As Apple resists, encryption fray erupts in battle
WASHINGTON — Last month, some of President Barack Obama’s top intelligence advisers met in Silicon Valley with Apple’s Timothy D. Cook and other technology leaders in what seemed to be a public rapprochement in their long-running dispute over the encryption safeguards built into their devices.
Reif announces education initiatives
President Reif announced four new education initiatives last Tuesday in response to the report from the Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education.
Discovering the Zika virus
HONG KONG — Yap Island, a tiny island in the Western Pacific best known for using huge stone discs as currency, was facing a medical mystery.
DSLx initiative to offer online mini-courses that teach ‘soft skills’
The Division of Student Life (DSL) is in the process of launching its DSLx Life Learning initiative, which aims to teach MIT students “soft skills,” according to the website.
Zika virus testing made available in limited cases
MIT Medical has made Zika virus tests available to certain community members who have recently returned from an area affected by the virus, according to an email.
Academic Council group will implement BSU recs
After the Black Students’ Union (BSU) and Black Graduate Students’ Association (BGSA) each published a set of recommendations addressing racial and mental health issues on Dec. 9, the Academic Council, a group of senior administrators, formed a working group to address the points and plan their execution. They are now laying out a plan for implementing the recommendations.
A struggle within MIT’s IT department over its future
The sweeping transformation that is currently underway at MIT’s Information Systems and Technology office is one that is unprecedented in its scope and backlash from employees. Many students and faculty are familiar with IS&T, which maintains services ranging from email accounts to Athena clusters across campus — technologies that underlie everyone’s time at MIT. Fewer people, however, are aware of the changes that have redefined the organization over the past year.
Housemasters discuss renaming position due to ‘feelings of offense’
A proposal to change the housemaster title is currently under discussion by housemasters and students alike.
A taste of winter
After an extended period of spring-like conditions, winter is returning to the Cambridge area. Today between three and eight inches of snow is expected to fall as a low pressure system moves northward along the eastern seaboard. As Massachusetts will be on the northwestern flank of the system as it moves by, there will be snow — with the possibility of large quantities depending on the path of the system. The National Weather Service has announced a winter storm warning for today. After the storm passes, temperatures should be cool, especially overnight, and the skies should be relatively clear.
Lean on Me to offer anonymous venue for student support
Andy Trattner ’17 and a team of students launched a mental health platform, Lean On Me, Tuesday. Students will be able to use the platform by texting a hotline to receive support from peers. The team includes Trattner as CEO, COO Linda Jing ’17, CTO Amin Manna ’17, and Board Member and MIT alumnus Nikhil Buduma ’15.
Letter from the Editor
From ongoing research and new publications, to awards, events, and initiatives, there is no shortage of news on MIT’s campus. Between start-ups, student life, classes, and competitions, how should we judge what to report on, and what to leave aside?
Museum of Math aims to show off ‘magic of math’ with ‘Beaver Run’
NEW YORK — The latest exhibit at the National Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan was supposed to have been put on display last fall, except it was not quite working.
Letter from the Editor
The Tech printed its first issue in 1881, in the year of the twentieth anniversary of MIT's founding. The founding board of editors set a mission for the fledgling publication, brought into being by “public spirit:” The Tech would provide “an avenue for the expression of public opinion.”
A May-like start to February
Barely a week after a historic blizzard left much of the northeastern United States buried in snow, spring-like weather has spread along the East Coast. In Boston, where only 6.1" of snow were received in the January 23 storm, temperatures neared record levels at the end of the month. The January 31 high temperature of 57°F (14°C) at Logan Airport was 5°F shy of the record high of 62°F (17°C) set in 1913. The next day, the temperature reached 65°F (18°C), just 1°F short of the all-time record for February 1. For comparison, the normal high temperature is 36°F for this time of year, and the normal high won't reach 60°F until April 27.
New ‘Sandbox’ funds innovation, projects
Students will soon be able to apply for funding from Sandbox, a two million dollar innovation fund announced Jan. 25 by Ian Waitz, Dean of the School of Engineering.
Amendments may check judicial power
The UA Council will consider next Wednesday an amendment to the constitution that would allow Council to unilaterally remove a sitting president who fails to initiate the process of filling a vacancy on the Judicial Review Board, the board's chair, Olivia Brode-Roger '17, said in a meeting yesterday.
MIT’s design wins SpaceX challenge
A team of 25 MIT students took the Best Overall Design award in the first stage of SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod competition this weekend. Their design for a pod that will shuttle between San Francisco and LA at prodigious speeds beat those of over 120 teams at the competition’s Design Weekend, held at Texas A&M University.
Fossil Free sit-in breaks after months
The Fossil Free MIT sit-in is no longer continuous, with participants occasionally disbanding if administrators are not present. Sometimes the sit-in may disband if "there are only a couple of people there," Geoffrey Supran, a member of the group, said.
Dean for graduate education to take leave, start new university
Professor Christine Ortiz is stepping down from her post as dean for graduate education to found a new residential research university.