Media Lab Director Joi Ito resigns after efforts to hide his ties with Epstein are revealed
“After giving the matter a great deal of thought, I have chosen to resign as Director of the Media Lab and as a Professor and employee of the Institute, effective immediately,” Ito wrote in an email to Media Lab members obtained by The Tech.
Fall registration, physical education classes
The deadline to submit Fall 2019 registration is Sept. 6. There is a $50 late fee.
Work of the Future Task Force report calls attention to exacerbated inequality due to technology
The report said that the challenge we currently face and are likely to face in the near future is not too few jobs, but rather the quality of those jobs and how accessible those jobs are to less-educated people.
Global Studies and Languages faculty reassigned to other HASS departments
GSL classes currently taught by lecturers should not change, according to SHASS Dean Melissa Nobles.
MIT graduate Burhan Azeem runs for Cambridge City Council
Azeem: "The biggest thing for me was that MIT gives you space. For four years, there's nothing you strictly have to do, and so you have a lot of breathing space to figure out how you want to do things."
PE classes, formal recruitment, Labor Day
Undergraduate registration for physical education is 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 30.
SHASS introduces Computing and Society concentration
“The goal of the concentration is to help students gain a greater understanding of how changes in computational power have refashioned fundamental questions about community, identity, democracy, and knowledge itself,” Karen Gardner, academic administrator of Science, Technology, and Society (STS), wrote.
Students required to order books from Coop online
The Coop will continue to carry apparel, accessories, gifts, and some books at its physical location.
David H. Koch ’62 dies at 79
Koch’s gift enabled the creation of a location where “scientists and engineers work together under one roof in pursuit of powerful, new ways to diagnose, treat, and ultimately prevent cancer.”
President Reif apologizes to Epstein victims
“With hindsight, we recognize with shame and distress that we allowed MIT to contribute to the elevation of his reputation, which in turn served to distract from his horrifying acts. No apology can undo that,” Reif wrote.
Two academics to leave Media Lab over Epstein ties
Matias wrote that he “cannot with integrity" do his work within the MIT Media Lab.
Residence exploration, orientation, registration
Welcome to MIT! First-year and graduate student orientation begin Aug. 25.
College of Computing Task Force working group final reports available
The Curricula and Degrees working group examined various options for new curriculum development, including providing “Programming, Computation, and Data” instructors for computationally intensive non-CS subjects and a summer program for first-year students with little computational background.
SAO institutes attendee sign-in policy for student group summer events
The SAO and CAC wrote to the clubs that the policy change was made “to address reported concerns around safety, security, and overall capacity during reduced summer hours.”
MIT received thousands in donations from Epstein Interests
Ito wrote, “I take full responsibility for my error in judgment. I am deeply sorry to the survivors, to the Media Lab, and to the MIT community for bringing such a person into our network.”
HackMIT no longer admits all MIT students
Workshops and talks will be open to the entire MIT community.
Economist Daron Acemoglu named Institute Professor
Acemoglu is the winner of the 2005 John Bates Clark Medal and co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Why Nations Fail.
Inaugural John M. Deutch Institute Professor Suzanne Berger reflects on her research, MIT
Berger: "That experience of collaborating with engineers and scientists was what really changed my whole direction intellectually. Learning how to see the world through their eyes as well as through the eyes of a social scientist made a great difference in my own work."
Professor Patrick Winston dies at 76
Suri Bandler ’17: Winston had "a deep sense of humor, a shocking love of chocolates, and a core that is MIT through-and-through."
Next House required to implement opt-out for first-year squatting despite house vote against it
Next House President Jessica Tang ’20 said discussions with Barnhart and Nelson led Next Exec to think that they could “vote on whether an opt-out option was to be implemented at all.”