Hackers Leave Lunar Lander on Dome
A scale model of the Apollo Lunar Module that carried astronauts to the surface of the moon appeared on the surface of the Great Dome in the early morning of Sunday, May 17. (How early? Just before sunrise, hackers were visible walking on the dome.)
Sloan Grad Student Dead After Fall From E19
Han D. Nguyen G was found dead this morning in the parking lot of E19, apparently having jumped from the roof of the building. Nguyen, age 25, was a PhD student in marketing at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Final Blue Ribbon Dining Report Removes Some Unpalatable Recommendations
The final report of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining to MIT, dated May 11, 2009, recommends that the existing House Dining program be dismantled and replaced with a declining-balance program. But in the report, the committee says it does not recommend a mandatory meal plan for all students, charging students in dining hall dorms an “opt out fee” where they would pay to eat nothing, or turning the MacGregor Hall convenience store into a dining hall.
Decision on Housing License for ATO Postponed to June
Members of the ATO fraternity will not be allowed to move back into their house yet, the Cambridge License Commission decided at a hearing on Tuesday. The commission voted to take the matter “under advisement,” and will reconsider granting a housing license at a meeting in June.
Urban Studies and Planning Students Walk In on Dept. Committee Meeting
Last Wednesday, a group of over 10 students in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning walked in on a faculty committee meeting at the Black Sheep Restaurant in Kendall Square to demand a clearer mechanism for student input into future of the department and the handling of budget cuts.
Video: Lunar Lander Hack Removal
MIT facilities workers (and hack removal specialists) remove the largest and most difficult part of the Apollo 11 lunar lander hack from the Great Dome: the welded steel base, too large to fit through any door. The hack went up just before sunrise on Sunday, May 17 and was removed midday on Tuesday, May 19.
Public Health Experts Tracked Harvard Swine Flu to MIT
Anita Barry, a veteran disease investigator for the city of Boston, was at Logan International Airport, briefing officials about a worrisome new virus, when her cellphone jangled.
MIT Astronaut Returns to Space to Make Final Hubble Telescope Fixes
Seven astronauts blasted off Monday for one last dance with the Hubble Space Telescope.
Crush, Push, Stack! 2.007 Robots Compete in Junkyard Challenges
Edward M. Grinnell ’11 won the 2009 2.007 design competition last Thursday with a robot that stacked bales of “trash.” Pablo J. Bello ’11 was the runner up, losing in the final round by two points. Grinnell and the three other top finishers won a trip to Tokyo for the International Design Contest, to be held in August. All top four finishers received cash prizes and full licenses to SolidWorks. Grinnell received the extra prize of being carried by 2.007 professor Daniel D. Frey PhD ’97 for a victory lap.
New Student Financial Services Director to Be Announced, Barkowitz Leaving for Columbia
MIT will soon have a new director of Student Financial Services, according to Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings ’78. Hastings will announce the new director “within the next few weeks,” he said.
ATO Completes Repair To House; Expects CLC Housing License Today
The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity may regain the housing license to its house on Memorial Drive, depending on the results of tonight’s Cambridge License Commission meeting.
Stay Tuned…
After the Alpha Tau Omega house was damaged last summer from a pipe leak, rendering it temporarily uninhabitable, the fraternity lost its charter from the national fraternity, according to Cambridge License Commission minutes. Yesterday morning, the CLC held a decision meeting where — if ATO regained its charter — the committee could have decided to grant the fraternity a housing license.
Neighborhood ‘Galileo’ Production Shows His Greatness and Defects
You may think, after the Huntington’s recent “Two Men of Florence,” that you have seen enough of Galileo Galilei for one season. Please don’t let that keep you away from David Wheeler’s rich and vibrant production of the Bertolt Brecht classic “The Life of Galileo,” at the Central Square Theater.
Berenson Gives Birth In Prison
Lori H. Berenson, a former MIT undergraduate, gave birth to a baby boy named Salvador Anespori Apari Berenson Wednesday while serving a 20-year sentence in Peru for collaborating with the leftist rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, the Associated Press said. Berenson and the father of her son, Anibal Apari, a former member of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, met in prison and were married in 2003.
Terminated MIT Police Officer Identified
The MIT Police officer fired early last month was Duane R. Keegan. Keegan was terminated in early April after an incident where he and another officer removed copies of <i>The Tech</i> from newsstands and placed them in recycling bins.
No Choice for Police
MIT police probably would not have called in the fire department to inspect a bomb-shaped concrete hemisphere on Kresge Oval if someone had taken responsibility for it before or immediately after they put it up.
Police Review Panel Has Tight Scope: Police Policies
<i>The Tech</i> sat down with Professor Robert J. Silbey last week to talk about the Campus Police review panel. Silbey is chairing the panel (see membership below) formed in the aftermath of the arrest of then-MIT Police Officer Joseph D’Amelio on drug trafficking charges.