Pokerbots Competition cancelled this IAP
This six unit undergraduate class allowed teams of up to four students to build autonomous poker players and concluded with a final competition and prizes of over $25,000 from technology and finance firms.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, to be 2018 commencement speaker
Graduate Student Council President Sarah Ann Goodman told MIT News that she is “thrilled that Sheryl Sandberg was selected as the Commencement speaker. The MIT community will benefit immensely from the insights of this trailblazing and resilient woman in the tech industry.”
Four-alarm fire damages MIT-owned apartment complex
A four-alarm fire damaged two apartment complexes in Central Square fire on Auburn Street and Magazine Street around 1 a.m. last Thursday.
Student organization funding process to be restructured
“Career fairs, in general, shouldn’t be used to fund student groups because it really is the wrong incentive structure. It incentivizes those companies that can pay a lot to come to a career fair to come, and those that might not be able to pay a lot of money not to come,” Nelson said. “We’re aiming for a kind of decoupling of the Career Fair proceeds from the funding of groups.”
Sophomore self-funds popular class-picking guide Firehose
Fan reports that during the two-week span of Aug. 27 to Sept. 9, 6,545 unique devices visited Firehose for a total of 22,140 page hits. Apart from a small ProjX grant, he has paid for all costs related to Firehose.
Help Cambridge decide how to spend $800,000 in participatory budgeting
The City of Cambridge has allocated $800,000 for participatory budgeting, a democratic process in which residents vote on various proposed capital expenditures meant to benefit the public.
‘Designing the Freshman Year’ course will pilot in spring
“Designing the First Year at MIT” is a new 12-unit course that will open to undergraduate and graduate students this spring. It will count as HASS-E credit and towards a design minor.
California is students’ top externship destination
The most popular externships included opportunities at IBM, Hudson River Trading, Microsoft, Quizlet, Five Rings Capital, Twitch Interactive, Inc., and NASDAQ OMX, with IBM receiving applications from 280 students and set to host 31.
Remembering Sam Bauman ’17
A memorial service and remembrance will be held this Sunday, Dec. 3, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. in the MIT chapel, followed by a reception in W11.
PE registration open, IAP and spring pre-registration opens Friday
IAP Physical Education registration opened for undergraduate students on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. It will close on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
Committee on Discipline releases annual report
The Committee on Discipline (COD) report for the 2016-17 academic year, released earlier this month, breaks down the 279 complaints that were brought before the COD this year by several metrics, including the type of misconduct, the method of resolution, and the outcome.
A great start to December
Following yesterday’s brief excursion around 60°F, a weak cold front continues to progress eastward across the Northeast and will move offshore early tomorrow. In its wake, we will experience more seasonable weather with highs in the 40s, lows in the 30s, and no precipitation over the weekend and early into next week. No major weather systems are expected to impact the US before perhaps the middle of next week so enjoy the calm weather and cool, sunny start to December!
MIT to upgrade cogeneration plant with new natural gas turbines by 2020
In addition, the current turbine is nearing the end of its projected 20-year lifespan and will need to be replaced with two new turbines, each equipped with a heat recovery steam generator. The new plant will produce 44 MW of power and 3,000 pounds of steam.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Tech wishes each of its readers a hearty enjoyment of Thanksgiving, and of the three days relaxation, which by the grace of the faculty, they are granted with it.
After House vote on taxes, spotlight shifts to undecided senators
The fate of the tax overhaul now hinges on a handful of undecided senators, and Senate Republican leaders cannot afford to lose more than two of their members.
No fowl weather over Thanksgiving break
On Tuesday, don’t chicken out of going outside, since we will experience milder temperatures than the last few days have brought, with highs in the upper 50s and lows in the 40s. Wednesday morning and midday bring a chance of preci-pie-tation, before the rain quits cold-turkey by Wednesday evening. From Thanksgiving Day through the weekend, we will experience colder temperatures with highs in the 40s and lows in the 30s, with the brief exception of slightly warmer weather on Saturday. If you’re planning on camping out in mall parking lots the night before Black Friday, beware of chilly weather in the Northeast, although it should be above freezing elsewhere. Looking to the rest of the United States, there is a chance of rain in Florida on Thursday, and the upper Rockies will continue to experience their usual acc-yam-ulation of snow. In the Northwest, we can expect rain over the entire forecasting period - and more than a poultry amount; expect quite the dreary weather. So if you’ve de-cider-ed to fly home from Oregon or Washington on Sunday, keep an eye out for continuing rains. This weekend is a good time to appreciate - or lament - your hometown weather, because in Cambridge it only gets colder from here, good gravy!
Fall Career Fair organizers look to increase company diversity
MIT students and organizations are looking at making changes to Fall Career Fair, an annual student-organized campus recruiting event, including increasing diversity of companies at the fair, as well as changing the career fair revenue structure. In this feature, we look at the history of the career fair and the long-standing concerns that has led to the current push for reform.
Rebecca’s Café to serve late night dining in Walker next spring
The new dining service will occupy a space that was previously home to Pritchett Dining, which closed in 2007, and is expected to operate from 5pm to midnight on weekdays.
Turnout at MIT precinct increases in Cambridge elections
MIT’s precinct 2-2 had a 252.8% voter increase from 2015 to 2017, according to Cambridge Election Commission data.