The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/114745
π W power DOE Ambassador Rallies Energy Awareness Fuel-efficient vehicles displayed on campus BRYAN MANNING '14 is committed to energy: the right kind of energy. The junior from Quincy, Mass., spent last summer as an intern in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., where he used the Capital Bikeshare program to commute every day. This year, Manning is one of eight DOE Ambassadors, a national program that charges college students with raising awareness of energy concerns and encouraging their peers to pursue careers at the Department. To that end, he has brought speakers to campus, given presentations, and become involved with WPI's sustainability efforts. Manning's "huge interest in pure electric vehicles" emerged during his first year at WPI, when he took a Great Problems Seminar, Power the World. "Ever since," he says, "I have found anything that isn't gasoline-driven pretty interesting." This fall, Manning organized a Fuel Efficient Car Show at WPI, joining forces with the Student Green Team, the WPI chapter of Students for a Just and Stable Future, and the Massachusetts Clean Cities Coalition to showcase four vehicles using alternative fuel. The students brought WPI's own EV1—one of the first electric vehicles, donated by GM for MQP work—out of storage for the first time in years and set it up by the fountain at the heart of campus. The WPI community also had a chance to view an electric-powered Chevy Volt, a Honda that runs on compressed natural gas, and a BMW Isetta, a tiny car manufactured from 1956 to1962. "The event was set up so that absolutely everyone on campus had to see them at some point during their day," Manning says. "People were taking pictures all day long." To really understand transportation, I think, one must first try to understand the people. It is truly a combination of the humanities and engineering!" 20 Winter 2013 communication Dine and Sign sits down for chat with his dad, he wants the world to listen in. His weekly video podcast, Dine and Sign, features lively conversations in ASL (American Sign Language) on topics ranging from long hair to Occupy Wall Street. Alex is a CODA—child of deaf adult. An IMGD graduate of WPI, he is exploring ways to use new media and technology to break down barriers for people with disabilities. Dine and Sign broaches the generation gap with humor, but does not shy away from difficult questions about what it's like being deaf in the 21st century. WHEN FILMMAKER ALEX LAFERRIERE '09 Growing up, did you think of your family as different? My father is deaf from birth, my mother is hard of hearing, my brother and sister and I are all hearing. When people ask me how I learned to sign, I usually respond, "How did you learn English?" Growing up just happened—I never really thought about us as different. I wasn't even aware of the term CODA until I was in my 20s. I've been called a "born again CODA," because I've only recently discovered that I have this second heritage of deaf culture. What was the inspiration for Dine and Sign? When I would drop by to watch Sunday football with my Dad, we'd have these great conversations about my latest philosophical quandary, or his different perspective on things. Typical father-son interactions, yes—but with a twist. I saw an opportunity to put a spotlight on deaf culture and to promote ASL though the "hands" of a vivid personality—my dad! Dine and Sign has connected me with a growing audience and led to my involvement in the Ƃrst "talkie" deaf Ƃlm, by Rustic Lantern Films, a subsidiary of Deaf Empowerment Awareness Foundation (DEAF Inc.). I play a CODA in Lake Windfall, which is scheduled to premiere in March 2013. What opportunities—and problems—do new media and technologies create for deaf people? The deaf rely heavily on social media. It gives them a national platform to connect and to be politically active. YouTube is a terriƂc channel, because it has a built-in capability for closed captioning. You just upload a text Ƃle and the site does the rest. Other forms of media aren't so readily captioned. This is an ongoing struggle for the deaf community. On the horizon are innovations like Google Goggles, which could project translations of spoken word into text or ASL. Imagine a 3D hand translator afƂxed to the TV, or gloves that use motion capture to translate signing into speech. I'm in the developmental stages of a tech start-up to work on technology that will change the way the deaf consume their media. Star Trek isn't science Ƃction anymore. Watch Dine and Sign at YouTube.com/Podsmiths, or connect with Alex (@LaffRaff) on Twitter or Facebook.