Corrections
A picture caption describing the MIT Sport Taekwondo team’s demonstration on page 25 of the April 9 issue misidentified the kicker as a prospective freshman. The kicker was Christopher M. Williams, a current graduate student.
MIT runs in marathon
Running in line with the 114 year-old Patriots’ Day tradition, pools of runners filled the intersection of Grove St. and West Main in Hopkinton this past Monday, tightening their laces and assuming their positions, to commence this year’s annual 26.2 mile Boston Marathon.
Reed is new chairman
John S. Reed ‘61, SM ‘65 was recently nominated to chair of the MIT Corporation by the Executive Committee. Pending his election to the Corporation on June 4, Reed will succeed Dana G. Mead PhD ’67, who is stepping down as Corporation chair at the end of June.
In interview, Gates describes philanthropic journey
After he spoke at Kresge Auditorium, Bill Gates sat down with <i>The Tech</i> to talk more about his college tour, his philanthropy, and the philosophy behind it.
Gates asks students to tackle world’s problems
“Are the brightest minds working on the most important problems?” Bill Gates asked an audience of students and faculty in Kresge on Wednesday.
Dealing with the dangers of coal
Earlier this year, in the subterranean workplace of a southern West Virginia coal mine, methane kept building up because of a lack of fresh air. Odorless, explosive, this natural gas must be dispersed from where miners work, and yet it became such a familiar presence at the mine called Upper Big Branch that entire sections had to be evacuated four times this year alone.
For bankers, a routine deal is an $840 million mistake
LONDON — To the bankers here, it looked like a chance to make a quick $7 million — risk free.
Shorts (left)
NEW ORLEANS <i>— </i>An oil rig burning out of control in the Gulf of Mexico sank Thursday morning, with 11 workers still missing and authorities fearing a potential environmental disaster.
U.S. faces choice on new weapons for fast strikes
WASHINGTON — In coming years, President Barack Obama will decide whether to deploy a new class of weapons capable of reaching any place on Earth from the United States in less than an hour and with such accuracy and force that they would greatly diminish America’s reliance on its nuclear arsenal.
Cancer fight for Linda Griffith: unclear tests for new drug
Linda Griffith was at a conference in Singapore in early January when she felt a lump in her breast. She assumed it was nothing — a cyst. And anyway, she had no time for it. She was returning on a Sunday night and the next Tuesday morning was leaving for a conference in Florida.
Shorts (right)
As many as 400,000 nonprofit organizations are weeks away from a doomsday.
Sun shifts to clouds, rain
After yesterday’s thunderstorms and downpours of rain, a cold front passed through the area, bringing drier air behind it. Today, we get to enjoy it with mostly sunny skies as high pressure builds in the region. There will likely be a few clouds given leftover moisture, but the skies will clear more through the afternoon. The high for this afternoon will be around 63°F (17°C) and the winds will be 10–15 mph mostly from the northwest. Tonight should also be clear with lighter breezes still from the northwest. Enjoy Saturday, as similar conditions will remain in place during the daylight hours: sunny skies and spring-like temperatures. Beginning Saturday evening, the next weather system starts to make itself seen. Winds shift and come from the southwest, bringing warmer air and clouds with it. The various weather models are not yet agreeing as to the timing and amount of the Sunday’s potential rain. As I write this, the bulk of the rain is predicted to be to our south, and any rain that we do will likely be light. Accumulations will be probably less than 0.10”. Conditions will be cooler and wetter into the beginning of next week, so enjoy today’s sun!
The real danger of Chinese “competition”
It has been common for economists to tolerate the blather of competitiveness, not only because there are practical difficulties with trying to educate non-economists on comparative advantage and the mechanics of free markets, but also because it is commonly believed that such rhetoric can be harnessed in support of good policies. If I am worried about the large negative externalities posed by global warming, and believe it is in the U.S. or the world’s best interest for America to invest in public energy research, then what harm is there if others believe that such expenditures are necessary to “win” against China?
The science of smell
Analyzing the science of scent has long presented a challenge to researchers. In the exploration of the olfactory system, the debate comes down to two contending theories: shape and vibration.
The mentor-mentee dynamic
A critical part of becoming a leader is learning from others — especially engineering professionals who have climbed the corporate ladder and subsequently struck out on their own. Hence the concept of mentoring.
MOVIE REVIEW Everyone should have a pet dragon
Dreamworks has finally taken its stance against Pixar in animated films. <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> took the top spot at the box office on its debut weekend on March 26, and has grossed over $158,251,066 since then. Like your usual fairy tales, <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> has the formulaic plot of an unlikely hero saving the entire city from probable destruction and finally getting the girl of his dreams.
CONCERT REVIEW Francophile!
Of the languages that are most frequently performed in the Western canon (Latin, Italian, French, German and sometimes Russian and Spanish), French is most often eschewed, most usually because of the difficulty in its diction. At least in English speaking countries, it seems there are as many schools of pronunciation as there are people willing to subscribe to them. And this is in modern French; how many different ways to pronounce Medieval French? franco-Latin? Least of all to mention the difficulties of twentieth-century French music which, after the daring harmonic advancements of Claude Debussy and Francis Poulenc, became some unholy amalgam of jazz imbued with traditional choral forms.
