Impressive futures await

Fabulous First Years

Posted Sep 9, 2014 in “Students”

Class of 2018 Exemplifies Creativity, Entrepreneurial Spirit

One is so proficient with robotics that he was called upon to assemble a team to fix the Miami police bomb squad’s robot when the city had no funds for the work.

Another is a national table tennis champ of Vietnam.

One has medaled at a prestigious sporting event; one has participated in Revolutionary War reenactments—one can tick off 1,000 digits of Pi.

“It’s always interesting to hear how students are getting involved and making themselves known outside the classroom,” says Dean of Admissions Ed Connor ’92.

WPI students past and present have long been known for their ingenuity, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit – and the incoming class is no exception. Selected from a record 10,233 applicants, the roughly 1,050 incoming students – who began classes on August 28 – not only represent the top echelon of their high school classes, but have achieved a panoply of eclectic personal accomplishments.

Among them are a one-time assistant and interpreter for a U.S. General while on a speaking tour in Vietnam; the representative of India to the 2011 International Spelling Bee in Malaysia, and a helicopter pilot. Three have patents pending—for a blender drill bit, a biodegradable fishhook, and a light-beam delivery system.

Another has already secured a patent—he led a team of three from Gulliver Prep School in Miami in developing an “Eco-Cooker,” a self-sustainable cooking and heating system that uses methane gas derived from the anaerobic decomposition of bio-waste, Connor explained. The project went on to take first place in the energy and environment category in the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge’s Innovation Summit held at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston – a distinction that came with a $10,000 prize and notice from potential investors.

The incoming class is an avidly active group: one is a three-time national bronze medalist for synchronized skating; another is a member of the world’s No. 1 ranked roller hockey team; yet another wrestled in the 2013 Junior Olympic Games. Many more have climbed major mountains or biked across country, and some specialize in Greek, Irish, and tap dance, according to Connor.

“The Class of 2018 is an incredibly talented group of individuals who are eager to make a positive impact,” says Kristin Tichenor, WPI senior vice president.

More fun facts? The most common male name among them is Matthew; the most common female name is Rachel. Forty-one percent are from outside New England (including 12 percent from other countries). And, in a statistically impressive feat, the class is composed of eight sets of twins.

As for their academic interests at WPI? Mechanical engineering is by far the most popular major, Connor says, and biomedical engineering numbers are growing. He also noted a rebound in computer science majors, which had been dropping off—he credits that to the fact that the discipline affords numerous possibilities in any number of fields, such as robotics engineering and interactive media and game development. Plus, there are the major draws of the salary potential and job opportunities.

“Our CS department head will say there are many more jobs for computer science graduates that he has graduates right now,” says Connor.

All told, WPI received the most applications it has in years, following a consistent upward trend and a 54 percent increase over the past five years.

“This was a very competitive year for admission,” says Connor. “Those students who were admitted and enrolled are well-deserving to be here. We have high hopes for their success at WPI academically, but also in terms of their growing as young men and women and making that transition to the next stage of their lives.”

Original story link. 

–BY TARYN PLUMB

An inspiration and a testament to living well

At 82, Newbury’s ‘Biking Grammy’ helps local causes

By Taryn Plumb | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

AUGUST 28, 2014

Photos by Barry Chin/Globe Staff

NEWBURY — On a recent warm August morning, just as Margaret Jerome pulled her blue Jamis bicycle into her driveway, its odometer flipped to 30,000 miles.

It was the culmination of all the rises she has climbed, the hills she has coasted down, and the flat tires she has endured all over the North Shore and elsewhere for the past 14 years.

An inspiration and a testament to aging well, and living well, Jerome does not just tour local rail trails and roadways for her own benefit. For the past few years, she has ridden with a mission, raising thousands of dollars for local causes. As a result, she has become a well-known local figure, referred to more often than not by her nickname, the Biking Grammy.

“I figure I’m doing it anyway, I might as well do it for a good purpose,” said the mother of two and grandmother of four. “And I’ve really enjoyed it.”

