John King, physics professor emeritus, dies at 88
Professor emeritus John G. King ’50, PhD ‘53, an experimental physicist, transformative physics educator, and leader of the MIT Molecular Beams Laboratory in the Research Laboratory for Electronics for 42 years, died on June 15 at his summer house in Wellfleet, Mass. A longtime resident of Cambridge, King was 88. The cause of death was congestive heart and renal failure.
Irwin Oppenheim passes away
MIT professor emeritus of chemistry Irwin Oppenheim, 84, of Cambridge, passed away on June 3 from complications following cardiac surgery.
Possible new gender options on MIT app
In an effort to be more inclusive, the undergraduate admissions office is considering adding to the gender options on its freshman application. Currently, the only choices available are “female” and “male.”
Seth Teller, EECS professor, mourned
Seth Teller, a professor of computer science and engineering at MIT who was well known for his efforts to advance human-robot interactions, died last Tuesday. He was 50, and he had been a member of the MIT faculty since 1994.
Library books now automatically renewed
Loans from MIT Libraries are now automatically renewed three days before the due date, so long as there are renewals available and no requests. MIT Libraries hopes that this new policy, which took effect May 15, will save patrons effort and time.
Frosh who choose Maseeh will no longer be locked in
This fall, when freshmen are exploring dorms and living groups and taking part in Residence Exploration (REX) activities, they’ll have one more dorm to consider: Maseeh. Starting this September, Maseeh Hall will join the list of dorms that participate in First Year Residence Exchange (FYRE), allowing 15 freshmen to switch in and out at the end of REX.
Addresses, phone numbers to be taken down from online directory
By the start of the fall semester, MIT students’ permanent home addresses, term phone numbers, and term addresses will no longer be displayed in the online MIT people directory.
Architecture graduate student Kaitlin Goldstein dies in India
Kaitlin R. Goldstein was an academic standout. Studying architecture and engineering, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin before pursuing a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was part of a team that twice won a White House competition on energy efficiency research.
Institute names interim math department head
MIT named Professor Tomasz S. Mrowka ’83 the interim head of the Department of Mathematics this June.
Paul Uche, recent alum, dies after leukemia battle
Paul U. Uche ’13 passed away on June 19 at the age of 23 following a two-year battle with leukemia.
MIT student set to complete solo flight around the world
Rising MIT sophomore Matthew L. Guthmiller ’17 is on his way to becoming the youngest person ever to fly solo around the world. On May 31, he took off from El Cajón, California, beginning a 26,600-mile journey that will take him to five continents and possibly secure him the world record.
State officials release causes of graduate student deaths
The deaths of graduate students Hadi Kasab and Eliana Hechter, whom MIT lost this spring, have since been ruled suicides.
Graduate student Kaitlin Goldstein dies after falling off cliff in India
The fourth-year architecture student had traveled to India to participate in an energy workshop and install solar panels at a Buddhist monastery.
Professor Seth Teller, roboticist, dies at 50
Professor Seth Teller, who made robots that work with people, died on Tuesday, MIT has announced. He was 50.
CORRECTIONS
A Campus Life article published last Friday on Mary Rowe’s retirement from her role as one of MIT’s two ombudsman incorrectly stated that she was head of the MIT Ombuds Office. Instead, she and fellow MIT ombudsman Toni Robinson are coequals. DEC was also incorrectly spelled DEQ in the list of companies which had ombudsman-like positions. A clarification was added to the “Drafting a Letter” process, indicating that the letter could be sent either to the offender or a supervisor.
Math department head appointed new dean of science
Professor Michael Sipser, the head of the math department since 2004, will serve as the new dean of the School of Science, MIT announced last week.
MIT fusion reactor is focus of power play in Washington
CAMBRIDGE — Senator Elizabeth Warren placed her hand atop a large red button and pressed firmly, restarting a nuclear experiment that MIT believes could help save the planet — but which the Obama administration considered superfluous and tried to kill year after year.
MIT’s board elects its next chairman
The MIT Corporation named its next chairman, Robert B. Millard ’73, at last Friday’s elections. He will assume his new role as the head of MIT’s board of trustees in October.