New UA Council appointed, meeting soon
The UA Council, the UA’s main ruling body that replaced the Senate, has been almost completely filled, with the off-campus representative yet to be determined. The Council includes representation for every dorm, the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Association (Panhel), the Living Group Council (LGC), and off-campus residents, each selected in a way determined by their constituents. The Council will have its first meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Senate Chambers, W20-400, according UA Vice President Amanda C. David ’13. The meeting will be open, and food will be served.
ERC releases plan for global initiative
Many visions of the future presented during MIT150 concern the Institute itself and nearby Kendall Square — but MIT’s Environmental Research Council (ERC) had larger goals in mind, global-sized goals. In December, the ERC released an implementation plan for the establishment of a Global Environment Initiative (GEI), whose challenge is to “integrate the Institute’s core strengths in … research to better understand the global environment and manage our role in it.”
CORRECTIONS
A Feb. 10 article about Chipotle incorrectly gave Jeffrey Warren’s class year as 2015. He is a 2014.
Technology exposition or career fair?
Photography startup Lytro came to Techfair this year to show off its new 3D camera, whose pictures can be refocused after the shot. They invited students for a hands-on demo of the unreleased product — what they didn’t expect was the deluge of resumes.
MITx starts with 6.002x
6.002 (Circuits and Electronics) will be the first course offered via MITx, announced late last year that has seen widespread praise but also faces questions from some faculty members. MIT has billed MITx as a way to enhance the on-campus education for MIT students and simultaneously offer MIT courses, largely free, to the rest of the world.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 2014’s Brass Rat design revealed
By 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, the promise of a surprise gift for the first 50 people in line for Ring Premiere had lured a crowd of sophomores to the doors of Kresge. Later that evening, we discovered that the first ones there got their purple tickets and went on their merry way, instead of having to jostle each other outside the door for four hours.
Google cleared for Motorola Mobility acquisition
U.S. and European antitrust regulators on Monday approved Google’s acquisition of the cellphone maker Motorola Mobility without formal conditions, paving the way for the search giant to compete directly with its new archrival, Apple.
Cambridge seeks to rebrand Central Sq.
Venturing into the city? Ever think of heading just a few blocks down from campus to Central Square instead, the geographic “heart of Cambridge?” Former Cambridge mayor David Maher and his Red Ribbon Commission on the Delights and Concerns of Central Square, appointed in June 2010, think there is more potential in this title than just the location. Following 16 months of work, last December, they published a report covering new proposals and ideas for Central’s future revitalization and development.
Jeremy C. Stein nominated to Fed. Reserve Board
President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Jeremy C. Stein PhD ’86 and Jerome H. “Jay” Powell to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last December.
The social network, smaller: Facebook to blame?
The Internet has become a voracious social animal, and Facebook is to blame.
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.