On any given pledge ride, Jerome seeks $1 donations for every mile she pedals — tracked by her odometer. That meant raising $3,370 for the Newbury Council on Aging last year to help establish an emergency fund that helps seniors experiencing hardship pay for groceries and utilities.

In 2015, her 15th year as a serious cyclist, her goal is to raise $1,015 for the council’s Greater Newbury elder pet fund, which helps qualifying seniors keep their animals by giving them donations of food and other supplies.

Once she announces a cause, donations come from local businesses and friends, some of whom are from as far away as California, Arizona, and Florida.

“It’s word of mouth,” said the Rockport native, who retired in 2000 from the Newbury Elementary School cafeteria, where she worked for 32 years. “Everybody knows me.”

Everyone who donates to support her rides gets a handwritten thank-you note.

And she has received more than a few thank-you notes of her own as well.

“ ‘Powerful’ is how I describe your commitment to philanthropy and to fund-raising,” Newbury Town Administrator Tracy Blais wrote Jerome following her recent donation to the Council on Aging.

Although a longtime rider — naturally as a child, but in a more dedicated fashion starting in 1977 with her two children — she did not get an odometer until 2000 at age 68. She started to really whir through the miles after her husband, William, died following an illness in 2003.

“I really got into it because I wanted to best use up my time,” she said, seated at the dining room table of her ranch home, various pictures, thank-you letters, and newspaper articles spread out around her.

She set out on her first challenge on a whim in 2004. As she recalled, she was at a local coffee shop, it was New Year’s Eve, and she realized that she had biked exactly 2,000 miles that year.

“I figured ‘I’ll go home and do four more miles,’ ” she said, to finish out 2004 with 2,004.

After that, she started out doing several small fund-raisers, and in 2007 she completed her first big one, raising $2,100 for Anna Jaques Hospital’s continuing education program in memory of her husband, who had several stays there while fighting cancer.

“At 82 years young she has more positive energy and drive to help people, it is truly amazing,” said her daughter, Wendy Lockhart of West Newbury. “I am so proud of her and all that she does.”

Noting that she has no regular route — “I just ride” — Jerome said she will sometimes go to downtown Newburyport and run errands, or cruise along local rail trails. She averages 10 to 17 miles a day, tallying them up diligently in a small logbook, and has kept going despite a hip replacement and two knee surgeries, not to mention a few spills.

So what keeps her going?

In addition to her gratitude to everyone who donates and the support of her family, “I don’t like to just sit and do nothing,” she said. “I’ve always been very active.”

Which is a bit of an understatement.

While a student at Rockport High School, she was a cheerleader and also played basketball and volleyball — the latter of which she continued to participate in into her 40s and 50s. She snowshoes, cross-country skis, kayaks, dances, gardens, and does all her own yard work. She also has an indoor bike, a treadmill, and a skiing machine. She uses those only when she cannot go out on her winter bike, a Bianchi, she said.

Over the years, she has worked as a seamstress, braided nearly a dozen colorful rugs that cover the floors of her home, hunted, fished, dug clams, gone trap- and skeet-shooting, and made dozens of batches of jams and jellies from berries she picked herself. She continues to bake, but gives it all away because “you’ve got to watch the pounds,” she said.

“I guess there isn’t much I haven’t dabbled in,” she said. “I’m very self-motivated, as you can see. I just can’t sit still. I thoroughly enjoy life. I’ve crammed a lot into my 82 years.”

As for the cycling, she has no plans to slow down.

“I used to say ‘I wonder if when I’m 70, I’ll still be riding?’” she recalled. “Now I wonder ‘Will I still be riding when I’m 90?’ ”

Those who know her certainly think so — and then some.

“I am so proud of her tenacity and pursuit of using what she enjoys to help others,” said her son, Bill Jerome of Georgetown. “We hope that she is still riding her bike when she is 100.”

Original story link.

© 2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC

Worcester Business Journal: Increased interest in retail strip centers

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

The strip mall is back

TARYN PLUMB

For several years, Kimco Realty Corp., based in New Hyde Park, N.Y., had been looking to invest in strip malls in New England, and MetroWest in particular.

But there were scarce properties available and fierce competition for the ones that were, according to David Bujnicki, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications.

