MIT fined for emissions
Following a review of 2012 emissions records and an inspection of MIT’s power plant on Vassar Street, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) fined MIT $15,000 for violations in the monitoring of emissions.
IN SHORT
Economist and MIT alumnus Robert J. Shiller PhD ’72 won the 2013 Nobel Prize in economic sciences for his empirical analysis of asset prices. Shiller, currently a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, will share the award with Eugene F. Fama and Lars Peter Hansen of University of Chicago.
Bexley demolition sought
Yesterday, at a meeting with the advisory group for the future of Bexley Hall, the Department of Facilities and the Division of Student Life put forth a recommendation for the demolition of the building. Formerly an undergraduate dorm, Bexley Hall was closed after commencement this past year after inspections revealed a myriad of structural issues. If the recommendation is accepted by senior MIT administrators, the proposal will go to the City of Cambridge to acquire the necessary permits to evaluate and demolish the historic building.
Undergraduate representatives for Institute Committees selected
The Undergraduate Association (UA) Council and Chair of the Faculty Steven Hall approved Institute Committees’ undergraduate representatives Sept. 25. These students were chosen through a “competitive selection process by the UA’s Nominations Board,” according to UA Chief of Staff Shruti Sharma ’15. MIT Institute Committees — which are run by the faculty or administration and include undergraduate and graduate representatives — address a variety of issues at MIT.
Life explained differently: two new intro biology classes
The biology department launched two new introductory biology classes this term, 7.015 and 7.016, bringing the total number of introductory biology classes to five. 7.015 is the first intro biology class to cater towards students who come from a stronger biology background. 7.015 also incorporates discussion-based recitations and guest lectures, in contrast to the standard lecture format of the other 7.01x classes.
New office for green MIT
After years of experience in the field of campus sustainability, Julie Newman will take on a role as the first director of MIT’s new Office of Sustainability.
Seasonable sunshine in store
A mostly sunny, seasonable weekend is in store after two consecutive days of above-average temperatures. Yesterday’s high temperature at MIT was 73°F, well above the mean value of 61°F normally recorded at nearby Logan Airport. Likewise, southerly winds will keep a warm, moist air mass in place early this morning, allowing temperatures to approach the 70-degree mark for the second day in a row. This time, however, a cold front will pass through the area during the morning hours, resulting in increased windiness, a drop in humidity, and the arrival of cooler air from our north and west. That cooler air mass will continue to move in over the next couple of days, creating the a more seasonable weather pattern, with highs near 60°F and lows around 45°F by the beginning of next week.
Israel-Turkey ties strained by reports of spy exposure
JERUSALEM — Persistently strained relations between Israel and Turkey have not been helped by a report that, last year, Turkey revealed to Iran the identities of up to 10 Iranians who had spied for Israel.
Snowden says he took no secret files to Russia
WASHINGTON — Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, said in an extensive interview this month that he did not take any secret NSA documents with him to Russia when he fled there in June, assuring that Russian intelligence officials could not get access to them.
Shorts (right)
Among Goldman Sachs employees, the chatter started months ago that 2013 was going to be a good bonus year. The Wall Street bank began the year strong, and despite concerns about the economy, its profit doubled over year-ago levels in the second quarter.
Oil companies are sued in waste of natural gas
HOUSTON — In the sharpest challenge yet to the surge in flaring of natural gas in the Bakken shale oil field, North Dakota mineral owners this week filed 10 class-action lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in lost royalties from some of the nation’s largest oil companies.
Shutdown over, government slowly gets back to normal
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government sputtered back to life Thursday after President Barack Obama and Congress ended a 16-day shutdown, clearing the way for federal agencies to again deliver services, reopen public facilities, and welcome hundreds of thousands of furloughed employees back to work.
Google results top Wall Street expectations
SAN FRANCISCO — For more than a decade, Google’s search ad business has seemed almost magical in its ability to mint money.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
I take strong exception to A. J. Edelman’s recent column on the shutdown and his view that “in the current liberal climate,” Democrats are being hypocritical and indulging in “whining,” while the President “refuses to even sit down and negotiate,” even so being “assigned absolutely no blame.”
CORRECTIONS
In an article from last Friday’s issue about the funding of the student humor magazine Voo Doo, an informal harassment complaint about recaptioned comics was mistakenly referred to as a “Title IX complaint,” and a subheading mistakenly said that the Undergraduate Assocation (UA) investigated whether the magazine had committed Title IX violations. The UA only discussed whether to continue funding the magazine. The article also incorrectly said that the Association of Student Activities (ASA) brought the complaint before the UA’s Finance Board (Finboard), when in fact Finboard, some of whose members are also part of the ASA, acted unilaterally.
Synth-pop beats of Scotland
Lauren Mayberry, Ian Cook and Martin Doherty, otherwise known as the Glasgow-based synth-pop band CHVRCHES, have entered the music scene with quite a fanfare. After the relatively unrecognized premiere release of their singles “Lies” and “The Mother We Share” in 2012, the band suddenly took over headlines in early 2013. BBC ranked them fifth in their poll “Sound of 2013,” after which the band released their EP Recover to positive critic reviews, and within a few months CHVRCHES were already touring around the world.
Overcoming failure to succeed, Pixar-style
Last Friday, I had the opportunity to interview Kori Rae, a producer from Pixar, about the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of Monsters University. Rae has been working at Pixar since 1993, and has contributed to films such as A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Up, The Incredibles and Monsters University.
