Share your passion, learn new skills, and stay connected with the MechE community this summer through the MechE Summer X program.
About
The MIT MechE Summer Knowledge Exchange — or MechE Summer X — offers students, recent graduates, faculty, and staff an opportunity to share and learn skills through offering and participating in short-term remote activities.
All activities will be free and not for credit. Activities will be IAP-style, led and organized by members of the MIT MechE community. Activities can be academic and non-academic.
Academic activities may focus on a learning through remote classes, study groups, or other activities. Possible academic topics or activities could include:
- CAD or illustration software
- Coding and programming languages
- Study group (e.g., understanding specific aspects of COVID-19, inequities in STEM education, climate change)
- Machine learning bootcamp
- Journal club discussions of research papers on a certain topic
- Overview of instrumentation or methods used in research
- Design challenges
- Any other academically-oriented topic that the MechE community might be interested in learning this summer
In non-academic activities, any member of the MIT MechE community can share expertise in a particular subject, skill, hobby, or activity. Possible non-academic topics or activities could include:
- Crafts or hobbies (ex: knitting, cooking, baking)
- Book or film discussions
- Collective art projects
- Sports or fitness activities
- Tutorials on how to play games (ex: chess, bridge)
- Musical instrument lessons
- Foreign language classes
- Any other activity that the MechE community might be interested in participating in this summer
Proposal Form
Interested in sharing your knowledge leading a MechE Summer X activity? Fill out the following proposal form.
All members of the MIT MechE community are encouraged to create activity offerings that share their talent, expertise or interest with others in the department. This program is being offered for MechE Community members only. Any minors who attend the activities must be accompanied by their guardian.
Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis from June 9 - July 31, 2020. All submissions will be reviewed before being confirmed as a summer offering.
Upcoming Activities
This section will be frequently updated with all upcoming MechE Summer X activities as they are finalized.
Intro to Sourdough
Instructor: Elizabeth Brownell
Sunday, June 28, 3:00 - 4:00pm EDT
(Following this first session, this activity will meet at various dates/times over the next two weeks. Please see the schedule for all sessions.)
Learn how to start, keep, and bake with a sourdough starter. We'll start by catching a starter from wild yeast and learn to maintain it. Once it's matured, we'll learn how to bake fresh sourdough bread, as well as how to adjust the starter and dough to tweak the flavor and texture of your loaf. No baking experience necessary!
Project Tau Summer
Competition coordinated by PTS Officers
Monday June 29 through Saturday August 22
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Bonjour! French conversation hour
Instructor: Christine Gervais
Thursday, July 9, 12:00 - 1:00pm EDT
Thursday, July 16, 12:00 - 1:00pm EDT
Thursday, July 23, 12:00 - 1:00pm EDT
Thursday, July 30, 12:00 - 1:00pm EDT
A zoom chat for intermediate/ advanced level French speakers, meeting once a week for an informational conversation. Limited to 6 participants.
Crash Course in Photoshop
Instructor: Mulan Jiang
Sunday, July 5, 2:00-3:30pm
Saturday, July 11, 2:00-3:30pm
Learn how to use Photoshop from a professional book cover designer! The first session will cover the basics. The second session will teach you how to blend photos, including layer masks, blending modes, clipping masks, layer effects, and more by walking you through how to build a poster. If there is interest, Mulan may teach some more advanced techniques as well. In between sessions, Mulan will also offer optional exercises to complete, such as creating a poster using specific tools, and provide feedback on your work. To participate, you will need Photoshop (you can get a 7-day free trial).
Fashion Engineering: Performance Meets Sustainability
Instructor: Dr. Svetlana Boriskina
Monday July 27, 1:00-2:30pm EDT
Tuesday July 28, 1:00-2:30pm EDT
Wednesday July 29, 1:00-2:30pm EDT
Thursday July 30, 1:00-2:30pm EDT
A short version of the IAP 2020 course "Fashion Engineering" will cover the scientific, engineering and environmental aspects of the textile and fashion industry. It is suitable for all MechE community members and requires no prior expertise. Topics to be covered will include: • History of textile technology and innovations • Physical properties of fibers & textiles, intro to polymer science • ‘Smart’ textiles • Supply chain and manufacturing models • Life-cycle assessment and eco-design of textiles and wearables
An Intro to the Magical World of Metamaterials: From Impossible to Invisible
Instructor: Dr. Svetlana Boriskina
Wednesday August 5
1:00-2:30pm EDT
A brief introduction to the concept of metamaterials with fun references from the history of material and metamaterial discovery, description of the fundamental concepts, and instructive cross-disciplinary examples from optics and beyond.
Calendar of Activities
Additional Information
These summer offerings are intended for the benefit of the MIT Mechanical Engineering community only. MIT makes no representations or warranties regarding the content, its completeness, accuracy, or that it will be suitable for a particular purpose. All instructors are advised to follow MIT policies, including, without limitation, the following:
- The content is original or the instructor has obtained written authorization or a license to use a third party’s work.
- The subject matter is appropriate for this community and in keeping with MIT policies of conduct and community standards. See //policies.mit.edu/policy-topics/conduct-and-community-standards.
Instructors may be subject to disciplinary measures and their courses removed from available offerings for any violation of MIT policies.
Participants acknowledge that their participation is voluntary, and otherwise subject to these terms of use. Should you wish to register a complaint about any course offering, you are encouraged to send an email to me-summer-x-contact@mit.edu or seek resolution through MIT resources: See //hr.mit.edu/complaint/informal and //hr.mit.edu/complaint.
Past Activities
How to Make Chinese Dumplings
Instructor: Charlene Xia
Sunday June 28
9:00am-1:00pm
Have you ever tried making dumplings from scratch on Chinese New Year and end up calling your mom for help? Well, after this class, learn to impress your mom with your dumpling making skill. Starting with homemade wrapper to mixing the traditional filling (pork, veggie and vegan options!) to steam, boil or fry! Then pass down this traditional skill to the next generation!
Social Enterprise – Sustaining Peace through Capitalism
Instructor: Kimberly Jung SM '20
Thursday, June 25
3:00pm EDT
Short presentation on the founding of Rumi Spice, followed up audience-led Q&A with questions focused on finance, marketing, legal, social enterprise frameworks, and international considerations.