This semester, I am taking a course entitled 15.655 - Law, Technology, and Policy class (known henceforth as the law class). The course provides an introduction to the rudimentary concepts of the American legal framework and key legal philosophies. It also examines the interface between law, technology, and public policy; especially how law can be used as a competing paradigm besides science and economics to promote social justice, wealth distribution, economic sustainability, and environmental sensibility. This class is turning out slightly better than I had initially expected. A lot of the things that were discussed in class were not only pretty thought-provoking but encourage me to think in a different way that I normally won't.

Like last week, we were introduced on the concept of precautionary principle. The essence of precautionary principle is the idea that if there is reasonable suspicion of harm under an uncertain and irreversible context, then inaction may pose a risk of harm. To advert harm, a precautionary action or a less risky alternative must then be taken. In deciding how to apply precautionary principle, one may use risk assessment or cost-benefit analysis, which factors in both opportunity cost of not acting, and the option value of waiting for further information before acting (wikipedia). So far we have used the precautionary principle on the assessment of technology, policy, and law, all which may have some indication of possible detrimental impact or even harm on society; however, I can't help but to think if precautionary principle can also be applied to war?

3/19/2006 8:02:37 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [1]

School

My thesis is a vehicle for me to make a strong statement of my research results; but before I can present my research, I first have to ask a good question that corresponds to a problem that is worth solving. I am interested in doing a thesis on a subject that straddles between innovation, entrepreneurship, and market dynamics in the private sector with industrial policies and nation competitiveness in the public sector. I am currently in the phase of my thesis proposal that demands deep contemplation and supplementary research. The bottom line is that I need to frame a proper question for my thesis.

As it stands now, I plan to synthesize a framework with guidance from my thesis advisor, Prof. Utterback, to determine how much (or less) government policy intervention is needed to foster innovations in the high-technology industry. I will probably develop a case study on the evolution of the semiconductor industry supplement my thesis research. I know the topic is still very vague and broad, I hope to narrow it down in the next two weeks. While my thesis proposal is not progressing at the pace that I had planned, I do think that this stage of my thesis is perhaps the most important as it defines my thesis.

3/18/2006 11:21:04 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

School

It is always fun to hang out with my fellow classmates at the Thirsty Ear, an on-campus dive at MIT. Last night was no exception. I, along with a bunch of SDM'05ers and '06ers, went down to the Thirsty and partied like rock stars. I can't believe it but the place was packed last night - I mean really packed with people standing. Since it was karaoke night, I was not ashamed of letting my vocal chords run wild on the stage. My favorite moment of the night was when Nick and Sergio pulled me to the stage last night to sing with them. I was so enthralled by the singing that I snatched the mic from Sergio and did my best rendition of Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer. I like nights like this. I was actually going to go home after class to catch up on some sleep after putting a few all-nighters the past few nights but I was glad that I caved in to peer pressure and spent some spirited time with my classmates.

3/17/2006 9:58:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [3]

Social

After reading Ian's blog entry on the lack of publication or podcasting of Harvard University courses (surprise, surprise), I became motivated to find more lectures that are delivered through podcasting or video streaming. To my surprise, there are plenty of great lectures (at least those that I am interested in) are already available on the Internet.

First, there is MIT, which publishes some of its course materials through the MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative. Most OCW courses feature lecture notes, assignments, and exams. Some courses are limited to having just assignments and exams available for viewing. I think the OCW courses that have the most value for the self-learning types are the ones that offer video lectures. Here are the links to these video-enabled lectures:

• 5.74 - Introductory Quantum Mechanics II
• 6.002 - Circuits and Electronics, this is the course that all undergradate in electrical engineering take
• 6.641 - Electromagnetic Fields, Forces, and Motion, these are not lectures but video demos. I actually don't find them very insightful
• 7.014 - Introductory Biology
• 8.01 - Physics I (Newtonian Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, and Kinetic Gas Theory)
• 8.02 - Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism)
• 8.03 - Physics III (Vibrations and Waves)
• 18.03 - Differential Equations, I actually found the material quite useful for a review on differential equations a while back
• 18.06 - Linear Alegbra
• 18.085 - Mathematical Methods for Engineers I, another excellent math resource.
• 15.084 - Nonlinear Programming
• 15.35 - How to develop "Breakthrough" Products and Services, the video lectures for this course is limited to 3 but I am always a fan of Prof. von Hippel
• BE.010 - Introduction to Bioengineering, no video lectures here but interviews of faculty from the Biological Engineering Division (I think BE is now officially called Course 20)
• CMS.930 - Media, Education, and the Marketplace, finally a social science course

In the next few days, I plan to search for video lectures beyond OCW. Let me know if you know of any sites where university lectures can be watched or heard.

