DOCSLIB.ORG

MIT News Digest 2013-2014

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
MIT News Digest 2013-2014 MIT News Digest 2013-2014 For the members of the Educ a tional Council Office of the Educational Council MITAdmissions MIT named three longtime faculty members to important academic posts. Cynthia Barnhart SM '86, PhD '88, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Dean of the School of Engineering, was named Chancellor. Martin Schmidt SM '83, PhD '88, Professor of Electrical Engineering and former Associate Provost, was named Provost. Michael Sipser was named Dean of the School of Science. Sipser has been the Barton L. Weller Professor of Mathematics and head of the Department of Mathematics for ten years. Provost Schmidt and Chancellor Barnhar MIT faculty and alumni continue to receive top Photo: Dominick Reuter accolades. Two MIT faculty members were named 2013 MacArthur Fellows. The first, Sara Seager, Joint Professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science and the Department of Physics, was honored in recognition for her work on exoplanets (planets outside the solar system). The second, Dina Katabi SM '99, PhD '03, is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and was recognized for her work on wireless data transmission. Alumnus Robert Shiller SM '68, PhD '72 won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and former faculty member James Rothman won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine. There are now 80 Nobel Laureates and 43 MacArthur Fellows with a connection to MIT. Alan Guth '68, SM '69, PhD '72, Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics and MacVicar Faculty Fellow, won the 2014 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for pioneering the theory of cosmic inflation. Robert Langer Ph.D '74, David H. Koch Institute Professor Alan Guth Professor, won both the Breakthrough Prize in Life Photo: Rick Friedman Sciences for discoveries leading to the development of controlled drug-release systems and new biomaterials and the Kyoto Prize for global achievement in the field of tissue engineering this year. MITAdmissions MIT students are also receiving top accolades. John Mikhael 13 won the Rhodes Scholarship this year. Additionally, four students from the class of 2014 received Marshall Scholarships. With this scholarship, Kate Koch, Colleen Loynachan, Kirin Sinha, and Grace Young will study in the United Kingdom for two years. They are 4 of only 34 American students to receive the scholarship this year. MIT has revamped its introductory computer science offerings. In replacement of 6.00 (Introduction to Computer Science and Programming), two six-credit half- semester classes will now be available in order to make introductory computer science more accessible to freshman with a credit limit. 6.001, Introduction to Computer Science Programming in Python, is aimed at students with little to no programming experience. 6.002, while Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science, is the next module. MIT now offers a large variety of introductory biology courses to satisfy the GIRs. All of the classes share a core curriculum for the first half of the semester, and each has its own focus area for the second half. In addition to the existing 7.012 (focus on genomic approaches to human health), 7.013 (focus on human disorders, neuroscience, development, and repair), and 7.014 (focus on ecology and the biosphere), MIT now offers two new classes: 7.015, a more advanced introductory course with a focus on microbiology and immunology, and 7.016, which has a focus on biochemistry and molecular genetics. This year the Broad Institute, headed by MIT Cr Professor Eric Lander, received a commitment of $650 million from philanthropist Ted Stanley targeted at mental illness research and the discovery of new molecular-based treatments. MIT continues to be an active partner in edX, offering many online courses through MITx. MIT does not offer credit on the edX platform, but the courses can be a great opportunity for students and alumni to gain exposure to new material or supplement current coursework. MITAdmissions General Institute News MIT held a ceremony for the one-year anniversary of the death of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2014, during which plans for a permanent memorial to Collier were unveiled. The memorial, which will be located between the Stata Center and the