5n, n=1 by Matt McGann '00
I’m in Phoenix for the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF). I got in yesterday, and last night I decided to take in the Arizona Diamondbacks-Washington Nationals baseball game at Bank One Ballpark.
The game was exciting, with Washington’s Tony Armas Jr and Arizona’s Shawn Estes having a nice pitchers duel in the early innings and a come-from-behind win by the home team thanks to a Troy Glaus three-run home run. Yet I couldn’t help but think of Fenway Park and the Red Sox. Fenway, I think, is like MIT: when you’re there, you can feel the energy running through the place, like everyone is excited to be there. There’s nowhere else like it.
A Red Sox game will be one of the highlights of my MIT 5 Year Reunion, coming up in just a few weeks (can you believe it?). The weekend of MIT Commencement (graduation), usually the first week in June, is also the weekend of all the 5n Year Reunions (where n is a counting number). More featured events from my forthcoming reunion include a Class of 2000 Boston Harbor Cruise, a reunion dinner at Baker House (my old dorm), a “Young Alumni Networking Brunch,” and, perhaps the best of them all, Tech Night at the Pops:
For 108 years now, Tech Night at the Pops has been one of the most beloved traditions at the Institute. Generations of MIT alumni, guests, graduating seniors, graduating graduate students and their families come together for an exclusive concert and a rousing rendition of the alma mater, “In Praise of MIT.”
Once again Keith Lockhart will lead the Boston Pops with his trademark charm and good humor. This year’s event will also feature some homegrown talent. MIT Media Lab professor of music Tod Machover has composed a new concerto for a “hyperpiano” and orchestra. Machover, who has a history of breaking traditional artistic and cultural boundaries, also heads up the lab’s Opera of the Future, which uses computers to augment musical expression and creativity. Additionally, his concerto, performed by the Pops, will feature a visual component projected onto a large screen above the orchestra.
This will actually be my first time at Tech Night at the Pops, and I must say I’m looking forward to it. Symphony Hall will be full of just MIT folks; we’ll have Keith Lockhart all to ourselves! (My mom thinks Keith Lockhart is “dreamy”) And of course the sure-to-be-off-key sing along of the MIT alma mater; feel free to join in:
Arise All Ye of MIT
Arise all ye of MIT, in loyal fellowship. The future beckons unto ye and life is full and good. Arise and raise your glass on high; tonight shall ever be A mem'ry that will never die, for ye of MIT. Thy sons and daughters, oh MIT, return from far and wide And gather here once more to be renourished by thy side, And as we raise our glasses on high to pledge our love for thee We join all those of days gone by in praise of MIT.