Students question death of Princeton lecturer
One Friday morning this month, a security guard showed up at the office of Antonio Calvo, a popular Spanish instructor at Princeton University, to escort him from the building. Friends and former colleagues say Calvo was abruptly dismissed from his job, and because he lived in the United States on a temporary visa, he faced a compulsory return to his native Spain.
EECS-Biology major to give foundation in two thriving areas
The requirements for the new Course 6-7 (Computer Science and Molecular Biology) were recently unveiled on the newly-launched course website, ahead of the April 29 deadline for freshmen to declare their majors. The goal of the new joint major between the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Biology is to provide instruction in the field of computational and molecular biology while also fostering an understanding of both biology and computer science.
Ambassador Meera Shankar discusses Indian economy
Indian Ambassador to the United States Meera Shankar visited MIT Wednesday to speak about the Indian government’s goal of maintaining a high economic growth rate. Shankar’s talk came as part of the B&K Securities MIT India Forum, a series of lectures by prominent Indians.
New Course X major allows concentration in ChemEng fields
A new flexible Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering as recommended by the chemical engineering department was approved during Wednesday’s faculty meeting. According to Course 10 Executive Officer Paula T. Hammond ’84, the new 10-ENG degree was designed over the past 2.5 years to allow students to focus on a sub-topic in chemical engineering.
Steve Leeb wins Big Screw; proceeds to go to Pine Tree Inn
From April 4â8, APO collected over $2,600 in the annual Institute Screw Competition fundraiser. Steven B. Leeb â87, Professor of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, took the top spot, raising $1,376. All Big Screw proceeds will be donated to Leebâs charity of choice Ââ Pine Street Inn, a homeless shelter in Boston. Organizers also raised C$0.07, â¬0.02, 1000 Korean won, and a copy of a drop form for 18.100B.
Lobby 7 design winners announced
The winners of the Lobby 7 Design Competition were publicly announced last Friday. Frederick C. Kim ’11 and Kayla C. Manning ’11, competing as a team, and Benjamin J. Peters ’11 won first place prizes in the undergraduate competition, while Florence N. Doughty G, Nadine M. Volicer G, and Ann C. Woods G won in the graduate section, also as a team. The competition, launched in May of last year, asked students to design creative adornments for the four empty plinths of Lobby 7.
Protesters for and against Palestinian state clash in Israel
JERUSALEM — A day after dozens of prominent Israeli artists and intellectuals declared their support for a Palestinian state, they took their cause to the streets of Tel Aviv on Thursday and quickly found themselves confronted by rightist opponents calling them “traitors” and, according to some reports, “Jewish Nazis.”
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — Allen West made history when Florida voters sent him to Congress last year, becoming one of only two black Republicans from the South to serve in the House since Reconstruction.
Libyan rebels advance in West, US to deploy drones
CAIRO — The government of Moammar Gadhafi suffered setbacks on multiple fronts Thursday as rebels in the western mountains seized a Tunisian border crossing, fighters in the besieged city of Misrata said they were gaining ground and President Barack Obama authorized the use of armed drones for close-in fighting against the Gadhafi forces.
Survey finds more Americans gloomy about economy, future
Americans are more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Barack Obama’s first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — Unable to stanch the flow of corporate money to Republican causes, Democrats tried a new tack Thursday by bringing a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to force the disclosure of tens of millions of dollars in secret donations.
Severe storms sweep southern states
Spring is the peak season for severe weather in the southern United States, and that fact has been quite apparent over the past week. Last Thursday, a deep low pressure system over the southern Great Plains began to spawn severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in that region. As the storm tracked eastward over the next two days, a major tornado outbreak occurred, with at least 138 tornadoes touching down in 15 states. Forty-three people were killed as a result of tornadoes and high winds associated with thunderstorms during this outbreak.
Ensign, facing ethics inquiry, resigns from US Senate
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, the subject of an ethics investigation related to his affair with the wife of a former top aide, announced Thursday evening that he was resigning, effectively ending the high-profile Senate inquiry that had already ruined his once-promising political career.
Inquiries grow over Apple’s iPhone, iPad data collection practices
The controversy surrounding the security of Apple’s iPhone and iPad escalated Thursday as some European governments said they would investigate whether the company had violated privacy laws by collecting and storing users’ geographic location data.
Time to put government hands on Medicare
Two weeks ago, Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, issued a CBO-scored budget proposal that is being called the “Path to Prosperity.” The budget, a first of its kind — a unique, comprehensive fix to our debt problem — has caught many in the political establishment flat-footed. This includes President Obama (whose own budget plan looks prodigal in comparison) as well as many Republican leaders who have thought it politically wise to advocate for spending cuts without enumerating what, specifically, should be cut.