Koch Institute, was designed by MIT Associate Professor of Architecture J. Meejin Yoon. Fisher v. University of Texas, the case that questioned affirmative action in college admissions, concluded on July 15, 2014 when the Fifth Circuit Court ruled 2 to 1 in favor of UT Austin. This decision upholds the precedent Courtsey of Howeler + Yoon Archil. .ore From: MIT News Office that race can be used as a factor in the college admissions process. Regarding its decision, the court released this statement: "It is equally settled that universities may use race as part of a holistic admissions program where it cannot otherwise achieve diversity. This interest is compelled by the reality that university education is more the shaping of lives than the filling of heads with facts — the classic assertion of the humanities." The decision is viewed as a victory for educational institutions across the nation, recognizing that the most effective exchange of ideas and thoughts occurs with a diverse student body from a wide range of backgrounds and communities. MI T's's administration has shown support towards the position of the University of Texas in this case. Matt Guthmiller '17 became the youngest person to fly around the world alone, completing his 27,000 mile, 44 day journey and making the Guinness Book of World Records. Man Guthmiller Photo: Katherine Taylor for the Boston Globe MITAdmissions "rtrir-"EMBENNINIIMII, 'Onf.+7.% Campus Renewal Projects The MIT hobby shop reopened after extensive renovations. It now has improved safety equipment, new welders, a computer center for computer -aided design, more open space, and a number of other improvements. MIT's Glass Lab and the Foundry and Forge are undergoing renovations to accommodate rising student interest. They will be combined and expanded in Building 4, separated by glass walls on interior hallways with glass marble lighting fixtures that are a collaborative effort between the two programs. MIT 's Glass Lab and the Foundry and Forge offer glass blowing and metalworking classes and are also used by undergraduate classes and even researchers from a wide variety of disciplines collaborating on state of the art projects. The renovations will be complete by December 2014. MIT is currently in the design phase to completely renovate up to 1.1 million square feet in the Kendall Square area. The Kendall Square Initiative will create new residential, Courtsey of MIT Glass I,ab commercial, and laboratory space as well as more open space. Construction of the new MIT.nano facility is underway. Positioned in the current location of Bu i 10I c_ bordering the I nfinite Corridor, it will unite MIT 's nanotechnology, materials, and engineering systems research under a single roof with state -of-the-art fabrication and processing capabilities. MIT.nano will bring together and support the work of over 2,000 researchers, streamlining experimentation, prototyping, and processing. The pharmaceutical company Novartis has extended its lease with MIT to expand its Cambridge headquarters. This will create 55,000 square feet of office space, research labs, and retail space. Bexley Hall remains closed for renovations. In commemoration of the dorm, its floorplan was included on the hacker 's map hidden on the MIT Class of 2016 Brass Rat. MIT-Admissions 5000 Moving Parts, a collection of wooden kinetic art sculptures, was completed and unveiled this year. Kinetic art is a branch of art which incorporates moving parts working together to form an overall effect. The exhibit is on display at the MIT museum until November 2014. The MIT Student Loan Art Program exhibition and lottery will be held from August 29 to September 7, 2014. This program gives students the chance to Jo n Doug as Powers borrow original artwork for their private Ialu; Wood, steel, plastic and electric motor; 2011 living areas. MIT will continue its Artist-in-Residency Program, which enables contemporary artists to work with MIT's high-tech tools. Opera of the Future at the MIT Media Lab is a group working to integrate modern technology with traditional music and theater. The group has designed a program to help composers orchestrate multiple modalities at once, explored the relationship between physiology and the voice, and much more. They also have been active in the production of a variety of new plays at MIT. MIT continues to offer the MIT Emerson Scholarship Program for Persona • pera Private Study, a program