So, you've heard of this place in Cambridge, Massachusetts called "MIT"?
Massachusetts Intitute of Technology.
It's where all the really smart kids go to school. The list of notable alumni is pretty impressive: Apollo 11 astronaucht Buzz Aldrin, current Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, renowned architect I.M. Pei, former UN Secretary General Kofi Anon, instant photo pioneer Edwin Land and current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – to name just a few that were easy to dig up with the Google.
Now add to the roster of notables who have matriculated into MIT not one… not two… but THREE members of the Fusor.net community.
BIG Congratulations to Will Jack, Jake Hecla and Jeanette Brown – who learned yesterday, March 14 (aka "Pi Day" – 3.14… get it?) that they have been accepted to the MIT class of 2017.
Now, nobody's saying that these kids got into MIT because they hang out at the Fusor.net website. But we might be saying that some really sharp kids really do hang out on this site, and it can't hurt that they are conversant in such a rarefified subject as nuclear fusion when they show up for the admission interviews.
It is very gratifying to think that there will be a cohort of students
who show up at such a prestigious institution with practical experience
in fusion energy research. If ever fusion is going to deliver a practical source us useable energy, it just might be because people like these young fusioneers show up at an institution like MIT with the mindset that "this CAN be done…"
So, congratulations are clearly in order – not only for our three new
MIT students, but for everybody who contributes to this site.
Nice work, everybody. This is a really great result.
–PS