Technology Upgrades Across the Institute
Despite an early failure in MIT’s e-mail system in March, this year was a smooth year for Information Services and Technology. A few technology changes visibly impacted the student body, such as a change in phone and Internet service billing.
Microsoft Research Lab Will Expand To Cambridge, Conduct Academic Research
As other high-technology companies cut back on their research laboratories, Microsoft continues to increase its ranks of free-rein thinkers.
Commonwealth’s Memorandum In Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
The device worn by the defendant to Logan Airport was an assembled object. The defendant asserts that the device she wore to Logan airport does not constitute a hoax device because “separate components … cannot constitute a hoax device.” (D. Supp. Mem. 13). The defendant, however, cites no authority for this proposition and declines to inform the Court how this proposition, even if true, specifically applies to the defendant in this case. Presumably, the defendant is referring to the fact that she disconnected the 9-volt battery from the rest of her device upon leaving Terminal C. The defendant’s argument fails for two reasons. Most obviously, it fails because a person who violates G.L. c. 266, § 102A1/2, by employing a hoax device with the required intent, does not escape criminal liability because she thereafter disassembles the device. The defendant in this case can no more escape criminal liability under § 102A1/2 than can a defendant escape liability for unlawful possession of a firearm because, after he displays the firearm in question, he disassembles it. It was still a firearm at the time of the offense. In this case, the battery was attached to the defendant’s device from the time she entered Terminal C until the time she left it. It is irrelevant that she detached the battery as she left the terminal.
MIT-Affiliated Research Center Builds an Energy-Saving City
In an ever more crowded world facing environmental limits, the push is on to create entire communities with reduced needs for energy, water, land and other resources.
Oversubscribed Biology Class Will Spill Into 4-370
Although 659 people have preregistered for Introductory Biology (7.013), only 566 seats are available in the 26-100 lecture hall where the subject will be taught. Students who cannot fit in 26-100 will still be able to see the lecture via a live video stream shown in 4-370. A course instructor and teaching assistants will be in the overflow room to answer students’ questions.
Students, Supporters Turn Out For Obama
On the eve of Super Tuesday, eager Bostonians stuffed themselves into crowded Silver Line buses. They followed signs held by Barack Obama volunteers titled “This way for change” to a long, winding line outside the Seaport World Trade Center.
MIT Professors, Christensen Talk ‘Jumper’
In a battle waged with popcorn, floodlights, chalk and star power, science and art squared off in a lecture hall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology one recent evening.
Was Star’s LED Star Protected Speech?
Star A. Simpson ’10, who faces charges of possessing a hoax device, came back to the East Boston District Court last Friday, Feb. 1 for a pretrial hearing. At the hearing, her attorney asked the court to dismiss the case. The judge said that he would rule on that motion on March 21, The Associated Press reported.
Senate Asks MIT, Others For Information About Endowment and Tuition
The Senate Finance Committee, increasingly concerned about the rising cost of higher education, demanded detailed information last Thursday from the nation’s 136 wealthiest colleges and universities on how they raised tuition over the last decade, gave out financial aid, and managed and spent their endowments.
As Federal Research Funds Decrease, More Scientists Leave U.S. to Work Overseas
Increased competition and diminished federal funding have made it tougher for scientists to rely on the grants that once generously supported labs, research and training of future scientists. The shortage comes at a time when corporate research facilities, such as Bell Labs, have largely disappeared. The stagnant, and in some cases, dwindling money pool has forced many scientists to bid the profession goodbye. Growing numbers are joining the flight overseas to more “research-friendly” countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, and India.
MIT Arab Students Speak in Jerusalem, Promote Education
The two MIT students stood in the austere surroundings of a 130-year-old high school in the historic Old City of Jerusalem, pitching a high-tech future that reached across cultural and national boundaries.
A Novel IAP Goal: Facial Hair
It’s hard to think of anything that has twisted in the winds of pop culture quite like the great American mustache. Commonly praised and parodied, what was once the crown jewel of the ’70s and the favored scion of Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds is today a kitschy-creepy accessory that may or may not be making a comeback.
With Supporters’ Help, Tosci’s Reopens
Beloved neighborhood ice cream store Toscanini’s is back in business as of Friday, Jan. 25 after paying off part of its $167,000 tax debt and making a schedule to repay the rest. Much of the money came from donations made by loyal customers — a situation one tax official called “unusual to the point of unprecedented.”
News Briefs
MIT will increase the size of Athena disk quotas from 1 gigabyte to 1.5 gigabytes on Tuesday, Feb. 5, said Garry P. Zacheiss ’00, Information Services & Technology team leader, in an e-mail.
Athena Quotas Over Time
The Athena disk quota is set to increase by 50 percent from 1 gigabyte to 1.5 gigabytes on Feb. 5, 2008. After the increase takes effect next Tuesday, the quota will be 1,250 times its size 19 years ago.
Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop Tosci’s Seized Because of $167,000 Tax Bill
The Central Square branch of Toscanini’s Ice Cream was seized last Thursday by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue because the shop failed to pay more than $167,000 in taxes that have accumulated since 2000, according to the <i>Boston Globe</i>.
Surge of Applicants Seeks Admission toTop-Tier Universities
Applications to selective colleges and universities are reaching new heights this year, promising another season of high rejection rates and dashed hopes for many more students.
House Dining Membership Plan Extended During IAP
Students who paid half price for meals at dining halls during the fall will also pay half price during the Independent Activities Period. MIT Campus Dining has extended the duration of the House Dining Membership, formerly known as Preferred Dining, at no additional cost to members.