Mathias Golombek is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Exasol. He joined the company as a software developer in 2004 after studying computer science with a heavy focus on databases, distributed systems, software development processes, and genetic algorithms. By 2005, he was responsible for the Database…
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Review – Back And Forward – Game Informer
The Mario brand of RPG represents some of my favorite adventures in the genre. The comedic tone, inviting art, and active battle systems have always been highlights for me, but Thousand-Year Door was a personal blind spot. I played prior and subsequent Mario RPGs, but I skipped it when the original was released in 2004, and notably was not yet employed at Game Informer at the time. With Nintendo remastering the acclaimed RPG for Switch, I welcomed the excuse to finally play it. I am impressed by how improved the visuals and music are two decades later, and found that, for the most part, the comedy holds up. I now fully appreciate and understand Thousand-Year Door’s reputation as a classic, but it is not without its 20-year-old headaches. It arguably presents the first signs that the series would be less interested in being an RPG in the coming years and would ultimately suffer as a result.
Thousand-Year Door has always been an attractive game. Nintendo is practiced at prioritizing evergreen art styles over fidelity, and Paper Mario is a poster child of that approach. Lighting effects are the primary improvement for the Switch version, and they make a huge difference – the game looks fantastic and modern throughout. Beyond the look of the game, a number of small changes (like faster partner switching and shortcut keys) help smooth out the experience and just generally remove annoying hurdles.
Combat also remains enjoyable without much need for modernization. I am a sucker for timed-button pressing in any RPG, and I welcome it here, but I was surprised to see that the execution prompts exist throughout the whole game. I assumed they would disappear after the tutorials, and was annoyed to learn they never leave. And though necessary and tactically useful, the special abilities are time-consuming, and I would dread having to engage them. That feeling extended to the partners as well, and I used the ones whose attacks could be executed the fastest, even if they didn’t do the most damage.
Over time, the Mario RPG series has wavered between being an adventure game and an RPG, and it is here that the Paper branch of the tree started growing more in the adventure direction. Subsequent games, like 2020’s The Origami King, completely drop leveling mechanics, which is a mistake. I love having a sense of progression, and enjoyed it here even if I felt like I was going back in time to see its final hurrah.
Where the adventure game mechanics work is in the game’s worlds and characters. It is a breath of fresh air to see wholly new characters in a Mario game, especially on the occasions when they feel out of place with the Mario aesthetic. I looked forward to seeing every new location and weirdo that lived there and was never disappointed.
But further on that desire to be as much an adventure game as an RPG that Paper Mario has always struggled to reconcile, Thousand-Year Door has too much backtracking. Nearly every location in the game involves going to the end of an area to acquire an item, taking it back to someone, and then going back to where you were and redoing every fight on the way. With limited options for fast travel, the process was often tedious.
The sequences where you are not playing as Mario are similarly unexciting. Peach has fun dialogue with an AI struggling to understand emotions and enjoyable puzzles to solve, but if Bowser had been entirely excised from the game, I don’t think I would have noticed or cared. His minor payoff at the end was not worth checking in with him between every chapter.
For all the annoyances of repeating areas and slow (but engaging) combat, Thousand-Year Door is now a series highlight. It marks the first instance of where I didn’t want a Mario RPG to go (I generally prefer the Mario & Luigi direction), but the constant fourth-wall breaking, myriad colorful and unique characters, and its willingness to just be weird all lead to a joyful journey. I am grateful that this shined-up version of the GameCube classic I missed is finally available on a contemporary platform.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Review – Conquering Old Demons – Game Informer
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice didn’t need a sequel. It had a clear story to tell, and it told it well with an artful (and tactful) execution of its mental health themes and a strong conclusion. But Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II builds a great case for itself by using the titular warrior’s growth to help not only herself but, for the first time, others around her, shining her in a fascinating new light. Refined gameplay and a jaw-dropping presentation make for a more wholly satisfying sophomore outing.
Since the first game’s conclusion, Senua’s a little older, a little wiser, and has more confidence in herself. Although the psychosis-induced voices in her head still pepper her every thought (headphones are highly recommended due to the fantastic and effective 3D audio), she’s largely embraced and accepted them. This time, the voices factor less directly into gameplay and are largely used as an effective storytelling flourish: audible manifestations of her innermost thoughts and anxieties.