which offers merit-based financial assistance for private lessons to current MIT students who demonstrate excellence in their instrumental or vocal musical endeavors. This fellowship is open to all MIT students and is awarded to approximately 50 students per year after a selective audition process. MITAdmissions MIT continues to excel in collegiate athletics, finishing 10th in the annual Learfield Directors Cup standings and posting a record 90 All-American athletes last year. MIT is nationally ranked in baseball, men's basketball, men's lightweight crew, women's lightweight crew, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's fencing, field hockey, coed sailing, women's soccer, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's volleyball, and water polo. Last year, a total of 17 MIT teams qualified for NCAA championship events. Most distinguished, men's cross country and track and field have won 36 of the last 38 league championships and compete every year at the NCAA Championships.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Campusmap06.Pdf
    A B C D E F MIT Campus Map Welcome to MIT #HARLES3TREET All MIT buildings are designated .% by numbers. Under this numbering "ROAD 1 )NSTITUTE 1 system, a single room number "ENT3TREET serves to completely identify any &ULKERSON3TREET location on the campus. In a 2OGERS3TREET typical room number, such as 7-121, .% 5NIVERSITY (ARVARD3QUARE#ENTRAL3QUARE the figure(s) preceding the hyphen 0ARK . gives the building number, the first .% -)4&EDERAL number following the hyphen, the (OTEL -)4 #REDIT5NION floor, and the last two numbers, 3TATE3TREET "INNEY3TREET .7 43 the room. 6ILLAGE3T -)4 -USEUM 7INDSOR3TREET .% 4HE#HARLES . 3TARK$RAPER 2ANDOM . 43 3IDNEY 0ACIFIC 3IDNEY3TREET (ALL ,ABORATORY )NC Please refer to the building index on 0ACIFIC3TREET .7 .% 'RADUATE2ESIDENCE 3IDNEY 43 0ACIFIC3TREET ,ANDSDOWNE 3TREET 0ORTLAND3TREET 43 the reverse side of this map, 3TREET 7INDSOR .% ,ANDSDOWNE -ASS!VE 3TREET,OT .7 3TREET .% 4ECHNOLOGY if the room number is unknown. 3QUARE "ROADWAY ,ANDSDOWNE3TREET . 43 2 -AIN3TREET 2 3MART3TREET ,ANDSDOWNE #ROSS3TREET ,ANDSDOWNE 43 An interactive map of MIT 3TREETGARAGE 3TREET 43 .% 2ESIDENCE)NN -C'OVERN)NSTITUTEFOR BY-ARRIOTT can be found at 0ACIFIC "RAIN2ESEARCH 3TREET,OT %DGERTON (OUSE 'ALILEO7AY http://whereis.mit.edu/. .7 !LBANY3TREET 0LASMA .7 .7 7HITEHEAD !LBANY3TREET )NSTITUTE 0ACIFIC3TREET,OT 3CIENCE .7 .! .!NNEX,OT "RAINAND#OGNITIVE AND&USION 0ARKING'ARAGE Parking -ASS 3CIENCES#OMPLEX 0ARSONS .% !VE,OT . !LBANY3TREET #ENTER ,ABORATORY "ROAD)NSTITUTE 'RADUATE2ESIDENCE .UCLEAR2EACTOR ,OT #YCLOTRON ¬ =
    [Show full text]
  • 8.962 General Relativity, Spring 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Physics
    8.962 General Relativity, Spring 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Physics Lectures by: Alan Guth Notes by: Andrew P. Turner May 26, 2017 1 Lecture 1 (Feb. 8, 2017) 1.1 Why general relativity? Why should we be interested in general relativity? (a) General relativity is the uniquely greatest triumph of analytic reasoning in all of science. Simultaneity is not well-defined in special relativity, and so Newton's laws of gravity become Ill-defined. Using only special relativity and the fact that Newton's theory of gravity works terrestrially, Einstein was able to produce what we now know as general relativity. (b) Understanding gravity has now become an important part of most considerations in funda- mental physics. Historically, it was easy to leave gravity out phenomenologically, because it is a factor of 1038 weaker than the other forces. If one tries to build a quantum field theory from general relativity, it fails to be renormalizable, unlike the quantum field theories for the other fundamental forces. Nowadays, gravity has become an integral part of attempts to extend the standard model. Gravity is also important in the field of cosmology, which became more prominent after the discovery of the cosmic microwave background, progress on calculations of big bang nucleosynthesis, and the introduction of inflationary cosmology. 1.2 Review of Special Relativity The basic assumption of special relativity is as follows: All laws of physics, including the statement that light travels at speed c, hold in any inertial coordinate system. Fur- thermore, any coordinate system that is moving at fixed velocity with respect to an inertial coordinate system is also inertial.
