Nobel Peace Prize winner speaks at MIT
With all eyes fixated on her kind but piercing gaze, the overflowing room quieted as 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi stepped to the podium and addressed the audience.
Lewin gives final lecture In emotional goodbye, physics prof. wows 26-100
With a crown of tousled grey hair on his head, a shroud of rainbow-stripes on his shoulders, and a large plastic fuchsia ring twisting around his left middle finger, legendary physics professor Walter H. G. Lewin set down his piece of dull yellow chalk for the last time, marking the completion of his final lecture at MIT.
ALBUM REVIEW The Strokes slip back out of whack
For those of you who are hosed with psets, are busy promenading awesome prefrosh around, or have particularly short attention spans, I can summarize the long-awaited Strokes album Angles with a quick Facebook-centric anecdote, generated in the weeks leading to the album’s official release this past March:
FEATURE Kapoor’s sculpture shines in Stata Cloud Gate’ artist’s piece is MIT’s latest
What once was an empty lobby at the Vassar entrance of Stata — a large space, industrial white, washed with natural-light, but shrouded in concrete — is now filled with MIT’s newest addition to it’s public art collection. The new art piece, left untitled, is created by Anish Kapoor, a London-based artist who is most famous for his Chicago piece <i>Cloud Gate</i> (resembling a giant chrome kidney-bean). Filling the once-empty space his new oversized sculpture: a massive sheet of ultra-polish stainless steel, curved like a melted sheet of glass, diffracting light of the nearby skylight. Herds of tourists stop by each day, pausing in front of Kapoor’s piece to photograph their distorted reflections.
CONCERT REVIEW Give me the funk: War kicks off concert series at the Hatch Shell
With bubbles floating through the air and peace signs diffusing through the crowd at a rate that would have impressed even Robert Brown, the flower children of Boston made a comeback at the first of 103.3 WODS’s Free Summer Concert Series on June 19, featuring the wildly popular 70’s funk band, War.
Student calls for oil spill aid; gains media attention
On June 10, Nora O. Hickey ’12 sent an email to President Susan J. Hockfield and copied all the dormitory lists, urging MIT to take a more active role in the recent BP oil spill.
Lady Gaga pops by MIT
With aviator sunglasses hiding her eyes, lips painted fire-engine red, crystals dripping down her neck, and platinum blonde hair whisked to the side, the world-famous pop singer and recording artist Lady Gaga made a guest appearance to the MIT campus last Wednesday.
Prof speaks on China’s factory unrest
This week, the New York Times reported on escalating unrest among Chinese factory workers, who complain of long hours, miserable management and little pay. Many are striking to demand higher wages, shutting down major factories in what the Times calls a labor “contagion.”
Nominated to lead NSF
On June 8, President Barack Obama formally nominated MIT School of Engineering dean, Subra Suresh ScD ’81, to act as the next director of the National Science Foundation.
Subra Suresh nominated to lead National Science Foundation
President Barack Obama announced on June 3 that he plans to nominate MIT School of Engineering dean, Subra Suresh ScD ’81, to act as the next director of the National Science Foundation.
Chem grad student Yu-Pu shares a capella remakes with growing YouTube fanbase
“If anyone asks us what we’re doing,” said Yu-Pu Wang, a first year graduate student studying chemistry here at MIT, “just tell them the truth.”
$100K finalists dine at Metcalfe’s Boston home
For the past some 15 years, Robert Metcalfe ’68, co-inventor of Ethernet and founder of the digital electronics manufacturer 3Com, has invited finalists in MIT’s iconic $100K entrepreneurship competition into his historic Boston home — settled quaintly in the Back Bay among rows of picturesque brownstones — for his traditional dinner with the competition’s remaining team members.
MIT asks top court to review patent case
MIT filed an <i>amicus curiae</i>, or friend-of-the court, brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, urging it to review <i>S</i>tanford v. Roche, a case about patent ownership whose outcome could influence claims to billions of dollars generated by federally funded, university-held patents.
Modi & Wyman take UA top spots in landslide win
Vrajesh Y. Modi ’11 and Samantha “Sammi” G. Wyman ’11 were elected as Undergraduate Association President and Vice President, receiving over 80 percent of votes in the spring election.
How the human genome folds in 3-D
Until recently, the process of how genomic DNA neatly folds itself into the nucleus of a cell — twisting and contorting into a work of astonishingly compact molecular origami — had perplexed biologists.
Chancellor outlines likely budget cuts
In a public statement posted Wednesday on his website, Chancellor Phillip L. Clay PhD ’88 responded to the Institute-wide Task Force recommendations. While some of the cost-cutting ideas will be implemented soon, many major ideas — like adding more undergraduates, opening summer classes to a wider demographic, eliminating Athena clusters, changing add drop date and modifying the existing dining system — will require further research before being implemented.
Medical may cut overnight care
MIT Medical has proposed to eliminate its inpatient unit and close its overnight urgent care services by the end of 2010. The space vacated by the inpatient unit would be filled with a new “Community Care Center.”
New ‘GWAMIT’ Women’s Group
Though about half of undergraduates are women, among graduate students, women are outnumbered by men two-to-one. For these women, the campus can be an isolating place.
‘Iron Nerd’ wins website contest with social gym app
In the end, it all worked out for Daniel A. Whitlow ’10 and Jong-Moon Kim ’09. Last Thursday, the team won first place, and $4,000 in the third annual 6.470 Web Programming Competition. Their social networking site, “Iron Nerd,” lets users exercise with their friends.
