Part I – MIT Library ◦ https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.

1/145774
Part II – MIT Library ◦ https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/152921

THE HEALTH
OF NATIONS
PART III   
Shoumen Palit Austin Datta
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School (sdatta8@mgh.harvard.edu)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (shoumen@mit.edu)
MIT Library https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/146158
https://unsplash.com/@sergio76garcia
THE HEALTH OF
CIVILIZATIONS

DEPEND ON
WOMEN
https://unsplash.com/@sergio76garcia
THE HEALTH Hypatia of

OF NATIONS Alexandria

DEPEND ON
WOMEN https://prints.sciencesource.com/featured/hypatia-of-alexandria-mathematician-science-source.html
https://engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/3087 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ir%C3%A8ne_Joliot-Curie#/media/File:Irene_and_Marie_Curie_1925.jpg
https://worldrowing.com/2023/10/23/nobel-prize-for-susan-francias-mother

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/health/coronavirus-mrna-kariko.html
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/m https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/m
edicine/2023/kariko/interview/ edicine/2023/summary/

Dr. Katalin Karikó receiving call from

Sweden at her home on Oct 2, 2023

@kkariko @zfrancia
Photograph taken and shared by Dr Ardem Patapoutian - https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2021/patapoutian/facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_honors_received_by_Katalin_Karik%C3%B3
Terry Jo Bichell became a PhD student
in her 50’s to train as a neuroscientist.
Her goal: investigate treatments for
Angelman syndrome, a developmental
disorder that affects her son. It wasn’t
her first career change. She was a
documentary film-maker when she
witnessed the tragic end to a difficult
birth. That inspired her to become a
midwife. After her PhD, Bichell also
founded COMBINEDBrain, a non-profit
that connects patient advocates with
scientists.
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02723-9
 HEDY LAMARR aka H. K. Markey In response to the German
Nazi jamming the signals of

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr
British torpedoes during World
https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/4790640jpg

War II, Hedy Lamarr worked

with George Antheil to find a
solution. They invented a
frequency-hopping system.
This system allowed ships and
torpedoes to communicate
through multiple radio
frequencies while reducing the
risk of detection, jamming and
interference. Hedy Lamarr (aka
H. K. Markey) received U.S.
patent 2,292,387 for invention.
Lamarr’s frequency-hopping
system was key to the
development of GPS, Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth wireless systems.
These are enabling us to read
this PDF on our smartphones
or computers, right now!
https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/30822

Hedy Lamarr's house in 1946

at 2707 Benedict Canyon
Road, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.
This house was previously
owned by Humphrey Bogart &
Lauren Bacall (the first house
they lived in after they got
married). It was built in 1938.
Ann-Margret and Roger Smith
bought it in 1968. Ann-Margret
currently lives in this house.

Left to Right – Glenn T. Seaborg,

Ann-Margret Smith, Shoumen Datta
(Northridge, CA ◦ November 10, 1996)
Gerty and her husband, Carl Cori,
described (in 1929) the Cori cycle;
an important part of our energy
metabolism. Lactic acid formed in
muscles is converted to glycogen
in the liver. Glycogen, in turn, is
converted into glucose, which is
absorbed by muscle cells. The
pair continued to investigate how
glycogen is broken down into
glucose and, in 1938-1939, were
able to identify the enzyme that
initiates the decomposition and
created glycogen in a test tube.
Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning English chemist who advanced
the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which is essential for structural biology.
Among her most influential discoveries are the confirmation of the structure of penicillin and mapping the structure of
vitamin B12, for which in 1964 she became the third woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Hodgkin also elucidated
the structure of insulin in 1969 after 35 years of work.
https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/rosalyn-yalow
www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/rita-levi-montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini began her
scientific career in danger, as a
Jew in Fascist Italy. She ended it in
triumph, as the neuroembryologist
who co-discovered nerve growth
factor, a very prominent figure in
Italian politics, and an active
researcher and mentor until her
death (age 103).
Gertrude "Trudy“ Belle Elion
(Jan 23, 1918 – Feb 21, 1999)
Shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir
James Black for their use of innovative methods
of rational drug design for the development of
new drugs. Her work led to the creation of the
anti-retroviral drug AZT, used against AIDS. She
developed the first immunosuppressive
drug, azathioprine, used to fight rejection
in organ transplants, and the antiviral
drug, acyclovir, for treatment of herpes infection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_B._Elion
 BARBARA LISKOV
Completed her PhD at Stanford (under the supervision of John McCarthy), becoming the first woman to
get a computer science PhD in the United States, or have a programming principle that’s named after her.
In 1974, she changed the software world (MIT Institute Professor Liskov invented Abstract Data Types).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0f5iQ3e0V4
MIT Institute Professor Emerita Barbara Liskov, is a computer
scientist whose fundamental contributions have shaped modern
programming. Liskov laid the foundation for modern object-
oriented programming (50 years ago) with a paper introducing
the concept of “abstract data types.” She is celebrated for
“utterly transforming the way software is written, leaving a

