Draper Laboratory tour

Draper Laboratory tour

Time:
Tuesday, October 13th, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location:
555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)

Draper Laboratory logoDraper LaboratoryAs an independent, not-for-profit engineering research and development organization, Draper Laboratory serves the interests of customers in fields such as national security, space, biomedicine, and energy. The lab leverages core capabilities in guidance and navigation, information and decision systems, high reliability systems, sensors and control, and integrated micro systems to deliver field-ready, innovative solutions. Known until 1970 as the Instrumentation Laboratory, the facility began as a teaching laboratory at MIT, and is famous for developing the guidance systems and software for the Apollo missions to the Moon. Attendees will learn about Draper’s current work in areas including:

  • GENIE: Draper’s Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment (GENIE) enables NASA to test new planetary landing instruments aboard suborbital rockets, rather than more expensive space launches. The lab is applying similar technology to help smart drones operate safely and reliably while performing tasks such as delivering packages, inspecting pipelines, and taking photos over cities.
  • Bioelectronics: This laboratory is used to develop and test electronic systems that measure and process physiological signals to provide neurological and muscular stimulation. These capabilities enable the development of new therapies to treat conditions beyond traditional drug treatments. The work done in this lab is often performed in collaboration with major hospitals and research facilities in the Boston area.
  • Human Centered Design & Engineering: This lab conceives and develops approaches to aid in the performance of both cognitive and physical tasks through the application of sensors, effectors, and computational technologies. The team applies these technologies to develop a new class of information presentation devices, including balance and directional guidance here on Earth.

A bus will meet tour participants in the Hyatt Regency Cambridge lobby promptly at 9:30 am for the short drive to Draper Laboratory.

 

Meeting schedule

Friday, Oct. 9

11:00 am to 5:00 pm

NASW Board meeting
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Aquarium room (closed meeting)

12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Check-in
Main lobby, Hyatt Regency Cambridge

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

$ How to make awesome science video: A hands-on workshop
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Thomas Paine room
$ Nonfiction book proposals: A hands-on workshop
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Charles View Ballroom

6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Check-in
MIT Walker Memorial, 142 Memorial Drive (Buses depart from Hyatt)
F Knight Science Journalism welcome reception
MIT Walker Memorial, 142 Memorial Drive (Buses depart from Hyatt)

9:00 pm to 10:30 pm

W Diversity Mixer
Hyatt Cambridge Regency, Paul Revere Room
Saturday, Oct. 10

7:30 am to 8:00 am

W Meet and greet for newcomers/students
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Crispus Attucks room

7:30 am to 8:45 am

W Continental Breakfast
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

7:30 am to 5:30 pm

Check-in
Main lobby, Hyatt Regency Cambridge

8:00 am to 8:45 am

NASW membership meeting
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

9:00 am to 10:15 am

W Ethics in today's science writing landscape: A community conversation
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

10:15 am to 10:45 am

W Break
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom Prefunction

10:45 am to 12:00 pm

W DIY publishing — Does it yield?
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Charles View Ballroom (top floor of hotel)
W What every editor needs to know
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, William Dawes room

12:00 pm to 1:30 pm

W Lunch
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

1:30 pm to 2:45 pm

W Embracing the B word: Branding and social media
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Charles View Ballroom (top floor of hotel)
W Funds for all: How to win an NASW Idea Grant
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, William Dawes room
W Other stories: Exploring alternative narratives
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Paul Revere room
W Using art to communicate science
Hyatt Cambridge Regency, Thomas Paine room

2:45 pm to 3:15 pm

W Break
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom Prefunction

3:15 pm to 4:30 pm

W Data journalism for every scale and skill level
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom AB
W Four writers sat in a bar:  Humor and voice in science writing
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Paul Revere room
W PIOs: How to pitch a story (without being annoying)
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom D
W Power Pitch 2015
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom C

4:30 pm to 4:45 pm

W Break
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom Prefunction

4:45 pm to 6:00 pm

W Fact-checking: How to get everything perfectly right always
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom D
W Sex, death, and privacy: Reporting in the first person
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, William Dawes room
W Sexism, science-writing and solutions: Charting the future
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Paul Revere room
W The fair contract project
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Thomas Paine room

6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

F Awards reception
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom
Sunday, Oct. 11

7:00 am to 8:15 am

F Continental breakfast
MIT Kresge Lobby (Buses depart from Hyatt)

7:30 am to 11:00 am

Check-in
MIT Kresge Lobby

8:15 am to 9:30 am

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

9:30 am to 10:30 am

F The tiny cell with a big gene "app store"
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

10:30 am to 11:00 am

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

11:00 am to 12:00 pm

F Next in space: Spray-on microthrusters for miniature satellites
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

F Lunch With a Luminary I
Assigned Rooms at MIT Student Center and the Broad Institute; volunteer guides will direct. Pick up lunch first at Kresge Lobby
F MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center tour
MIT Building NW17, Room 218, 175 Albany St., Cambridge, MA (walking tour, 5 minute walk, departs from Kresge Lobby, pick up lunch first at Kresge)

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

F Can computer science help physicists resolve the firewall paradox?
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

F ScienceWriters party
The Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Boston (Buses depart from Hyatt at 6:40, 6:50, 7:00, 7:20, and 7:40 pm; one bus departs from Fairfield Inn at 6:40 pm)
Monday, Oct. 12

7:15 am to 8:30 am

F Continental breakfast
MIT Kresge Lobby (Buses depart from Hyatt)

8:30 am to 9:30 am

F Applying science to poverty
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

9:30 am to 10:30 am

9:30 am to 12:00 pm

F Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences tour
29 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA; board bus at Kresge Lobby at 9:30 am for the 10-minute ride to the Harvard engineering campus.

10:30 am to 11:00 am

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

10:30 am to 2:00 pm

F Boston University Photonics Center tour
8 St. Mary's St., Boston, MA (board bus at Kresge Lobby at 10:30 am; 10-minute ride to Boston University)

11:00 am to 12:00 pm

F Air pollution and hurricanes: A connection?
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

F Lunch With a Luminary II
Assigned Rooms at MIT Student Center, Kresge, and MIT Building 4; volunteer guides will direct. Pick up lunch first at Kresge Lobby
F The ingredients for innovation in Kendall Square
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center. Organized by KSJ; participants register as part of Lunch With a Luminary; pick up lunch at Kresge Lobby.

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

2:00 pm to 4:30 pm

F Boston University National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories tour
Board bus at Kresge Lobby at 2:00 pm for the 15-minute ride to BU's medical campus.

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

F LabCentral tour
700 Main St., Cambridge (walking tour, 10-minute walk, departs from Kresge Lobby)

3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

F Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT tour
320 Charles Street, Cambridge (bus departs from Kresge Lobby)

5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

8:00 pm to 10:00 pm

$ Story Collider
Oberon Theater, 2 Arrow Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Attendees are responsible for their own travel to Harvard Square. Admission at the door by will-call based on purchase at registration.
Tuesday, Oct. 13

7:15 am to 5:00 pm

9:00 am to 11:30 am

F Biogen tour
225 Binney St., Cambridge (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)
F Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tour
450 Brookline Ave., Boston (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)
F Harvard Museums of Science & Culture tour
26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)
F Johnson & Johnson Innovation tour
255 Main St., Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)

9:30 am to 12:30 pm

F Draper Laboratory tour
555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)

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