Finally, in April of this year, the global real estate investment trust closed on a portfolio of 24 properties in New England, which included the $9 million acquisition of Westmeadow Plaza in Westborough.

"It took some time," Bujnicki said. "It was very hard, because there have not been a lot of properties that have traded on a regular basis (in the Boston area). When this portfolio came around, we were thrilled for the opportunity to bid on it."

Over the past several months, a handful of notable strip malls — or "strip centers," as they're called in the industry — have traded hands.

But brokers and investors say there's pent-up demand for even more.

"There are tons of investors who want to buy retail properties in New England," said Nat Heald, senior vice president at CBRE/New England, a commercial real estate company that recently facilitated two local strip center sales. "The only thing that's holding us back from having even more volume is some scarcity of product available for sale."

He noted that the market now is stronger than at its peak, from 2005 to 2007. "There's more demand, more money," he said. And with low yield mostly everywhere else and low mortgage rates, "there's an excellent opportunity for sellers to get top dollar."

And, as some indicate, strip centers may be one of the healthiest retail segments emerging from the Great Recession. A 2014 retail forecast by national commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley found that "the biggest gains over the past year have come from community, neighborhood and strip centers," whose occupancy levels increased more than 27.8 million square feet nationwide through the third quarter of 2013. Yet, they were "hardest hit during the recession," according to the firm's research.

Strip mall acquisitions this year in Central Massachusetts have also included:

• A Hannaford-anchored shopping and professional center in Townsend by national real estate investment group The Federated Companies for $6.25 million;

• Worcester Crossing, anchored by Walmart and Sam's Club, by Dedham-based RK Centers for $49 million;

• Speedway Plaza in Westborough, also by RK Centers, for $18.73 million; and

• The Price Chopper on Cambridge Street in Worcester, by Federated, for $16 million.

Heald was involved with brokering the latter two purchases. The advantages of both are that they're strongly anchored, well established, and well located, he said. That's particularly true of the Speedway Plaza on Route 9, "one of the area's strongest retail corridors," he said.

Ultimately, the "supermarket-anchored strip center is the gold standard for a strip center," said Heald, noting the regular week-in, week-out traffic that smaller tenants in the same vicinity can feed off.

Wanted: Tenants that will stay awhile

And when evaluating properties, tenants are key.

Buyers "want the tenants to be there," Heald said. "The acquisition is subject to the existing leases. They're buying a future cash flow; that's the whole point of the investment."

Bujnicki, of Kimco agreed. "We look for very strong credit-worthy tenants that are recognizable, everyday names," he said.

Overall, in evaluating properties, Kimco focuses on core markets — the top 30 or so metropolitan statistical areas in the country — identifies properties with good growth potential, studies demographics such as population density and household income, and, of course, takes into account a property's selling price.

The publicly-traded company, according to its website, has "interests" in 840 shopping centers, comprising 121 million square feet of leasable space, across 41 states, plus Puerto Rico, Canada, and South America.

But, Bujnicki said of New England, "We really like this particular market. It really is a very strong market. Any way we can continue to concentrate on it, expand within that market, works for us."

Less competition for Westborough site

RK Centers' two recent local acquisitions were similarly tactical. For example, Speedway Plaza in Westborough, which is anchored by a Stop & Shop and a Burlington Coat Factory, was a less competitive property for buyers because of the nearby Wegman's at Northborough Crossing, said Kenneth Fries, RK Centers' director of leasing and acquisitions.

"Fewer buyers means less competition and a higher cap rate," he said, referring to the rate of return on a real estate investment based on the expected income the property will generate. After improving the appearance and visibility of the shopping center, he said, the company will evaluate that impact on sales, and "hopefully add some more tenants." "There are a number of them looking in the market, and we're hoping to put them in there," he said.

The purchase of Worcester Crossing on Route 146, meanwhile, was simply a "good addition" to the company's portfolio, a "long-term hold" with few vacancies and a "good place to stick money," he said.

RK also owns a Price Chopper-anchored property on Greenwood Street in Worcester, as well as sites in Bellingham, Hudson, Marlborough, and the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury.

