Marvin Minsky, pioneer in artificial intelligence, dies at 88
Marvin Minsky, who combined a scientist’s thirst for knowledge with a philosopher’s quest for truth as a pioneering explorer of artificial intelligence, work that helped inspire the creation of the personal computer and the Internet, died Sunday night in Boston. He was 88.
CORRECTIONS
An article about this year’s Mystery Hunt published last week included several errors. The article incorrectly stated that Setec had won Mystery Hunt in 2002, 2005, and 2009; in fact, before this year, Setec had won in 1999, 2001, and 2004. The article misstated the class year of Chris Morse, the leader of Setec. He graduated from MIT with a PhD in 1998, not 1982 (this mistake was introduced during editing). He was a professor at Tufts in 2004, the last year Setec won Mystery Hunt, but is now a teacher at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. About 40 teams, not 18, participated in Mystery Hunt 2016.
Major storm may miss Boston
The Mid-Atlantic region is preparing for a major winter storm that is poised to wallop the Washington and Baltimore areas with up to 2 feet of snow this weekend. However, while this same storm was originally forecast to have a similar impact in New England, recent model runs are suggesting that the storm will take a more southern track, bringing it out to sea and sparing the Boston area from the brunt of the snowfall.
CORRECTIONS
A Campus Life piece last week in the Portraits of Resilience series misstated the class year of the subject, Karen Hao. She is a member of the class of 2015.
Eric Lander criticized for CRISPR article
Professor Eric Lander has come under fire for an article in Cell that some see as skewing the history of CRISPR to favor the Harvard- and MIT-affiliated Broad Institute, which is currently involved in a high-stakes patent fight with Berkeley over the gene-editing technology.
UA leaders to review gov’t diversity after vote to endorse BSU recommendations fails
The Undergraduate Association Executive Board will be conducting a survey to evaluate the UA’s diversity across multiple lines of identity including race and gender. The survey is motivated in part by a vote by the outgoing UA Council to not endorse a set of recommendations made by the Black Students’ Union (BSU).
Puzzlers contend for top spot at Huntception
Team Setec Astronomy won this year’s Mystery Hunt at 6:53 p.m. Sunday when they found the coin in The Alchemist statue.
Course 15 splits into three new majors
MIT’s Sloan School of Management is turning Course 15 into three separate majors, motivated in part by “confusion regarding the meaning of ‘management science,’” James B. Orlin SE ’88 said in a faculty meeting.
New House pipe burst cost Institute $6 million
The damage caused by the flood in New House last summer cost the Institute about $6 million: $4 million in repairs, plus about $2 million to cover room, board, and moving expenses for the approximately 140 displaced New House residents.
Three from MIT awarded Schwarzman Fellowships
Two MIT students and an alumna claimed three of the just 111 Schwarzman Fellowships awarded in the program’s inaugural class. The new scholarship’s selection process is extremely competitive: 3,000 student applied.
Building 2 reopens after renovation
The math department has begun to return to a newly renovated Building 2.
Humphreys resigns post as Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life and Dining
Henry J. Humphreys is resigning from his position as Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life and Dining, effective Jan. 29.
Prof. Stanford Anderson, former head of architecture, dies at 81
Stanford Anderson, professor of history and architecture and a former head of the Department of Architecture died on Jan. 5. He was 81.
Students hope for change on campus through new discussion site
A group of students are launching a new Reddit-style discussion website next week with the hope of giving the MIT community a platform to discuss important issues on campus.
MIT accepts 8.5% of early applicants from record pool of 7,767
On Dec. 16, 656 students were admitted to MIT’s class of 2020. With a record-high 7,767 early action applicants this year, the early-admission rate sunk to 8.4 percent, down from 9.6 percent last year.
Warm, wet weather expected Sunday
After a record-shattering month of December, the first burst of winter cold has hit the Institute. Ocean-effect snow showers on Monday were followed by Tuesday morning temperatures at Logan Airport plunging to 8°F (-13°C), while a steady northwesterly wind made it feel like -8°F (-22°C). Here on campus, the weather station on the roof of the Green Building recorded a low temperature of 6.9°F (-13.9°C). These temperatures were in stark contrast to the last month of 2015, in which the average high was 52°F (11°C), it was 69°F (21°C) on Christmas Eve, and the temperature only dipped below the freezing mark on four occasions. On average, the month of December was 10.6°F (5.9 K) warmer than average, and 4.3°F (2.4 K) warmer than the next-warmest December on record.
Economics professors, staff move back to renovated E52
MIT’s economics department is moving back into Building E52 this week after more than two years of renovations to the 1938 Art Deco building, which overlooks the Charles River.
After two years, Maseeh votes to rejoin Dormitory Council
After seceding in 2013, Maseeh Hall and its Executive Council (MHEC) decided to formally rejoin MIT’s Dormitory Council (DormCon) this past December. This marks the first time in over forty years that DormCon represents every dorm at MIT.
Actor Matt Damon to speak before class of 2016 at June commencement
Actor and filmmaker Matt Damon will be the commencement speaker for the Class of 2016, MIT announced Dec. 10.