Nobel laureate Rainer Weiss on the important things in life
Weiss accidentally flunked out of MIT as an undergraduate after missing a month of lectures in order to be with a musician at Northwestern he had fallen in love with.
Remembering Michael Cohen (1992-2017)
Michael B. Cohen ’14, SM ’16, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), passed away due to natural causes in the end of September.
Cooler weather eases in; fires rage out West
A weak low pressure system is currently exiting the East Coast; in its wake, cooler, more seasonable weather and sunny skies will dominate today and Friday. This brief return to autumn will be short lived, however, as the unseasonably warm temperatures the Northeast has experienced periodically over the past month will return for the weekend. On Saturday, high temperatures will surge back into the mid-70s with a chance of rain in advance of an approaching cold front. The front should pass through the area late Sunday; in its wake, autumn-like weather will return again, with highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 40s for at least the greater part of next week. Although local conditions have been calm, the weather has not been so tranquil across the rest of the United States.
Remembering Henoch Argaw (1998-2017)
Henoch Argaw ’20 died on campus Sept. 29. He was a sophomore in Course 6-14 and a resident of East Campus.
Roll-over meals and ‘dining dollars’ under consideration for meal plan revisions
One “very likely” change is the introduction of a meals per semester system in addition to the current meals per week system, says DormCon dining co-chair.
SpaceX’s grand plans for Mars travel
“When Elon talked in 2002 about taking people to Mars, they thought he was crazy. But now the world has changed dramatically.”
2017 Nobel Prize in physics awarded to LIGO researchers
Rainer Weiss of MIT and Kip Thorne and Barry Barish of Caltech were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for the first direct observation of ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago.
Hasan Minhaj calls attention to refugees in his stand-up
Hasan Minhaj performed at Kresge Auditorium last Saturday at 8 p.m. as a part of MIT Undergraduate Association’s FallFest.
Cross-registered classes can now be petitioned for HASS-A credit
Students may now petition art courses taken at Harvard, Wellesley, or the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) to count for the HASS-A requirement.
Tampa police shut down ‘Rick & Morty’ rickmobile event after crowd surpassed 1,500
The “Rickmobile” — a truck bearing Rick's likeness — has been taking a road trip across the country, opening its popup shop with exclusive merchandise and gear in different cities.
DSL lowers new dorm’s pricing after complaints about subpar living conditions
The Division of Student Life has been working on improving the conditions, but the process is “slower than expected.”
Colder weather ahead
We have experienced unseasonably warm weather this week, and Wednesday's high of 86°F was the highest September 27 temperature ever recorded in Boston. However, the temperatures started dropping after a cold front from the northwest passed over us on Thursday. Tropical storm (formerly hurricane) Maria will be passing to our southeast during Thursday and Friday, but the storm will be too far away to affect us with any strong winds or rain. The rain that we can expect on Saturday is instead coming from the northwest, where another incoming cold front will bring along a minor low pressure system. Expect light showers on Friday night and during Saturday. After the passage of this low pressure system we can expect several days of mostly clear skies, when we will be under a large high pressure system ranging from Maine to the Carolinas in latitude and from the coast to the Great Lakes in longitude. This will likely bring temperatures around 70°F and plenty of sun during Monday through Wednesday.
Trump waives Jones act for Puerto Rico, easing hurricane aid shipments
The waiver of the law, known as the Jones Act, comes as federal and local officials report more supplies trickling onto the increasingly desperate island. But the Trump administration remains under pressure to step up the recovery effort.
Reflecting on Noam Chomsky’s 66 years at MIT
Despite receiving offers from numerous major universities over the years, Chomsky never thought about leaving what he called “a very special place.”
Career Fair, Red Line, Amherst Alley, and add date
Career Fair is today from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. in Johnson Athletic Center. Good luck with internship and job searches!
Progress against tetanus, HIV, and malaria
Infant and maternal tetanus was officially eliminated from the Americas this year, the Pan American Health Organization announced Thursday.
Health bill appears dead as pivotal Republican senator declares opposition
WASHINGTON — Sen. Susan Collins said Monday that she would oppose the latest plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, leaving Republican leaders clearly short of the votes they need for passage.
Republicans present conservative vision for ‘Dreamer’ protection
WASHINGTON — Three Republican senators introduced a bill Monday that would offer young unauthorized immigrants a path to citizenship, signaling a possible bipartisan consensus on legislation to protect immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Paul Gray, MIT’s 14th president, dies of Alzheimer’s
“He is the iconic president of MIT because he was made out of pure Institute clay, as an undergraduate, graduate, professor, and academic leader.”
Autumn weather to come as Maria stays away
The exceptionally warm weather Boston is experiencing following the departure of Tropical Storm Jose will soon come to an end.