‘Backdoor Bandit’ Nabs Most Mice in 6.270 Autonomous Robot Design Competition
They’re not furry, they’re not friendly, but perhaps they’re housebroken.
‘Eleanor’ Gets Second Among Other Silicon-Paneled Cars in World Race
Meet Eleanor. Her sleek, reflective body spans the length of nearly 16 feet — encrusted with over 580 silicon solar cells and capable of generating an estimated power output of 1200 watts. Her streamlined curves and futuristic design make her an instant star of any roadway, whizzing past other cars at speeds of up to a potential 90 mph and boasting a drag coefficient of only 0.11.
Three MIT Students Win Rhodes, Setting An Institute Record
Three MIT students were named Rhodes Scholars last Sunday, setting a record for the number of MIT students awarded the prestigious Oxford fellowship in any one year.
More H1N1 Clinics Expected to Occur as More Vaccines Arrive
MIT Medical vaccinated nearly 1,050 students against the H1N1 flu-virus last Tuesday as part of a quickly arranged clinic.
GSC Takes Graduate Student Welfare Bill To Washington D.C.
MIT’s Graduate Student Council (GSC) recently added national policy to its otherwise campus-based advocacy agenda, pushing for tax exemption of graduate student stipends, open access to federally funded published research, and higher caps on H1-B visas for advanced-degree holders to members of Congress earlier this fall.
Team Will Study Athena Clusters To Gauge Potential Cost Savings
Conceived in an era when most students didn’t have access to their own computers, are MIT’s Athena computing clusters still relevant today?
Should MIT Have Fewer Grad Students? Admins Still Evaluating Options
Among the 200 cost-cutting ideas presented in the preliminary Institute-wide task force report, several ideas stand out for their potential to impact graduate student life at MIT, if implemented:<br> ¶ “Right-size” graduate student body<br> ¶ Reevaluate TA costs<br> ¶ “3+2” transfer programs<br> ¶ Online-based masters degrees
Clean Energy Is Our Future, Says Obama
President Barack Obama commended MIT for its “extraordinary energy research” and urged America to take leadership in cleaner technologies in a speech this past Friday at Kresge Auditorium.
Tosci’s Gets a New Ice Cream Chef, 26 New Flavors
Churning out Toscanini’s newest flavors of ice cream is not a shiny new Cuisinart automatic, but local Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef Kevin A. Rafferty.
Community Critiques Cost-Cutting Ideas in Front of Task Force
At community forums held on Thursday and Monday afternoon, students, faculty, and staff voiced concerns about MIT’s preliminary cost-cutting report. Many worried about the report’s recommendations, especially the proposals to increase undergraduate enrollment by 10 percent and to decrease the number of graduate students by 1,000. Staff were concerned about potential cuts to their retirement and health benefits.
Advocate For Women Students Dismissed
Since MIT opened its doors to its first woman student in 1873, the Institute has increasingly worked to provide a wealth of support to both its undergraduate and graduate female students. With the recent layoff of Lynn Roberson, long-time assistant director and advocate of Women’s Programs and Support, however, one aspect of this support has been eliminated for the second time.
Professors Called to Washington to Serve, Advise the President
Since Obama stepped into the White House, he has called on several MIT professors to work in or with his administration. Four have taken temporary leave from the Institute to work full-time in Washington, and others serve as advisers. These professors have taken on diverse tasks: managing budgets, crafting policy, overseeing legislation, and working with other countries.
Baker and Burton-Conner Are Top Dorm Picks for Freshmen
Crowding at MIT undergraduate dorms has increased from last year: between 130 and 135 students are crowded in dorms room this year, while only 85 to 90 students were crowded in fall 2008, according to Robin Baughman, assistant director of housing. Baughman wrote, “We anticipate this number will go down throughout the fall term as cancellations occur to the building that can accommodate overflow housing.”
MIT Partners with Island Nation To Build New Technology School
In line with its mission to advance scientific knowledge “that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century,” MIT is working on a new international collaboration that will include aid in overseeing the opening of a new design-based university and an international design center which will both be located in Singapore.
Microsoft Exchange Is MIT’s New Email System
Beginning this summer, Information Systems and Technology has begun transitioning portions of the MIT e-mail system to Microsoft Exchange, as well as changing the way spam is handled.
Students Line the Charles For Independence Day Celebration
After the longest stretch of cloudy summer days in Boston since 1903, the long-awaited sun finally beamed down across the red-white-and-blue-adorned city and all of its Fourth of July festivities on Saturday. As part of the 36th annual July 4th Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, an estimated 500,000 Bostonians, tourists, MIT students, and others gathered along the Boston Esplanade, around the Hatch Shell, and across the banks of the Charles for the nationally broadcast entertainment and patriotic fun.
BayTSP Labels MIT #1 in Digital Piracy; IS&T Disputes Claim
MIT is the leading university for digital piracy and related copyright infringements within the U.S. for a second time in a row, according to a 2008 report from BayTSP (published May, 2009).
Plaque Shows Off Alum Smoot’s Contribution to Measurement
Fifty years and seven months after the colorful markings first appeared across the 2164.8 foot (or 364.4 Smoot) span of the Harvard bridge’s sidewalks, a new plaque “In Commemoration of the 50th Year of the Smoot” (and in Honor of Oliver R. Smoot ’62) debuted in a special ceremony yesterday afternoon. The plaque was embedded in a concrete base on the bridge at the southwest corner of Memorial Drive and Massachusetts Avenue.