Senua’s journey takes her to a new land to put an end to the slavers that ravaged her homeland. As that story evolves into something far grander and fantastical, I enjoyed the new emphasis on companionship. Melina Jurgens delivers another phenomenal performance as Senua, and she’s backed by an equally impressive supporting cast. Seeing Senua interact and travel with a small cast of likable and interesting allies and use the lessons learned from her struggles to help them overcome their own darkness is rewarding. Not only does it feel like satisfying growth, but her relatable fears of leading them astray add a nice dimension to her already compelling character. Watching Senua combat old demons as they rear their heads again is also a realistic and refreshing portrayal of the constant battle that is mental health; her triumph in the first game wasn’t, and shouldn’t be, a one-time victory.
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The adventure feels more digestible and coherent from a mainstream sense as she tackles an exciting and disturbing pantheon of deadly giants. The first game told a small, intimate story, but this tale feels closer to an epic without losing its pensive element. With a roughly seven-hour runtime, the story wisely doesn’t overstay its welcome and, like the first game, feels focused. You’re here for a good, emotional time, not a long one.
However, now that Senua has companions to banter with, the voices she hears have an unfortunate habit of speaking up over crucial dialogue. From an artistic standpoint, and I say this as someone who has never experienced psychosis, trying to tune them out to concentrate on a conversation helped me empathize with Senua’s day-to-day experience. But as a game, the voices’ constant chatter did prove a genuine hindrance when I wanted to listen to someone else. When the game does try to separate the two, it occasionally creates an awkward conversation cadence with strange, ill-fitting pauses during talks to fit in a flurry of inner voice dialogue.
The intimate one-on-one combat encounters remain largely the same but with a dazzling visual and cinematic upgrade, minus some old annoyances. Enemies no longer blindside you from off-screen, meaning the action stays in front of you at all times. Sword duels remain a repetitive but entertaining dance of dodging powerful swings and nailing satisfying parries to fill a time-slowing focus meter that, once unleashed, allows Senua to briefly execute an unimpeded assault. While I enjoyed cutting down equally armed foes, the game admirably mixes up the enemy variety with challenging threats that scurry on their hands erratically or, most annoyingly, spew fire. Dodging the latter’s flame-based offense proved visually tricky to evade, so I often cheesed them and other nuisances by activating my focus to quickly drop them as soon as they took the field. Ninja Theory thankfully axed the first game’s creeping permadeath penalty, so dying here has no consequence, and you’re quickly thrown back into the action.
Taking down threats leads to seamless and varied transitions to the next foe, making fights feel like an interactive cinematic in the most complimentary way. This is just a microcosm of the game’s incredible production values; Hellblade II is arguably the most beautiful game I’ve ever played. From fantastic, subtle facial animations to the superb lighting of its idyllic landscapes and the nightmarish designs of the Norse adversaries, Hellblade II is one of the few titles that truly looks next-gen. Best of all, the presumed increase in budget doesn’t result in a mere increase in fidelity. The creative artistic touches of the first game remain intact and dialed to eleven, with mind-bending kaleidoscopic effects and dreamlike lighting and visuals. Hellblade II isn’t just technically impressive; it’s genuinely alluring to stare at as an art piece.
Exploring this stunning world is also more fun, thanks to the increased puzzle variety. The perspective-based “spot the sigil in the environment” riddles, which were enjoyable but overused in the last game, are dramatically reduced in number and spread more evenly throughout the adventure. Other challenges, such as solving illumination puzzles to navigate a dark, terror-filled cave or building paths using world-shifting magic, are adequately entertaining and make for a more well-rounded journey. Venturing beyond the generally linear paths to uncover secret totems or mystical trees that spin fragmented yarns is fun, even if the idea conceptually clashes with the otherwise narrative-focused treks. It’s tough to focus on a given conversation when I’m anxious to break away and inspect every nearby surface for a hidden path.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’s conclusion ends on another strong note, and despite my initial reservations about continuing Senua’s story, I walked away happy to see her conquer new monsters, both literal and metaphorical. I’m pleased Ninja Theory avoided the temptation to blow up this formula into something far bigger than needed – this isn’t Xbox’s God of War; it’s a better Hellblade. The first game is a famous example of not needing to be fun in the traditional sense to be engaging. This sequel sprinkles more broadly appealing thrills while retaining the thoughtful storytelling and artistry few triple-A games possess.
