Whyte named new Course 22 department head
Professor Dennis G. Whyte was named the new head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering yesterday, effective immediately. This announcement comes after Professor Richard Lester, the former department head, was named associate provost for international activities in May.
Semester kicks off with heat wave
The “fall” semester has officially begun at the Institute, but the weather has remained decidedly summer-like. Unusually hot weather has gripped the Boston area this week, as the last three days have been the top three warmest days of the year to date. In fact, Tuesday’s high temperature of 96°F (36°C) and Wednesday’s high of 93°F (34°C) were each all-time records for their respective days.
MIT professors and US Rep. Kennedy talk STEM education
MIT faculty and U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III met at the Media Lab on Sept. 3 for an event that highlighted technology’s potential to improve the quality of and access to STEM education. Called “Scaling STEM,” the event featured opening remarks by MIT President L. Rafael Reif, followed by presentations from Kennedy, Dean of Digital Learning Sanjay E. Sarma, and four professors from MIT.
MIT, BU will offer legal advice for free to student founders
MIT student entrepreneurs will soon be able to get independent legal advice from two law clinics opening on campus.
Toyota invests $50 million for car AI research at MIT, Stanford
To advance computer-assisted driving technology, Toyota is committing $50 million toward research at MIT and Stanford, the company announced last Friday.
Effectiveness of student wiki tested in GIRs
Crosslinks, a student resource “authored by MIT student for MIT students,” is running an experiment within GIR classes to find out how students interact with online material to achieve learning goals.
CORRECTIONS
The Daily Confusion: 2015 FSILG Edition, published last Thursday, has been updated online to include events from several independent living groups that were omitted in error. Note: The Daily Confusion only includes events submitted to The Tech and is not a comprehensive guide to rush and recruitment. The Interfraternity Council provides a more complete rush schedule.
DSL grant bails out UA, allows student group spending to rise
The Division of Student Life has granted $70,000 to the Undergraduate Association in response to the UA’s recent budget crisis. With these funds, and the implementation of new policies, the UA is on its way to recovering from last year’s budgeting errors that left the organization more than $50,000 in debt.
An FSILG Village would hurt MIT’s Greek system
Over the past year, there has been discussion about transitioning MIT fraternities and sororities stationed in Boston into a “Greek Village” located on West Campus grounds in Cambridge. This concept of an FSILG Village has moved quickly amongst FSILG officials and MIT administrators but has not gained support within the actual Greek community. According to a survey reported on by The Tech, “Of 80 total alumni and student representatives, only five alumni ‘expressed high interest in the project,’ and only five students thought it was at all likely that their living group would be willing to move into an FSILG village.”
Arts on the Radar
Arts on the Radar, a “block party for the arts” hosted by the List Visual Arts Center in collaboration with MIT’s Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) and Arts at MIT, took place on Sept. 4.
Growing pains
I go through music phases in bursts, and I make monthly playlists that reveal my brief obsessions. This past July, I went through a particularly angsty music stage — I was full of political discontent (I had just reviewed the anti-capitalist band Desaparecidos, so they were on this playlist too), I was working two jobs, and life was just, in general, monotonous. Needless to say, I identified with a lot of punk rock sentiments: desire to fight the man, weariness of the nine-to-five, eagerness to party (though my packed schedule and never-ending to-do list didn’t allow for it, so I had to live vicariously), and the simple need to do something just for fun.
Can I have the definition please?
I completely understood what director Hubert Hwang ’07 meant when he said that MIT students would probably really identify with at least one of the eight main characters in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The middle schoolers aren’t perfect, and while they have some impressive achievements under their belts, they have flaws, insecurities, and personal matters to deal with. We realize it isn’t fair to idolize them: admire them, sure, but don’t place god-like expectations upon them.
Women’s tennis off to a strong start
As it did a year ago, the MIT women’s tennis team opened its season against New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponent Emerson College on Sept. 5. And as a year ago, the Engineers came away with a 9-0 win over the Lions in the first match of the 2015-16 season for both squads.
MIT suffers 31-28 defeat in season’s first football game
Trailing by three points with a little more than a minute to play, MIT put together a late drive that came up just short when WPI held the Scarlet and Gray on a fourth-and one play with 21 seconds left to hold on for a 31-28 victory in the season opener for both teams. It was the first time the two schools have met on the gridiron since the 2002 season.
Water polo team starts with 2 wins
The MIT water polo team opened its season with a record of 2-1 at the 2015 Bruno Classic, hosted by Harvard University and Brown University over Labor Day weekend. The Engineers, ranked No. 19 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) preseason poll, fell to No. 4 Stanford University, 29-9, on Saturday, but bounced back on Sunday defeating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by a score of 14-11 and Occidental College, 12-6.
A ladies’ (and gentlemen’s) guide to Rush
As a freshman, I’ve been on campus for less than two weeks. And yet, I’ve already received free steak and shakes, won a 3D printer, and proven that I am Grade A fraternity brother material.
A guide to groceries at MIT
Buying your own groceries can be intimidating. I’ve been buying groceries for the past year, so I decided to put together a guide to groceries near MIT.