https://pmg.csail.mit.edu/~liskov/ mark on nearly every single program and app we use today.”
Barbara Liskov and Stephen Zilles. 1974. Programming with abstract data types. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGPLAN symposium on very high
level languages. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 50–59. https://doi.org/10.1145/800233.807045
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/800233.807045 https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/liskov_1108679.cfm
https://medium.com/a-computer-of-ones-own/barbara-liskov-inventor-of-abstract-data-types-9f8908fdcf86
L E A D E R S H I P
THE
HEALTH
OF
NATIONS depend on women
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/nobel-prize-awarded-women
 Maud Menten Lise Meitner

Women
who
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_Menten changed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Meitner

the
world
(but ignored [?] by The Nobel Committee)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin Rosalind Franklin Lydia Villa-Komaroff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Villa-Komaroff

WILL WOMEN REMEDY IRREMEDIABLE INJUSTICES ?
AMARTYA SEN “THE IDEA OF JUSTICE” HTTPS://DUTRAECONOMICUS.WORDPRESS.COM/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/02/AMARTYA-SEN-THE-IDEA-OF-JUSTICE-2009.PDF

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1998/sen/facts
 At
Justice Jackson’s
historic
confirmation,
the pride in
Leila Jackson’s
eyes as she looks
at her
mother.
 THE EDUCATION OF A BOY MAY CHANGE THE LIFE OF A MAN. THE
EDUCATION OF A GIRL MAY CHANGE THE DESTINY OF A NATION.

https://hls.harvard.edu/today/ann-pfohl-kirby-53-on-the-family-tradition-of-taking-on-a-challenge/
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
“You’re not just building your future; you’re inspiring theirs.”

https://oge.mit.edu/oge_news/celebrating-national-student-parent-month-diana/
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/whitepaper/lifting-global-growth-by-investing-in-women.pdf
“This years’ prize gives highest honour and
dignity to the hundreds of millions of
women all around the world who struggle
every day to make a living and bring hope
for a better life for their children.” M. Yunus

Banker to the Poorest of the Poor

Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 for their work to “create
economic and social development from below”.
Grameen Bank's objective since its establishment in
1983 has been to grant poor people small loans, aka
micro-credit. Dr Yunus is the bank's founder.
YET ONLY ONE-THIRD
OF THE STEM WORKFORCE
ARE FEMALE ?
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2024.pdf
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2024.pdf
Women at Work – Past, Present & Future ?
“In contrast to purchasing power parity (PPP), which is a real
number, gender parity appears to be an imaginary number,
similar to the quest for the square root of negative numbers.”

ONLY ONE-THIRD
OF THE STEM WORKFORCE
ARE FEMALE
ONLY ONE-THIRD OF THE STEM WORKFORCE ARE FEMALE

https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/assets/report/nsf23315-report.pdf
 Sangeeta Bhatia
https://ki.mit.edu
/people/faculty/sa
ngeeta-bhatia

Ann Graybiel
https://mcgovern.
mit.edu/profile/a
nn-graybiel/

Paula Hammond
https://cheme.mit
.edu/profile/paula
-t-hammond/

Mary Fuller
https://lit.mit.edu
/mfuller/
https://news.mit.edu/2024/women-stem-celebration-excellence-and-curiosity-0416
 Women in Medicine  Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

www.massgeneral.org/medicine/initiatives/women-in-medicine
WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (WISE ??) AND MEDICINE

Opportunities for women to be trained in STEM professions must be made ubiquitous in

partnership with university laboratories, STEM-related businesses, corporations, R&D focused
organizations and government-supported institutions as well as the scientific industrial complex.

