By Stephanie Nam

The SPeaker is starting a new series exploring different rooms and lifestyles in the community. It is interesting and inspiring to see some of the creative wall decorations, furniture layouts, storage ideas as well as other hobby-related collections. This series is intended to share some of the coolest apartments with other SidPacians. If you are aware of awesome candidates for this series, please do not hesitate to let us know!

Lab-in-a-room, Matt and Mark’s apartment

The first visit of the SPeaker was to Matthew D’Asaro and Mark Chilenski. Matt and Mark are both in their 4th year at MIT, Matt in EECS and Mark in Nuclear Engineering. They agreed to be roommates on visit day, and they have been sharing an apartment in Sidney Pacific ever since they started at MIT. Why Sidney Pacific? When SPeaker asked, and Matt told us that SP had the maximum bedroom square footage/price ratio, and Mark added that he also like the ratio of living space/ bedroom in order to set up “the equipment” in their bedrooms.

Matt and the 3D printer.

Before going into each bedroom to see the equipment set up, you can’t fail to notice the huge 3D printer in their kitchen. Matt shared the story of how the giant machine made it to their kitchen; from an email alert on MIT-reuse mailing list to running up four floors of stairs to beat the group of people who took the elevator. They managed to clean the tubes and download the new software, and of course printed a block of “Hello World” in 3D. Unfortunately, the printer is not working at the moment due to some software issues. Maybe the 3D printer will be fixed for the next Open Doors Night?

Mark has set up a workstation in one side of his bedroom using a long side table from IKEA and a lab-like tool organizer drawer stands in the corner. The SPeaker was lucky enough to see the Geiger counter that Mark has designed and built himself, along with other vintage and modern Geiger counters. He also has a miniature robotic arm that was a birthday present from Matt. He connected it to a computer and wrote a python program to control it. Eventually, he hopes to be able to use the arm to paint pictures. There is also a collection of paints and delicate brushes for his hobby of painting little figurines. Additionally, Mark is also a drummer but for the sanity of his roommate he does not practice in the room.

(CW from the top right) Mark with the Geiger counter he designed and built, his work station, brushes for figurine coloring, The robot arm, and some wall decorations.

Stepping into Matt’s bedroom, one would be surprised at the scene of so many measurement devices from oscilloscopes to a spectrum analyzer. Quoting a visitor at Open Doors Night, this is “a lab with a bed in it.” The IKEA table had to be reinforced with a thick metal column to withstand the weight of all of the instruments. Matt says studying electronics and doing projects outside of school have been very educational and helpful for his research. He is also a collector of vintage electronics, which he enjoys restoring to working order. Among the collection is a working example of one of the earliest television models, which is hooked up to an analog signal transmitter so it can be used to watch TV.

(CW from the top right) Matt’s set up of all instruments, a vintage electronics collection on top of the bookcase, a behind-the-door wire rack, another collection on the wardrobe, and the black and white analog television from 1949.

It was a great fun to talk to Matt and Mark, and to hear some stories of their collection. Their enthusiasm about their hobbies was quite inspiring too. Thank you to the M&M duo from the SPeaker!