Prof. Rosalind Picard apologizes for comments at the 2024 NeurIPS conference
Picard: “Our students and colleagues who are Chinese or Chinese American frequently contend with deliberate ethnic stereotyping that feeds an atmosphere of mistrust.”
West Coast vs East Coast: Fire vs. Ice
The Boston Winter has arrived with the start of 2025! If the Fall semester weather convinced you that Boston Winters are not bad, let’s see if that is true after IAP. Living up to the New England Weather expectations, brace yourself for chilling temperatures and forceful gusts of wind as temperatures drop to the 20s and wind speeds vary from 10-20 mph this week.
YouTuber, Science Communicator, and Entrepreneur Hank Green to deliver Class of 2025 Commencement address
Hank Green, a science communicator and entrepreneur, will speak at the 2025 OneMIT Commencement Ceremony May 29.
Graduate Student disciplined for involvement in Pro-Palestinian movement on campus
On Dec. 4, Prahlad Iyengar G, a graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has been suspended until January of 2026 for his involvement relating to the Pro-Palestinian movement on campus. He is also banned from campus premises. The Institute’s Committee of Discipline imposed these sanctions.
MIT matches all-time high 100 students in the Class of 2029 through the QuestBridge Program
On Dec. 2, the QuestBridge program released results for its match day, where high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds are matched with top colleges and universities. This year, 100 students were matched with MIT, an all-time high. The Tech confirmed this figure with Stu Schmill ’86, Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services.
MIT holds Life Sciences and Health Collaborative launch event on Dec. 4
Kornbluth: “Overall, MIT HEALS is an opportunity to make our work—as individuals and institutions—collectively add up more than the sum of our parts.”
Undergraduate Association releases inaugural participatory budgeting results
On Nov. 25, the MIT Undergraduate Association (UA) released the winning proposals of its inaugural participatory budgeting process.
Happy end of the semester!
The weather for the next few days looks to be relatively sunny and calm. Welcome the chance to get some sunlight with classes being over, even if it’s just sitting near the big windows in Hayden or Rotch while you study. The days keep getting shorter and shorter, it’s important to get what sunlight you can! Best of luck to everyone with their final exams, and a wonderful holiday break ahead.
It’s beginning to feel a lot like winter
A winter chill is finally in the air and it’s officially time to break out those winter jackets, hats, and gloves. The temperature will cool over the next couple days before beginning to warm back up a bit on Sunday, and it’s looking to be pretty windy, so make sure to bundle up. The semester is coming to a close soon and winter break is right around the corner. Best of luck to everyone with their studies, and maybe have a nice hot chocolate while you’re preparing for those final exams!
Four 2025 Rhodes Scholars hail from MIT
Yiming Chen ’24, Wilhem Hector ’25, Anushka Nair ’25, and David Oluigbo ’25 have been selected as 2025 Rhodes Scholars to pursue postgraduate studies at Oxford University beginning next fall.
Institute goes tuition free for undergraduates with family income below $200,000 effective 2025-2026
On Nov. 20, MIT announced that it would become tuition free for undergraduates whose families earned below $200,000 starting in the academic year 2025-2026.
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Wednesday Nov. 20. was the drop deadline, the last day to cancel full-term subjects from registration.
MIT Life Sciences and Health Symposium launch makes call for poster submissions
The inaugural MIT Life Sciences and Health Symposium will take place Dec. 4 on Kresge Lawn from 5:00 to 6:30 P.M. Undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, are encouraged to submit work in the life sciences and engineering for a chance to win cash prizes in the poster categories that include basic scientific discovery, interdisciplinary work, and healthcare applications.
Troy Van Voorhis to step down as Chemistry Department Head
In an email to the MIT Chemistry community, Department Head and Haslam and Dewey Professor of Chemistry Troy Van Voorhis announced that he would be stepping down as Department Head after five years of service effective at the end of the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
Fire erupts in fume hood of Building 18
Shortly before 12:30 P.M. on Nov. 20, a fume hood on the first floor of Building 18 caught fire. Building 18 houses several laboratories belonging to the Institute’s Chemistry Department. Emergency services responded promptly and sections of Ames Street were closed as the building was evacuated. Approximately ten minutes after the fire began, it was extinguished by the Cambridge Fire Department.
The 2024 Election: The Institute Reacts
Student voices echo the sentiments of the nation, administration largely silent
MIT Human Insight Collaborative holds launch event on Oct. 28.
The Institute launched the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC), an initiative seeking to promote intersectionality between faculty in the humanities, arts, and social sciences and their peers across MIT in a formal kickoff event on Oct. 28.
Undergraduate Association Voting Closes for Participatory Budgeting Proposals
On Oct. 24, the Undergraduate Association (UA) opened up voting for various proposals that utilize the $25,000 set aside for participatory budgeting in the fall semester. The vote, which was conducted through rank choice, closed midnight Nov. 6. An additional $25,000 is set aside for the spring semester, during which there will be another round of funding.
Meet Simon Johnson, 2024 Winner of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Johnson: “You have to be looking for something. You have to be dissatisfied. You have to be wanting to take that risk.”
Trump within reach of victory as votes are tallied
Note from the Editor-in-chief: This piece will be updated as the results from the election continue to be reported.