Still, Fries noted, "New England has a high barrier to entry. You just don't have shopping centers like you do in Florida. Because you can't put them where you want, it makes the ones that are up more valuable."

Original story link. 

A meeting of experts and proteges alike in a growing field

World Congress

Posted on Sep 2, 2014 in “Faculty”

Billiar, WPI provide a presence at recent World Congress of Biomechanics

• While studying mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at Cornell University, Professor Kris Billiar came across a course on biomechanics, and was fascinated by the concept.

“I loved to tinker with machines and such,” he says, “but I thought the body was the coolest machine, because it could actually change in response to what you do.”

Biomechanics, which employs the principles of mechanics to study biological problems, is a wide-ranging and growing field, spanning all the way from the molecular level to full organisms – humans, animals, and plants alike.

Every four years, the leaders in the field and upcoming protégés get together to discuss new developments, research, challenges, and opportunities as part of the World Congress of Biomechanics, held this year in July at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center.

Billiar, a professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, served as a liaison for ASME, helping organize numerous sessions.

The seventh annual, six-day event brought together engineers, biologists, mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, chemists, and scientists with various clinical specialties to study everything from basic biology to the latest technological advancements in more than 400 different sessions.

Because of its location and the growing interest in the field, it attracted 4,000-plus attendees from at least 50 countries, Billiar says, calling it “by far the largest biomechanics conference ever.”

In the past, the World Congress has been held in California and cities around the world, typically drawing around 2,000 participants. The next is scheduled to be held in 2018 in Dublin.

Because of its proximity to Worcester, many WPI professors, students, and even local middle school teachers had the opportunity to participate, he says.

“WPI was there in force, all the way from undergraduates and teachers to graduate students and professors, who were organizers, session chairs, presenters, and volunteers,” says Billiar. “We took full advantage of it.

“I’m most proud that many students from around the country participating in our National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program and local middle school teachers participating in our NSF-funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program were able to attend the conference,” he adds. “It’s quite an experience to attend an international conference of this scale and see all of the amazing research being presented!”

RANGE OF TOPICS

At any given time during the event, he says, there were 20 parallel sessions taking place on a range of topics, with tracks of talks organized by scale from the whole body, to tissues and cells, and even at the molecular level. Speakers discussed topics ranging from the biomechanics of injuries, to pediatric cardiology, to ligaments and tendons, gait, plaque vulnerability, motor control, reproductive health, dental mechanics, tissue engineering, cell forces, and how swimmers generate and use flow.

Meanwhile, larger plenary sessions featured more than a dozen respected names in the field, including Dennis Discher from the University of Pennsylvania, Farshid Guilak from Duke University, and Melody Swartz from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Billiar, himself, led sessions on research he’s doing at WPI on mechanobiology, which he says is an emerging field at the intersection of biomechanics and cell biology.

In his tissue mechanics and mechanobiology lab, which he established in 2002, WPI students and faculty members investigate the influence of the local mechanical environment – such as stiffness, deformation, and various forces – on development, growth and healing of soft connective tissue.

“It’s understanding how a cell, or even molecules, work by pulling and pushing them, putting them in soft and stiff environments, and analyzing the cell’s behavior computationally,” he explains.

As he predicts, there’s going to be a “new phase” of personalized medical care that will also include mechanical medicines that can modify cells’ behavior and sensitivity to existing treatments. “There’s a growing understanding that the mechanical environment modifies how cells actually behave,” he says. “If we can understand how and why cells respond to their mechanical surroundings, we can start controlling for that, and create much more effective treatments.”

- BY TARYN PLUMB

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Amid Market Basket fiasco, family businesses discuss keys to success

AUGUST 17, 2014

Market Basket power struggle shows what could happen when families, businesses are linked

TARYN PLUMB

As we all know, family can be one of the greatest and most enriching facets of our lives — but also, in some cases, one of the biggest stresses.

And, as we're seeing with the ongoing standoff with the family-owned Market Basket grocery store chain, the stakes are even greater and the results of disagreements can be even more calamitous when family and business are intertwined.