PTZ Optics Hive: Take Your Productions to the Next Level – Videoguys
The livestreaming industry has seen significant growth, making high-quality video production equipment more accessible. PTZOptics Hive Studio emerges as a revolutionary platform designed to streamline camera control and manage entire setups remotely.
Key Features of PTZOptics Hive Studio
- Remote Management and Control: Manage camera setups from anywhere with features like fast frame, click-to-center, auto-tracking, and real-time collaboration.
- Team Collaboration: Browser-based integration, real-time collaboration, and role management make it easy for teams to manage streams globally.
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Advanced Production Tools:
- Synchronized Color Correction: Consistent professional look across all camera feeds with support for over 400 models.
- Cinematic Movements and Framing: Automates complex camera movements for professional cinematic framing.
- Versatile Switching and Streaming: Seamless switching between camera feeds and robust streaming support for high-quality video transmission.
Impact Across Sectors
- Entertainment: Enhances production quality for broadcasts, live shows, and events.
- Corporate Events: Facilitates professional live broadcasts and reduces travel costs with real-time collaboration tools.
- Houses of Worship: User-friendly design for volunteer-run broadcasts and remote control for multi-campus setups.
- Education: Supports hybrid learning with auto-tracking features and easy management of cameras across campuses.
Conclusion
PTZOptics Hive Studio simplifies livestream production setup, enhances collaboration, and offers advanced features for producing high-quality content across various industries. Whether for live events, corporate communications, educational content, or worship services, Hive Studio is a comprehensive solution for professional livestreaming.
Read the full article by PTZOptics for Videomaker HERE
Microsoft unveils new Copilot+ PCs featuring AI capabilities
Microsoft has launched a new type of personal computer designed with AI capabilities, underscoring the company’s commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology across its product lineup. This new category not only boosts Microsoft’s ventures but also positions it to compete directly with AI-led advancements from tech giants such as Alphabet and Apple. During…
An expansive approach to making new compounds
While most chemistry labs focus on either organic (carbon-containing) or inorganic (metal-containing) molecules, Robert Gilliard’s lab takes a more expansive approach.
On any given day in his lab, researchers may be synthesizing new materials that can light up or change color in response to temperature changes, designing new molecules that activate chemical bonds, or finding new ways to make useful compounds out of carbon dioxide. Mixing different approaches and drawing from a variety of areas of expertise is the defining feature of his lab’s style of chemistry.
“At the core of our program, we are a chemical synthesis lab. We make molecules,” Gilliard says. “I have students that are in the organic division and students that are in the inorganic division, and we combine concepts from both worlds. We really can’t do our chemistry without both.”
Some of the molecules his lab creates require such specialized laboratory skills that very few other labs even try to make them. These compounds have a variety of unique optical and electrical properties that have drawn interest from companies that make LEDs and other optoelectronic devices.
Previously a professor at the University of Virginia, Gilliard joined the MIT faculty in 2023 as the Novartis Associate Professor of Chemistry, in part because of the opportunities to work with engineers to investigate device applications for those molecules, and to connect with companies interested in their lighting-generating properties.
“By bringing in components from different subareas of chemistry, we have generated some interesting optical and electronic properties in these compounds,” he says.
A winding path
After joining the faculty at UVA in 2017, Gilliard had no inkling that he would soon end up at MIT. His path to the Institute began soon after beginning his appointment, when he invited Christopher “Kit” Cummins, the Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry at MIT, to give a seminar at UVA. Cummins was very interested in the compounds Gilliard was working on and suggested that Gilliard come to MIT for six months as part of the MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program.
At the time, Gilliard was still getting settled as a new faculty member and didn’t want to leave his lab, but a few years later, when things were up and running, he joined the MLK program for the 2021-2022 school year. He worked closely with Cummins and others in MIT’s Department of Chemistry, and at the end of the year, department head Troy Van Voorhis broached the idea of bringing him to MIT as a permanent faculty member.
Gilliard, taken by surprise, had no intention of leaving his position at UVA, but he was intrigued by the opportunities for collaboration at MIT and in the Boston area in general.
“The MLK program was a great experience, a well-organized program that really exposed me to the whole MIT institution. I can say this, and I mean it: There’s no way I would’ve come here as a faculty member had I not done that MLK fellowship,” Gilliard says. “I was really enjoying my appointment at the University of Virginia and students that I had, and colleagues there. It would have been nearly impossible to get me to move if I hadn’t already spent that time at MIT and enjoyed the atmosphere and the people.”
