People fill the chairs and steps of 6-120, and even crowd around Winston's feet. (Jan 2009)
His website reveals him to be a man of many endeavors, from research to writing a community blog to befriending Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.
I took 6.034 (Artificial Intelligence) with him last fall, and had such a good experience that when the MIT awards nomination email came around in February, I immediately thought of Winston. I was familiar with the Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, since another of my favorite professors, Eric Hudson of Physics (who sadly did not get tenure and is leaving MIT - more about him in a later post), also won this award, in 2008. The Baker award is the only institute-wide teaching award based entirely on nominations from students.
Luckily, throughout 6.034, I had noticed a lot of details that made Winston's class great. When it came time to write the nomination letter, I just sat down and cranked out over five 1.5-spaced pages. Over the next two weeks, I would edit and revise it twice.
I then hunted down people to sign the letter. (It would have been acceptable with only my signature, but more names makes a stronger case.) "Hunt" is not too far from the truth. At the beginning of March, I sorted through the 6.034 class list and emailed all the people I knew, however tenuously, asking them to submit personal anecdotes and sign the letter. At one point, I posted myself outside the entrance to Winston's spring course, 6.803 (The Human Intelligence Enterprise), and intercepted people as they entered the class. I asked my 6.042 TA's to sign, and even the doctorate candidates at my new UROP (in the field of artificial intelligence, no less). I was.. an MIT student on a mission. In the course of my mission I found out that a nomination for Winston had been previously attempted, but had failed, which only made me feel more like this would be the year.
Okay, so I'm getting somewhat dramatic here, though admittedly this was a minor production. At the end, I delivered the nomination letter to the awards office (which is strangely nestled in the DuPont Athletic Center), and hoped the woman I gave it to would take good care of the packet. It occurred to me I hadn't made a copy of the signatures page.
I then kind of forgot about the whole business. I marked May 4, the date of the awards convocation, on my calendar, but I didn't have time to attend that day. Not until yesterday, after finals and everything, did I suddenly remember and check the awards website.
Winston won! My term is complete.
---------
Below is the nomination letter for Winston. Full names of students have been abbreviated.
It is long (you have been warned) but provides a good review of 6.034 for anyone looking to take it.
---------
March 10, 2010
Dear MIT Awards Committee,