    [Show full text]
  • Campus Map, Shuttle Routes & Parking
    CAMPUS MAP, SHUTTLE ROUTES & PARKING SHUTTLE STOPS REUNION SHUTTLES SCHEDULE CAMPUS PARKING LOTS Tech Reunions Shuttle – red route Thursday, June 8 Saturday, June 10 and Sunday June 11 Four vehicles will service the Tech Reunions route (marked red on the map), All day: NW23 C, NW30 D, NW86 E, Waverly Lot F, All day: 158 Mass. Ave. Lot A, Albany Garage B, 1 Kresge/Maseeh Hall and one will service the MIT Museum route (marked blue on the map) the Westgate Lot (limited space) G, NW23 C, NW30 D, NW86 E, Waverly Lot F, 2 Burton House following hours: After 2:30 p.m.: West Lot H Westgate Lot G, West Lot H, West Garage I, 3 Westgate Parking Lot Kresge Lot J, Tang Center Lot (ungated lot) K Thursday, June 8: 2:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. Friday, June 9 4 Hyatt Regency/W92 All day: NW23 C, NW30 D, NW86 E, Waverly Lot F, 5 Friday, June 9: 7:00 a.m.–7:30 p.m., then 11:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m. Parking for Registration and Check-in Simmons Hall G, *Please note that service to stops 1, 2, 3, 12, and 13 will be suspended from Westgate Lot (limited space) 20-minute parking is available in the Student Center 6 Johnson Athletics Center H, 9:00–10:30 a.m. for the Commencement procession. The MIT Museum Shuttle After 2:30 p.m.: West Lot West Garage I turnaround R1 , and in front of McCormick Hall R2 . Charles Street 7 Vassar Street at Mass Ave.
    [Show full text]
  • Sacred Rhetorical Invention in the String Theory Movement
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Communication Studies Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research Communication Studies, Department of Spring 4-12-2011 Secular Salvation: Sacred Rhetorical Invention in the String Theory Movement Brent Yergensen University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/commstuddiss Part of the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Yergensen, Brent, "Secular Salvation: Sacred Rhetorical Invention in the String Theory Movement" (2011). Communication Studies Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research. 6. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/commstuddiss/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Communication Studies, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Studies Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. SECULAR SALVATION: SACRED RHETORICAL INVENTION IN THE STRING THEORY MOVEMENT by Brent Yergensen A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Communication Studies Under the Supervision of Dr. Ronald Lee Lincoln, Nebraska April, 2011 ii SECULAR SALVATION: SACRED RHETORICAL INVENTION IN THE STRING THEORY MOVEMENT Brent Yergensen, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2011 Advisor: Ronald Lee String theory is argued by its proponents to be the Theory of Everything. It achieves this status in physics because it provides unification for contradictory laws of physics, namely quantum mechanics and general relativity. While based on advanced theoretical mathematics, its public discourse is growing in prevalence and its rhetorical power is leading to a scientific revolution, even among the public.
