MIT Responds to Students; MBTA Drops Federal Case
<i>This occasional feature will follow up on news stories long past their prime. In this edition: how MIT fired, and un-fired, a women’s support administrator; and whatever happened to that MBTA lawsuit?</i>
OLPC Patent Infringement Suit Dismissed by Middlesex Judge
A Middlesex Superior Court Judge has dismissed the case against the One Laptop Per Child Foundation by Nigerian company Lagos Analysis Corporation (Lancor). Lancor claimed that the OLPC Foundation’s XO laptop copied the design of Lancor’s patented Konyin multi-lingual keyboards. The suit asked for $20 million in damages.
As Nanoparticle Use Rises, So Does Concern Over Safety, Regulations
It sounds like a plot straight out of a science fiction novel by Michael Crichton. Toiletry companies formulate new cutting-edge creams and lotions that contain tiny components designed to work more effectively. But those minuscule building blocks have an unexpected drawback: the ability to penetrate the skin, swarm through the body and overwhelm organs like the liver.
Stuck in Hotel During Mumbai Terrorist Attack, Prof. Escapes
On the night of Nov. 26, Sloan Professor Eric von Hippel SM ’68 was awoken by explosions and gunshots from his room at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, India. Von Hippel experienced and survived the terrorist attack that devastated one of India’s largest and most developed cities.
Colleges Scramble to Sell Assets as Markets Slide
Some of the nation’s universities are trying to sell chunks of their portfolios privately as their endowments swoon with the markets.
Leaving a Digital Trail: What About Privacy?
Harrison R. Brown ’12, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in mathematics at MIT, didn’t need to do complex calculations to figure out he liked this deal: In exchange for letting researchers track his every move, he receives a free smartphone.
Seeking Cheaper Education, Students Turning Overseas
Isobel Oliphant felt she was making an offbeat choice when she graduated from Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., and enrolled at the ancient university in this quiet coastal town of stone ruins and verdant golf courses.
New Ashdown Dining Manager Talks About Culinary Vision, Plans
While typical dorm meals bring to mind a bland culinary experience, Beverly Collet, the manager of the new Ashdown Dining Hall and Thirsty Ear Pub, describes her food philosophy as “white cloth service for brown bag clients,” distinguishing her operations from the typical college fare. Through inventive menus, theme nights, and attention to quality, Collet aims to become one of the best dining models on MIT’s campus.
This Year’s Splash Is Largest Ever
This weekend over 2,000 middle school and high school students flooded MIT to “learn anything” in classes taught by over 300 students from MIT and other Boston area colleges who were willing to “teach anything” as part of the Educational Studies Program’s twentieth annual Splash event. In the largest Splash to date with 100 more classes and 20 more teachers than last year, over 400 different classes were held all over campus on a diverse variety of subjects.
For Univ. Presidents, High Compensation Leads to Give-backs
In the week since <i>The Chronicle of Higher Education</i> published its annual survey of university presidents’ pay — a week in which the nation’s economic troubles worsened — several of the highest-paid presidents said that they would give back part of their pay or forgo their raises.
Video Camera in 10-250 Broadcasts at All Hours
A word of warning: if you’re in 10-250, you may be on MIT Cable’s channel 11. A camera that points at the front of the room often broadcasts to that TV channel, even long after teaching hours are done.
Larry Summers to Lead Obama’s Economic Council
With his appointment Monday to lead the National Economic Council, the brainy but abrasive Lawrence H. Summers ’75 is set to become a key ideas man for President-elect Barack Obama as he labors to keep the economic crisis from spiraling out of control.
Surprising Jump in Early Decision Apps To Selective Colleges
Given the current economic downturn, admissions officers at Wesleyan University thought there might be a decline in early-decision applications this year. But when the deadline passed last weekend, they found that the number had risen 40 percent.
Margaret Zarudny Freeman SM ’34
Margaret Zarudny Freeman SM ’34 was only eight when rumblings of the Russian Revolution against the Czarist regime shattered the peace of her quiet village in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Gethers & Whitney-Johnson Awarded Rhodes Scholarship
Alia Whitney-Johnson ’08 and Matthew L. Gethers ’09 are MIT’s latest Rhodes Scholars, two of 32 scholarship winners nationwide who will study next year at Oxford.
News Briefs
The Physical Education lottery will be replaced with a new real time registration system beginning with IAP. The enrollment period for IAP P.E. classes will run from 10 a.m. on December 3 until 1 p.m. on December 10. Undergraduates will have priority as graduate students will not be able to start registering until December 8.
CMS Director Leaves For USC Citing Workload, Lack of Faculty
Professor Henry Jenkins, co-director of the Comparative Media Studies program, announced on Monday he will be leaving for a position at the University of Southern California. Jenkins has been with MIT for nearly 20 years and co-founded CMS. He and his wife Cynthia have also served as housemasters of Senior House for the past 14 years.
Caught Breaking Into Admission Record Rm., Student Faces Charges
Early on Sunday, Nov. 2, MIT Police arrested Shaunalynn M. Duffy ’09 for allegedly breaking into the Freshman Admission Records Office (3-001), according to a police report.
Kjell A. Tovander ’09
When Kjell A. Tovander ’09 was younger, his mother said, he began reading voraciously. So, naturally, when he decided he wanted to learn how to program, he ordered a book about it. He read it in one night.