WHO SHE IS: IT Project Leader, Applications Coordinator, MAGPI

YEARS AT PENN: 2

WHAT IS MAGPI?: MAGPI, which stands for the Mid-Atlantic GigaPop in Philadelphia for Internet2, is the regional connector for institutions that want to access Internet 2 for education and research.

WHAT SHE DOES: “My job is to help folks in the tri-state region use the connectivity. …A lot of what I do is bring MAGPI partners together with content providers. I educate them on how to adapt content to a virtual medium. We co-develop and market the programs and we coordinate the technical logistics.”

WHAT'S THE CONTENT: Anything from a videoconference with an actor portraying Martin Luther King (with Philadelphia’s African American Museum) to a project that connected 32 schools to listen to the story of a Holocaust survivor to a “writers workshop” with young adult author Kathe Koja.

MOST UNUSUAL PROGRAM: Local celebrity chef Joe Poon visited Penn’s video network studio to show off his food carving skills. “It was a bit of a challenge to figure out camera angles and stuff,” says Weisse.

WHY HER JOB IS PHENOMENAL: “You can have folks collaborate with folks halfway around the world.”

Originally published on January 18, 2007.