Dorm Row plunges into darkness following manhole explosion
At approximately 1 a.m. May 6, a manhole explosion near W85 (Westgate Apartments) and Tang Hall caused power outages to numerous buildings along the Amherst Alley, also known as Dorm Row. The Cambridge Fire Department were present at the scene and at the time of this writing, are investigating what happened. No injuries were reported, but power has yet to be restored to the affected buildings.
Sunny weather to settle into the weekend
Expect some drier and warmer days to settle into the Boston region Thursday and Friday as a drier air mass arrives riding some surface winds moving south out of Canada!
Pro-Palestinian student encampment established on Kresge Oval
On the evening of Sunday, April 21, a student encampment dubbed the “Scientists Against Genocide Encampment” led by the Coalition for Palestine (C4P) was established on Kresge Oval, the latest in a number of protests that have occurred on the Institute’s campus since the beginning of the Israel Palestine conflict.
Coalition for Palestine organizes student walkout following Columbia University arrests
This walkout was precipitated by the 108 Columbia University students that were arrested on April 18 for their involvement in an encampment protesting the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Graduate Student Union passes referendum on ceasefire in Palestine
The MIT GSU adopts a referendum supporting a ceasefire in Palestine.
Dialogues Across Differences: Murad Idris hosts panel on anti-Palestinian racism
On April 18, Murad Idris, associate professor of political science at the University of Michigan, held the fourth panel of MIT’s Dialogues Across Differences: Building Community of MIT speaker series at the Schwartzman College of Computing. Idris’ research focuses on political theory, political theology, and political thought and intellectual history as an Arab and Muslim-American studies scholar.
Hazardous material alarm goes off in Building 13 on two consecutive days
On April 17 and 18, the MIT community was alerted to a hazardous materials alarm triggered in Building 13. Emergency services responded to both incidents. On April 17, the building closed for nearly two and half hours, while the April 18 closure was for less than 20 minutes.
An open letter urging dissociation from the fossil fuel industry in MIT’s new climate project
We, the undersigned MIT community members, are optimistic about the new Climate Project and are excited to see that MIT is committing its own money to this effort. However, we call for a commitment to prevent fossil fuel influence in this project.The fossil fuel industry has repeatedly demonstrated that they are unwilling to change their business model of indefinite oil and gas production, and association with the industry for climate and energy research is an inherent conflict of interest. For decades, MIT has accepted large sums of money from the fossil fuel industry for climate and energy research, and has allowed the industry to influence research directions. This has led to proven bias towards fossil fuels in our research [1], and a skewed focus on technologies that are favored heavily by the industry for the self-serving reason of promoting fossil fuel production while climate experts agree that production must fall. The new Climate Project is a fresh opportunity to shift our Institute’s research towards true climate solutions, free of the ulterior motives of the fossil fuel industry. To accomplish this goal, we call upon the leaders of the Climate Project and the MIT administration to fully dissociate from the fossil fuel industry by taking the following actions:
To stop the killing, stop the hate
Dan Ottenheimer '79 SM '82 (Course II) is an Arlington MA resident and an active MIT alumnus - he is an Educational Counselor, co-chair of his Class Reunion Gift Committee, member of the MechE Alliance, AILG volunteer, and a Choralum who has sung at recent MIT Commencements. Dan's father, Fritz Ottenheimer, was born in Germany in 1925, fled to the U.S. in 1939, and returned to Germany as a U.S. soldier toward the end of World War II. Dan is a volunteer second-generation Holocaust speaker for the organization Facing History and Ourselves, and for the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. The views above are his alone, and do not represent the views of any affiliated organization.
Global Shading: A New Trail for MIT to Blaze
It’s going to get hotter for the rest of your life. Probably a lot hotter. What can be done about this? Specifically, is there anything that MIT scientists and engineers could do?
Dune: Part Two looks and sounds great, but its wooden characters leave much to be desired
In the hype around Dune: Part Two, director Denis Villeneuve's second installment of an epic three-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's eponymous 1965 novel, much has been said about Star Wars. Although it’s an apt comparison, Lucas’s original films are no match to this comparatively two-dimensional installment.
Fareed Zakaria discusses revolutions from the 1600 to the present
In Age of Revolutions, Zakaria covers major revolutions that changed the world, from the French Revolution to the Industrial Revolution.
Bringing together the old and new: Sierra, Elgar, Dvorak at the BSO
This concert juxtaposes the old and new, with two works from standard classical music repertoire and one commissioned work written in 2021.
MIT’s cutting-edge innovation on display at the Edgerton Showcase
Many congregated to see the creations of MIT’s 18 design teams.
