Lock The Quill

Hosted by MIT Mechanical Engineering Pappalardo Lab

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Feb 2025

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Interviews and antics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Mechanical Engineering Pappalardo Lab - the most wicked lab on campus.

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19 recent

February 21, 2025Episode 246 min

Community, Excellence, & Service: The CEO for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Janeen Uzzell, comes to MIT - EP 17

The CEO of the National Society of Black Engineers, Janeen Uzzell, heads to the lab at MIT to chat about her early years at NC A&T, the NSBE mission, programs, leadership, and family. We also hear about the upcoming NSBE 50th celebration in Chicago and check-in with a few students and alumni. Janeen is awesome - she also lectured for our 2.009 students and MIT community about boots-on-the-ground field work in product development and delivery, and the importance of diverse development teams. Thank you Janeen! https://nsbe.org/https://convention.nsbe.org/Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

November 2, 2024Episode 151 min

Professor Ely Sachs on Guided Discovery, Plus a Trip to Lobby 7 - EP 16

We take our mobile studio to Lobby 7 and kibitz with students, while Bill recruits unsuspecting visitors (with mixed results).MIT Professor Ely Sachs, the pioneer in 3-D printing, then spends time with us in the lab talking about education, learning, and his over two decades developing Guided Discovery - his pedagogy that has been foundational at MIT MechE and beyond, guiding students to encounter the wonders of key scientific principles. Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

May 13, 2024Episode 352 min

Talking with the Engineer About Poetry: L.S. McKee on Creature, Wing, Heart, Machine and a Dept Head PSA - EP 15

L.S. McKee joins us in the lab to talk about her new collection of poetry, Creature, Wing, Heart, Machine.Laura and I taught 2.009 together for a few years before she moved down south. Laura was a lecturer in the Writing, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication Program at MIT before moving on to UGA, Athens, where she is Coordinator for Writing Across the Curriculum in the English Department. https://lsmckee.com/index.htmlhttps://www.english.uga.edu/directory/people/laura-s-mckeeAlso, writer and educator, Stacy Mattingly, of BU and Berklee College of Music joins the conversationhttps://www.stacymattingly.com/We start with an announcement from Department Head, Professor John Hart on the MechE 150 celebration. Enjoy!Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

January 4, 2024Episode 248 min

Sudden Cardiac Arrest and the Avive Story, Lock the Quill Office Hours - EP 14

Three alumni stop by the lab to tell the story of how they took a class assignment at 2am, developed it into their senior capstone project, and ultimately founded a medical device company that, six years later, received Class III Premarket Approval from the FDA. Avive is the youngest team to receive such a PMA and their founders were selected for the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30.Their Automated External Defibrillator, the Avive Connect AED, is the first major innovation in the space for decades, and will, no doubt, save lives.https://avive.lifeIG: @avive_solutions...but we start with Lock the Quill Office Hours. Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

November 25, 2023Episode 129 min

Professor Gilbert Strang: A Birthday, Conversation, and Greatest Hits - EP 13

One of my favorite professors, Gilbert Strang, comes by the lab to talk about his time at MIT since 1952. Anyone who knows professor Strang knows him to be one of the best mathematics teachers and a prolific writer with a heart of gold. Professor Strang retired last spring (2023). His last 18.06 lecture was to a packed standing room of students, staff, faculty, friends, and family. We are privileged to have him visit the lab for this conversation....and Happy Birthday Professor!!Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

November 16, 20233 min

Faculty and Friends Soundbites: Season One Hot Wash, Season Two Preview, and a Contest

After President Kornbluth's inauguration, end-of-year projects, finals, commencement, and a long summer break, we've ramped up for a second season. A three minute review of the more frivolous moments of season one, and a quick teaser of the soon-to-be-released season two premiere.Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

April 28, 2023Episode 1239 min

MIT President Sally Kornbluth, Inauguration Weekend, Grounds Department, and a Presidential Quiz - Ep 12

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: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

April 17, 2023Episode 1134 min

Professor Sangbae Kim on the Virtual-Physical Divide, Robotic Cheetahs, Physical Intelligence, and Cognitive Bias - Ep 11

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-aiProfessor Kim: https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/SANGBAE@MIT.EDUKeep those entries coming for the Lock the Quill Global Challenge!Podcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

March 31, 2023Episode 1040 min

Professor Maria Yang on Design at MIT and Stanford, AI and Design, Sketching, the Morningside Academy for Design, and the Splendor of Acronyms - Ep 10

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.EDUPodcast specific:Podcast Instagram: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website

March 19, 2023Episode 946 min

Professor Kaitlyn Becker comes home to MIT: Flash Your Punty! Glassblowing, Soft Robotics, Flute, and Dinosaurs - Ep 9

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: @lockthequillComments or questions: lockthequill@mit.edu The Lab at MIT:Pappalardo Lab Instagram: @pappalardolabComments or questions: pappalardolab@mit.edu Pappalardo Lab website