Minimalism and transient intimacy realized
The José Mateo Ballet Theatre of Cambridge opened its 28th season with a performance of Shadows Fleeting, the first of five ballet repertory performances of the 2013–2014 season. Shadows Fleeting features three unique works — Dark Profiles (2001), Covens (2006), and Vanished Verses (premiering this season) — by José Mateo, the company’s impresario, choreographer and artistic director. The recurrent theme of the night was exploring the darker side of Mateo’s provocatively expressed repertory.
Admiring our musical peers
Last semester, I went to my first MITSO concert to write a report for 21M.011 Introduction to Western Music. I remember enjoying the concert very much and wishing that I had known about MITSO performances earlier. Since I had somewhat put western classical music in the back of my mind, I decided to start off my Columbus Day Weekend by attending the first MITSO concert of the 2013–2014 season, in hopes of refreshing my musical knowledge. While I was perhaps only partially successful in that regard, the student orchestra was once again nothing short of spectacular.
From Italy to Kresge
In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, the celebrated Italian operatic composer, and in support of the relationship between Eni and MIT, the La Scala Chamber Orchestra performed a special MIT-exclusive concert at Kresge Auditorium on Oct. 7. The concert performance was proceeded with brief introductory remarks by MIT President Reif and Eni’s Chairman
Events Oct. 18 – Oct. 24
Events Oct. 18 – Oct. 24 Friday (5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m.) Architecture/Computation Lecture: Pablo Garcia, “A Brief History of Drawing Machines, Since 1425,” — 7-429 (5:15 p.m.–6:30 p.m.) Ancient & Medieval Studies Speakers Series | “Form as Theory: the Case of Medieval Boethius” — 14E-304 (5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.) Rob La Frenais: Future of Transport/Transport of the Future — E15-207, Wiesner room (8:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m.) Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre presents Shadows Fleeting — Sanctuary Theatre, Harvard Square (8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.) Celebrity Series of Boston presents Pianist Yuja Wang — Jordan Hall (11:59 p.m.) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (FREE, with shadow cast!) — 26-100 Saturday (8:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m.) Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre presents Shadows Fleeting — Sanctuary Theatre, Harvard Square Sunday (8:00 p.m–11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing — Sala de Puerto Rico Monday (2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.) Bobby Few and Don Byas Featured on WMBR’s Research & Development Program — 88.1 FM WMBR Radio (7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.) ACT Lecture | Lovett/Codagnone: Re-adapting Cinematic Traces — E15-001 (7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.) Angels in America, an ITS ALIVE reading — 14W-111 Tuesday (5:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.) Places in the Making panel discussion — E15, Bartos Theater (7:00 p.m.–8:15 p.m.) Australian Short Film (FREE admission) — 10-250 (7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.) Harmonix co-founder presents Rock Band and Beyond — Cambridge Innovation Center (8:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m.) Klezmer Contra Dance with live music! — W20-491 Wednesday (5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.) MTA Composer Forum presents: Martin Marks, MIT Senior Lecturer in Music and Theater Arts — 14E-109, Lewis Music Library (8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.) Israeli Dancing — W20-491 Thursday (6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) Architecture/Allen Lecture: William F. Baker, “Geometry, Structure and Architecture” — 10-250 (7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.) Urban Films: Good Fortune (2010) — 3-133 (8:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m.) Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre presents Shadows Fleeting — Sanctuary Theatre, Harvard Square (8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.) Screening of “Three Colors: Blue” by Krzysztof Kieslowski — 4-231 Send your arts events to arts@tech.mit.edu.
‘An eagle in a dove-coat’
“What if Mick Jagger stopped singing ‘Honky Tonk Woman’?” asked MFA curator Erica Hirshler at the opening of John Singer Sargent Watercolors. By 1907, the renowned Gilded Age portraitist John Singer Sargent had effectively abandoned his lucrative career as a portrait artist in favor of landscapes and figure studies in watercolor. It came as a shock to the art world, as if Jagger had given up “Honky Tonk Woman.”
Senior heads to weightlifting worlds
Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, Michael A. Nackoul ’14, a Pittsburgh native, has been selected by USA Weightlifting (USAW) to represent the United States at the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) World Weightlifting Championships in Wroclaw, Poland, Oct. 16–27. Nackoul was named to the USA World Weightlifting Team, an elite group of the country’s 15 top male and female weightlifters, who will compete in Poland against athletes from 62 different countries.
Brooklyn Nets to win NBA Atlantic Division
Brooklyn is absolutely in win-now mode. This offseason, they added to their already mega-talented starting line-up consisting of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez with a mega-trade with the Boston Celtics. They acquired future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, while also adding bench scorer Jason Terry. They have arguably the best starting five in the league, but it remains to be seen if their bench can be effective enough to make a significant push in the Eastern Conference. There have been plenty of outstanding starting line-ups over the years, but it’s been proven time and time again that a championship team needs a bench to succeed. Another question going into the season is how new coach Jason Kidd will handle his first coaching experience, especially with a team full of veterans. The Nets will have an interesting year, but they should win the East handily.
THE NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: A glacier’s gift
I’m from Vermont. My state has many trees and a few people. When you combine those two things, you get delicious maple syrup. In October, you also get hordes of tourists — the so-called “leaf-peepers.” Vermont calls itself the Green Mountain State, but it is really now, when the mountains are red and orange, that the forest gets the most attention. With winter approaching, trees pump the precious chlorophyll from their leaves and store it safely in their roots, revealing other leaf pigments that were previously obscured by green: the carotenoids (yellow/orange) and anthocyanins (red).