Gilliard first became interested in chemistry as a high school student in Hartsville, South Carolina, thanks to an inspiring teacher, Charlotte Godwin, who taught his chemistry, physics, and physical science honors classes. He went to Clemson University planning to study premed, but he wasn’t enthusiastic about that choice.
“Before I arrived, I think I already knew I wasn’t going to do that because I don’t really like hospitals that much,” he recalls. “And so I changed my major before I even arrived, and I changed it to engineering.”
Clemson has a well-known engineering program, but after a couple of classes, Gilliard realized that wasn’t the best choice for him, either. He was, however, enjoying his chemistry classes, so he switched his major to chemistry and signed up to do undergraduate research.
He ended up working with a professor named Rhett Smith, who had just joined the Clemson faculty after doing a postdoc at MIT with Professor Stephen Lippard. In Smith’s lab, Gilliard worked on synthesizing catalysts as well as molecules that could be used as sensors, including sensors for cyanide and TNT, an explosive.
“That was just an amazing experience,” he says. “That’s when I knew that research was something that I enjoyed and that I would likely go on to graduate school.”
When he wasn’t working in Smith’s lab, Gilliard was still immersed in chemistry, working in the organic chemistry teaching labs. “I was doing so much chemistry, but I was having fun with it, so it didn’t really feel like work. It felt like something exciting to explore,” he says.
Novel compounds
As a graduate student at the University of Georgia, Gilliard focused on inorganic main-group chemistry but also took organic chemistry courses and was a teaching assistant for two organic chemistry classes. “I knew that I wanted to learn as much organic chemistry as possible because it would be beneficial for my career,” he says.
For his PhD research, he studied chemical bonds that can form between main-group elements — elements found at the edges of the periodic table, in columns 1-2 and 13-18. These types of bonds can be very difficult to achieve, but once made, they expand the possible bonding scenarios for non-transition metal elements, which makes them useful in a range of chemical reactions.
While doing a postdoctoral fellowship, which he divided between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) and Case Western Reserve University, Gilliard worked on combining small phosphorus-containing reagents into phosphorus heterocycles, which consist of multiple varied rings fused together.
At the University of Virginia, and now in his lab at MIT, Gilliard continued to study heterocycles, now focusing mainly on boron heterocycles. These molecules hold potential in numerous optical and electronic applications, in part because of their ability to efficiently donate or accept electrons from other molecules. Recently, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Gilliard’s lab published the first examples of boraphenalenyl radicals and diborepin biradicals that exhibit this important redox behavior. Such materials can also be used to make stimuli-responsive materials and chemical sensors, or to advance various light-emitting or absorbing technologies.
His lab also works on compounds containing bismuth and antimony that can be used to activate carbon-hydrogen bonds. Another area of focus is capturing carbon dioxide and converting it into useful chemicals.
The success of all of these projects, Gilliard says, depends on the “great team” working in his lab, including several students, postdocs, and research scientists who came with him from the University of Virginia.
“A lot of the compounds that we make are very, very difficult. They require specialized techniques and skills, so I’m grateful to have talented folks working in my lab,” he says.
Verpex Review: Is it the Best Global Host For You?
As a web hosting expert who has guided numerous clients in selecting the best providers, I’ve developed a keen eye for distinctive and impactful hosting services. At first glance, Verpex stands out not just for its competitive pricing and robust support, but significantly for its commitment to…
Street Fighter 6 Preview – Director Takayuki Nakayama Talks Akuma’s Arrival – Game Informer
Street Fighter 6 is poised to wrap up its Year 1 character offerings with one of the franchise’s most iconic fighters. Akuma brings his Satsui no Hado mastery to the renowned title this week. Introduced in 1994’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Akuma represents the most classic post-launch character added to Street Fighter 6 during its first year of post-launch content, following Rashid (Street Fighter V), A.K.I. (Street Fighter 6), and Ed (Street Fighter IV/V).
In preparation for Akuma’s arrival, we interviewed Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama about bringing the Great Demon to the game. You can see our full interview below, ahead of Akuma’s release on May 22.
The introduction of Akuma has traditionally been a tricky thing for the Street Fighter series, as he is often not super balanced. Can you talk about the challenges of balancing Akuma and how you worked to address those challenges within Street Fighter 6?