Programs already exist, i.e., the intent and understanding of the need appears to be undisputed:
https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu
https://researchtraining.nih.gov/career/undergraduate
https://www.nigms.nih.gov/research-training/programs/high-school-and-undergraduate
HOWEVER, THE VAST MAJORITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES
(SMES WITH STEM AS THEIR KEY COMPETENCY) ARE NOT ENGAGED

SMEs must be supported by government and philanthropic funding to build capacity to train women. STEM
workforce development must become an integral and integrated part of their core business operation rather than an
occasional “feel-good” public service. The economic incentive of SMEs should be related to business productivity.
The training process must not be divorced from the for-profit or non-profit line of business for which the SME exists.
The training program must produce goods and services that the SMEs can profitably utilize in their usual business.
Funding and economic incentives must allows SMEs to profit from their engagement with WISE while serving STEM
workforce development with the focus on creating a steady stream of women trained in science and engineering jobs.
To run these programs/operations SMEs must hire a real scientist (PhD in hard science/math) and refrain from hiring an “educator” (M.Ed).

WISE MANTRA
Train women in highly technical science and engineering roles to prepare for high demand, high paying jobs, e.g.,
[1] healthcare and related fields (genetics, antigen-antibody assays, protein/nucleotide chemistry, pathology, forensics),
[2] organic chemistry and biopharmaceutical industry, [3] engineering design in electronics/semiconductor industry,
[4] fermentation and drug development [5] process chemistry (chemical engineering) for product development, e.g.,
commercial/household detergents/cleaners, paints, construction materials, [6] material science related fields, etc.

Training process MUST be supplemented with foundational education support to strengthen the content of training with
online courses, e.g., https://openlearning.mit.edu/; https://ocw.mit.edu/; www.khanacademy.org; www.coursera.org
https://senga.co

https://news.mit.edu/2024/entrepreneur-creates-career-pathways-mit-opencourseware-0125
 https://news.mit.edu/2024/how-online-mit-courses-can-transform-future-world-0312
From courses in engineering, biology, psychology,
and computer science to lectures about financial
concepts, linguistics, and music, the MIT
OpenCourseWare YouTube channel offers millions
of learners around the world a pathway to develop
new skills and knowledge base with free offerings
from MIT educators. Michael Pilgreen, a sculptor, https://openlearning.mit.edu
painter, poet from Memphis, TN, discovered
OpenCourseWare when he found himself
unemployed in 2020 and used it to jumpstart a
new career on Wall Street. After watching several
lectures about finance, computer science,
programming, mathematics, and algorithms on the https://ocw.mit.edu
OpenCourseWare YouTube channel and website,
Pilgreen enrolled in the MITx MicroMasters
program in finance. He is now a business
operations specialist for the Jameel World
Education Lab at MIT Open Learning, where he
www.youtube.com/channel/UCEBb1b_L6zDS3xTUrIALZOw
helps educators and innovators. worldwide.
 C
O
L
L
A
B
O
R
A
T
E
JEFF SHUREN
to transform DIRECTOR
the world FDA
CDRH
Money is often the necessary
catalyst for development.
 https://www.bscp.org ● https://dicp.hms.harvard.edu

STEM FUNDING SOURCES ARE UNLIMITED AND ONLY LIMITED BY YOUR IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY

FUNDING, unlimited
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/wioa;
https://workforce.urban.org/node/69.html
 https://waysandmeans.house.gov/committee-report-shows-ways-means-focused-on-job-creation-in-opening-months-of-112th-congress/

DC drum beat – JOBS, funding for JOB creation

https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/3090
https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/2837/all-info-112hhrg72493/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg72493.pdf
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-111s3103is/pdf/BILLS-111s3103is.pdf
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg72493/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg72493.pdf
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/
 Top Panel (left and right)
Dr Mary Good
Undersecretary
US Department of Commerce
(& Shoumen Palit Austin Datta, MIT)

Bottom Panel (left and right)

Dr Ernie Moniz
Secretary of Energy
US Department of Energy
(& Shoumen Palit Austin Datta, MIT)

3 March 2009, MIT 21 January 2017, MIT

https://www.goodjobsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/pdf/UncleSamsFavoriteCorporations.pdf

STEM WORKFORCE FUNDING AVAILABLE AS GRANTS FROM EVERY BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, EVERY
TYPE OF MAJOR CORPORATION, MOST MAJOR NON-PROFIT FOUNDATIONS AND MANY BUSINESSES.

