Orientation Committee solicits input
Last March, the Review Committee on Orientation was established and commissioned to examine and re-evaluate MIT’s orientation program. This includes the Freshman Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs), Freshman Orientation, Residential Exploration (REX) and Housing, and FSILG Rush. On Nov. 10, the committee held its first public forum for students to give their input on the orientation evaluation process. The committee expects to present its findings and final recommendations in January 2012 to Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings ’78 and Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo, who will make a final decision.
Why do science majors change?
Last fall, President Barack Obama threw what was billed as the first White House Science Fair, a photo-op in the gilt-mirrored State Dining Room. He tested a steering wheel designed by middle schoolers to detect distracted driving and peeked inside a robot that plays soccer. It was meant as an inspirational moment: children, science is fun; work harder.
More than $600 million missing from MF Global
A few days before MF Global’s collapse, regulators stationed at the firm were assured its books were in order.
Zuckerberg press conference
Before speaking to an assembly of students in 26-100 yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a brief press conference outside Lobby 10. Much of the discussion referred to his comments at a Stanford University event last Saturday, when he said that he may have kept Facebook in Boston if he had the chance to start over.
MIT and Russia to build research university
On Oct 26, MIT signed an agreement with Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation, marking the beginning of a three-year endeavor to develop a graduate research university, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (SkTech, pronounced S-K-Tech). SkTech is located in Skolkovo, a region near Moscow that has been described as Russia’s future Silicon Valley. The agreement was signed by MIT President Susan J. Hockfield, Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg, and SkTech founding President Edward F. Crawley ’76, a Course 16 Professor.
Facebook, Zuckerberg “like” MIT
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg swung by MIT yesterday to tell a packed 26-100 about Facebook’s corporate culture, what it’s like working in Silicon Valley, and — not surprisingly — why MIT students would make good Facebook engineers.
Nanotech lab top priority for MIT
Last April, President Susan J. Hockfield called the construction of the nano-Materials, Structures, and Systems (nMaSS) laboratory the Institute’s “highest academic priority” in a video outlining the MIT 2030 plan for campus development.
Megamimo wins Elevator Pitch Contest grand prize
The MIT $100K Elevator Pitch Contest wrapped up Wednesday at the finale event in the Stata Center’s Kirsch Auditorium. The Elevator Pitch Contest began with 285 contestants on Monday, and it is the first of a series of three contests sponsored annually by the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition.
PhD movie screening draws over 800 attendees, overflows 26-100
Thursday night, a line of people that extended from Building 26 down the Infinite Corridor to Lobby 10 waited to watch the film adaptation of Jorge Cham’s PhD (Piled Higher and Deeper) comics. The majority of the attendees, perhaps unsurprisingly, were graduate students.
Cambridge City Council candidates, part II
Tuesday, Nov. 8 marks election day in Cambridge. On Tuesday we profiled eight candidates for Cambridge City Council, and today we follow up with nine more. The following information was compiled from interviews with the candidates, or, if they did not respond to Tech inquiries, information from http://vote.rwinters.com (many thanks to Robert Winters!).
Empty UA Senate seats filled by new elections or presidential appointments
The UA Senate has seen several empty seats lately, and not because of students sleeping in. Several seats were never filled because nobody ran in UA elections or there was no clear winner. Other seats were vacated after senators resigned.
2011–2012 IFC Executive Board elected
The 2011–2012 Interfraternity Council (IFC) Executive Board was elected on Tuesday by the Presidents’ Council, with Thomas A. Anderson ’13 elected as the IFC’s new president. Anderson, a brother of Zeta Psi, was previously IFC Judicial Committee secretary. The new executive board will assume their positions at the next Presidents’ Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
Cambridge City Council Candidates: Part 1
Tuesday, Nov. 8 marks election day in Cambridge. Eighteen City Council candidates, including all nine incumbents, are running for one of the nine two-year seats.
Jaenisch awarded for genetic research
Professor Rudolf Jaenisch, MIT biology professor and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute, was recently named by President Obama as one of the seven recipients of the National Medal of Science, the highest honor given by the U.S. government in the fields of science and engineering. Jaenisch was awarded for his work on epigenetic regulation, the biological processes that affect how genetic information is translated into cell structures without changing the genes themselves. Last Friday, Jaenisch sat down with The Tech to discuss his research and inspiration:
Letter from Chancellor Grimson on Castillo, Tonegawa deaths
Editor’s Note: The following text was sent as a campus-wide email last Friday.
