Presidential search will likely conclude by June
The search process to replace President Susan J. Hockfield is on-track to conclude by early June, according to MIT Corporation officials.
The Tech’s news digest for May 4
The Tech’s new biweekly digest is the best way to hear news from around campus fast! Take five minutes to listen to the latest happenings at MIT and in the community.
MIT & Harvard join forces for edX
The world has come to expect great things when the university titans of Cambridge join forces. After all, Harvard and MIT led the international team that cracked the human genome together in 2003.
MIT takes a second shot at Kendall
MIT’s new plan for the future of the Kendall Square and the Institute’s eastern campus envisions an outdoor extension of the Infinite Corridor from E25 to E53, and a new open “riverwalk” from the Kendall’s Point Park along Wadsworth Street to the Charles River.
MIT professors and alumni elected to National Academy of Sciences
Four MIT professors and six MIT alumni were elected to the National Academy of Sciences this past Tuesday, May 1. This election brings the total number of MIT faculty members who are part of the Academy to 78, and the number of MIT affiliates — emeritus and former faculty, current and former staff, and alumni — to 199, according to a press release from the MIT News Office. Membership honors those who have made significant contributions in original research. In total, 84 new members and 21 foreign associates were elected this year.
France and Greece poised for crucial votes on Sunday
PARIS — France and Greece vote Sunday in elections that will be closely watched for the future of the European Union and the euro. The votes will once again highlight the emerging crux of the euro crisis: Will democratic politics offer a solution to the economic crisis or just make it worse?
Brazil increasing military presence along Amazon borders
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil is deploying more than 8,500 troops to the far reaches of the Amazon rain forest this month in an operation aimed at cracking down on drug smuggling, gold mining, and illegal deforestation, officials said.
Leaving presidency, Russia’s Medvedev fights for relevance
MOSCOW — President Dmitry A. Medvedev spent last Friday trying to persuade the grandees of United Russia that he is a conservative who can lead the party to victory. But many looked at him and saw Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin’s liberal sidekick, who emboldened the opposition and supported the West in Libya.
Shorts (right)
BARCELONA, Spain — Ahead of crucial elections this weekend in France and Greece, Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, warned governments Thursday against the “easier road” of raising taxes to fill public coffers, saying it would not solve Europe’s economic problems.
Shorts (left)
MEXICO CITY — The bodies of three photojournalists were found dismembered Thursday in the eastern state of Veracruz, days after a crime reporter for a national magazine was killed in her house there.
Cambridge weather finally ‘seasonable’
The cold damp weather that has plagued the Cambridge area for the past few days will persist into Saturday. Expect rain today with daytime temperatures in the upper 50’s. Saturday will be a bit better, with scattered showers and temperatures reaching the mid 60’s. By Sunday, expect to see the sun come out and temperatures remain in the 60’s, which is close to the average value for this time of year.
Study finds concerns regarding readiness for cyberattacks
WASHINGTON — A study commissioned by President Barack Obama to assess the nation’s ability to respond to terrorist attacks and man-made and natural disasters has found that state and local officials have the most confidence in their public health and medical services but are the most concerned about whether agencies can respond to cyberattacks.
Egypt’s military rulers deny role in fatal clashes
CAIRO — Egypt’s temporary military rulers delivered a sweeping defense of their tenure Thursday, saying they were committed to handing over power to a civil authority by the end of June, and denying any role in clashes the day before that left at least 11 people dead.
11 hours: ducking responsibility and leading from behind
The United States has a spending problem. Like an immature teenager with a brand new credit card, it keeps purchasing and purchasing with no regard as to how the purchases will ultimately be paid for.
Freedom: alive and well
The objectivity of pro-Western (for lack of a better denominative) reports on the recent street and Internet activism in Russia must be questioned in a number of areas.
The view from the virtual classroom
MITx and its spawn, edX, are much in the news, but do they merit the hype? Let me give you the view from the cheap seats.
edX is freeing education
This Wednesday, MIT President Susan Hockfield and Harvard President Drew Faust announced the edX platform for online education. I have been taking the pilot edX course 6.002x this semester, but it wasn’t until I saw these two women speak that I realized just how big this initiative could be. 6.002x is already an incredible technological achievement that accurately replicates an introductory Course VI class on the Internet. After the announcement this Wednesday, this revolutionary online experience of MIT classes made the leap to become a multi-institutional platform that could transform the delivery of education worldwide.
Prints come alive
I’m sure that most of us are familiar with the “experimental” nature of contemporary art. While some of these works are stimulating, when I consider the great paintings from the Renaissance or the Impressionists in comparison to conceptual art and other modern art movements, I sometimes wonder if figure painting will ever “come back.”
Intrigue in Boston
Next House presented their self-produced musical Curtains over CPW and last Sunday, in celebration of the dorm’s 30th anniversary. Curtains, originally written by Rupert Holmes, tells the tale of the murder case that occurs in a Boston theater. The star of the show, Jessica Cranshaw (Tiffany J. Lin ’11), is shot in the beginning of her performance and a detective by the name of Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (Staly Chin ’15) comes to unravel the mystery of the murder. Baffled by the fact that Cranshaw’s costars and director were glad that she passed away, the detective puts everyone on his suspects list. In this play, there are relationship issues with cast members, rekindling of love, mother-daughter issues, boat shows, and newspaper critics from The Boston Globe!
Urine good hands?
Corporate profits soar. A corrupt politician is bribed into raising fees for a necessary service, at the expense of the people. The people’s protest is brutally suppressed by the police.
MITCHELL H. KATES ’13: Kates dominates the court as MIT point guard
Mitchell H. Kates ’13 is a Course 6-3 (Computer Science and Engineering) junior on the MIT Varsity Basketball Team who has been recognized for his stellar play on numerous occasions throughout high school and college. During high school, Kates won the Kerwin Award, awarded to the best player in the Shore Conference (New Jersey), broke the career assists record at Colts Neck High School, and received a gold medal on the National U-16 United States Maccabi Basketball Team in Israel in 2005. After coming to MIT, Kates became NEWMAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman, was selected to the NEWMAC all-conference team all three years, and was a 4th team All-American this year.
Cycling team wins ECCC title
Two months ago, the MIT cycling team kicked off the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) road season with a near perfect team performance at the Rutgers’ “Frozen Toed Season Opener.” After eight consecutive race weekends of consistent top results, the MIT cycling team held an unattainable lead in the team standings. Captains Adam P. Bry G and Katie J. Quinn G were assured to finish with the male and female individual season leader jerseys coming into the regular season finale, the “Live Free or Ride Harder” race weekend hosted by the University of New Hampshire on April 28 and 29.
