Adventure by Kirsten L. '15

Now that it’s break, I finally have time to sit down and actually write about everything that’s happened to me this semester.

As I mentioned from my last blog, I took 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes) this past semester- and it was quite the adventure! I probably spent more time in lab during the last month than I did in my own room… which is a little depressing. But in the end it was all worth it. I got to work with 22 other amazing people over the course of the semester, and we pulled this amazing makeover on our product in 20 short days.

We went from the ugly mechanical monstrosity on the left to the more modern and sleek gate on the right.

But enough about green team’s product- on with the show!

One of the most amazing parts of 2.009 is the final presentation. Over the course of a short semester, 8 teams of 24 students came up with ideas for new products and developed alpha prototypes of their ideas. All 8 teams have the opportunity to pitch their products in this incredible final show (You can watch the recorded presentation online here). It’s an awesome MIT experience. Kresge auditorium is PACKED with students, parents, MIT professors, and industry representatives. There’s an amazing band that sings great remixes of pop songs. For example, instead of “Shake It Off,” the band sung “Make It All” a song about how we students spent long hours in lab to finish our products :) It’s a great celebration of engineering.

Let me walk you through the events of the night…
(Photo credits to my fellow blogger and mini-me Michael C ’16)

As I mentioned before, Kresge was filled with tons of friendly face. 

Pink started off the night with Origin, a location band that will help skiiers locate each other on the mountain.
They even had a hill which people skiied in on!

Blue showed off Terrainer, a resistance trainer that can be strapped onto your bike so you can train outside.

Silver introduced Contour, a prosthetic socket that will allow the user to reshape the socket for a better fit throughout the day.

Purple team demonstrated UpBeat, a modular attachment for a drumset that will help users become rockstars.

My team, Green Team, proudly presented Wali, a hands-free baby gate. 
Red team showed off Otto, an automatically breaking truck that prevents long boarders from losing their boards. 
Yellow team demonstated Sunflower, an incubation bed that can be used in developing countries to prevent newborn deaths by keeping newborns warm.
Orange team wrapped things up with Koach, a punching bag that provides feedback about a boxer’s workout session.

Finally, the presentations ended with a bang!

And with that shower of confetti, 2.009 was over. It was a fantastic experience- something I wouldn’t have traded for anything.

It’s funny because it feels like just yesterday I was sitting in Killian Court watching 2.009 teams fire contraptions to play Angry Birds in Killian Court. In fact, seeing the students in 2.009 compete in Killian was what made me decide to declare Mechanical Engineering. I also remember blogging about how exciting it was to watch the final presentations. Things have finally come full circle- I can’t believe I’m graduating soon!