A note to our readers
The Tech is heading in an exciting new direction in 2015. We’ve published a paper twice a week for over 50 years, and for 20 years our website has just been the online face of the print edition. Starting this year, we’re doing something different.
Tsarnaev trial jury selection staggers
Day 2. Seated at one end of the long wooden table, potential juror 40 recalls the events of April 2013 in a weary voice. Facing nine attorneys, the judge, and alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, she remarks:
Robust nor’easter will challenge snowfall records
Bitter cold temperatures, rampant snowfall, and near-hurricane-force winds will accompany what is likely to be a record-setting winter storm. Originating from Alberta, Canada, the system is now tracking up the eastern coast of New England and wreaking havoc for millions. On Tuesday morning the low will undergo rapid intensification in a process called “bombogenesis,” with central pressure dropping more than 24 millibars in 24 hours. Tuesday’s weather will consist of heavy snowfall and whiteout conditions as the system slowly pivots around the southeastern coast of Cape Cod. With persistent northerly winds gusting to 50 mph, expect blizzard conditions and subzero windchill values.
Snowstorm threatens Northeast
Amongst impending snowfalls and ominous storm warnings, MIT cancelled classes for Tuesday, Jan. 27 and left Wednesday’s opening time pending at 7 a.m. due to the passage of a potentially “historic” storm.
Lewin complainant tells of harassment
A 32-year-old woman living in France has provided Inside Higher Ed with records of sexually explicit messages from former professor Walter Lewin — the same materials that she had sent to MIT and which had served as the basis for a sexual harassment investigation that led to the revocation of Lewin’s emeritus title and the removal of his popular online physics lecture videos.
GSC expands REFS program for peer-support and stress relief
Beginning in February, the Resources for Easing Friction and Stress (REFS) initiatives will expand to include a program whose services will be available to the general graduate-student community.
CORRECTIONS
An article published about the preliminary report for the MIT Innovation Initiative in the Friday, Dec. 5 issue of The Tech incorrectly stated that the full name of the MITES program was the “Minor” Introduction to Science and Technology instead of the “Minority” Introduction to Science and Technology.
MIT student wins Churchill Scholarship
Daniel Kang ’15 has won the Churchill Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge, England.
New Associate Head of EECS Announced
Professor Silvio Micali succeeded Professor Bill Freeman as Associate Head of MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) on Jan. 15.
MIT and University of Cambridge to face off in “Cambridge v. Cambridge” hackathon
Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and at the University of Cambridge in England will compete in a multi-day cybersecurity hackathon, President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron announced Friday.
After brief warmup, cold temperatures return
Cambridge experienced a much-welcomed respite from the cold this holiday weekend thanks to southerly winds ahead of an approaching low pressure system. On Sunday, temperatures reached a balmy 51°F (10.5°C) at Boston’s Logan Airport
Stanford admission records released to students
After filing requests under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), several Stanford University students received usually private details from their Stanford student record.
Alumnus Samuel Tak Lee donates $118 million for Institute research
Samuel Tak Lee ’62 has made a $118 million donation to MIT, one of the largest in the Institute’s history, to promote real estate entrepreneurship.
CORRECTIONS
A photo caption last week misspelled the name of a recent doctoral graduate and incorrectly reported his graduation year. He is Benjamin J. Kaduk PhD ’12, not “Benjam J. Kaduk G.”
Lewin Twitter contained sexual comments to fans
Walter Lewin, the former MIT professor with whom the Institute severed ties last month over a sexual harassment probe, appears to have publicly tweeted sexually suggestive and explicit comments to fans of his popular online physics lecture videos.
Broad Institute analyzes Ebola genomes
At the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in a lab run by accomplished computational geneticist Pardis Sabeti ’97, researchers have collaborated with institutions in the U.S. and abroad to sequence and analyze more than 99 Ebola virus genomes collected by fellow scientists in Sierra Leone. They are on the lookout for mutations that could aid in developing new treatment options for Ebola, or that could serve as indications that the virus is evolving to become more deadly.
Deval Patrick to join MIT Innovation Initiative
Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick will become a visiting fellow for the MIT Innovation Initiative this spring. He will hold formal office hours and make regular appearances at various seminars and on-campus events as part of the role, but he will not teach classes, according to MIT.
Cold air and (mostly) clear skies
The rest of this week promises to be very cold. With high pressure as the norm through the end of the week, the skies should remain relatively clear, and along with cold northerly winds, allow the temperatures to get well below freezing each night. On Friday night, a passing low to the north will bring down cold northern air and result in temperatures dropping into the single digits (°F). After this morning, the chance of snow will be very low until the end of the weekend, when it should get much warmer and possibly rain.