TuftsDaily11.15.13

Page 1

Partly Cloudy 56/38

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

friday, November 15, 2013

VOLUME LXVI, NUMBER 47

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Engineering professor receives grant by

Daniel Bottino

Daily Editorial Board

Kristine Paulus via Flickr Creative Commons

Founding member of Higher Ground Farm John Stoddard spoke yesterday about rooftop farms in the Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room.

Founding member discusses Boston’s first rooftop farm by

Abigail Feldman

Daily Editorial Board

Founder of Higher Ground Farm John Stoddard (N ’09) spoke yesterday in the Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room about the environmental benefits of rooftop farming in the Environmental Studies Program’s weekly Lunch and Learn series. Director of the Environmental Studies Program Colin Orians introduced Stoddard, who received his master’s degree from the Friedman School of

Nutrition Science and Policy’s Agriculture, Food and the Environment program. The region’s first farm, Stoddard’s organization recently completed its first year of planting. According to Stoddard, Higher Ground Farm is located at the Boston Design Center in the city’s Seaport District. The four-acre building, which once served as an army supply base, was ideal for a rooftop farm because of its strong, fortress-like structure. Stoddard explained that he founded the farm with one of

his undergraduate classmates, Courtney Hennessey, who has experience in farming. In addition, he works with hospitals to encourage them to purchase local foods. “It really resonated with me, that kind of work,” he said. “I always loved food, cooking, gardening, et cetera. The two of them [food and advocacy] together really made sense.” Stoddard later described the components of a rooftop farm. see ROOFTOP, page 2

Tom Vandervelde, a John A. and Dorothy M. Adams faculty development professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently received a $1.5 million Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will allow Vandervelde to build a multi-chamber molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system, used to produce semiconductors. According to Scott Sahagian, executive associate dean of the School of Engineering, the grant is an indication of the university’s commitment to research and reflects Tufts’ rising academic status and reputation. “I think that when a university achieves these kinds of levels of equipment grants, it really helps position and attract other — not only faculty — but students,” Sahagian said. “We are no longer seen as being a wannabe, but as a defined institution that has a considerable amount of clout.” Vandervelde’s work, he explained, involves semiconductors — a material with a degree of electrical conductivity between that of a metal and an insulator — formed through crystal growth. MBE, which takes place in an ultra-high vacuum, is required to create very pure semiconductor materials. “In terms of the crystal growth, we need incredible levels of

purity in terms of the materials, so the only way to achieve that purity is to grow these materials in a really, really, really good vacuum,” Vandervelde said. A variety of ordinary appliances, such as cell phones and wireless routers, require chips formed through MBE. Vandervelde plans to use the new MBE system to conduct research. “There is a lot of stuff that can be made better,” he said. “Solar cells can be higher efficiency than they are now. Infrared cameras can work at wavelengths that presently we can’t use them at.” According to Vandervelde, the new MBE system will be particularly suited to making semiconductors for “photonic-based materials,” which interact with light. These materials exist in infrared cameras, LEDs and solar cells among other appliances. According to the NSF website, the MRI grant, which can offer up to $4 million, functions to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments. Vandervalde affirmed that the new MBE machine will be open to other potential users outside of the Tufts community, such as startup company workers unable to afford their own equipment. He believes that affiliates of other Boston-area schools will also want to take advantage of the device. Eric Miller, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical see GRANT, page 2

Tufts Equestrian team encourages commitment despite changes to membership payment structure by

Amanda Baker

Contributing Writer

For many student-athletes, hearing classmates cheer them on from the sidelines is a major plus. The men and women who travel up to an hour away to represent the Jumbos in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) tournaments do not get such fan support, but they don’t let it get them down. They have a long-standing tradition of supporting each other and a championship record to rival any other team at Tufts. The Tufts Equestrian (TUEQ) team, a Tier I club sport team, is on the rise, almost doubling in size this year with twelve freshmen joining this fall, according to junior co-captain Michelle Zackin. The team consists of a show team and a more general team, with mixed levels of experience in each group. With an open leadership structure and a bonding trip to the Loj, the new members were immediately made to feel a part of the team, according to co-captain Daryl Cooley. “The freshmen have been a key part of our team in our competition, but there are also some freshmen who come to just watch the horse shows,” Cooley, a senior, said. “They’re far away, and I think that really speaks to the social aspect of the team, that they’re willing to come all the way to support us.” The competition structure is complicated

to those newly interested in following the sport. According to Zackin, new members are placed into one of eight different classes depending on prior experience, and each class has a point rider, meaning only one member from the team in each class gains points in the competition that count towards final group scoring. Individual riders do accumulate scoring over time, however, and can move up to the next tier. Cooley pointed out that the lowest class counts just as much in competition as the highest. The unique structure of horse shows are allows for a wide range of skill levels on the team, with representatives from each level competing. Not every single member of the team gets to compete, according to Katie Schaaf (LA ’00), head coach of the team. As a result, riders of all levels have a chance to participate in TUEQ even if they do not get to show. “No experience is required, and there is a whole division for people who don’t have any experience, and their points count just as much,” Cooley said. Each team member makes a significant time commitment, in addition to a financial commitment, to TUEQ. Even though the team received $11,000 from the club sports budget this year, an increase from previous years, the see TUEQ, page 2

Inside this issue

Courtesy Riley Aronson

The Tufts Equestrian Team doubled its number of members this year.

Today’s sections

3Ps production of ‘Eurydice’ premiered last night.

The Daily interviewed Andrew Wessen, guitarist of tonight’s Cage Rage headliner Grouplove.

see ARTS, page 3

see ARTS, page 3

News | Features Arts & Living Comics

1 3 5

Classifieds Sports

7 Back


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.