Akuma is a powerful character with a lot of moves in his arsenal, with many different approaches to try against his opponent. At the same time, players will need to be skilled with him in order to achieve consistent results. Similar to past iterations, we have decided to balance him by giving him many powerful techniques, while setting his vitality on the lower end.
Many of the additions in Year 1 have been newer characters to the series. What does having a character like Akuma, who dates back to the Street Fighter II series, do to round out the SF6 roster?
New characters, and characters that have appeared in recent titles, are more difficult for people to become familiar with. The inclusion of an iconic character like Akuma helps bring cohesiveness to the lineup. We want Street Fighter 6 to be accessible to everyone, from players who have been playing for a long time to those who have only played the recent titles and those who are new to the series.
Given Akuma’s extreme in-universe power, are there ever any struggles with fitting him into the story in believable ways?
Like Ryu, he is a bit of an enigma, but we thought this would be a good opportunity for people to get to know his feelings and thoughts, especially through World Tour. I didn’t find it too difficult to incorporate him into the story.
Back in February, you told me a fun anecdote about Ed’s importance to the development of Street Fighter 6. Does Akuma hold any special places in the hearts of developers besides being a very popular and long-running character?
Yes, we consider him to be a special character. He was the first hidden character to appear in the Street Fighter II series, and his techniques and settings were shrouded in mystery. We believe that his appearance will make the game more complete.
When designing an updated look for Akuma, how do you go about ensuring longtime fans will enjoy his visual aesthetic while still showcasing the visual evolution you hope to portray?
In Street Fighter III, the previous title in the chronological order of the series, his characteristic red hair had some white in it. This was a great way to express that even a character like Akuma is aging and has reached a higher level of mastery. In addition, the illustration of Akuma selling fruit to children, which was depicted in the Street Fighter Alpha series, shined a light on the unexpected aspect of his life. As we pondered how Akuma grew older and more powerful, and followed his life’s path, it led us to a more Ashura or Buddhist statue-like design. Our intention was to design him to be a fighter with the intimidating presence of a beast while transcending human existence.
Speaking of evolution from game to game, what differences should players expect from how Akuma plays in Street Fighter 6?
Most of the techniques used in past titles have been implemented. An aggressive fighting style suits him very well, so take advantage of your opponent’s openings and defeat them. The match should conclude quickly.
With Akuma serving as the final character from the Year 1 pass, how has the process gone for selecting the characters for Year 2? I know you likely can’t go into specifics, but did the team identify any holes in the current roster that needed to be addressed or filled with the next batch of playable characters?
Of course, I can’t make any specific comments yet, but I think you will find there to be some unexpected characters. Sorry, but the method of selection is also a secret (no fortune-telling or divination involved). We hope you’re looking forward to it.
Street Fighter 6 arrived on June 2, 2023, meaning its one-year anniversary is right around the corner. We don’t know when we’ll learn about what Capcom has in store for the game’s second year, but with the anniversary and Summer Games Fest right around the corner, we might learn about the next batch of characters coming soon. In the meantime, Akuma joins the Street Fighter 6 roster as the final Year 1 character on May 22.
For more on Street Fighter 6, read our review here.
Q&A: A graduating student looks back on his MIT experience
Christopher Wang is a senior graduating from MIT this month. The Course 6-3 (Computer Science and Engineering) major has discovered a love for theater during his time at MIT, developing his playwriting, acting, directing, and even lighting design skills through involvement in student groups. But he nearly didn’t come to MIT at all; a chance conversation with his brother brought him to Cambridge. Here, as he prepares for his next adventure, Wang shares some of his experiences at the Institute.
Q: Describe one conversation that changed the trajectory of your life.
A: I spent the first five semesters of undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis, during most of which I was a biology major pursuing medicine. When I switched to computer science at the start of my fifth semester, my brother suggested in passing that I apply for transfer admission to MIT. I did, but honestly, it was mostly to appease him.
By the time the decision came out, I had completely forgotten about it, so I was shocked to see that I’d gotten in! I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go — I had already settled in at WashU, academically and socially, so it was tough to give all that up — but one of my professors told me to go and never think twice about it.
It’s pretty crazy to think about how different my life would have been if I hadn’t applied or gone. I think I would have been happy either way, but looking back, I feel incredibly lucky to have met all the thoughtful, visionary people I know now at MIT.
