Break-in at Senior House
An as-yet unidentified suspect broke into Senior House around midnight the morning of August 3, according to a campus-wide email.
Cooler weather follows strong storm
A period of cooler temperatures is poised to begin after a severe thunderstorm passed on Tuesday afternoon. The storm, which arrived shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, brought heavy downpours, strong winds, and a barrage of hailstones to MIT’s campus. At Boston’s Logan airport, the storm brought nearly half an inch of rainfall in less than an hour, with recorded wind gusts of up to 51 miles per hour (82 km/h). Golf ball-sized hail was reported in Harvard Square, while hailstones 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter were observed in nearby Jamaica Plain. The storm capped off an especially severe weather day in Massachusetts, in which supercell thunderstorms resulted in multiple tornado warnings being issued by the National Weather Service.
3 of New House’s 6 houses will remain closed next semester
Up to 140 MIT students will be given the option of moving into the Cambridge Hyatt Regency hotel for the fall semester, following a sprinkler pipe burst in New House.
‘FSILG village’ plan gets tepid response
Fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups affiliated with MIT are spread over a much larger region of Boston and Cambridge than the campus alone, but a proposal to move multiple FSILGs onto campus may shrink their range considerably.
Kendall Square Initiative advances with permit applications filed
MIT has taken another step in its six to 10 year plan for the development of the East Campus and Kendall Square area, recently filing its Project Review and Planned Unit Development special permit applications with the Cambridge Planning Board.
CORRECTIONS
A news article published July 9 misstated the name of an MIT department. It is the department of Music and Theater Arts, not the Music department.
Belcher receives teaching award for work with TEAL
John W. Belcher has been awarded the 2015 Hans Christian Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers, in recognition of his “tireless work with TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).”
Forbes Café in Stata will reopen in time for fall semester after remodel
The popular Forbes Family Café located in the Ray and Maria Stata Center is slated to reopen the first week of September after renovations are complete, according to site superintendent Chris Luongo.
Fall housing to debut gender-inclusive opt-in
Beginning this fall, all undergraduate and graduate dormitories will offer gender-inclusive housing.
Prof. Mujid Kazimi dies at 67
Mujid S. Kazimi, the TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Engineering and one of the world’s foremost educators and researchers in nuclear technology, died suddenly on Wednesday in China.
Nobles named dean of SHASS
Melissa Nobles is the new dean of MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), effective July 1.
Dorm demolition to take 2 months
Demolition of condemned undergraduate dorm Bexley began on June 29; a temporary park is set to be built in its place by October.
Student Life Dean announces plans to retire after 7 years
Chris Colombo will retire from his position as Dean for Student Life after seven years at MIT and 40 years of service at various universities. He will continue to serve as dean until a successor is appointed.
Smith’s address to graduating class emphasizes the importance of kindness, teamwork, ‘heart’
Over 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students received their diplomas at this year’s Commencement ceremony on June 5. In all, the Institute awarded over 3,400 degrees.
Committee favors partial divestment
A report issued by the Climate Change Conversation Committee proposed the creation of a Climate Institute at MIT to address the challenges of climate change, and to provide a framework for the many other recommendations listed in the report.
Student funding to be halved in UA debt ‘crisis’
The Undergraduate Association has “run through its money” and has gone into debt. In the coming year, it will be forced to reduce its budget — much of which currently funds student groups — by approximately half.
Things are heating up in the Boston area
With a high temperature of 88°F (31°C), yesterday was tied for the second-warmest day of the year so far, according to National Weather Service observations taken at Logan Airport. Interestingly, 2015’s hottest day so far was nearly two months ago on May 10, when the temperature reached 89°F. Since then, Boston has recorded a high of 88°F on four separate occasions, but the city has yet to reach the 90°F mark. Although 90°F is an arbitrary threshold, this statistic is a bit unusual: on average, Boston experiences 12.9 days per year with a high temperature of 90°F or higher, 3.2 of which normally occur before July 1st. The lack of 90-degree temperatures so far means 2015 will have at least the 6th-latest occurrence of 90°F in Boston’s recorded history.
Smith’s address to graduates places ‘heart’ alongside mind and hand
Over 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students received their diplomas at this year’s Commencement ceremony on June 5. In all, the Institute awarded over 3,400 degrees.