    [Show full text]
  • The Center for Theoretical Physics: the First 50 Years
    CTP50 The Center for Theoretical Physics: The First 50 Years Saturday, March 24, 2018 50 SPEAKERS Andrew Childs, Co-Director of the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer CTPScience and Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland Will Detmold, Associate Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics Henriette Elvang, Professor of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Alan Guth, Victor Weisskopf Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics Daniel Harlow, Assistant Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics Aram Harrow, Associate Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and Professor of Physics Chung-Pei Ma, J. C. Webb Professor of Astronomy and Physics, University of California, Berkeley Lisa Randall, Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science, Harvard University Sanjay Reddy, Professor of Physics, Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington Tracy Slatyer, Jerrold Zacharias CD Assistant Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics Dam Son, University Professor, University of Chicago Jesse Thaler, Associate Professor, Center for Theoretical Physics David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, England and Trinity College Fellow Frank Wilczek, Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics and 2004 Nobel Laureate The Center for Theoretical Physics: The First 50 Years 3 50 SCHEDULE 9:00 Introductions and Welcomes: Michael Sipser, Dean of Science; CTP Peter
    [Show full text]
  • Invisible Science
    Invisible Science Steven Shapin here’s a McDonald’s restaurant near where I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Roughly equidistant from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and close to one of the beating hearts of modern science and tech- Tnology, the restaurant sits across Massachusetts Avenue from a nondescript building full of entrepreneurial electronic gaming companies. Walk a little toward the MIT end of the avenue, and you pass major institutes for bioinformatics and cancer research, at least a dozen pharmaceutical and biotech companies, outposts of Microsoft and Google, the Frank Gehry−designed Stata Center, which houses much of MIT’s artifi- cial intelligence and computer science activities (with an office for Noam Chomsky), and several “workbars” and “coworking spaces” for start-up high-tech companies. You might think that this McDonald’s is well placed to feed the neighborhood’s scientists and engineers, but few of them actually eat there, perhaps convinced by sound sci- entific evidence that Big Macs aren’t good for them. (Far more popular among the scientists and techies is an innovative vegetarian restaurant across the street—styled as a “food lab”—founded, appropriately enough, by an MIT materials science and Harvard Business School graduate.) You might also assume that, while a lot of science happens at MIT and Harvard, and at the for-profit and nonprofit organizations clustered around the McDonald’s, the fast-food outlet itself has little or no significance for the place of science in late modern society. No scientists or engineers (that I know of) work there, and no scientific inquiry (that I am aware of) is going on there.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding the Radiation from the Big Bang
    Finding The Radiation from the Big Bang P. J. E. Peebles and R. B. Partridge January 9, 2007 4. Preface 6. Chapter 1. Introduction 13. Chapter 2. A guide to cosmology 14. The expanding universe 19. The thermal cosmic microwave background radiation 21. What is the universe made of? 26. Chapter 3. Origins of the Cosmology of 1960 27. Nucleosynthesis in a hot big bang 32. Nucleosynthesis in alternative cosmologies 36. Thermal radiation from a bouncing universe 37. Detecting the cosmic microwave background radiation 44. Cosmology in 1960 52. Chapter 4. Cosmology in the 1960s 53. David Hogg: Early Low-Noise and Related Studies at Bell Lab- oratories, Holmdel, N.J. 57. Nick Woolf: Conversations with Dicke 59. George Field: Cyanogen and the CMBR 62. Pat Thaddeus 63. Don Osterbrock: The Helium Content of the Universe 70. Igor Novikov: Cosmology in the Soviet Union in the 1960s 78. Andrei Doroshkevich: Cosmology in the Sixties 1 80. Rashid Sunyaev 81. Arno Penzias: Encountering Cosmology 95. Bob Wilson: Two Astronomical Discoveries 114. Bernard F. Burke: Radio astronomy from first contacts to the CMBR 122. Kenneth C. Turner: Spreading the Word — or How the News Went From Princeton to Holmdel 123. Jim Peebles: How I Learned Physical Cosmology 136. David T. Wilkinson: Measuring the Cosmic Microwave Back- ground Radiation 144. Peter Roll: Recollections of the Second Measurement of the CMBR at Princeton University in 1965 153. Bob Wagoner: An Initial Impact of the CMBR on Nucleosyn- thesis in Big and Little Bangs 157. Martin Rees: Advances in Cosmology and Relativistic Astro- physics 163.
