Chipotle is coming to Kendall Square
Kendall Square is heating up in the coming months with the addition of a new Chipotle restaurant. The Mexican fast-food chain, set to open in the spring of 2012 at 3 Cambridge Center, will be one of over a dozen new restaurants that have opened in the Kendall Square area in the past two years.
Dorm desks staffed by outside workers
Students on campus during IAP might have noticed some unfamiliar faces working at dormitory desks across campus.
UA finishes largest overhaul in years
2011 was a landmark year for the Undergraduate Association. Two successive administrations put forth plans to substantially restructure the organization, culminating in the dissolution of the UA Senate in December. A UA Council will take its place, comprised of representatives from dormitories, the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Association (Panhel), the Living Group Council (LGC), and an off-campus representative. Unlike the Senate, constituencies will decide for themselves how to pick their representatives.
Walker assessment is still not complete
Although the building has been under assessment since Oct. 2010, the 95-year-old Walker Memorial will see no changes for the rest of the academic year. Plans to repurpose the space for the Music and Theater Arts (MTA) department remain unsettled, with no set deadline for completion.
2011’s new Institute leaders
The past year saw change and advancement for many holding leadership positions at MIT. A series of promotions, appointments, and step-downs shuffled faculty and staff, resulting in a new chancellor, dean of engineering, director of the Media Lab, and several academic department heads.
THE TECH’S YEAR IN REVIEW 2011
What can MIT do better in 2012? Looking back on 2011, that’s the question students, faculty, and administrators should ask themselves. Last year was a big one, for MIT and the rest of the world, and what happened will deeply inform how we move forward.
2011: Year of the international partners
In 2011, MIT broadened its international network, entering partnerships with Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation, China, and Malaysia, as well cultivating a relationship with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) established two years prior. These initiatives follow other international partnerships in recent years, including the 2007 creation of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology with Abu Dhabi and the 2007 establishment of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.
Where will MIT be in 20 years?
MIT unveiled a long-term vision for the next 20 years of its development — “MIT 2030” — this spring. Though not a concrete plan in itself, MIT 2030 is essentially a collection of campus renovations, new construction, and real-estate development projects, some of which have already started.
Students and faculty rack up awards in 2011
MIT students, faculty, and alumni received various awards this year from some of the world’s most prestigious organizations.
Three student deaths hit community
This year, the deaths of Nicholas E. Del Castillo ’14, Satto Tonegawa ’15, and Phyo N. Kyaw ’10 shocked and saddened the MIT community. The deaths of both Castillo and Tonegawa were determined to be suicides, and Kyaw was killed in a traffic accident near campus.
Celebrating 150 years of Technology
MIT turned 150 last year, celebrating to the tune of “inventional wisdom,” a phrase coined by the MIT150 Steering Committee to convey a blend of entrepreneurship and quest for knowledge.
Questions raised over 2030 in FNL
Unlike previous iterations, the faculty newsletter (FNL) from November/December had several clear themes. It outlined a number of issues, including a faculty commentary of the MIT 2030 plan that covers concerns about faculty involvement and where academics fits into the plan, the report of the Stellar next-generation pilot on the blackboard platform, and updates on the committees for graduate admissions and undergraduate orientation. The MIT 2030 initiative was announced by MIT President Susan J. Hockfield last year as a vision of MIT for the future; in terms of how current real estate will be used and what new developments may occur. The opening editorial, written by the FNL editorial board, criticizes the MIT Investment Management Company’s (MITIMCo) role in the development of the plan. It stated that although they are positioned to evaluate the financial implications of the plans for future use of MIT real estate, they are “not in a position to balance the financial implications of long-term planning with the future academic needs of MIT.”
UA President Miramonti resigns
Undergraduate Association President Allan E. Miramonti ’13 announced his resignation in a campuswide email last Wednesday, citing his need to “refocus” on academics and well-being. Miramonti’s vice president, TyShaun Wynter ’13, assumed the presidency immediately.
Gaggle cops 132nd Managing Board elections
“You’re probably wondering why I gathered you all here outside the student center,” said Aislyn “Museum of Science” Schalck ’13, the new Chairman of The Tech. “There is a crazed serial killer on the loose, and you four are the only ones I can fully trust to help me in my investigation. I have determined that none of you could possibly be the killer.”
MIT research in The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is the flagship show of television nerdiness — being featured on the show means that, in some way, you reach over 15 million viewers. Physics professor Janet Conrad and many in her research group have been studying neutrinos with the Double Chooz experiment in France for a few years. Little did they expect to see their work on mainstream television last December.
Cost of housing is rising steadily
How expensive is it to live on campus? For the past few years, the cost of housing at MIT has been steadily rising. In the 2007-2008 school year, the average costs for living in a single or double room in a dormitory was $2,921, which rose in the following years by eight, seven, four, and five percent, respectively. The average cost today is $3,652. Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life and Dining Henry J. Humphreys said that the main factors affecting rate hikes are the cost of operations, debt service of the buildings, and costs associated with upkeep, repairs, and renovations.
18,088 applicants for Class of 2016
MIT received 18,088 total applications for the Class of 2016 — 12,080 in the Regular Action cycle and an additional 6,008 applications for the Early Action cycle that finished in December. This marks a 1 percent increase from last year’s 17,090 applications, which is significantly lower than the increases in recent years. The number of applications for the Class of 2015 increased 8 percent from that of the Class of 2014, which was a 6.2 percent increase from the year before.
CORRECTIONS
A January 18 article about this year’s IAP Mystery hunt gave the wrong rank for the team “Too Big To Fail.” They finished second, not fourth. There were 40 teams participating in the hunt, not 33.