Ambitious goals at State of the Institute
In her Monday morning State of the Institute address, President Susan J. Hockfield spoke about MIT’s preparation for the future in four main areas: attracting and retaining high-quality students, faculty, and staff; digital learning technology; encouraging the growth of this region’s “innovation cluster”; and making strides in the area of advanced manufacturing.
Thousands come together in Occupy Boston protests
Last Friday at 6 p.m., several hundred people were already milling about Dewey Square by South Station in Boston. A man with buttons lining his hat took the megaphone to start the chant, “Whose city? Our city!”; Dan, it was explained to me, was an old face at protests in the city.
Police Log
May 01 Bldg. 35 (127 Massachusetts Ave.) 12:00 a.m., Five skateboards stolen. Report taken.
CORRECTIONS
Tuesday’s article profiling Professor Anantha P. Chandrakasan misspelled the last name of Chandrakasan’s co-author in “Low-Power CMOS Digital Design.” He is Samuel Sheng, not Cheng.
Northeastern alum arrested for terrorist plot
ASHLAND — An Ashland man who holds a physics degree from Northeastern University was charged Wednesday with an Al Qaeda-inspired plot to send a remote-controlled aircraft carrying explosives into the Pentagon and the US Capitol “to kill as many people as possible,” according to a complaint filed in federal court.
‘Sigh-cology’ and wasabi at Ig Nobels
It’s not everyday you get to see a Nobel laureate and a Harvard professor sing “The Elements” while one of them plays the accordion. Yet that’s exactly what happened last night when Richard J. Roberts, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Medicine, and Harvard medical professor Thomas Michel performed during the opening ceremonies of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. Held annually in the Sanders Theatre at Harvard University, the Ig Nobels celebrate unconventional achievements in all fields of science and include performances from professors, Nobel Laureates, and professional opera singers. Chemistry was the theme of this year’s ceremony, and in that spirit each winner received a model table inscribed with the elemental symbols on the surface — a literal table of the elements.
For MIT150, Idea Bank reopens
The Idea Bank, an online forum for community members to give MIT comments and suggestions, is open again — this time to discuss the MIT150 festivities and collect ideas for future MIT150-inspired events. The Idea Bank is intended to foster ideas in a setting where students, faculty, staff, and alumni all have input.
Whitehead professor Rudolf Jaenisch wins National Medal of Science
Professor Rudolf Jaenisch, a founding member of the Whitehead Institute, has been named as one of seven recipients of the 2011 National Medal of Science award. The National Medal of Science is the highest honor in the fields of science and engineering in the United States. Barack Obama named Professor Jaenisch this past Tuesday for his work on the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.
CORRECTIONS
Last Friday’s article on the math diagnostic incorrectly reported that 700 freshmen took the diagnostic exam. The number of students who took the exam was 865.
Novartis & Pfizer to move near campus
Two pharmaceutical giants, Novartis and Pfizer, are getting closer to realizing their new complexes neighboring the MIT campus. Both sites will primarily house research facilities.
Tech startups take to MIT for Bootcamp
Hundreds of people from the MIT and Boston community flocked to Kresge Auditorium last Saturday as the founders of Dropbox, Quora, Foursquare and seven other tech companies took the stage at the 3rd annual Startup Bootcamp at MIT. The event featured a marathon of talks and presentations from well-known figures in the high-tech startup industry.
Chile president visits MIT, tours Media Lab
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera visited the MIT Media Lab last Friday to give a speech in front of an audience consisting primarily of Chilean students in the Boston area. Piñera encouraged his audience members to return to their native country, Chile, after completing their education. Piñera addressed his audience in Spanish.
Only over-the-counter inhaler off shelves in 2011
If you are among the 2 million Americans depending on a drugstore inhaler to deal with asthma, it may be time to schedule a doctor’s appointment. At the end of the year, your only non-prescription treatment option is coming off the shelves.
Toast for sale! Grab a bite for $1.875 million.
“I really like the human-like statue with a hamburger head and a sombrero.”
Diagnostic sees changes
For a majority of the class of 2015, the math diagnostic was the first academic hurdle to conquer at MIT. On Aug. 29, 700 freshmen sat for the two-hour exam, used to suggest class placement for their Physics I GIR course.
CORRECTIONS
Because of an editing error, a letter published last Friday omitted several words from the second sentence. It should read, “Yet data from the Guttmacher Institute show that the abortion rate is over twice as high for women who live with their partner as for those who do not.”