    [Show full text]
  • J. Fiona Ragheb, Editor Essays by Jean-Louis Cohen, Beatriz Colomina, Mildred Friedman, William Mitchell, And}. Fiona Ragheb
    TECT J. Fiona Ragheb, editor essays by Jean-Louis Cohen, Beatriz Colomina, Mildred Friedman, William Mitchell, and}. Fiona Ragheb GuggenheimMUSEUM FRANK GEHRY, ARCHITECT n A Personal Reflection Thomas Krens Selected Projects J. Fiona Ragheb and Kara Vander Weg 20 Davis Studio and Residence, 1968-72 24 Easy Edges Cardboard Furniture, 1969-73 28 Gehry Residence, 1977-78; 1991-92 40 Wagner Residence (unbuilt), 1978 42 Familian Residence (unbuilt), 1978 44 Loyola Law School, 1978- 54 Indiana Avenue Studios, 1979-81 56 Experimental Edges Cardboard Furniture, 1979-82 60 Aerospace Hall, California Science Center, 1982-84 64 Norton Residence, 1982-84 70 Winton Guest House, 1983-87 80 Fish and Snake Lamps, 1983-86 84 Sirmai-Peterson Residence, 1983-88 88 Edgemar Development, 1984-88 94 Chiat Day Building, 1985-91 702 Schnabel Residence, 1986-89 170 Vitra International Manufacturing Facility and Design Museum, 1987-89 778 Team Disneyland Administration Building, 1987-96 122 Vitra International Headquarters, 1988-94 726 Bent Wood Furniture Collection, 1989-92 130 Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, 1990-93 138 Fish Sculpture at Vila Olimpica, 1989-92 142 EMR Communication and Technology Center, 1991-95 148 Lewis Residence (unbuilt), 1989-95 760 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 1991-97 174 Nationale-Nederlanden Building, 1992-96 182 Goldstein Sud Housing, 1991-96 784 Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, University of Cincinnati, 1993-99 188 Walt Disney Concert Hall, 1987- 202 Der Neue Zollhof, 1994-99 212 DG Bank Building, 1995-2001 222 Experience Music Project (EMP), 1995-2000 234 Millennium Park Music Pavilion and Great Lawn, 1999- 236 Cond6 Nast Cafeteria, 1996-2000 244 Performing Arts Center at Bard College, 1997— 248 Peter B.
    [Show full text]
  • Section 1: Facts and History (PDF)
    Section 1 Facts and History Fields of Study 11 Digital Learning 12 Research Laboratories, Centers, and Programs 13 Academic and Research Affiliations 14 Education Highlights 16 Research Highlights 21 Faculty and Staff 30 Faculty 30 Researchers 32 Postdoctoral Scholars 33 Awards and Honors of Current Faculty and Staff 34 MIT Briefing Book 9 MIT’s commitment to innovation has led to a host of Facts and History scientific breakthroughs and technological advances. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of Achievements of the Institute’s faculty and graduates the world’s preeminent research universities, dedi- have included the first chemical synthesis of penicillin cated to advancing knowledge and educating students and vitamin A, the development of inertial guidance in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship systems, modern technologies for artificial limbs, and that will best serve the nation and the world. It is the magnetic core memory that enabled the develop- known for rigorous academic programs, cutting-edge ment of digital computers. Exciting areas of research research, a diverse campus community, and its long- and education today include neuroscience and the standing commitment to working with the public and study of the brain and mind, bioengineering, energy, private sectors to bring new knowledge to bear on the the environment and sustainable development, infor- world’s great challenges. mation sciences and technology, new media, financial technology, and entrepreneurship. William Barton Rogers, the Institute’s founding presi- dent, believed that education should be both broad University research is one of the mainsprings of and useful, enabling students to participate in “the growth in an economy that is increasingly defined by humane culture of the community” and to discover technology.
    [Show full text]
  • Our Cosmic Origins
    Chapter 5 Our cosmic origins “In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move”. Douglas Adams, in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe “Oh no: he’s falling asleep!” It’s 1997, I’m giving a talk at Tufts University, and the legendary Alan Guth has come over from MIT to listen. I’d never met him before, and having such a luminary in the audience made me feel both honored and nervous. Especially nervous. Especially when his head started slumping toward his chest, and his gaze began going blank. In an act of des- peration, I tried speaking more enthusiastically and shifting my tone of voice. He jolted back up a few times, but soon my fiasco was complete: he was o↵in dreamland, and didn’t return until my talk was over. I felt deflated. Only much later, when we became MIT colleagues, did I realize that Alan falls asleep during all talks (except his own). In fact, my grad student Adrian Liu pointed out that I’ve started doing the same myself. And that I’ve never noticed that he does too because we always go in the same order. If Alan, I and Adrian sit next to each other in that order, we’ll infallibly replicate a somnolent version of “the wave” that’s so popular with soccer spectators. I’ve come to really like Alan, who’s as warm as he’s smart. Tidiness isn’t his forte, however: the first time I visited his office, I found most of the floor covered with a thick layer of unopened mail.