Q: What’s your favorite place on MIT’s campus to study, and why?
A: One, the lounge on the sixth floor of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning building. It’s a small-ish, cozy room with several tables and a nice view of Mass Ave. In particular, I like that it’s usually pretty empty, which makes it a great place to pset together or work with teammates on a group project! One caveat is that you need to be a Course 11 major/minor/concentrator to gain access, but thankfully, I have two friends who can let me in.
Two, the third-floor atrium in Building 46, the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences building. I often run into friends going to or from their Course 9 classes, and sometimes pastries or snacks are also served. Most of all, it empties out in the evenings, and I just really like studying in wide-open empty spaces!
Q: What’s your favorite food found on, or near, campus?
A: I’m a bit of a health nut, so I’m going to say Life Alive! They have a lot of salads, grain bowls, and wraps that are both healthy and delicious, and the nutrition information is also on the website. My personal favorite items are the teriyaki shiitake wrap or the greens, egg, and cheese breakfast wrap. When I’m not being a health nut, I also really like Toscanini’s B3 (brown sugar, brown butter, and brownies) ice cream.
Q: Tell me about one interest or hobby you’ve discovered since you came to MIT.
A: Theater! I didn’t have any theater experience before coming to MIT, but MIT has a vibrant theater scene, including both academics and student groups. I got involved in student groups like Next Act (a musical theater group based in Next House that performs for Campus Preview Weekend every year) and Life On Stage Theater (a group focused on performing contemporary plays) and I completed my HASS [Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences] concentration in Theater Arts as well. I’ve dabbled in many different aspects — ranging from writing plays to playing a Spanish womanizer onstage, from designing lights for dance shows to directing a musical written from scratch. The theater community at MIT is very beginner-friendly, so I’d highly suggest checking it out for anyone who’s interested!
These days, I also frequently seek out plays to watch in the Boston area, and even travel to [New York City] for particular productions from time to time. Of the ones I’ve seen, my favorite musicals are “Beetlejuice” and “Come From Away,” and my favorite plays are “Wolf Play,” “Manahatta,” and “Prayer for the French Republic.”
Q: Tell us about your favorite game — it could be a computer game, a board game, a video game, a game you made up to make long car rides more interesting — anything!
A: Ooh, that’s tough. I’m a big fan of video games and don’t have one clear favorite, so I’m going to cheat and give several:
“Celeste:” A precision 2D platformer with perhaps my favorite game-play mechanics and level design! The physics just feel so smooth and fluid, and the game constantly introduces new mechanisms that allow for some extraordinarily satisfying movement. The difficulty ramps up to insane levels throughout the game, but it’s always paced such that each level is just doable enough for you to keep pushing through. It also has some really nice pixel art and music, and a simple yet powerful story about struggling with anxiety and self-acceptance. (It’s also surprisingly popular among my friends at MIT!)
“A Dance of Fire and Ice:” A precise rhythm game where geometry meets music! Two rotating orbs traverse a track, and you have to tap in rhythm based on the shape of the track. A series of tiles in a straight line (180-degree angles) represents a quarter-note beat, whereas eighth notes are represented by 90 degrees, triplets by 60 or 120, and so on. It makes more sense when you see it, so if this sounds interesting, take a look here!
“13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim:” Of all the sci-fi stories I’ve consumed, this game has the most intricate, staggering, mind-blowing one by far. The basic premise is that 13 high school students are tasked with using the Sentinels — giant mechanized robots — to fight off the kaiju (monsters) invading their world — but that description barely scratches the surface. It takes every science fiction element ever known and combines them all into a single narrative in unique and subversive ways. The game includes the intersecting story arcs of 13 different protagonists that you can play in (mostly) any order, resulting in a dizzying amount of complexity, but never so much that you lose interest. Along with the narrative segments, the game also includes several dozen real-time strategy tower defense game-play stages. Did I mention that the music and art are also gorgeous?
Q: What’s your favorite TikTok, Instagram or YouTube video?
A: “me and the boys after watching mary poppins”
Q: What are you looking forward to about life after graduation? What do you think you’ll miss about MIT?
A: I’m looking forward to having free time that’s completely mine, without having to worry about whether I should be getting ahead on work, investing more time into my research, etc. Normally I’m good at establishing a sustainable balance even at MIT, but sometimes it’s all too easy for me to do too much without realizing how much strain I’m putting on myself. This semester, I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until spring break finally hit.
