Summer Research in Boston

Yu Tianyu（Major in Creative Design and Intelligent Engineering）

I was in Boston in the summer of 2019. Boston is not as busy as other big cities in the United States. It features red brick buildings, low alleys, and a few skyscrapers. The liveliest creature at the tranquil harbor is the seagulls in the sky. When I just arrived here, I felt strange about the peculiar environment because I had just ended a busy semester. In the next two months, I lived, did summer research and strolled around in the city. Gradually, I became fond of Boston.

MIT is located in the Town of Cambridge near the Charles River. Its open campus is naturally integrated into the calm atmosphere of the city. MIT is a typical school of science and engineering. This is relevant to its history. MIT was founded in the mid-19th century and later became an important force in the industrial development of the United States. Just like the city, the science and engineering flavor of MIT also seems peculiar.

In the school souvenir shop, you can see mathematical formulas and physical theorems impressively printed on clothes and daily necessities. Seeing a "Nerd" spelled with names of chemical elements, I secretly laughed at the nerd style of the school, but when I saw the mathematical joke on the T-shirt, I burst into laughter. This is a place where science and technology is worshiped. Their motto "Mind and Hand" sounds like a sentence to primary school students, but at a second thought, "Mind and Hand" may be the simplest description of science and technology. On the walls of the corridor were projected research achievements born on the campus every day or placed photography and art works related to science and technology. People here seemed to have great expectations for scientific research. For them, scientists and engineers can change the world.

In the process of doing summer research in MIT Media Laboratory, I also felt the dedication of teachers and students to scientific research. But what impressed me more was the process of working with Hila, a student of MIT. This research project I participated in was mainly for exploring a new concept of interaction, which required design work to define the concept and engineering work to verify the concept. Hila majored in industrial design, so she was responsible for the design-related work, while I was mainly responsible for the engineering part. We made up for each other and performed our own duties.

The cooperation between a "designer" and an "engineer" was full of collision. In our discussions, I could feel Hila's rich imagination. She always surprised me with novel ideas. I could not help but feel sorry for my poor imagination. But it took more than a novel idea to complete the project. The idea must be feasible from the perspective of engineering. I had to explain to Hila which scheme could work and which could not. The truth was often unacceptable for a designer. So, we always had hours of heated arguments.

Still, looking back on the process, I feel "painful but happy". Here are the reasons: I could always hear something new in the discussion; I felt the huge differences between a designer and an engineer and forced myself to accept these differences in communication; and after each acceptance, I would feel a sense of joy and marvel at the huge power behind different ways of thinking. So, while preparing a parting gift for Hila, I wrote on the card, "To be a designer is so cool!"

In addition to the "differences" encountered in scientific research, there were also many fresh things in daily life. I heard before that the United States is a multicultural country. I found out it was true after I came here. People wearing headphones were shaking their body on the streets; tramps were spouting at the door of a store; people sitting on roadside benches were looking at runners coming and going; and people who picnicked on a sunny day were watching sailing boats on the river. People here were different from each other, as were the houses in the neighborhood. Hila, a girl from Israel, was curious about China's national conditions and in turn told me a lot about Israel. We shared our own experiences and marveled at the differences in the world.

My life in Boston was very simple. I lived a very regular life compared with my previous semesters or holidays: I quickly had a breakfast after I got up, walked along the same route to the lab, lined up in front of a lunch car, and watched two episodes of American dramas before going to bed. Two months passed quickly. I would like to thank those who met and helped me here, including the project leader Hila, all the project team members, the laboratory teachers and students, my flat mates, and schoolmates from Tsinghua University. Anyway, this is an unforgettable summer, and I will always appreciate it.