3/12/2006 12:27:26 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [1]

School

The U.S. Department of State released the 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practice yesterday. This annual report publishes the human rights conditions in all countries around the world except U.S.A. China has often been criticized in the report for its violation of human rights. So, not to be outdone, China publishes a similar report called the Human Rights Record of the U.S. usually a day later to report on the U.S. record of human rights.

3/10/2006 12:19:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Politics

One of the management classes that I am taking at Sloan is Disruptive Technology, taught by my thesis advisor Prof. James Utterback. This class talks about how innovative technologies and ideas can change the dynamics of market. Can new companies create opportunities by exploiting a new idea? How about incumbents? Wang and Digital, the big names of yesteryears, were once the dominant player in their respective markets but where are they now? For the incumbent companies, does the adoption new technologies, designs, or process ensure growth or even survival? These are some of the questions that are tackled in the class. I have to say that Prof. Utterback always has something very insightful to say while still offering students a fair share of thought-provoking questions for them to ponder.

Last Tuesday, as Ilana had already mentioned on her blog, Prof. Utterback delivered a lecture that provided some great insights to an industry that was created by innovative entrepreneurs eventually died because it got displaced by another technology. You would think that Prof. Utterback would draw an example from the high-technology industry given the highly technical oriented environment like MIT. On the contrary, he talked about the ice packing industry of the late 1800's - something that I initially thought was uninteresting. However, by the end of the lecture, I have to say that was perhaps one of the best lectures I have heard at MIT. During the lecture, Prof. Utterback highlighted a lot of observations that we had covered in the framework that we learned earlier in the term about analyzing the market. While it is not as good as listening to the lecture in person, you can still read about the ice industry here.

There's another consequence of this lecture. After dragging my feet on composing a thesis proposal to Prof. Utterback for the last few weeks, I finally had an epiphany on the missing hypothesis for my thesis after last Tuesday's lecture. I hope to think more about it and complete a draft my thesis proposal by this weekend.

3/9/2006 8:09:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

School

This woman who is sitting next to me is driving me nuts with her typing. Her typing is really loud and distracting. I have no problems with people using their computer in class but keep it down.

3/9/2006 7:22:50 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [3]

Rants

Long time no blog, I was simply buried the last couple of weeks with school. My material science electives - semiconductor processing and optoelectronics - are sucking up so much of my time. But I am not ranting about these classes. No... I actually enjoy taking these classes and have learned a great deal from the materials we covered in class. Funny, I find that the first month of a semester at MIT is often the most grueling period. After 4 semesters at MIT, I have observed that almost every professor tries to cramp everything in the first 5 weeks of the semester - it's like taking a drink from a fire hose. But relief is in sight, the second half of the semester is typically associated with group projects, guest lecturers, and term papers or design reviews. The pace is more bearable and the workload should lightened up a little. That's good. So 2 more weeks of crazy schedule before it goes downhill.

3/9/2006 12:33:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

School

Here's an interesting question that was asked during dinner with Mike and Isa last night: Where do trees get their body mass from?

If you answered water and carbon dioxide, you are correct. From Wikipedia, here is a generalized equation representing photosynthesis (where starch is the primary product of the reaction):

6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O + light energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6 O₂

Just think about it, the amount of wood that you see in a tree is the result of many years of pulling carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground. So one way of looking at this the plant is made of air and water.

Here's another stimulating thought, fossil fuels like coal and oil come from plants that died millions of years ago. Furthermore, the energy that we humans use to do work comes from consumed food. Not surprisingly, all these energy cycles can be traced back one source: plants. Ultimately, plants harness sunlight to produce complex carbon-based products to store energy. If you really think about it, almost all energy that we know comes from sunligt.

2/18/2006 4:22:40 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [8]

Thoughts

What I really like about last night's presentation on "How to make a great pitch to investors" is that it offer 2 perspectives of business pitch, that of a CEO and that of a Venture Capitalist (VC). Between the 2 presentations, I find Rana Gupta's presentation more illuminating. Here are the main points from his presentation:

• Started off by disagreeing with Cary. He jokingly said that VCs are not the smartest people in the room. If they are so smart, why they didn't see the Internet Bubble coming?
• Pitch is like a resume, it's a hook, but it has a story to tell.
• Each point of greatness has to be countered with risk reduction. Don't use the clique "a great opportunity."
• Convey how you have reduced substantial risk in the deal.
• Make investors excited and comfortable.
• Grab the investors by describing the drama of pain. For example, "the market can't live without this."
• State your assumptions on your slide - this often overlooked. Assumptions cast off the investors doubts and questions by recognizing what is most variable.
• Don't splash your presentation slide with corporate icons especially when you don't have any substantive contact with those companies yet. Sorry, middle managers and engineers don't count. Only when you have contacted a decision maker with substantial follow-up can you even mention that you have contacted that company in your pitch. If you do have credible contacts, show them on a table (no names please, just title) and when, including follow-ups.
• A deal has three legs (like a stool), comprising of the team, the product, and the market. Always build your pitch around these 3 components.
• Don't say we have a patented technology when you haven't even filed for one or even possess a provisional. Saying patent-pending isn't great either. Say this instead: "We have 3 provisionals, 1 filed, and 1 issued."
• State clearly the deal (usually at the end), including the terms and timing. Keep it simple and clear.
• If you have advisors in your team, it is important to tell them how accessible you are to them. Please if you consult your advisor only once a quarter, that doesn't count. They have to be accessible to your enterprise.
• Finally, Rana in defense of all VCs over the world, causally debunked the fact that VCs are not evil people. He emphasized that VCs have no collateral on you. They are not giving you a loan, they are investing. If they lose it they lose it all. Of course, they want to know about risk. Everything is examined under careful scrutiny. Therefore, every attribute that you pitch has to have a risk-reducing component.

Excellent presentation... I really like it.

2/17/2006 1:04:54 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Entrepreneurship

The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge kicked off the 2006 $125k Ignite Clean Energy Business Competition featuring 2 excellent speakers: Cary Bullock, CEO of GreenFuel Technologies and Rana Gupta, VC at Navigator Technology Ventures. Both presenters gave excellent presentations on pitching a business to investors with Cary giving the perspective of an ent> Here are the main points of Cary's presentation:

• Don't run out of money when you are in a startup, you have less leverage asking investors for money when you have exhausted your money. The investors know that you are desperate.
• Sometimes investors are more receptive if they know that you don't come with an agenda of asking for money. Investors are especially keen if you come to solicit feedback from them about your idea. Believe it or not, many investors are more than happy to help you.
• Investors don't have a long attention span. Keep it terse and go straight to the point. That's why a good pitch is key.
• Of course, being investors, they are interested in making money. So tell them how you make money with your idea.
• Practice your presentation. If you have more than 1 person presenting, choreograph it. Have people available to answer the different aspects of the business - from products to finance.
• Be prepared with the elevator speech. Oh yeah, elevator speech isn't just done in the elevator. Telephone follow-up is a situation where elevator is done.
• Get a great lawyer don't skim!!! All lawyers sound articulating but look for someone with substance.
• Don't overvalue your company.
• Partnership is critical.
• Everyone in the company has to have the same story. In other words, everyone in the company should say the same thing consistently to the customers and investors.

2/17/2006 12:43:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Entrepreneurship

I have improved my squash skills since I started playing squash with John. A few nights ago, I threw my back and hurt my shoulders while playing squash at the z-center. I think I over stretched my back while trying to get the ball at the far corner of the court. I am no longer a young stallion anymore and my back just couldn't take that kind of (mild) abuse anymore. Another reason why turning 35 sucks. I was flexible enough not to stretch before any major exercise or run in the first 35 years; do remind me to stretch the next time.

Also, the way I am hitting in squash the last 2 weeks is bad. How bad? Bad enough to hurt my shoulder. For some reason, I have developing a tendency to hit the squash ball like I would with a tennis ball. I think I am explaining the physics wrong (please comment if this is incorrect) but the reason why a squash stroke is not the same as a tennis stroke is because tennis ball is heavier and requires more power than squash ball. Furthermore, because of the presence of a tennis net, you do need give the tennis ball a good spin by rubbing the ball with the racquet upon contact. Thus, a tennis stroke draws power from the shoulder and elbow, and requires a slightly different follow through than that of squash to give it a good spin. In squash, the ball is smaller, lighter, and more elastic, you just need to hit it hard enough to get a good bounce off the wall. So you can imagine hitting a squash ball with tennis stroke is not good because it is fundamentally wrong. I am over exerting my shoulder and spinning the ball for no good reason. In squash it is all about the wrist...

2/16/2006 9:57:14 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [3]

Sports

No time no blog... I can't believe that we are at the end of the second week at MIT. How time flies? Thank you to those emails and comments asking me not to stop blogging. I thank you for the encouragement. I am actually quite surprised who read my blog these days. Like I said, I am not going to stop blogging entirely, just not as often. And no, I am not stressed out or depressed - at least, I am not as stressed as I was last quarter. However, I do lament the fact that I am 35 and still unmarried. I am really sick and tired of the life in Boston. It is the same thing over and over again. There is enough negativity on my blog already. I will be more upbeat from now on.

2/16/2006 9:52:32 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [1]

Personal