NELEM? New England meet?

[planters]

But, thanks for responding.

I would not worry too much about the fees. If they are huge, then neither the school or even a large number of participants will want to proceed and if they are not then we shouldn't add this to the list of hurdles and WE should pay for this.

That said - the bigger issue is we need to get it approved by the MIT safety people, and we need our own liability coverage.

Buffo might be able to give some guidance here.

But, there has to be some interest. I am kind of surprised that there hasn't been a flurry of posts. Even my wife thinks an LEM at MIT is cool ( of course my sons think it's fantastic).

[Jimboy3625]

I think it would be awesome to have a LEM at MIT.

I'm just guessing that this thread started back in June when everyone was in full prep for SELEM and then strait to wind-down mode from SELEM throughout august. After that you start into holiday season and family stuff, not to mention economically everyone is hit from a bad and busy year and going into gift buying season can get people a bit leery of thinking about another LEM already.

I would keep planing as much of the logistics as you can and bring this up again mid January with more info.

As far as the safety thing goes it has been my impression from SELEM that because it is a PRIVATE event we don't need variances and we all (voluntarily and happily) sign our lives over to Adam via the waivers to protect himself, the venue and each other from legal nastiness should something go amiss. I don't see why the same approach couldn't be applied to a MIT-LEM?

Anyway, just my 2 cents.
Jim

[galvo]

Hello gentlemen, I am new here but would be happy to make the trek from Pennsylvania to Boston for such an event. Found this wonderful forum through planters' videos - amazing rigs

[krazer]

I just wanted to give an update-
Judging by interest so far, I have decided it is not worth the effort (read, legal issues) to get a MIT sponsored venue, but we can use the Miters space as a place for everyone to meet for up to ~10-20 people. Maybe if we get some momentum we can try for a larger event next year... But in the mean time it would mean virtually 0 cost, and a pretty laid back meetup.

Would Saturday January 26th work for people? I am not sure if people want to make it an all day event or for just an evening, but if people want to come in around noon? Worth noting is that is not easy to make it really dark in there when the sun is up, so the shows are probably best done after 4pm or so. Also, space is fairly limited so if you are planning to bring a massive rig please let me know in advance so we can arrange something for you, in particular if you need something other than a 120v service so we can make sure we have a plug ready for you. We could probably also meet up for dinner in town at some point.

[planters]

OK. I'm still in and I'll check my schedule for that weekend. I'd bring three projectors, but not the dye (240V @ 50A S. phase,but a brutal load). There would be at least three (maybe as many as 6) of us. What about that pub thingy? Will Buffo lend a copy of the liability disclaimer? We would stay in town for at least that night. Any chance of a department tour ( opportunity to gawk).

[galvo]

Still sounds good to me (assuming a noob like me would be welcomed). FWIW, I can offer a ride for anyone in the Philadelphia vicinity.

[planters]

We all like noobs. You will, however be expected to present at least two papers. One may be a poster, but the other must be completely original work. And of course there is the skull and blood thing...

[galvo]

Of course, and here I was afraid there might be some manner of hazing...

[Fearless]

I'll come and bring my rig (such as it is). I live up in the North Shore area.

[krazer]

OK. I'm still in and I'll check my schedule for that weekend. I'd bring three projectors, but not the dye (240V @ 50A S. phase,but a brutal load). There would be at least three (maybe as many as 6) of us. What about that pub thingy? Will Buffo lend a copy of the liability disclaimer? We would stay in town for at least that night. Any chance of a department tour ( opportunity to gawk).

I tried talking to them, anything we bring into the muddy will need to pass the MIT safety regs (impossible for class IV stuff) . It is a little concerning that we are starting to push the practical limit of 20 people at miters, we have had events with 40+ people in the upstairs lounge, although we will need to figure something out in terms of safety because it is an open access area. One alternative would be to take over a classroom, I did a little scouting and it looks like there are a few possible rooms that comfortably seat 30 which can easily be rearranged, although we are limited to normal 110v services (probably 5-10kw total breaker power). It would also at least in theory be possible to split the event across both areas (anything high power in miters, along with the tools) and the projectors on campus, the only down side is the ~10 minute walk to get between miters and campus. As far as MIT is concerned, Miters, while technically on campus, is pretty far away from the eyes of OSHA people and we more or less have free rein. As far as using a classroom, people seem pretty open to having outsiders on campus (as I type this there are people breakdancing in the hallway across from my office...) so as long as we aren't fogging up the whole building I don't anticipate issues.

I can give you a tour of the quantum optics group (my group), the labs are fairly cramped but we can cycle people through.

Can we try and get a head count on gear coming?

Projectors-
Fearless - mystery rig
planters - his trio of projectors

people
Krazer/miters - ~5 people ish
Fearless - 1
Galvo - 1
Planters - 3..6
Jimboy - 1
gabe - 1?
Bradfo69 - 1?