The road to Firefly’s 10-year reunion panel
On day one of San Diego Comic-Con International, our Google calendar was a naively tight grid of panels. The plan was to bounce between Hall H (capacity: 6130 people) and Ballroom 20 (capacity: 4908 people), leaving just enough space in our schedule to briskly walk from one room to the next. What we learned on the first day was that at a convention of this size, attending any event isn’t possible without serious forethought and sacrifice.
City Council will wait a week to approve for 300 Mass. Ave; wants to preserve affordable housing in negotiation
MIT and Forest City, the developers of University Park, are poised to receive approval to construct a new life sciences building at 300 Massachusetts Avenue, immediately north of Random Hall.
MIT professor wins $3 million
Physicists are rarely wealthy or famous, but a new prize rewarding research at the field’s cutting edges has made nine of them instant multimillionaires.
Lottery officials knew about Cash WinFall’s flaws
Massachusetts State Lottery officials knew for years that a small group of gambling syndicates had virtually taken over a game called Cash WinFall — winning most of the prizes during high payoff periods — but did nothing about it until the Globe began investigating, according to state Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan.
Inspector General’s Report on ‘MIT Group’
In January 2005, James M. Harvey was about to start his final semester at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Looking for an interesting independent study project for his last term, he considered a project evaluating the Lottery games Powerball and MegaMillions to determine which was more advantageous from the player’s perspective. While researching Powerball and MegaMillions, he also reviewed other Lottery games for comparison. That was when he began looking at Cash WinFall and noticed its unique “roll-down” feature.
UC Berkeley joins edX initiative
On July 24, University of California, Berkeley joined edX — the online education venture started by MIT and Harvard University — and will offer online classes in the fall. MIT has billed edX as an open platform that universities can use to improve their on-campus education and simultaneously make courses available to worldwide audiences. There are seven classes set to be offered for fall 2012, including BerkeleyX courses “Software as a Service” and “Artificial Intelligence.”
5 RLADs hired, will assume roles Aug. 6
Five candidates have just been hired to serve as Resident Life Area Directors (RLADs), beginning Aug. 6 in MacGregor Hall, McCormick Hall, New House, Next House, and Simmons Hall. Two others have been promoted from their previous position of Residential Life Associate (RLA) when that role was discontinued at the end of this academic year. According to Henry J. Humphreys, Dean of Residential Life and Dining, the housemasters of the remaining dormitories — Baker House, Bexley House, East Campus, Random Hall, and Senior House — will meet with their respective communities about their RLADs in the early fall.
The Tech explores... San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is an annual four-day celebration of the popular arts, that draws over 130,000 attendees from around the world. Originally started in 1970 as a comic book convention, the focus of the Con has since shifted from comic books to everything pop culture, from blockbusters and video games to the latest science fiction and fantasy novels. Some fans make the pilgrimage to see the people who create their favorite media, others to stock up on rare comic books or to spend thousands on the gigantic exhibition floor. Some people just come for the crowds.
Planning Board rejects Novartis courtyard proposal
On July 17, the Cambridge Planning Board reviewed Novartis’ plans for fencing its public access courtyard at the new Novartis campus. The board rejected the plans due to concerns over the courtyard security, requiring Novartis to come back with a new proposal.
New 2-A curriculum to be introduced in the fall
This coming fall, students in Course 2 (Mechanical Engineering) will see the introduction of a new Course 2-A curriculum, the modified, more flexible version of the traditional Course 2 track. Incoming sophomores, the class of 2015, will have their choice between the current 2-A curriculum and this new one, while students from the class of 2016 on will go into the new curriculum. For more information, see The Tech’s previous coverage of the announcement of the new program in April Edward E. Burnell ’12, a Course 2 senior, sat down with Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Course 2-A program coordinator Annette Hosoi, to ask about the proposed changes.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Higgs boson developments
This summer I have had the opportunity to work with the MIT physics faculty at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, near Geneva, Switzerland. CERN is home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and I am here with a group of MIT professors, postdocs, grad students, and undergrads working on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS). And yes, this is at the heart of the search for the Higgs boson. I have witnessed most of the biggest behind-the-scenes events over the past month and will share them here.
Five dorms to have RLADs in coming fall
Last Monday, July 2, new details regarding the Residential Life Area Director positions were released. On-campus interviews will begin next Monday, July 15. The selected RLADs would step into their roles no later than Aug. 3.
Zoning changes for Kendall begin to gel
At tonight’s meeting of the Cambridge Planning Board, the City’s Community Development department presented a draft recommendation of planned zoning changes for Kendall Square.
Memorable Fourth of July show!
Earth, wind, rain, and fire were on the menu for this July 4th. I gathered my blanket and camera, donned my backpack, and was ready to sit on the esplanade through the weather to see the fireworks spectacular that so many people descend upon Boston to get a glimpse of. As someone who spent their life watching fireworks on TV, I was more than excited to see the Boston Pops Fireworks spectacular on July 4th.
CORRECTIONS
The article about the Inman Square shootings in the June 13 2012 issue of The Tech incorrectly noted that the shooting happened “on Sunday night”. The shooting happened on the previous Sunday, June 3.
Landlines set to be removed from dorm rooms
According to a statement released by the Division of Student Life last week, landline telephones will be removed from all on-campus dorm bedrooms by the end of summer.
Car Talk will move to syndication
The popular radio show Car Talk hosted by MIT alumni brothers Tom Magliozzi ’58 and Ray Magliozzi ’72 will stop new episodes in Septemnber; reruns will continue in syndication. Car Talk was first broadcast by WBUR in 1977, and was picked up by the National Public Radio ten years later. Car Talk has been broadcast on NPR for the last 25 years.
Chris Kaiser becomes provost
Chris A. Kaiser PhD ’87, former head of the department of Biology, assumed the role of provost on July 2. He succeeds L. Rafael Reif, who became president on July 2. The provost is the Institute’s senior academic and budget officer and is in charge of recruiting faculty as well as MIT’s educational programs.