DOUBLE SOY LATTE, PLEASE! Muffins and mochi, turkey and tofu
Three things from recent memory come to mind when I think of the phrase “pleasant surprise”: Modern Family, for restoring my faith in the family sitcom; the Saferide tracking screen outside W20, for preserving our sanity; and Dado Tea, for being like no other café in the Greater Boston area.
MOVIE REVIEW Dragon Tattoo brings back the art of moviemaking
When I walked into the theater to see <i>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</i>, all I knew about the film was that it was Swedish and that its general buzz was very positive. In retrospect, I’m convinced that my initial lack of exposure was a good thing; a two-and-a-half hour Swedish mystery film based on a book whose title translates literally to <i>Men who Hate Women</i> and whose poster highlights a creepy looking Goth girl is not exactly my idea of a fun Friday night.
Triathlon races in Texas
The MIT Triathlon Team, composed of full time MIT students, competed in the Northeast Collegiate Triathlon Conference in Lubbock, Texas this past weekend. Other teams involved in the race included those from Columbia University, Yale University, and Boston University. Nine of the athletes, including four undergraduate students, competed in the event. Both the men’s and women’s teams raced well, despite harsh weather conditions that forced the officials to shorten the swimming portion from 1500 meters to 500 meters. Although their season occurs during the end of the summer through the fall, they had even less time than usual to train this year because of bad weather. The team had less time in the spring to train and had limited access to open water for swimming practice, putting them at a disadvantage against other teams who had the opportunity to train year-around.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, April 24 Sailing vs. Northeastern University 10:30 a.m., Charles River Sunday, April 25 Men’s heavyweight crew vs. Holy Cross & Oregon State 9:15 a.m., Charles River Sailing vs. Northeastern University 10:30 a.m., Charles River
ATHLETES’ CORNER
Last weekend, the MIT women’s rugby team traveled to Portsmouth, RI to compete in Beast of the East, the largest collegiate rugby tournament in the nation. On Saturday, MIT won both seeding matches against Keene State and Mt. Holyoke. On Sunday, MIT moved up the bracket, winning the quarter-, semi-, and final matches against George Washington University, Southern Connecticut, and Holy Cross, respectively. The team showed much heart and perseverance playing through five matches with a very small roster and outscored their opponents by a total of 150-5. At the end of the weekend, MIT brought home a shiny, hard-earned first-place trophy.
Tennis 0-3 over weekend
The MIT women’s tennis team had a packed weekend with three matches. The first match was at Skidmore on Saturday. First doubles consisted of Anastasia Vishnevetsky ’12 and Leslie A. Hansen ’10; they played a tight match but lost 8-4. Playing second was Melissa A. Diskin ’11 and Bianca M. Dumitrascu ’13. They had a interesting strategy of calling up four times in a row. The first three they would hit a lob, and the last one they would hit straight at the opponent. In the end, they lost 8-5. Third doubles was Jenny C. Dohlman ’11 and Hillary E. Jenny ’12. They also played a tough match but lost 8-4. In number four doubles, were Jennifer A. Rees ’11 and Anisa K. McCree ’10, who made her debut after coming back from a knee injury. They both played aggressively at the net, and it paid off in the end with a win of 8-3. Over all MIT was behind 3-0 going into the singles matches.
Scoreboard
Baseball Sunday, April 18 at Clark UniversityL 3-1 at Clark UniversityW 11-5 Wednesday, April 21 at Wheaton CollegeL 5-2 Men’s Heavyweight Crew Saturday, April 17 vs. Harvard & Princeton2nd of 3 Men’s Lightweight Crew Saturday, April 17 vs. Harvard & Dartmouth3rd of 3 Women’s Lightweight Crew Saturday, April 17 vs. Buffalo & Simmons1st of 3 Women’s Heavyweight Crew Saturday, April 17 at Bucknell University2nd of 2 Men’s Lacrosse Saturday, April 17 at Lasell CollegeW 5-1 Wednesday, April 21 at Mass. Maritime AcademyW 12-3 Women’s Lacrosse Saturday, April 17 vs. Mt. Holyoke CollegeW 13-11 Thursday, April 15 vs. Williams CollegeL 12-5 Tuesday, April 20 at Babson CollegeL 18-5 Sailing Sunday, April 18 N.E. Dinghy Championship11th of 18 Oberg Trophy8th of 16 Wick/Shrew15th of 16 Softball Friday, April 16 at U.S. Coast Guard AcademyL 8-0 at U.S. Coast Guard AcademyL 13-5 Men’s Tennis Tuesday, April 20 at Brandeis UniversityW 5-4 Wednesday, April 21 at Clark UniversityW 9-0 Women’s Tennis Saturday, April 17 at Skidmore CollegeL 7-2 Sunday, April 18 at Vassar CollegeL 9-0 Tuesday, April 20 vs. Trinity CollegeL 6-3
