John Reed meets with UA Senate
Chairman of the MIT Corporation John S. Reed ’61 spoke at last night’s UA Senate meeting, addressing student concerns over deferred maintenance, student life, academic policy, and budget plans. Last night’s meeting marks the first time Reed has spoken at the Senate since his election to the Corporation on June 4 last year.
Corrections
An article published last Friday about student input on potential orientation changes incorrectly stated that FPOPs this year will end by Friday before Orientation week. FPOPs will all begin on Tuesday of the week before orientation and run until Friday or Saturday.
Supreme Court hears Stanford v. Roche
The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday morning in Stanford v. Roche, and the justices did not indicate which way they were leaning in the university patent dispute. At issue is whether a Stanford researcher, Mark Holodniy, could sign away Stanford’s patent rights to an AIDS test to Cetus, a local biotech company. Holodniy first signed an agreement with Stanford that he “will assign” any future inventions to Stanford. But then he visited Cetus and agreed to “hereby assign” future inventions — inventions he had not yet created at the time of the agreement — to the biotech company. Which agreement wins is a question of more than just contract law.
MIT answer delayed in Styke suit
MIT has obtained an extension on its time to answer the lawsuit filed against it by Wolfe B. Styke G. MIT’s response had been due by Jan. 14, extended to Feb. 14, and is now due on March 15.
Broad plans extension in Cambridge Center
The Broad Institute has begun planning for an extension on 75 Ames St., an open lot behind its central 7 Cambridge Center campus. In an e-mail addressed to members of the Broad community last Friday, Alan Fein, executive vice president and deputy director of the Broad Institute, said that three of Broad’s buildings — located at 320 Charles St., 301 Binney St., and 5 Cambridge Center — have leases which will expire in the next 3–4 years. According to the e-mail, the new building would serve to consolidate these existing buildings and would have more total space.
Incident in Building 46
Around 5:30 p.m. yesterday, an unidentified male fell from an upper story of the Brain and Cognitive Sciences complex (Building 46) to the third floor atrium. It is possible he fell from the fifth floor of the building down to the open atrium two stories below. Police were on the scene immediately and traffic was directed away from Vassar Street.
One official ticket running for UA President/VP
As of the official late petition deadline yesterday at noon, only one pair of candidates had announced their intention to run for UA President and Vice President. Allan E. Miramonti ’13 and Alec C. Lai ’13 are the only candidates for president and vice president, respectively, although it is possible that write-in candidacies could be announced in the coming weeks.
Future of the ATO house is unclear
For the better part of the winter, a couch and two mattresses have marked the location of 405 Memorial Drive, the fenced-in property sandwiched in-between Kappa Sigma and Delta Kappa Epsilon. Upperclassmen will remember this now-shuttered house as the former house of Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) — the fraternity expelled from MIT in September 2009 — but new plans are being developed for a possible fall opening. Before anything happens, the house will require extensive renovations that are not expected to be completed until after this summer.
Student input halts Orientation proposal
In response to strong student opposition to proposed changes to the Orientation 2011 schedule, administration and student government officials announced last week that no significant scheduling changes would be seen this year. Freshman Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs) and International Orientation events will be changing, but in ways that minimize their impact on orientation programming like REX.
Medical receives a makeover
MIT Medical recently unveiled new daytime-only operation hours for its Urgent Care Service and redesigned its inpatient facilities to become the new Community Care Center. New hours came into effect on Dec. 22, 2010.
NOAA scientists cleared of misuse of climate data
An inquiry by a federal watchdog agency found no evidence that scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration manipulated climate data to buttress the evidence in support of global warming, officials said on Thursday.
Corrections
Last Friday, an opinion column on hospitals and social media incorrectly stated that Southcoast Hospital tweeted daily updates on disaster victims’ conditions, or if discharged, their treatments, also including patient information like phone numbers. Southcoast Hospital tweeted information aggregated from 120 patients to keep the community updated on the event and the type of injuries that were treated. They never tweeted information on individual patients, which would be a violation of federal and state privacy laws.
Harvard, Princeton back to early action
Harvard and Princeton each announced Thursday that they would revive their early-admission programs, allowing high school seniors who apply by next Nov. 15 to get a decision by Dec. 15 without having to promise to attend the college if admitted.
Stanford v. Roche at high court on Monday
Patent licensing is complicated, and a new chapter of that complexity — as it applies to universities and other federal contractors through the Bayh-Dole Technology Transfer Act — will hit the Supreme Court on Monday.
Increased snowfall raises costs by 250 percent
MIT’s budget has taken a hit as a result of the heavy snow this winter: The Department of Facilities has already spent 2.5 times more money clearing snow this year than was spent on the task all last winter. The bulk of the increase comes from the cost of removing snow from campus parking areas to an off-campus site, according to Facilities Ground Services Manager Norman H. Magnuson Jr.
Koch brothers’ money fuels Wisconsin union fight
WASHINGTON — Among the thousands of demonstrators who jammed the Wisconsin State Capitol grounds this weekend was a well-financed advocate from Washington who was there to voice praise for cutting state spending by slashing union benefits and bargaining rights.
Lobby 7 design competition narrows to twelve finalists
The empty plinths in Lobby 7 are familiar to anyone who passes through the entrance to MIT’s campus on a regular basis. Originally designed to hold statues depicting the ancient Greek intellectuals Aristotle, Ictinus, Archimedes, and Callicrates, they are commonly adorned today with a rather unique piece of artwork: MIT students. The Lobby 7 Design Competition, which kicked off last May, aims to fill the empty spaces with more appropriate adornment. After reviewing the 60 student-submitted entries in December, the competition announced its twelve finalists two weeks ago. The competition has separate divisions for undergraduate and graduate student entries, and the finalists were evenly split between these divisions.