NEWS BRIEFS
Nine MIT researchers win Sloan Research Fellowships
On Tuesday, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced its 2014 Sloan Research Fellowship winners, which included nine MIT researchers. A total of 126 fellowships were awarded.
From MIT, Gloria B. Choi, Mehrdad Jazayeri, Kay M. Tye ’03, assistant professors in brain and cognitive sciences; Mircea Dinca, Jeremiah A. Johnson, assistant professors in chemistry; Bradley D. Olsen ’03, an assistant professor in chemical engineering; Charles K. Smart, Jared R. Speck, assistant professors in mathematics; and Kristopher Karnauskas, an associate researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, were named Sloan Research Fellows.
Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually to researchers to “support them during a crucial phase of their careers when early funding and recognition can really make a difference,” Paul L. Joskow, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, said in the press release.
Fellows receive $50,000 to assist their research endeavors. According to the Sloan Foundation, in order to be considered for a fellowship, candidates must be nominated by their peers. An independent panel of senior scholars chooses the winners on the basis of a candidate’s independent research, creativity, and potential to become a leader in his or her field.
Three men attacked on Mass Ave by elusive “sucker puncher”
Three victims reported being punched by an unknown assailant on Massachusetts Avenue earlier this week. The acts of random violence were completely unprovoked and occurred within minutes of each other. Although all victims were either bruised or cut, only one had to receive medical treatment for minor injuries.
The first victim is a Harvard postdoctoral fellow in neurobiology and had received cuts and a black eye from the sucker puncher. “ I could tell one or two seconds before he hit me that something was a little bit off with this guy,” he said in an interview with CBS Radio (WBZ). “I didn’t get knocked out which was nice, I didn’t black out or anything. It could have been a lot worse, I suppose. But this is probably the worst weekend I’ve had in a long time, possibly ever.”
The suspect proceeded to punch two more men in Harvard Square and attempted to punch Brandon Arms, a chef who works at The Cellar Restaurant. “Brandon was out here and (the suspect) took a swing at him,” the restaurant owner told WBZ. “Brandon shoved him away and started chasing him.”
Cambridge police are now searching for the attacker, who is described as a black male wearing dark clothes with questionable sanity. “He was mad crazy man,” said the third victim, a Tufts visiting scholar. The suspect had punched him three times before continuing down the street.
The girlfriend of the second victim also conceded, “He just seemed mentally disturbed. He seemed under the influence. He was listening to music really loud and he was just walking around yelling.”
The perpetrator of this series of disturbing attacks has yet to be identified, and his motive is still unknown to Cambridge police.
—Patricia Dominguez
and Anthony Yu