REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: J.J. Abrams on the science of stories
This past Tuesday, MIT was graced by geek royalty in the form of J.J. Abrams, the producer and writer-director most famous for his television shows, which include Lost and Alias. In the latest installment of the Media Lab’s Conversation Series, Abrams sat down with lab director Joi Ito to discuss the creative process and the unexpected similarities between their respective ventures. I arrived at the lab thirty minutes early to secure a seat, and for good reason — the third floor atrium filled up quickly with aspiring storytellers looking for bits of wisdom and excited fans looking for the answers to the ending of Lost.
Hobojacket no more
Hobojacket, a website by Jin Pan ’16 and Cathie Yun ’16 dedicated to donating jackets of a rival college to the homeless, has shut down amidst complaints about the ethics of the enterprise. The site, launched on Sunday, quickly went viral and saw coverage on various websites, most of which criticized the actions of Pan and his collaborators for being in poor taste, including Jezebel. The site was taken down and replaced with an apology letter, copied below, sometime Thursday morning. At press time however, a visit to the website reveals a completely different site reporting to sell temperature indicating cups.
New VP of research in 2013 among administrative changes
On Jan. 16, 2013, Maria Zuber, former Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) department head, will assume the role of MIT’s vice president for research. President L. Rafael Reif announced the news in an email to the MIT community on Tuesday. Zuber has been an MIT faculty member since 1995 and is currently the E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics. In the email, Reif refers to Zuber as a “compelling advocate for farsighted national investment in university research” and mentions that she is “extraordinarily well prepared to lead MIT in federal research policy and administration” given her experience in Washington.
Powerless
MIT, Harvard, and the surrounding areas lost power from 4:26 to 6:37 p.m. yesterday. The outage threw the Institute into darkness — classes were canceled, MBTA service was delayed, and police were dispatched to direct traffic. Emergency power remained on in dormitories and around campus.
332 to participate in externship program
Now in its 16th year, MIT’s Externship Program will connect 332 undergraduate and graduate students to alumni-sponsored externships this January during Independent Activities Period (IAP). Run by the MIT Alumni Association, the program began offering short winter internships (“externships”) in 1997 for 20 to 25 students in its formative years. This year’s 332 is a new record, over last year’s 294 participants, according to numbers provided by Katie C. Maloney, Director of Parent Association and Student/Alumni Relations.
Massie ’93 in U.S. House of Reps.
On Nov. 6, Thomas Massie ’93 was elected as U.S. Representative for Kentucky’s Fourth District. Massie graduated from MIT in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and also received a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the Institute in 1996. Massie, a Republican, won the seat after a seven-way primary and has already been sworn in due to his predecessor’s early retirement.
MIT filing a new Kendall Square zoning petition
MIT announced last Tuesday that it would file a new zoning petition for its area of Kendall Square “as soon as possible.” The changes will be presented in advance to the Cambridge Planning Board on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 4, and the formal filing is expected to soon follow.
How prepared are MIT and Cambridge for rising sea levels?
MIT’s campus as you know it may not exist in 100 years — and if it does, it would likely have a renewed focus on ocean engineering. That’s because, according to a New York Times analysis of major U.S. cities, much of southern Cambridge would be underwater if ocean levels rise five feet, which is “probable” within 100–300 years. If levels rose 20 feet, over half of Cambridge and a third of Boston would be submerged.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 21 bringing down the house
On a windy Tuesday night this past week, the Lecture Series Committee ran a presentation centered around one of the most prominent references to MIT in pop culture. In the dimly light room 26-100 stood Jeff Ma ’94, the inspiration for the main character of the movie being screened: 21. Next to him was Ben Mezrich, renowned author of Bringing Down the House, which piqued Kevin Spacey’s interest in a story of MIT nerds taking down Las Vegas’ casinos (Spacey played an MIT lecturer who coached the team).
Swartz hid behind helmet, but only after he was already photographed
On Friday, the government filed its consolidated reply to various motions to suppress evidence in U.S. v. Aaron Swartz. Swartz is being prosecuted for hiding a laptop at MIT and mass downloading millions of journal articles from JSTOR from 2010–2011.
Colleges in area partner with edX for class credit
EdX now has now broken into the community college sphere. President of edX, Anant Agarwal, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced yesterday at a press conference that students at Bunker Hill and Massachusetts Bay Community Colleges would be able to take an adapted version of 6.00x for credit starting in Spring 2013. This is the first partnership of edX with a community college and one of the first times a private institution (such as MIT or Harvard) has collaborated with a public institution to improve the quality of class content, according to Paul Reville, Massachusetts secretary of education.
Hubway stations to close by Nov. 28
Yesterday, Hubway began a “phased seasonal shutdown” of its stations in preparation for the winter, according to a post on its website. It will be closing up to six stations per day.
Faculty Newsletter praises faculty 2030 report
In the November issue of the Faculty Newsletter, released yesterday, three articles respond to the faculty 2030 task force’s report on “Community Engagement in 2030 Planning on Development of MIT‐Owned Property in Kendall Square.”
K2C2 almost done
The City’s yearlong, $350,000 analysis of the future of Kendall and Central Squares is drawing to a close, but what does it have to show for it?
W20 to get card readers soon
Going for a late night Verdes run? Better grab your MIT ID. Starting Tuesday, the doors to W20 will require card access every night between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.. During those hours, visitors will only be able to enter through two doors: the front entrance near LaVerde’s and the back entrance by the ATMs.
Le Meridien workers continue campaign
Yesterday evening, between 4 - 6 p.m. a picket line with approximately 30 participants including Le Meridien hotel workers, union organizers, and MIT students gathered in front of the hotel located at 20 Sidney Street. Picketers called for hotel guests to support a worker-led boycott by checking out of the hotel. The picket line was planned for last night in order to attract the attention of hotel guests who are participating in the Eastern Division of the Community College Humanities Association conference, which is scheduled to take place at Le Meridien from November 15th-17th.
Financial worries pile on before graduation
Money troubles interfere with the academic performance of about one-third of all college students, and a similar number of students regularly skip buying required academic materials because of the costs, according to a survey released Thursday.