CHARLES HSU ’14: Hsu does crew, viola, and course 7 research
Charles Hsu ’14 is a sophomore in Course 7 (Biology) who is on the MIT Varsity Heavyweight Crew Team. He enjoys creating things and aspires to become a surgeon. Charles was on the 2011 MIT IGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine competition) team that placed fourth out of over 150 international teams. He is also working on the Solarclave project, which won the 2011 MIT IDEAS and Global Challenge competitions. The Solarclave is a low-cost solar-powered autoclave designed to provide third-world rural clinics with a portable and reliable method of sterilization. He is currently working in the Weiss Lab on genetically engineering autonomously patterning tissues, and has also worked on microfluidics and high-speed photography of cell-printing. Charles balances his scientific interests with his passion for the viola. Not only does he play his viola for a chamber music group, but pursues the craft of violin making in his spare time.
Gymnastics dominates this season as a club team
It’s an exciting year to be on the Women’s Gymnastics team at MIT. Even though they were cut from varsity status to club status in 2009, the team has powered through the past two years and won at last year’s nationals.
Women’s Crew team victorious
With strong racing across the board, the women’s openweight crew team had its best finish in history at the George Washington Invitational. Racing on the Potomac River in Washington D.C., the Engineers took on Duquesne University, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Georgetown University with four boats in three races over the weekend. The varsity eight and A varsity four were victorious in all three races, while the second and third varsity eights had tight campaigns with all three teams.
SPORTS SHORT
English soccer club Liverpool F.C. plans to start their North American preseason tour at Fenway Park on July 25, when they will play prominent Italian club A.S. Roma. Historically, Liverpool has been one of the top teams in the English Premier League as well as a consistent contender in the European Champions league. In 2010, Fenway Sports Management, the owners of the Red Sox, purchased the English club. Coincidently, another Boston group acquired the ownership rights to A.S. Roma recently as well. In an effort to broaden Liverpool’s fanbase in America and pique interest in the sport, the club has decided to play a few exhibition matches in the United States. According to Liverpool’s owner, John W. Henry, the match will be part of Fenway’s 100th Year Anniversary celebration.
Baseball beats Springfield
Starter Torre M. Swanson ’12 pitched a masterful, complete-game shutout as the Engineers dispatched the Springfield College Pride, 10-0, in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at MIT. Given plenty of baserunners due to the erratic pitching of Springfield starter Greg Marakovits, the Engineers seized every opportunity in building an early lead for Swanson. Leading 2-0 headed into the bottom of the third inning, the Engineers combined two hits with three walks and a hit batsman to produce four runs, advancing runners on both wild pitches thrown during the inning. The six-run deficit put the game out of reach for Springfield as Swanson retired 14 straight batters to start the game. Swanson’s perfect effort was finally broken up when Pride catcher Matt Milano doubled in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs in the top of the seventh and a 10-0 lead, Swanson nearly lost the shut-out when Milano hit a hard shot down the right field line with designated hitter Karl Quist on first base. However, the ball was ruled out of play and Milano was held to a double. Swanson shut the door on Springfield and preserved the shut out with his third strikeout of the day.
BRENDAN T. DEVENEY, ‘13: Swimming, startups, and electronic music
There is much more to junior Brendan T. Deveney than meets the eye. On the surface, he is merely a swimming phenomenon. Just a few weeks ago he helped lead the MIT Men’s Swimming Team to a fourth-place finish at the National Championships, placing 5th in the 200-yard individual medley. In an exclusive interview with the Tech, Deveny revealed that his talents in the pool are only the tip of the iceberg, and that he is an incredibly well-rounded individual.
Men’s lacrosse wins by one in double overtime
In a back-and-forth affair, MIT Men’s Lacrosse came out on top with a 9-8 double overtime victory over UMass Boston on Tuesday afternoon. Freshman James C. Slonaker netted the game-winner 57 seconds into the second extra session to complete the hat-trick for the Engineers.
Tough winds on water at Beanpot
On Saturday, March 24, the MIT Openweight Women’s Crew team opened the spring season at the 6th annual Beanpot Regatta. MIT competed against crews from Harvard-Radcliffe, Northeastern, Boston College and Boston University in the regatta that pits the Charles River’s D-I teams against each other. All the boats faced tough conditions on choppy water and a strong tail wind.
Men’s and women’s lacrosse teams take Tuesday
On Tuesday afternoon, MIT’s Women’s Lacrosse scored a huge victory over Framingham State, beating the Rams 20-12 and bringing MIT’s record to 1-4. MIT’s confidence brought on an early 7-2 run, which the Rams fought to bring down to 7-6 just short of the end of the first half. The first half included remarkable scoring by Laura M. Wacker ’13 who amassed three goals, and Katie M. Kauffman ’12, who had two. With the help of Molly E. McShane ’13’s two free position goals, the Engineers ended the half at 9-7.
MIT Taekwondo victorious
On Sunday, Feb. 19, the MIT Sport Taekwondo team moved closer to the league championship title by taking first at the third Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) tournament hosted by Princeton University. At the end of the day, MIT stood in first place with 409 points, leading Division I rival Cornell, who finished at 347 points. With a team of 44 athletes, MIT made sure to show tremendous team spirit and composure throughout the day.
COLLEEN T. ROCK ’14: Rock dominates on and off the ice at MIT
A blood clot caused irreparable damage to Colleen’s spinal cord when she was just 11 years old, causing her to become paraplegic at a young age. She has, nevertheless, excelled tremendously in computer science, mathematics, and robotics and is a cheerful Course 6 sophomore in Alpha Chi Omega. Her secret, though: She’s been on the U.S. Women’s National Sled Hockey Team for over eight years. An extraordinary athlete and student, Colleen sat down with the The Tech explain more about her life at MIT and as a national athlete.
Historic season for basketball
Last weekend, the MIT Men’s Basketball team’s best season in history came to an end with a 56-71 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Final Four.
Wentworth falls to MIT baseball on Wednesday
Behind the strength of a six-run second inning and a four-run burst in the eighth, the MIT Baseball team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 13-4, on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Engineers improved to 4-2 on the year while the Leopards’ ledger lowered to 7-6.
Women’s Softball falls in season opener, 5-1
On Tuesday afternoon, MIT Softball lost to Simmons College, 5-1, in their season opener. MIT took an early 1-0 lead over Simmons College before the Sharks struck for two runs in the fourth inning and tacked on three more in the fifth to down the Engineers, 5-1. The game was the season opener for Tech while Simmons improves to 4-7 with the win.