But that flexibility goes both ways, too: I’ll miss psetting with friends in the evenings on a problem that’s enraptured our brains. I’ll miss the freedom to sip tea and read a book on weekday afternoons without worrying about being somewhere. I’ll miss the opportunities to organize last-minute food outings and hiking trips, the ease of walking down the hall and knocking on people’s doors, the spontaneity of “Smash Bros.” sessions in the dorm lounges.
Most of all, I’ll miss the friends I’ve made here — the friends I play party games with, the friends I go running with, the friends I talk with about the future and our ideals and the kinds of people we want to become. For all of you, I wish nothing but the best, and I hope we still find ways to remember and see each other once we graduate.
Eleven from MIT awarded 2024 Fulbright fellowships
Eleven MIT undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni have won Fulbright grants to embark on projects overseas in the 2024-25 grant cycle. Two other students were offered awards but declined them to pursue other opportunities.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers year-long opportunities for American citizen students and recent alumni to conduct independent research, pursue graduate studies, or teach English in over 140 countries.
MIT has been a Fulbright Top-Producing Institution for five years in a row. MIT students and alumni interested in applying to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should contact Julia Mongo, MIT Fulbright program advisor, in the Office of Distinguished Fellowships in Career Advising and Professional Development.
April Cheng is a junior studying physics with a minor in mathematics and is fast-tracked to graduate this spring. They will take their Fulbright research grant to the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam, Germany, where they will study different statistical techniques to infer the expansion rate of the universe from gravitational waves. They first developed an interest in gravitational waves and black holes at the MIT LIGO and Caltech LIGO labs, but their research spans a wide range of topics in astrophysics, including cosmology and fast radio bursts. Cheng is passionate about physics education and is heavily involved in developing educational materials for high school Science Olympiads. At MIT, they are a member of the Physics Values Committee, the physics mentorship program, and the MIT Lion Dance team. After Fulbright, Cheng will pursue a PhD in astrophysics at Princeton University, where they have received the President’s Fellowship.
Grace McMillan is a senior majoring in literature and mechanical engineering with a concentration in Russian language. As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award recipient, she will teach at a university in Kazakhstan. McMillan’s interest in Central Asia was sparked by a Russian language immersion program she participated in during her sophomore summer in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, funded by MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). She is excited to help her students learn English to foster integration into the global academic community. During her time at MIT, McMillan has conducted research with faculty in nuclear science; earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences; and the Digital Humanities Lab. Outside of academics, she has been an active member of her sorority, Sigma Kappa, and has served on the MIT Health Consumers’ Advisory Council for two years. After Fulbright, McMillan hopes to attend law school, focusing on education reform.
Ryan McTigue will graduate this spring with a BS in physics and mathematics and a concentration in Spanish. With a Fulbright award to Spain, he will do research at the University of Valencia’s Institute of Molecular Science focusing on the physics of two-dimensional multiferroic nanodevices. He is looking forward to improving his Spanish and getting the opportunity to live abroad. At MIT, McTigue became interested in condensed matter physics research with the Checkelsky group, where he focused on engineering materials with flat bands that exhibited correlated electron effects. Outside of research, McTigue has been a mentor in the physics department’s mentoring program and a member of the heavyweight men’s crew team. After his Fulbright grant, McTigue will begin a PhD in physics at Princeton University.
Keith Murray ’22 graduated from MIT with a BS in computation and cognition and linguistics and philosophy. He will receive his MEng degree in computation and cognition this spring. As a Fulbright Hungary research grantee at the HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Murray will design generative AI models inspired by the primary visual cortex with the goal of making AI models more interpretable. At MIT, Murray’s research experiences spanned from training mice to perform navigation tasks in virtual reality to theorizing about how neurons might compute modular arithmetic. He was also a member of the men’s heavyweight crew team and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After Fulbright, Murray will pursue a PhD in neuroscience at Princeton University.
Maaya Prasad ’22 completed her undergraduate education at MIT with degrees in both electrical engineering and creative writing and will graduate this month with an MS in mechanical and ocean engineering. Her thesis research focuses on microplastic detection using optical sensing. Prasad’s Fulbright fellowship will take her to Mauritius, an East African island country located in the Indian Ocean. Here, she will continue her master’s research at the University of Mauritius and will work with local researchers to implement a microplastic survey system. While at MIT, Prasad joined the varsity sailing team with no prior experience. Her time spent on the water led her to pursue marine research at MIT Sea Grant, and she eventually earned an honorable mention to the 2023 All-American Sailing Team. After Fulbright, Prasad hopes to pursue a PhD in applied ocean engineering.