FUNDING, unlimited
https://orip.nih.gov/division-construction-instruments/s10-instrumentation-programs
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Advancing-Equitable-Workforce-Development-for-Infrastructure-Jobs_110122.pdf
https://www.instrumentl.com/blog/corporate-grants-list-for-nonprofits
https://justcapital.com/reports/annie-e-casey-foundation-2022-workforce-equity-and-mobility-ranking-top-100-companies/
https://purposebrand.com/blog/diversity-report-examples-fortune-2023/
www.fundraisingschool.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Top-100-U.S.-Foundations-by-Asset-Size.pdf

FOUNDATIONS SUPPORT STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

STEM WORKFORCE FUNDING AVAILABLE AS GRANTS FROM EVERY BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, EVERY
TYPE OF MAJOR CORPORATION, MOST MAJOR NON-PROFIT FOUNDATIONS AND MANY BUSINESSES.

FUNDING, unlimited
https://www.instrumentl.com/browse-grants/workforce-grants
https://www.swfinstitute.org/fund-rankings/foundation
https://www.tgci.com/funding-sources/all/top
https://www.caseygrants.org/core-grantmaking
https://www.nptrust.org/grants-in-action
https://www.forbes.com/lists/top-charities

https://knightfoundation.org/press/releases/who-manages-the-money-at-americas-biggest-foundations-new-study-shows-slow-progress-on-transparency-and-diversity/
STEM WORKFORCE FUNDING AVAILABLE AS GRANTS FROM EVERY BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, EVERY
TYPE OF MAJOR CORPORATION, MOST MAJOR NON-PROFIT FOUNDATIONS AND MANY BUSINESSES.

FUNDING, needed for

Instrumentation, Supplies
Mentors & Supervisors FTE
Student Stipends & Scholarships
Overhead, Operations, Facilities, Maintenance
Capacity Building, Communications, Job Support
ALL NEEDED FUNDING MAY NOT BE PROCURED FROM 1 SOURCE (PURSUE PATCH WORK OF GRANTS).

FUNDING, needed for

Instrumentation, Supplies
Mentors & Supervisors FTE
Student Stipends & Scholarships
Overhead, Operations, Facilities, Maintenance
Capacity Building, Communications, Job Support
 THE THREE MAGIC BULLETS IN FUNDING ACQUISITION: RELATIONSHIPS, PURPOSE, PERSEVERANCE
THERE IS ONLY 1 MAGIC BULLET WHICH IS THE BEDROCK OF FUNDING ACQUISITION: CREDIBILITY

FUNDING, process
Engage with the funding organization [individual(s)] to understand the person and their purpose.
Build relationship with the organization by sharing your purpose (outcome-informed, grand challenges).
Grasp the parameters of the organization and their board members to determine their need / indicators for success.
Align your key performance indicators for the WISE workforce development program with their indicators for success.
Create and discuss draft proposal per discussion, guidelines and lessons learned during the relationship building process.
Discuss the semi-final draft with a seasoned and wise well wisher in the same funding stream to arrive at the final version.
Submit. If you are true to your purpose and if your key purpose is to lift many boats, then success will find a way to your door.
 SLIGHTLY
ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
TO TRAIN WISE, TRAIN BEST
MAKE NO LITTLE PLANS. THEY HAVE NO MAGIC TO
STIR MEN'S BLOOD AND PROBABLY WILL NOT
THEMSELVES BE REALIZED. MAKE BIG PLANS, AIM
HIGH IN HOPE AND WORK, REMEMBERING THAT A
NOBLE, LOGICAL DIAGRAM ONCE RECORDED WILL
NEVER DIE, BUT LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE WILL
BE A LIVING THING, ASSERTING ITSELF WITH EVER
GROWING INSISTENCY.

www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2396.html
TRAIN WISE  TRAIN BEST
TRAIN WISE (WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING)
TRAIN BEST (BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)
https://girlswhocode.com

GIRLS WHO DECODE

TRAINING PROGRAM FOR WOMEN IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INSPIRE TO PAY IT FORWARD
To reduce dependence on grants and charities, could we consider that women who complete the TRAIN WISE
program may be willing to reimburse the training entity with about half of the cost of training? The funds, thus
gathered, will help to increase the number of women who are trained, in the future. The repayment request will
take effect if the TRAIN WISE graduate (in the future) earns at least thrice the US average per capita income or
twice the US median household income. The repayment must be over time, not mandatory or legally enforcible.