"Whenever you have more than one family member involved in a business, there's a fairly high opportunity of conflict," said Ted Clark, executive director of The Center for Family Business at Northeastern University. "It's either going to be a nuclear bomb, or a nuclear power plant. There's the same level of energy, but one is harnessed and one is destructive."

So what, exactly, does it take to maintain a family-run business that's both successful and satisfying for all parties involved?

Keep to success

Clark cites three key factors: engaging in ongoing strategic planning, holding regular family meetings dedicated solely to issues outside the business, and establishing an independent board of advisers.

The latter can provide "unbiased opinions," a "degree of common sense," and a "voice of reason" from a group with no stake in the business," said Clark, whose organization provides education, networking opportunities and support to family businesses. "That's critical."

Of course, keeping open lines of communication is also vital, he said.

As is simply cultivating healthy relationships among the core members of the business, according to Wayne Rivers, president of the Raleigh, N.C.-based Family Business Institute.

"Most businesses can survive the threats of competition, economic cycles, changes in technology or other factors, but the deterioration of interpersonal relationships will devastate the business and tear apart the family," he writes in an article on the website for the institute, which helps families and "closely held" businesses manage issues around succession, communication and management.

Other essential elements for prosperity, Rivers says, are agreeing on common values and expectations, establishing shared visions, understanding the decision-making process, maintaining accountability and identifying roles clearly.

The latter can be achieved by implementing an employment policy, Clark noted.

"Treat family members as employees," he said, "so very clear expectations are set, and there are very clear understandings."

Still, he acknowledged, all of that is easier in principle than in practice.

"When you're looking at it from a very unemotional perspective, you think 'This is pretty simple, isn't it?'" he said. "It is extraordinarily difficult to keep these things under control."

Even so, many family ventures have been able to flourish. One such example is the Coghlins, whose fourth-generation, nearly 130-year-old enterprise has become somewhat of an institution in Worcester.

Brothers Edwin "Ted" Coghlin Jr., and James Coghlin took over the business from their fathers, then made the tactical decision to split it.

Ted's daughter, Susan Coghlin Mailman, now serves as president of Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc. and Coghlin Network Services, Inc., while James and his sons, Chris and James Jr., run Coghlin Cos., Inc., the parent of Columbia Tech and Cogmedix.

"The separation of the businesses was a brilliant idea by my dad and my uncle," Mailman said. "We were able to split the businesses and still maintain a good relationship, which is probably no easy feat."

And as she put it, if a point of contention arises, they handle it "direct, face to face," and "we don't let others in the middle of those conversations."

"We do have a way to deal with it," she said. "It doesn't mean we avoid all conflict."

She suggested that other businesses could learn from her family's example by dividing control and decision-making.

"That's a tactic that can help," she said.

Getting beyond the spats

"We fight and scream," said Celeste Maykel-Zack, who runs Evo Dining in Worcester with her brother, Albert Maykel III. They also have roles at the Living Earth, which their parents, Al and Maggy, have run for more than 40 years. But Maykel-Zack added, "At the end of the day, we always know we only want what is best for each other and all have the same common goal."

Their formula for success has been conserving close family ties, while sharing the same vision. "We each want the businesses to be successful while maintaining the core family unit," she said.

But whatever happens, she said, family absolutely comes first.

"Nothing else can take the place of it," she said. "Businesses will come and go, but family is what made you who you are and brought you to what you have become together. You would never be who you are without each other."

Families that might not have such a tight bond, meanwhile, could consider bringing in non-family executives, Clark suggested, which provides a separation between ownership and management for the relatives invested in the business.

An outsider brings "new perspective," he said, and "opens up a whole new talent tool, as opposed to just the gene pool."

Perhaps due to the bellicose nature of the Market Basket situation, a number of local family businesses, including Coghlin Cos., who were contacted for this article but declined to respond.

As is the case with Market Basket, one of the most prevalent issues with family businesses is "goal conflict," Clark said. Invested and dedicated family members might have vastly different ideas for the company. For example, the second generation might want to ramp up growth, while the first may look to maintain the status quo so they can have a comfortable base on which to retire, he said.