Anusha Puri is a senior majoring in biological engineering. Her Fulbright award will take her to Lausanne, Switzerland, where she will conduct cancer immunology research at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research. At MIT, Puri’s work in the Weinberg Lab focused on understanding mechanisms that drive resistance of breast cancer to immunotherapy. On campus, she founded and serves as president of MIT’s premiere stand-up comedy group, Stand-Up CoMITy, leads MIT’s Bhangra dance team, and is the editor-in-chief of the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal. She looks forward to engaging with teaching outreach and practicing her French in Switzerland. After her Fulbright grant, she plans to pursue a PhD in biomedical science.
Olivia Rosenstein will graduate this spring with a BS in physics and a minor in French. Her Fulbright will take her to ENS Paris-Saclay in Palaiseau, France, where she’ll deepen her education in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. At MIT, Rosenstein has worked in Professor Mark Vogelsberger’s group researching models of galaxy formation and the early universe, and in Professor Richard Fletcher’s group on an erbium-lithium experiment to investigate quantum many-body dynamics in a degenerate mixture. In France, she will expand on the skills she developed in Fletcher’s lab by contributing to a project using optical tweezer arrays to study dipolar interactions. After Fulbright, Rosenstein plans to return to the United States to pursue a PhD in experimental AMO at Caltech.
Jennifer Schug will receive this spring an MEng degree in the Climate, Environment, and Sustainability track within the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. During her Fulbright year in Italy, she will conduct research on carbon storage in the Venice lagoon at the University of Padua. Schug is excited to build upon her research with the Terrer Lab at MIT, where she is currently investigating the effectiveness of forestation as a carbon sequestration strategy. She also looks forward to improving her Italian language skills and learning about Italian history and culture. Before beginning Fulbright this fall, Schug will study ecological preservation in Sicily this summer through an MIT-Italy collaboration with the University of Catania. After Fulbright, she hopes to continue researching nature-based solutions as climate change mitigation strategies.
Vaibhavi Shah ’21 earned a BS in biological engineering and in science, technology, and society at MIT, where she was named a Goldwater Scholar. She is now a medical student at Stanford University. As a Fulbright-Fogarty Fellow in Public Health, Shah will use both her computational and humanities backgrounds to investigate sociocultural factors underlying traumatic surgical injuries in Nepal. While at MIT, she was on the executive board of GlobeMed and the Society of Women Engineers, and she hopes to use those experiences to amplify diverse voices in medicine while on her journey to becoming a neurosurgeon-scientist. After Fulbright, Shah will complete her final year of medical school.
Charvi Sharma is a senior studying computer science and molecular biology with a minor in theater arts. As a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Spain, she is excited to engage in cross-cultural exchange while furthering her skills as a teacher and as a leader. In addition to teaching, Sharma looks forward to immersing herself in the country’s vibrant traditions, improving her Spanish proficiency, and delving into the local arts and dance scene. At MIT, through Global Teaching Labs Spain and her roles as a dynaMIT mentor, an associate advisor, and a captain and president of her dance teams Mirchi and Nritya, Sharma has served as a teacher of both STEM and dance. Her passion for making a difference in her community is also evident through her work with Boston Medical Center’s Autism Program through the PKG Public Service Center and as an undergraduate cancer researcher in the Yaffe Lab. After Fulbright, Sharma plans to pursue an MD and, ultimately, a career as a clinician-scientist.
Isabella Witham is a senior majoring in biological engineering. As a recipient of the Fulbright U.S.-Korea Presidential STEM Initiative Award, she will conduct research at Seoul National University’s Biomimetic Materials and Stem Cell Engineering Lab. Her work will involve creating biomimetic scaffolds for pancreatic cell transplantation to treat type I diabetes. While in South Korea, Witham aims to improve her language skills and explore cultural sites and cities. At MIT, she worked in the Belcher Lab on nanoparticle formulations, was a tutor for MIT’s Women’s Technology Program, and volunteered as a Medlink. After her Fulbright fellowship, she plans to pursue a PhD in biological engineering.