GIRLS WHO DECODE

Data-Informed Entrepreneurial Financial Instruments ● www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/SEX255222

TRAINING PROGRAM FOR WOMEN IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE, TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY

 STEM
What was workforce
discussed so development
far is simply only enables
a nano-drop WISE
in the ocean women to
of education. compete in a
job market.
 1983 – A NATION AT RISK – Glenn T. Seaborg (co-author)
https://edreform.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/A_Nation_At_Risk_1983.pdf

8th JAN 1998

www.nature.com/articles/34255.pdf

Glenn T. Seaborg Glenn T. Seaborg

www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1951/seaborg/facts Shoumen Datta
“SHODDY AND SECOND GRADE
MASQUERADING AS GOOD ENOUGH”
ABOUT THE QUALITY OF K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES
EPILOGUE: MICAH SAMUELS WAS A CO-AUTHOR OF OUR 2004 BOOK CHAPTER
Datta, Shoumen, Bob Betts, Mark Dinning, Feryal Erhun, Tom Gibbs, Pinar Keskinocak, Hui Li,
Mike Li, and Micah Samuels (2003) Adaptive Value Network. Chapter 1 (pages 3-67). In
Evolution of Supply Chain Management: Symbiosis of Adaptive Value Networks and ICT.
Chang, Yoon Seok, Makatsoris, Harris C., and Richards, Howard D. ed. ISBN 978-1-4020-7812-5
https://doi.org/10.1007/b110025 2004 Kluwer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/b110025
Pre-Publication Version in French (in MIT Library) http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/41907
Micah Samuels
An updated perspective “A Nation in Progress” MIT Library https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/146640
According to the 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, 61% of women and girls between the ages of 15-49 have
experienced physical violence since the age 15, and 7% have experienced sexual violence. The non-governmental organization
Human Rights Watch has said sexual violence during the nation’s civil war from 1991 to 2002, “affected thousands of girls
and women of all ages,” and was rooted in “the persistent human rights violations that push women into a lower status with
limited rights in all spheres of their lives.” For more information go to https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR365/FR365.pdf
 https://linktr.ee/alphaphimit  https://women-in-tech.org

Women in Tech® Global Movement, 6, Rue Rambuteau, Paris, Île-de-France 75003, France
 https://www.grainesdepaix.org/fr/ressources/sinspirer/citations/l_avenir_de_l_homme_est_la_femme

Shoumen Palit Austin Datta

Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT Library https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/146158
Email sdatta8@mgh.harvard.edu and/or shoumen@mit.edu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_M._Hern%C3%A1ndez
 Woman is the future of man

Woman is the future of man She is the colour of his soul She is his rumour and his sound And without her, he is nothing but blasphemy • Louis Aragon (1897-1982)
https://bipps.org/blog/unhidden-figures www.blackhistory.mit.edu/story/nasa-figures
THIS PRESENTATION WAS DISCUSSED VIA ZOOM BY SHOUMEN DATTA ON 6 MARCH 2024
MATERIAL WAS PROVIDED BY SQUARE ROOT OF NEGATIVE NUMBERS LLC (SRNN LLC)
SHOUMEN PALIT AUSTIN DATTA IS CHIEF IMAGINARY OFFICER (CIO) OF SRNN LLC
SQUARE ROOT OF NEGATIVE NUMBERS LLC
IS AN IMAGINARY CORPORATION WHOSE COMPANY I KEEP

IMAGINATION-INVENTION-INNOVATION-IMPLEMENTATION
SQUARE ROOT OF NEGATIVE NUMBERS LLC
ADVOCATES A STRATEGIC DESIGN METAPHOR BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF CUBE-ON-CUBE CONNECTIVITY

IMAGINATION-INVENTION-INNOVATION-IMPLEMENTATION
Marvin Minsky's cube-on-cube concept is extrapolated from and is a schematic representation of the topological
connectivity between neurons / neuronal circuits (biological design of dependencies preserved through evolution).

Each corner of a cube is a parameter or

attribute or characteristic or point in a
network (person, contact or influencer)

Thus, eight corners of a cube could

represent various factors that could
potentially influence an outcome or eight
individuals or eight nodes or groups
which could be involved in a project (an
alliance, consortium or grand challenges)

Each smaller cube then may act as the

vertex of the next larger cube and the
larger cube then becomes a vertex of an
even larger cube as problems grow (local,
regional, national to global scales)

Minsky, Marvin (1986). The Society Of Mind. Simon & Schuster.

