Aaron Swartz commits suicide
Computer activist Aaron H. Swartz committed suicide in New York City yesterday, Jan. 11, according to his uncle, Michael Wolf, in a comment to The Tech. Swartz was 26.
Anonymous hacks MIT
MIT’s network fell to a denial-of-service attack Sunday evening, allegedly by the Internet activist group Anonymous, cutting campus users off from Internet access to most websites for nearly three hours. The attack came in the wake of accusations that MIT’s role in the pending litigation against Internet activist Aaron Swartz contributed to his Friday suicide. On Monday afternoon, MIT spokeswoman Kimberly C. Allen confirmed that the outage was due to a denial-of-service attack (DoS).
Manic Sages prepare 2013 MIT Mystery Hunt puzzles
For many students, IAP brings coding challenges, externships, intense UROP-ing, and loafing around Boston. For puzzle-lovers and code-crackers, however, IAP means the return of the annual MIT Mystery Hunt, an epic weekend of puzzle-solving that draws hundreds of participants from around the world and begins this Friday at noon.
Timeline: USA v. Swartz and the aftermath
26-year old Aaron Swartz was an accomplished man — it's not difficult to see his influence on today's web. He co-authored the specification for RSS 1.0 at age 14 and was a prominent internet activist throughout his life. After news broke of his suicide early Saturday morning, Hacker News went ablaze with comments of support for his work.
Albany-Vassar railroad crossing opens
In December, a railroad crossing opened between Albany and Vassar Streets near the Heinz building and graduate student dormitories, formalizing an unofficial path in the same location. Located between the Heinz building (W59), the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (NW21), and graduate dormitory The Warehouse (NW30), the crossing takes features a gate, new landscaping, and paved walkways.
Aaron Swartz found dead Friday
Internet activist Aaron H. Swartz died by suicide in his Brooklyn apartment on Friday, Jan. 11, according to his uncle, Michael Wolf, in a comment to The Tech. Swartz was 26.
IN SHORT
Participate in a discussion on Aaron Swartz with reporters from The Tech on Monday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. EST. The Tech will livestream the panel on Youtube (http://bit.ly/SwartzPanel). You can send us questions during or prior to the discussion by tweeting @thetech (hashtag #SwartzPanel), commenting on the Youtube video, or emailing swartzpanel@tech.mit.edu.
Head of IS&T to step down Feb. 1, unrelated to Swartz events, says Smith
Marilyn T. Smith, head of MIT Information Services and Technology (IS&T), announced in an email to IS&T staff on Monday afternoon that she will step down on Feb. 1. “I want to let you know that after much reflection in recent weeks, I’ve decided to leave my position at MIT,” Smith wrote.
Course 18 senior Justin Brereton is Grand Integrator again
Around 70 people gathered last night in 10-250 to watch 15 students duke it out at MIT’s Integration Bee.
First humanities classes on edX
“In what sense, if any, did you deserve to be admitted to Harvard College?”
Obama nominees in step on light footprint
WASHINGTON — With the selection of a new national security team deeply suspicious of the wisdom of U.S. military interventions around the world, President Barack Obama appears to have ended, at least for the moment, many of the internal administration debates that played out in the Situation Room over the past four years.
Man jumps off Harvard Bridge, no body found
The search for a man who jumped off the Harvard Bridge in the early hours of Tuesday, Jan. 1 has been suspended due to river conditions. A memorial on the bridge identifies the man as Joe Gage, a 32-year-old Boston resident. According to tweets from the Boston Fire Department (@BostonFire), two men were crossing the bridge around 3 a.m. on Jan. 1. About halfway across, they hailed a cab, and as one man walked toward the vehicle, Gage jumped over the railing into the Charles River. According to the District Attorney’s office, witnesses reported that he jumped intentionally.
650 accepted into MIT Class of 2017
Over the winter break, 650 students received MIT admissions tubes filled with confetti in the mail. These new students, accepted into MIT’s undergraduate Class of 2017, were selected from a total of 6,541 early action applicants. Another 4,397 applicants were deferred to regular action while the remaining 1,494 were denied. (MIT does not admit international students in early action.) Decisions were released online on Dec. 15.
Dean Hastings steps down
Yesterday evening, Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 announced that Dean Daniel E. Hastings PhD ’80 would be stepping down as dean of undergraduate education effective July 1, 2013. According to Grimson’s email to the entire MIT community, Hastings will be returning to his faculty position in Aero/Astro (Course 16) and Engineering Systems Division (ESD) after taking a year off for a sabbatical. Since being appointed dean of undergraduate education in 2006, Hastings has focused on giving students more international opportunities and helped modernize several aspects of students’ education.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 2.009 Product Engineering final projects
On Monday, students in 2.009, Product Engineering Processes, presented their final projects related to the theme “outdoors.” The students, all seniors in Mechanical Engineering, worked for three months in eight color-coded teams of 15-19 students each to research markets, choose a focus, design a product, and produce a working prototype with a $6500 budget.
Central Square properties for sale
Several parcels of land spanning a wide area of Central Square, including several prominent locations along Massachusetts Avenue, were recently listed for sale. Speculation surrounds MIT’s potential interest in purchasing the properties, which include several parking lots and the Quest Diagnostics building.
Two more partners for edX in the past week
As many of edX’s first courses come to a close, the online learning initiative continues to grow. EdX spokesman Dan O’Connell told The Tech last week that edX had reached half a million unique registrants. Yesterday edX announced its newest partner, Georgetown University, which joins just on the heels of Wellesley College, whose own addition to the list of “X Universities” was announced last week. Wellesley is the first liberal arts college to join edX.
Why have printed annual reports not been issued since 2005?
Like any major company, every year MIT produces a detailed annual report summarizing the past year’s work, accomplishments, and aspirations, with a detailed section from every department, lab, center, school, or other unit — or at least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.