Matt Damon to speak at MIT's 2016 commencement
Actor and filmmaker Matt Damon will be the commencement speaker for the Class of 2016, MIT announced Thursday.
‘Unprecedented’ rise in violations prompts police note on scooters, skateboards indoors
The fall semester has seen “an unprecedented increase” in the number of people riding scooters or other “wheeled devices” to get around inside buildings on campus, according to MIT Police.
Course 6 employs survey to measure student workloads
Part of a larger institutional response to student feedback, MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has been collecting data on its students’ workloads since last spring. And the results are starting to take effect behind the scenes.
MIT senior Vo Tien Phong receives a 2016 Marshall Scholarship
Vo Tien Phong ’16 will spend next year studying physics at Cambridge University as a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship.
Sean Perry, Picower Institute technical associate, dies at 39
Sean Perry, a technical associate at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, died suddenly in his hometown of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, on Monday, Nov. 23. He was 39.
Future buildings and remodels will aim for LEED Gold standard
MIT’s Office of Sustainability gave a set of recommendations Monday that will help MIT set its long term plan for sustainability on campus; one long-term goal of the plan is to bring new and newly renovated buildings on campus up to the LEED Gold standard.
How eliminating the smartphone has simplified my life
The smartphone has become an essential technology for many of us nowadays. Three years ago, I wrote an ominous article in The Tech about the worrisome dominance these devices have over their owners, and in 2015 the effect is more prominent than ever. At an outing this summer, I was caught sneakily using my phone under the dinner table and not paying full attention to the speaker, at which point I was subtly called out by a friend who remembered that opinion piece. The point was spot-on, illustrating my own downfall to the little device. The decision was made: the phone had to go.
Alcohol abuse, illegal drugs, and misinformation
Earlier this week, members of the MIT community found in their inboxes an email from Chancellor Barnhart. Immediately beneath the ominous subject line of “Alcohol abuse, illegal drugs and our community” were the expected exhortations against binge drinking and drug use. This time, however, these words came backed by evidence. To quote the email, “The results of the 2015 Healthy Minds Study and 2014 Community Attitudes on Sexual Assault survey show the direct — and negative — links between substance abuse and student health and safety.” Included helpfully were also hyperlinks to these two studies, as well as one to the MIT “Statement on Drug-free Campus and Workplace Policies,” which contains, among other things, a list of “selected drugs and their effects.” In short, a bevy of material to support a seemingly obvious claim.
High pressure to dominate end-of-week weather
After the recent passing of a low pressure system, high pressure over the eastern U.S. will dominate the weather through the end of the weekend, leading to clear skies and similar temperatures each day. Lows each night will dip down to around freezing under the clear skies. Daily highs will be in the low-to-mid 50s (°F). The relatively dry air will be a change of pace from the weather of this past week. Early next week, the chance for another low pressure system returns.
A gathering storm in the cloud
The United States and the nations of the European Union don’t see eye to eye on many topics: the more interesting version of football, the appropriate minimum age of alcohol consumption, and the use of international military force being among them. Yet for several years, one such conflict — on data protection — has grown from a divide into a gulf, and just about two months ago, the bridge connecting the two collapsed.
Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker: A sure sign of the holidays
Every holiday season, the Boston Ballet adorns its atrium with Christmas trees and festive laurels in preparation for its annual performance of The Nutcracker.
The Man in the High Castle
It wasn’t hard to make the decision to spend this past weekend on my couch recovering from Thanksgiving festivities by binge watching a new TV show. The real choice to make was deciding which series I should spend my precious long weekend devouring. Eventually, I settled on Amazon Studios’ new alternate history sci-fi series The Man in the High Castle. The show is based on a novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner and Minority Report were also based on his work), was created by Frank Spotnitz (a writer and producer from X-Files), and has Ridley Scott (director of Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) as an executive producer. From this line up alone, I expected a pretty epic series.
Taekwondo club snatches 2nd place at Cornell tourney
On Sunday, Nov. 8, the MIT Sport Taekwondo Club placed second among Division I teams at the second Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference tournament of the season, held at Cornell University.
Semester review: student athletes shine in fall 2015
This time last year, the MIT football team was the talk of the town. Following an unbeaten 9-0 regular season and a thrilling NCAA playoff victory in overtime, the Engineers hogged all the limelight and deservedly so. But just in case if you were wondering if Fall 2015 has been a quieter season for MIT sports, here is what you might have missed.
SPORTS SHORT
MIT (7-4) defeated Stanford for the first time in program history, sealing a 5-4 victory. The Engineers also defeated Hamilton College 6-3 but suffered a loss against Colby 7-2 during the weekend of Nov. 21–22. Justin Restivo ’19 and Jeffrey Hu ’18 were the only Engineers to win all three of their matches.
Rounding up recipes
Recipes often call for a cup of a vegetable. Vegetables don’t come in cups.
When sleep doesn’t come readily
Watery eyes. Constant yawning. Nodding off in class. These are common side effects of not getting enough sleep. They are also typical characteristics of MIT students.