SQUARE ROOT OF NEGATIVE NUMBERS LLC
ADVOCATES A STRATEGIC DESIGN METAPHOR BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF CUBE-ON-CUBE CONNECTIVITY

AIMS TO BUILD LAYERS OF NETWORKS TO CATALYZE PERFORMANCE THROUGH CONNECTIVITY & INFLUENCING
CONVERGENCE OF A SPECTRUM OF NODES TO INFORM AND INFLUENCE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI)

SCIENCE & EQUIPMENT &

SCIENTISTS REPOSITORIES

BUSINESS
GRANTS & DEVELOPMENT
DONORS

PRODUCTS &
WORKFORCE MARKETING
DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH & GOVERNMENT

CREDIBILITY LIAISON & PR
 WHY THIS ELUSIVE QUEST ?

 PURPOSE OVER PROFIT

 ETHICAL PROFITABILITY

 ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY

 SCIENCE AS A SERVICE TO SOCIETY

 WOMEN  Economic Productivity

Robert Solow (L), 18 September 2009, MIT

(Shoumen Datta, MIT)
At MIT, Solow served as principal advisor to over
70 doctoral students and four of his PhD students
went on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics
(George Akerlof PhD ’66, Peter Diamond PhD ’63,
William Nordhaus PhD ’67, and Joseph Stiglitz
PhD ’67). One student who wrote an
undergraduate economics thesis for Solow,
(H. Robert Horvitz ’68) also won the Nobel Prize
but in Physiology or Medicine.
https://news.mit.edu/2023/institute-professor-
emeritus-robert-solow-dies-1222
http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Solow1956.pdf https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/12/27/13
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1987/solow/facts/ 1259/the-productive-career-of-robert-solow/
 RAISON D'ÊTRE

Science as a service to society

THIS PRESENTATION WAS DISCUSSED VIA ZOOM BY SHOUMEN DATTA ON 6 MARCH 2024
MATERIAL WAS PROVIDED BY SQUARE ROOT OF NEGATIVE NUMBERS LLC (SRNN LLC)
SHOUMEN PALIT AUSTIN DATTA IS CHIEF IMAGINARY OFFICER (CIO) OF SRNN LLC
THIS MATERIAL WAS ADDED AFTER THE TALK (03/06)
PUBLIC VISIBILITY OF IDEAS AND OPINIONS
IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION “WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THE PRESENTATION HANGING IN THE MIT LIBRARY?”
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE
HTTPS://DSPACE.MIT.EDU/HANDLE/1721.1/117273
OPEN ACCESS TO PUBLIC REPOSITORIES ARE VITAL
WHEN THE PURPOSE IS TO INFORM AND PRESENT KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER THAT SCIENCE MAY SERVE THE PUBLIC

WHEN THE PURPOSE IS NOT TO COUNT CITATIONS OR USE PUBLICATIONS TO ASCEND THE ACADEMIC LADDER
HERE ARE EXAMPLES FROM OPEN PRE-PRINTS
HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.26434/CHEMRXIV-2021-L393T-V36
HTTPS://DSPACE.MIT.EDU/HANDLE/1721.1/145774
 https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2021-l393t-v36
 https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/145774
HOW TO DELIVER A SENSE OF
THE FUTURE
NOT EASY BUT HERE ARE A FEW GUIDING STEPS
 T
R
A
M
S
NOTHING IS SET IN STONE
ARE THESE IDEAS SUBJECT TO CHANGE ?
NOTHING IS PERMANENT EXCEPT CHANGE.
 Three years ago, Jonathan Zittrain, the vice dean at Harvard, conceived of an
event he called “Why I Changed My Mind,” that would demonstrate different
ways faculty members reckon with changing ideas, as their previously settled
points of view evolved with new arguments, information, and data. “We try to
at times both be bold and humble at the same time about our commitments,
ready to revise in the face of new facts, of new views, of growth, of reflection.”
https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/jonathan-l-zittrain/

https://hls.harvard.edu/today/faculty-share-stories-of-an-intellectual-about-face
https://hls.harvard.edu/today/follow-your-passions-even-when-things-are-tough-says-harvard-law-professor-of-practice/
https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/ritur@mit.edu
WHAT TO DO WITH IDEAS
& RESEARCH OUTCOMES?
HERE’S ONE OPTION, PERHAPS …
I M AG I N AT I O N - I N V E N T I O N - I N N OVAT I O N - I M P L E M E N TAT I O N
CONFUCIUS IS CONFUSED: WHAT IS CONSULTING?

Consulting often comprises of non-linear events of varying

complexity which may progress as an oxymoronic
conundrum of punctuated equilibrium

https://chinainstitute.org/product/confucius-his-life-and-legacy-in-art/