UA president resigns, Wynter takes office
UA President Allan E. Miramonti ’13 announced his resignation in a campuswide email yesterday evening, citing his need to “refocus” on academics and well-being. Miramonti’s vice president, TyShaun Wynter ’13, assumed the presidency immediately.
MIT research in The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is the flagship show of television nerdiness — being featured on the show means that, in some way, you reach over 15 million viewers. Physics professor Janet Conrad and many in her research group have been studying neutrinos with the Double Chooz experiment in France for a few years. Little did they expect to see their work on mainstream television last December.
Cost of housing is rising steadily
How expensive is it to live on campus? For the past few years, the cost of housing at MIT has been steadily rising. In the 2007-2008 school year, the average costs for living in a single or double room in a dormitory was $2,921, which rose in the following years by eight, seven, four, and five percent, respectively. The average cost today is $3,652. Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life and Dining Henry J. Humphreys said that the main factors affecting rate hikes are the cost of operations, debt service of the buildings, and costs associated with upkeep, repairs, and renovations.
18,088 applicants for Class of 2016
MIT received 18,088 total applications for the Class of 2016 — 12,080 in the Regular Action cycle and an additional 6,008 applications for the Early Action cycle that finished in December. This marks a 1 percent increase from last year’s 17,090 applications, which is significantly lower than the increases in recent years. The number of applications for the Class of 2015 increased 8 percent from that of the Class of 2014, which was a 6.2 percent increase from the year before.
Shorts (right)
BRUSSELS — The European Central Bank may forgo future profits on its Greek bonds as efforts remain under way to fill a financial hole that has been obstructing a second bailout for Greece.
As Syria wobbles, Iran feels the weight of an alliance
As anti-government forces in Syria’s violent uprising have increased the pressure on President Bashar Assad to step down, Iran, his main Middle East supporter, also finds itself under siege, undermining a once-powerful partnership and longtime U.S. foe.
Shorts (left)
Iran said Tuesday that a team of United Nations nuclear inspectors visiting since the weekend had concluded “constructive and positive” talks with Iranian officials, with further discussions planned at an unspecified date.
A big Romney win in Florida bolsters his campaign
TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney rolled to victory in the Florida primary Tuesday, dispatching an insurgent threat from Newt Gingrich and reclaiming his dominant position in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
CBO says economy is projected to remain sluggish
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that the economy would remain sluggish, with high unemployment, and that the federal budget deficit would exceed $1 trillion in 2012 for the fourth consecutive year.
Riding personal data, Facebook is going public at $80–100 billion
Facebook, the vast online social network, is poised to file for a public stock offering Wednesday that will probably value the company at $80 billion to $100 billion, cashing in on the fuel that powers the engine of Internet commerce: personal data.
With a Barnes & Noble punch, clash of book titans revs up
In a sharp answer to Amazon and its expanding publishing efforts, Barnes & Noble said Tuesday that it would not sell books released by Amazon Publishing in its bookstores.
Clouds Expected for Groundhog Day
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, the annual holiday on which the most famous rodent resident of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania predicts whether winter will last another six weeks, or yield to an early spring. The groundhog, known as Punxsutawney Phil, emerges from his burrow each February 2nd. According to legend, if he sees his shadow upon emerging, he will be frightened into running back underground for six more weeks of hibernation. However, cloudy weather is expected for Punxsutawney tomorrow, meaning the groundhog will stay above ground, thereby predicting an early spring. Of course, the official Groundhog Day prediction has only been correct 39% of the time historically, so Phil may not be the best medium-to-long range forecaster.
CORRECTIONS
A correction that ran on January 25 gave the class year of C. Scott Ananian as ’07. He received a PhD in 2007, not a bachelor’s.
Don’t let ‘Charlie’ get stranded!
Over the past few years, the MBTA has made great strides in reducing costs and improving service, making Boston’s system the envy of other Northeast cities. However, Forward Funding legislation, which requires the MBTA to borrow against future revenue to pay for capital projects, is dedicating increasing fractions of the annual operating budget to interest payments. This benefits no one except capital markets that are collecting interest on the debt. No amount of fare increases or service cuts can solve the MBTA’s deficit alone.
Copland conductorless, and Stravinsky interrupted
With all of the drama and lack of a permanent conductor at the BSO, the orchestra found an opportunity to do something completely out of the ordinary for their concert series from January 21–24. The entire first half of the program consisted of different sections of the orchestra performing pieces for chamber-size groups — without a conductor. A conductor was eventually contracted for the second half of the concert and worked with the orchestra for the week leading up to the first performance. The second half of the concert featured Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, one of the most controversial yet brilliant pieces of repertoire in classical music.
New York hopes for repeat
The Super Bowl is once again upon us, when the collective attention of the nation will be directed towards their TV screens watching the Packers and the Steelers take one another on in Dallas. Who will win? The Tech’s Sports staff weigh in, with bragging rights on the line …
Basketball defeats Clark, Coast Guard
Last week, MIT rebounded from its first loss against WPI with two wins against Clark and Coast Guard.
SPORTS SHORT
After a nearly two-month break from competitions, the MIT Varsity Rifle team competed on Friday and Saturday in its annual Beanpot match. Though visiting team Penn State bested the Engineers by 41 points to win the Beanpot, MIT won the collegiate sectional competition. Jennifer C. de Bruijn ’12 shot a personal high score of 569 in the air rifle portion, taking home a silver medal for her performance. Nigel C. Kojimoto ’12, Elizabeth A. Phillips ’13, and Michael A. Batista ’12 followed closely behind for a team score of 2224, to beat Penn State ROTC, Coast Guard Academy, and Wentworth Institute of Technology. In the smallbore competition, Elizabeth A. Phillips ’13 led the team with a 549, third overall in the competition. Nigel C. Kojimoto ’12, Jennifer C. de Bruijn ’12, and Timothy R. Jenks ’13 also contributing towards the Engineer’s sectional win.
Volleyball starts season strong
The No. 9 ranked MIT Men’s Volleyball team has started the season with a bang, beating the reigning national champions and currently ranked No. 1 Nazareth College Golden Flyers on their own court.
Dr. Grammarphile
“You’re dog was tracking mud all through there house. I was literally so embarrassed that I thought I’d die!”
Events Feb. 1 - Feb. 6
Events feb. 01 – feb. 04 Wednesday (12:30 – 1:30 p.m.) Class of 2015: Get to Know Your Faculty — 4-145 (1:30 – 2:30 p.m.) Gravitational Lensing is Fantastic!: A lecture about gravitational lensing and its applications in astrophysics — 6-120 Thursday (12:00 – 1:30 p.m.) Class of 2014 and 2015 Alumni Class Connections Luncheon: Meet MIT alumni for a talk about careers and how MIT shaped their lives — Mezzanine Lounge (W-20) Friday (5:00 – 8:00 p.m.) Maslab Final Competition: come see robots smash walls, hurl balls, and compete for glory! — 26-100 (8:00 – 9:00 p.m.) Roadkill Buffet Improv Comedy Show — 6-120 Monday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) MIT Techfair 2012: MIT’s biggest student-run tech expo — Rockwell Cage Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
