Counting pedestrians + indoor Covid transmission risk + "Choctaw Animals"

MIT Weekly April 17, 2021 Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.  Want a daily dose of MIT in your inbox? [Subscribe to the MIT Daily](. Counting Pedestrians # Cambridge’s [Kendall Square]( is the basis for Andres Sevtsuk’s new model of pedestrian movement. His work could add a new tool to urban planning, by helping planners understand the flow of foot traffic in cities around the world. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines A new method to assess Covid-19 transmission risks in indoor settings MIT researchers developed a publicly available model based on physics and data from past spreading events. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Got your Covid shots? You might have to prove it. Vaccine credentials are in the works in some places, but the technical and ethical complexities create big hurdles for developers and lawmakers. [Full story via MIT Technology Review→]( [MIT Heat Island]( With “Choctaw Animals” for piano, Charles Shadle honors his Native American heritage MIT composer hopes his newest work builds connections — between music and his Choctaw heritage, between classical and traditional music, and between generations in the Choctaw Nation. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( An artistic approach to designing medical devices Jessica Xu, a senior studying mechanical engineering, draws upon her skills as an artist to develop medical devices and assistive technologies. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Fast-spinning black holes narrow the search for dark matter particles Certain ultralight bosons would be expected to put the brakes on black holes, but new results show no such slowdown. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT # [Tweet via @kthomas901→]( In the Media Making Montana connections // McGonigal’s Chronicles Professor Dava Newman discusses growing up in Big Sky Country, her excitement about becoming director of the MIT Media Lab, and the importance of role models. “All little folks have a great dream, and I think it’s all of our responsibility then to help empower them, help their dreams come true,” Newman says. [Full story via McGonigal's Chronicles→]( The frequencies of a vibrating spider web have been made into music // New Scientist MIT researchers have created an audio-visual virtual reality that can provide a sense of what it’s like to be a spider by converting a spider web’s vibrations to sounds that humans can hear. [Full story via New Scientist→]( Venice Architecture Biennale opens a year later on May 22 // Associated Press Hashim Sarkis, dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, discusses the Venice Biennale for architecture, which was postponed a year due to Covid-19. Sarkis, who is serving as the curator, says he used the extra time to expand the show to seven sections, “to deepen the discussion about architecture and its vital role in today’s society.” [Full story via Associated Press→]( Why ending pandemic lockdowns created new shortages of ketchup and everything else // CNN “During the pandemic many industries reduced their orders and suppliers reduced their orders and capacity even further (because they anticipated that future orders will also be reduced),” says Professor Yossi Sheffi of how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted supply chains. “When the economy came back, there was no capacity to snap right back.” [Full story via CNN→]( Light Over Hate # At MIT’s Kresge Oval, 3,795 battery-operated candles were lit up to recognize the 3,795 reported — and countless unreported — anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate [incidents over the last year](. “I hope that this installation speaks to people and helps them realize that even one candle out there is too many,” says Yu Jing Chen, a junior in urban studies and planning who serves as vice president of the Undergraduate Association. [Full story via MIT News→]( Your Shot # I’m planning to get vaccinated because ... I want to have a huge housewarming party with my friends, attend large weddings, and to travel to international academic conferences! —Caris Moses, PhD student within the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Watch This # Senior Nisha Devasia, whose love of video games dates to 8th grade, has designed creative learning video games with the [Personal Robots Group]( at the Media Lab. Her dream is to build a game that inspires others, much as she was inspired. [Watch the video→]( Vaccines After Covid # MIT Medical provides new guidance on vaccination for those who’ve recovered from Covid-19 in the past year. In brief: Anyone who has already gotten Covid-19 should still plan to get vaccinated. That’s because we’ve confirmed that people who have recovered from Covid-19 [can become reinfected](. While current evidence suggests reinfection doesn’t usually occur during the first couple of months after recovery from Covid-19, the risk of reinfection increases with time, as natural immunity decreases. New viral variants may increase the risk of reinfection even more. [Full story via MIT Medical→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [nice moments on campus](. ⛵ Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News Office [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] Massachusetts Institute of Technology This email was sent to {EMAIL} because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. [subscribe]( [update preferences]( [unsubscribe]( [view in browser]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA