150 fascinating, fun, important, interesting, lifesaving, life-altering, bizarre and bold ways that MIT has made a difference [including MIT Sea Grant’s AUV, Sea Squirt, #111]

“Some were invented at MIT. Others were simply inspired by time spent at MIT. But all of them (well, maybe not #150) have had a profound impact, in one way or another, on society, culture, politics, economics, transportation, health, science, and, oh yes, technology. In the 150 years since the Commonwealth approved a charter by William Barton Rogers to incorporate the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Society of Natural HistoryŒ (the Civil War delayed its first classes until 1865), MIT has established itself as the place where great ideas are born. . .Number 111: Underwater robotsAnyone who¡s seen TitanicŒ knows how undersea robots helped revolutionize exploration. Submersibles such as Alvin and Jason have helped discover everything from sunken treasure to species. None of this would have been possible were it not for the pioneering effort of the MIT Sea Grant Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Laboratory. In 1988 engineer Jim Bellingham created a 3-foot-long robot named Sea Squirt and sent it exploring the depths of the Charles River.”