    [Show full text]
  • MIT Briefing Book 2015 April Edition
    MIT Briefing Book 2015 April edition Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Briefing Book © 2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology April 2015 Cover images: Christopher Harting Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307 Telephone Number 617.253.1000 TTY 617.258.9344 Website http://web.mit.edu/ The Briefing Book is researched and written by a variety of MIT faculty and staff, in particular the members of the Office of the Provost’s Institutional Research group, Industrial Liaison Program, Student Financial Services, and the MIT Washington Office. Executive Editors Maria T. Zuber, Vice President for Research [email protected] William B. Bonvillian, Director, MIT Washington Office [email protected] Editors Shirley Wong [email protected] Lydia Snover, to whom all questions should be directed [email protected] 2 MIT Briefing Book MIT Senior Leadership President Vice President for Finance L. Rafael Reif Glen Shor Chairman of the Corporation Director, Lincoln Laboratory Robert B. Millard Eric D. Evans Provost Dean, School of Architecture and Planning Martin A. Schmidt Hashim Sarkis Chancellor Dean, School of Engineering Cynthia Barnhart Ian A. Waitz Executive Vice President and Treasurer Dean, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Israel Ruiz Deborah K. Fitzgerald Vice President for Research Dean, School of Science Maria T. Zuber Michael Sipser Vice President Dean, Sloan School of Management Claude R. Canizares David C. Schmittlein Vice President and General Counsel Associate Provost Mark DiVincenzo Karen Gleason Chancellor for Academic Advancement Associate Provost W. Eric L. Grimson Philip S. Khoury Vice President Director of Libraries Kirk D. Kolenbrander Chris Bourg Vice President for Communications Institute Community and Equity Officer Nathaniel W.
    [Show full text]
  • MIT Parents Association 600 Memorial Drive W98-2Nd FL Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 253-8183 [email protected]
    2014–2015 A GUIDE FOR PARENTS produced by in partnership with For more information, please contact MIT Parents Association 600 Memorial Drive W98-2nd FL Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 253-8183 [email protected] Photograph by Dani DeSteven About this Guide UniversityParent has published this guide in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the mission of helping you easily contents Photograph by Christopher Brown navigate your student’s university with the most timely and relevant information available. Discover more articles, tips and local business information by visiting the online guide at: www.universityparent.com/mit MIT Guide The presence of university/college logos and marks in this guide does not mean the school | Comprehensive advice and information for student success endorses the products or services offered by advertisers in this guide. 6 | Welcome to MIT 2995 Wilderness Place, Suite 205 8 | MIT Parents Association Boulder, CO 80301 www.universityparent.com 10 | MIT Parent Giving Top Five Reasons to Join Advertising Inquiries: 11 | (855) 947-4296 12 | 100 Things to Do before Your Student Graduates MIT [email protected] 20 | Academics Top cover photo by Christopher Harting. 21 | Resources for Academic Success 22 | Supporting Your Student 24 | Campus Map 27 | Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation 28 | MIT Police and Campus Safety SARAH SCHUPP PUBLISHER 30 | Housing MARK HAGER DESIGN MIT Dining 32 | MICHAEL FAHLER AD DESIGN 33 | Health Care What to Do On Campus Connect: 36 | 39 | Navigating MIT facebook.com/UniversityParent 41 | Academic Calendar MIT Songs twitter.com/4collegeparents 43 | 45 | Contact Information © 2014 UniversityParent Photo by Tom Gearty 48 | MIT Area Resources 4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5 www.universityparent.com/mit 5 MIT is coeducational and privately endowed.
    [Show full text]