Lock The Quill

Feb 20 2025 19 ep. 43 mins 7

Lock The Quill Podcast artwork

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

Technology Education Science

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

Feb 20 2025 46 mins

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 b

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

Nov 01 2024 51 mins

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 stud

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

May 13 2024 52 mins

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 Englis

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

Jan 04 2024 48 mins

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

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

Nov 24 2023 29 mins

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.

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

Nov 15 2023 3 mins

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: @lockthequill Comments or questions: [email protected] The Lab

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

Apr 27 2023 39 mins

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 Depart

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

Apr 17 2023 34 mins

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 int

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

Mar 30 2023 40 mins

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 the

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

Mar 18 2023 46 mins

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