THEATER REVIEW Dramashop gets it on
During the past two weeks, MIT Theater Arts and Dramashop presented La Ronde (Let’s Get it On), an adaptation of the original play by Austrian author and dramatist Arthur Schnitzler. It was translated and directed for the MIT community by Anna C. Kohler, MIT Senior Lecturer in Theater Arts.
The man behind the lens
This is a story of a man and his city. The man — legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham — has faithfully documented street style for The New York Times for decades. The city, as seen through his lens, hosts a menagerie of creative getups ranging from the elegantly subtle to the outrageously flashy. Cunningham’s extensive portfolio serves as a comprehensive anthology of the last half-century of New York fashion. Even now, still energetic at age 80, he bikes through the heart of New York City every day, chronicling noteworthy outfits with his analog film camera.
MOVIE REVIEW The man who lived for clothes
The fashion world has seen its fair share of strong personalities and peculiar characters. Ruthlessly honest and demanding Vogue editors, diva supermodels, and celebrity-obsessed designers seem to run rampant. The documentary on Bill Cunningham is not really about a renowned fashion photographer, but rather an artist and visual historian who happens to love his subjects very, very much.
Baseball scores five in ninth, upsets Babson 6-5
When he stepped onto the mound to face the Engineers in the top of the ninth inning, freshman phenom Michael Bortolotti of Babson College had given up just one earned run in 39 innings. The Engineers’ offense, dormant for eight innings against Babson starter Andrew Aizenstadt, exploded against the best pitcher in Division III baseball at just the right moment.
SCOTT T. LANDERS ’13 Duathlons, dynamics, and development
Meet Scott T. Landers ’13. When Scott isn’t busy tooling away at psets like the rest of us, he trains for — and competes in — duathlons and triathlons. In fact, Scott will be competing in both the Short Course and Long Course World Duathlon Championships this fall. But first, a short background.
VIDEO GAME REVIEW Portal sequel more than still alive
The original Portal was released in 2007 to critical acclaim. It was a very short, polished game based on a novel concept — players wield a portal gun that can fire a blue or orange portal onto certain surfaces, and things that go through one portal come out the other, preserving their speed and relative direction. By applying this simple idea in different ways, the player navigated through test chambers of increasing difficulty, all while evading the once-helpful robotic test administrator’s attempts to hurt your feelings (and kill you).
CLUB CONNECTION What’s your beef?
Step aside, small fries! Mooove over, chicken! Beef is where it’s at, at least according to mitBEEF, MIT’s one-and-only beef appreciation club. To see whether that was true or just a load of bull, I headed over to Random Hall to do some “investigative journalism” at the first Miscellaneous Cow Part Competition, where a plethora of unusual beef cuts were laid out for us to taste and identify.
Events: Apr. 22 - Apr. 25
Events apr. 22 – apr. 25 Friday (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) iFair, sponsored by the International Students Association — Kresge Oval (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Good Friday service with reading of the Passion, sponsored by the Lutheran Episcopal Ministry — MIT Chapel (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Emerson Scholar Student Recital: Emily L. Jackson ’11, flute — Killian Hall (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Good Friday service — MIT Chapel (3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Making MAJOR Decisions: What you need to know about yourself when choosing a major — 4-145 (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Emerson Fellow Student Recital: Adrianna L. Tam ‘11, mezzo-soprano — Killian Hall (7:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.) Steer Roast Music Festival — Senior House (8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.) Dhoom, MIT Sangam’s dance party — W20 Lobdell Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) LIVERight 5K Run/Walk — Memorial Drive (Dorm Row) (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Course 5 2011 Undergraduate Research Symposium — 56-154 (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.), 56-114 (12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) (2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Emerson Scholar String Student Recitals — Killian Hall (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Inspirasian: Boston Asian Performing Arts Festival — Kresge Auditorium (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) MIT Muses Spring Concert 2011: “Elevator Music” — 6-120 (8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil Mass — MIT Chapel (9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) Easter Party — W11 Sunday (4:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.) Easter Sunrise Worship Service — E62 Courtyard (6:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.) Easter Breakfast — E62 Dining Hall (9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.) Easter Mass — W15 Monday (6:00 p.m.) Comparative Media Studies 13th Annual Media Spectacle — 32-155 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Democracy in the Middle East? A talk followed by a Q&A session — 56-154 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Is Eating Meat Ethical: PETA VP Bruce Friedrich vs. MIT Debate Team — 10-250 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
