic manner. However, my MIT campus tour guide had an excellent sense of direction, the students never relaxed from studystudystudy, and there were absolutely no means of exercise there.

Everything said in the previous paragraph was false. The people of MIT are kind, laid-back, hardworking people that like to have fun and say hi when you walk by. It was an amazing experience and extremely fun. The dorms were nice, giving a balance of video games, working out, billiards, foosball, video games, eating, pianoing, and overall running around like a lunatic.

I also liked the weather, it was a nice turn from the overkill heat of Los Angeles. Also in my interest were the bikes. As an avid bike rider who has ridden far and wide in a land where anything but driving a car for more than a block is absurd, I can confidently say that MIT is a biker’s heaven.

The tour was AMAZING! And so is MIT. It is a great facility that you can learn lots in. I even got to go to the MIT museum, where I bought many decks of cards. Also, the skits were fun, offering a good mixture of impromtu and laughter while also shunning all dignity. And the barbeque was delicious. Very delicious.

The next day was an exciting day of showcasing and presentations, where we met new people, new ideas, heard lectures, presented inventions, and literally ran around the entire campus. It was one of the busiest days of my life. And one of the funnest. I drove our coconut machine for people during my turn of presenting, but also met other people as well as their inventions. My sister ordered a smoothie all the way from Los Angeles as an experiment with the team from Chicago. I also learned of the amazing $1.5 million donation to the Wisconsin team, who went far with their money to produce a beautiful machine. After a few cups of smoothies and a few stress balls from the biodiesel exhibit, I returned to play a game of soccer with the teams. However, since no one was there, I went out for a jog across the Charles River with some teammates. Needless to say, I was the slowest one there. I returned to find the soccer match in progress, and since I was wearing my green Morocco soccer jersey, I joined with the colored team (no complaints, please) and actually scored a goal! Soon after, a failed slide tackle would twist my leg and force me to limp back to my dorm and limp all throughout the day on Friday. But it was a fun day.

Friday was fun too. I listened to many lectures about business ventures(they were as exciting as they sound, if that’s any indication). Our lemonade stand had action figures: the hero, Leman, and the villian, Limey. But after the lectures, I returned to the Baker House and played poker with the Chicago team until the lobster was ready.

The next day was also eventful. We went to the museum and built a bunch of wind powered trashcan lifters. My team, the Lemon Team(Team five) got the trashcan up in 1:03! Later in the night, I played air hockey with another team, the arcade game in the Baker House with another, and watched the Colbert Report, the best show EVER, and the best (insert category here) EVER(Stephen Colbert), with my team after that.

The next day(today), we left at 4:45AM(ick), and now I’m here at home.

The trip was fun, and the days were packed. Meeting new people, hearing about new ideas and inventions, and getting listen to intelligent, kind, and amazing people were fantastic experiences for me.

Though EurekaFest kicked off on Tuesday the six members of the Saratoga Springs InvenTeam and I strolled in at 2:00 today, just in time to present at the Stata Center along with members of the Troy, St. Thomas, and Brillion InvenTeam’s. Though today was hectic with our high school graduation ceremony starting at 9:00 this morning it was also a blast.

After crossing the stage and receiving our diplomas we snuck backstage where our teacher Mr. Gallagher and an official Suburban Schoolbus (with crossing lights and all) was waiting to make the three hour drive to MIT. We arrived just in time to watch Brillion present their lifting-machine and catch our breath before Jeff Pawlick, Juliana Wakeman, and I got miked and headed on to stage to do our presentation.

For those of you that were unable to join us to watch our presentation today feel free to check it out here on our blog. Also, be sure to try out the Garden Consultant at any time. It is now online and functional at www.saratogainventeam.com.

We had a great time today and can not wait to see what exciting events we have coming our way for the remainder of the Odyssey. Today was a blast from checking out the other InvenTeam project at the invention fair to listening to leaders in engineering like Susan Hockfield, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dorothy Lemelson, chair of the Lemelson Foundation, Robert Lemelson, co-vice president and secretary of the Lemelson Foundation, Merton Flemings, faculty director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, Dean Subra Suresh, Dean of the School of Engineering at MIT, and last but definitly not least Joseph M. DeSimone, winner of the 2008 $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Simply being in the same room and presenting on the same stage as these phenonmenal people was an honor and each of them had amazing and interesting presentations and speeches that we were lucky enough to be able to listen in on. We have had a great time so far and I am sure I speak for all of the InvenTeam students when I say I can not wait to see what tomorrow holds.

Thank you all so much for the oppertunities we have recieved through this awesome program and the amazing experiences we have been lucky enough to enjoy.

Thanks -

Elliott Poppel
Project Manager
Saratoga Springs InvenTeam 2008