Begin with trust, forgiveness

Then there are the inevitable battles for control.

As Rivers noted, the very same factors that secure any healthy relationship ultimately translate into the business world. Trust and forgiveness are paramount, as are maintaining a mutual respect and a willingness to compromise.

"Constantly being on the short end of a win-lose relationship will only encourage problems between family members," Rivers says on the Family Business Institute website.

Despite all this, though, as Clark pointed out, the Market Basket debacle is a bit of an anomaly.

"I firmly believe that family businesses, when they run well, are unbeatable," he said.

That's even true with Market Basket, he said. When the conflict was managed, "it was an incredibly powerful mechanism" that generated great dividends for the family.
"More often than not, public corporations could learn more from a family business," he said. "People have loyalty to people. That's what the family business can bring."

Original story link. 

Daily Herd: Got Game?

Got Game?
Posted Aug. 12, 2014 in “Students”

Mass DiGI taps students’ game development skills

One moment you’re swatting flies, the next you’re spinning records – and at any other time you could be flying a plane, making a sock puppet sing, or simply washing a window.

Successfully achieve these various tasks, and you win virtual capsule toys (like the sort that come tumbling out of coin-op machines).

Such is the simple but addictive premise of Many Mini Things, a motion-controlled game created by students from WPI and other local colleges as part of the annual MassDiGI Summer Innovation Program.

“It’s funny, zany humor,” says lead producer Pat Roughan ’15. “It turns mundane stuff into a fun game.”

The prestigious program, which challenges its student participants to create a fully functional game in 11 weeks, was held at Becker College from May 20 to Aug. 7, culminating with an open house at the school’s Weller Academic Center.

Twenty-two students from 11 schools – including Roughan, Owen West ’15, and Sienna McDowell ’17 – were chosen from a pool of 150 applicants. As they broke into groups and worked on creating four games, they were housed at Becker and given a stipend for their work.

“It was our literal job for 11 weeks straight,” said Roughan, a double major in game design and professional writing. Unlike during the school year, “we had no other distractions.”

Several game ideas were brainstormed during orientation, she explained, then four were ultimately chosen and participants were split into groups based on their strengths. Drafting, designing, building, and numerous rounds of testing followed.

The four games that resulted were Many Mini Things, Midnight Terrors (players ward off nightmarish creatures in a little boy’s bedroom), Cat Tsunami (players guide a surfing cat through whimsical landscapes, earning coins and thwarting enemies), and Limbs.

McDowell, a Philadelphia native, worked on the latter, which challenges players to match up zombie limbs on a grid and inevitably create a new body out of them.

As she noted, the program helped her get a grasp of her own potential. “I’ve learned that, even if you’re convinced you won’t be able to do something, just go at it,” says the interactive media and game development major. “If you try, you’ll get at least halfway there, which might just be enough.”

Meanwhile, Many Mini Things makes use of a Leap Motion controller, a relatively new technology that senses finger movements without the need for touch. Players grab, hit, and move objects on the screen by performing the motion in mid-air.

As Roughan explained, the development process could be tough at times, given the need to create digital objects that would prompt natural reactions (such as a fly that needs swatting). With a multi-player function, the game is “bright, colorful, and cartoony,” she said, and fits into the “party game” genre.

“It’s been a great experience,” said Roughan, who is from Wilton, Conn. “It’s not what I expected at all, which is a good thing.”

Most of all, it helped her gain an understanding of how to begin a career in the indie gaming field, her end goal.

West, a game design major and art minor who served as tech artist for Many Mini Things, says he would also ultimately like to end up in the indie market, although he notes that it’s difficult to break into, because you need to be self-managing, work quickly, and have a “really good idea.” Cultural phenomenona such as Candy Crush Saga and Flappy Bird are “1 in 100,000,” he says.

So, he notes, he’ll likely start by trying to get into a AAA studio (the top tier) as a QA game tester, a position he says should help him gain a wider understanding of the overall business and members of the company.

“It was eye-opening,” West, of Northampton, Mass., says of the Summer Innovation Program. “I can pretty easily build upon the skills I learned this summer.”

- BY TARYN PLUMB

Original story link.