Biogen Idec Leaving Cambridge; Suburbs Feature Lower Costs
Biogen Idec Inc., one of Massachusetts’ largest biotechnology companies, is considering moving its corporate headquarters from Cambridge to Weston, which would add it to a growing list of Cambridge biotechs that have jumped to the suburbs because of lower rents and more options for office space.
McCain, Obama Policy Advisors Debate Future of U.S. Energy
Representatives from the Obama and McCain campaign faced off in last night’s presidential energy debate, co-sponsored by the MIT Energy Initiative and the MIT Energy Club. Both Jason Grumet, adviser to Obama, and James Woolsey, adviser to McCain, agreed that the US must reduce its oil dependence, but argued over financing a transition away from oil.
Reid Appointed to Role At UNCF, Leaves Position As Director of the OME
Karl W. Reid ’84, Director of the MIT Office of Minority Education since 2005, was recently appointed Senior Vice President of Academic Programs and Strategic Initiatives of the United Negro College Fund in Fairfax, VA. The search for his replacement is currently underway.
Chancellor Clay’s E-Mail to Community Warns About Irresponsible Hacks, Piracy
In an e-mail sent to the student body on Sept. 25, Chancellor Phillip L. Clay PhD ’75 reminded students to hack responsibly and to stop downloading copyrighted works. An almost identical e-mail was sent last October.
MIT Endowment Has 3.2 Percent Yield, Even As U.S. Markets Slide
Despite the faltering economy, MIT’s endowment increased by $88 million, or 3.2 percent, according to figures for fiscal year 2008 released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Company. The endowment now stands at $10.1 billion as of June 30, 2008.
Georgian Press Sees Many Restrictions on Its Freedoms
The cameras at Georgia’s main opposition broadcaster, Imedi, kept rolling Nov. 7, when masked riot police officers, armed with machine guns, burst into the studio. They smashed equipment, ordered employees and television guests to lie on the floor and confiscated their cell phones. A news anchor remained on-screen throughout, describing the mayhem. Then all went black.
Race’s Last Stage Has Appearance of a Grudge Match
Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama entered their general election contest this summer denouncing American politics as trivial and negative, and vowing to run campaigns that would address the concerns of voters during a difficult time.
Shorts (left)
Emerging markets took one of their biggest collective tumbles in a decade Monday as stock markets from Mexico to Indonesia to Russia were gripped by fears of a meltdown in Europe’s banking system and concern that a global recession could drag down the price of commodities, forcing a steep slowdown in emerging-market growth.
Lehman’s Chief Defends His Actions As Prudent for Time
Richard S. Fuld Jr. blamed the news media. He blamed the short-sellers. He blamed the government, as well as what he characterized as an “extraordinary run on the bank.”
Shorts (right)
The Alsace-Moselle region is the great French exception. Having been variously French and German in the last few centuries — annexed, presumably for the last time, by Hitler’s Germany before returning to France after World War II — Alsace-Moselle still has a German feel, with rounded edges.
Fed Weighs a Radical Intervention in Debt Market
As pressure built in the credit markets and stocks spiraled lower around the world on Monday, the Federal Reserve was considering a radical new plan to jump-start the engine of the financial system.
As Crisis Spreads, Investors Fear Worldwide Recession
When the White House rolled out its $700 billion rescue plan two weeks ago, its sheer size was meant to soothe the global financial system, restoring trust and confidence. Three days after the plan was approved, it looks like a pebble tossed into a churning sea.
Nashville: 100 Percent Chance of Precipitation for the Second Debate
Tonight marks the second presidential debate at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Unfortunately, moderator Tom Brokaw and the two candidates are in for rain, preceding a cold front that should pass through Nashville on Wednesday. Weather has long had a psychological effect on the human psyche. How will this affect the debate? Will the rainy skies cast shadow on either candidate, making either seem unqualified? Will McCain make use of the thunder for dramatic effect? Or perhaps, Obama will show flashes of clarity with every lightning strike.
The Great Debate
News coverage leading up to Thursday’s Vice Presidential debate had us all believing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin lacked the skills and knowledge necessary to run for national office.
Corrections
In last Friday’s issue, the article “Grad Rat Redesigned for First Time Since 2003” incorrectly described some features of the new graduate student ring. The bezel of the new ring does not contain a slice of pizza or a crane. Those features did exist on the old ring, though are not present in the new design.
Breaking The Academia Bubble
Having attended a boarding school for the last four years, I am altogether too familiar with the term “bubble effect.” This metaphoric phrase describes the coddled isolation common amongst the verdant courtyards of academia.
The ‘Me’ Culture at MIT (and Beyond)
The “You” of YouTube is beautiful (who is immune to a bit of attention?), and the “We” of wikis and the like are everywhere. But make no mistake, at the end of the day, it’s still the “Me” that matters.
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
For most politicians, especially those facing an election in less than a month, looking good to the taxpayer is important. Anyone familiar with the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates knows how elected officials love to boast about fighting corruption, saving taxpayer money, and most recently, directing angry diatribes towards unpopular figures — and unfortunately for the market, Wall Street has never been all that popular with “Joe Six-Pack.”
Dispatches From Alaska
I learned that it takes 3000 foot-pounds of energy to stop a brown bear.
Physics Appreciates ‘Thoughtful’ Title IX Review
In an opinion piece published several weeks ago, Gary Shu speculated on the causes of the gender gap in science and engineering and decried the call for a “Title Nining” of federal science funding.
Women’s Tennis Falls to Tufts 7-2, Rebounds to Overpower Clark 9-0
The MIT women’s tennis team received their first loss of the season this past Thursday to nationally ranked Tufts University, 7-2.
Unbeaten Men’s Soccer Defeats WPI, 1-0MIT Edges Out Salve Regina, 5-4Field Hockey Falls at Springfield, 3-1
Senior netminder Thomas S. Caldwell ’09 turned away four shots en route to his Institute-record 15th career shutout as the MIT men’s soccer team edged out WPI, 1-0, in a NEWMAC contest on Saturday evening. With the win, MIT remains unbeaten and is now 10-0-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play while WPI dropped to 5-4 on the year and 0-3 in NEWMAC action.
Engineers Take First And Sixth at Div. III Cross Country Meet
The nationally-ranked no. 10 MIT women’s cross country team captured first place out of a field of 16 teams from across the country at the Division III Pre-National Cross Country meet, hosted by Hanover College on the site of the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Also competing at Hanover, the nationally-ranked no. 21 MIT men’s cross country team earned an impressive sixth place finish. The women edged Bethel University by two points for the best team finish at a national meet in the program’s history.
Talk Nerdy To Me
My friend lives in one of those dorms with an oversensitive fire alarm. If you fully shut the door while taking a steamy shower, you’ll force the whole building to evacuate.
Brouhaha Rhythm
Idiosyncrasies in musical taste range across an enormous spectrum, with ye-olde-school classical on one end and throat-thrashing screams on the other. With a wide array of genres to choose from, you’d probably be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t like music at all. Some people enjoy country, either because they really like hearing songs about women wreaking felonious vengeance on their lecherous significant others (with the collateral damage being a poor, innocent 4x4), or because they’re just in an achy-breaky mood in general. Others like music they can swing glowsticks to or hop on arrows to, which is great for their cardiovascular health (in spite of the risk of broken light fixtures or ankles).
Ask SIPB
Want to use the software on Athena? Wondered what sorts of cool things you can do? In this column, we discuss some of the useful software you can find in Athena lockers.