City Council candidates
Candidate Top three priorities Background MIT/Cambridge relations Students Need Henrietta Davis Healthier Children: Better physical education and food in schools. Better parks and playgrounds for children. Better serivces for seniors: More housing options. Environmental initiatives: Greener transportation options, energy-efficient buildings, planning for climate change, locally sustainable food. Eight terms on City Council 2010–2011 Vice Mayor Chair of Council Environmental Committee Enjoys working with MIT on environmental and energy matters. More housing options, especially for graduate students. An increase in housing development in Kendall Square area. Minka vanBeuzekom Public schools: Improve education by targeting early childhood and adult education programs in schools. Environmentalism and urban living: Encourage commerce growth; increase city growth while paying attention to overpopulation and overbuilding in places like Kendall, Lechmere, Alewife Overlay. Increase innovation in Cambridge government: Function with the best practice. Epidemiologist with a background in public health. Owner of small biotech company in Cambridge in the ’90s. Involved in many environmental and community activist groups, including Green Decade Cambridge and Area Four Neighborhood Coalition Leader. Believes there should be a distinction between MIT, the university, and MIT, the investment corporation. Takes the stance that the MIT Investment Management Company is not taking its full share of consequences — while developing Kendall, for example, it should invest in more than just the corporate sector. Pedestrian and bike safety Sufficient housing Improved nightlife, including longer businesses hours Larry Ward Working with young adults ages 18–24: Provide training and employment opportunities. Focus on good governance: Better communication between residents, including MIT students, and the city. Keep Cambridge family-friendly: Affordable housing, effective education. Former Chairperson of City of Cambridge’s University Relations Committee. Has experience working with MIT and students. Has lived in Cambridge for 25 years. Hopes to bridge gap between students and the city. Aims to help students utilize the city better: MIT students have a lot to offer and can, for example, be mentors for younger students. Improved nightlife Pedestrian and bike safety Tom Stohlman ’76 Zoning and development of Kendall Square: Work with MIT Investment Management Company, which owns a large part of the last undeveloped zones. City Manager’s contract: Expires in 2012 and currently under automatic renewal; Stohlman hopes to spur discussion about new options for the contract. Pedestrian safety: Sidewalk/street repair. Attended MIT in ’70s (Courses 4 and 10) and has since seen the progression of the Institute. Returned to Cambridge 11 years ago. Consults/advises several fraternities and sororities; sees undergraduates a lot. Believes that councillors perceive MIT and Harvard too negatively. He thinks the councilors should be more positive about what MIT does for Cambridge, including the commercially strong tax base that the MIT Investment Management Company generates. Keeping neighborhoods and bicycle paths safe. Charles Marquardt Preparing Cambridge for next generation of administrative leadership: City manager might retire after his 30 year term; assure all transitions are concise and well thought-out, and knowledge is retained in transitions. Sustainable and strategic development: While much innovation is occurring, keep Cambridge’s “small-town” feeling. Opportunities for working middle-class: Cambridge is slowly becoming a community of the very wealthy and the very poor. Diverse background, worked in private sector for many differently-sized companies. Grew up working in Cambridge. Dealt with different levels of Cambridge Board as community member and business owner. Believes the interaction between the MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo) and Cambridge City Council hasn’t been stable. He believes MITIMCo hasn’t done a good job of making Kendall and Central Squares publicly appealing. Increase in on-campus housing, especially for grad students Pedestrian and bike safety Matt Nelson Preserving economic diversity: Improve education and housing policies so Cambridge doesn’t become a city of the rich and the poor. Cambridge youth: Emphasize learning and increase educational opportunities outside of the classroom. Driver, pedestrian, and especially biker safety: There is no good system for bikes to get around the city. Cambridge native Appreciates Cambridge’s history and vision for future State coordinator of Massachusetts Environmental Voters Education Fund Believes that Cambridge has been lucky to have MIT and the technical innovation it has brought to the city. Wants to see students get more involved, especially as mentors for younger students in the city. Improve Cambridge to be a safer and more comfortable city. Affordable housing. James Williamson Pedestrian Safety: Improve and sustain real enforcement by the CPD of the largely unknown Cambridge Bicycle Ordinance and the Mass. General Laws. Major improvement of public transportation in Cambridge: Will insist on better and more timely and accurate information from the T. Participatory budgeting: Cambridge citizens have say in part of the budget; shift the government so it is more “bottom-up”, versus “top-down.” Greater community consultation over important decisions. Has lived in Cambridge for forty years. Long-time Council activist. Committed to protecting integrity and human diversity in the city. Believes that the MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo) is too commercially oriented. Thinks that MITIMCo should better reflect academic and residential needs of the students. Make MIT resources more widely and publicly available. “I’m not going to tell them what they want — they should tell me!” Leland Cheung G City Manager: Contract renewal in March 2012. Activism: Ensure that progressive legislation is being passed. Council transparency: Online tools to understand government services, voting items, and ways to interact with the Council. Served one term on Council. Current student at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Wants to increase student involvement in the city, including student internships, because the local government directly affects them. Increased housing and retail options More open space A voice to speak for their interests
Cause of death determined Examiner’s report: Tonegawa death suicide
Freshman Satto Tonegawa’s cause of death was ruled self-inflicted asphyxiation, according to his death certificate filed with the Cambridge City Clerk’s office. Tonegawa, son of MIT Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa, was found dead in his MacGregor dormitory room last Tuesday. He was 18.
Mosquitoes genetically altered
These mosquitoes are genetically engineered to kill — their own children.