Redline will not function past Harvard on weekends
The MBTA’s Red Line will stop weekend service to stations north of Harvard Square beginning Nov. 5. This change, expected to last until March, will allow workers to make repairs to cracked tunnels and corroded track beds that could pose a safety risk if not addressed. Operation will remain unchanged Mondays through Fridays, and service will not be shut down on the weekends of Christmas and New Year’s. Porter, Davis, and Alewife are the affected stations, which together carry over 20,000 passengers on Saturdays and nearly 15,000 on Sundays. The MBTA will add substitute bus routes to accommodate passengers north of Harvard Square. The repairs will cost $80 million, and the project has received $4.3 million in federal stimulus money. A 2009 report on the MBTA stated that continuing to ignore repairs on the 2.25-mile section could result in a significant danger of derailment. The MBTA is expected to spend a total of $420 million this year on repairs and maintenance throughout the system.
Silbey, former dean of science, dies at 71
Professor Robert J. Silbey passed away Thursday at age 71 after a battle with cancer. Silbey, a faculty member at MIT for 45 years, held several positions, including dean of MIT’s School of Science (2000–2007), director of Materials Science and Engineering (1998–2000) and head of the Chemistry Department (1990–1998).
Freshman Satto Tonegawa, MIT professor's son, found dead yesterday
Satto Tonegawa ’15 was found dead in his MacGregor dormitory room yesterday evening.
Fifty participate in 12-hour fast; over $900 raised by MFWH
For 12 hours, an estimated 50 participants battled an empty stomach during the MIT Fighting World Hunger (MFWH) club’s first campus-wide hunger strike. The fast capped the MFWH-sponsored Hunger Week, held the week following World Hunger Day on Oct. 16. to promote awareness of global food deprivation and malnutrition.
Oracle to purchase cloud-based software firm
Oracle announced plans Monday to acquire RightNow Technologies, a provider of Web-based customer service software, for $1.43 billion, in a move that will expand the technology giant’s footprint in the cloud.
Amgen to pay $780 million to settle suits on its sales
Amgen said Monday that it had set aside $780 million to settle various federal and state investigations and whistle-blower lawsuits accusing it of illegal sales and marketing tactics.
Banerjee delivers keynote address on nutrition deficiency
Last Thursday evening, Professor Abhijit V. Banerjee, co-founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, delivered a keynote speech for Hunger Week on nutrition deficiency in developing countries.
Saferide con-artist?
MIT Police issued an informational bulletin via email yesterday warning the MIT community of an unauthorized 18-passenger bus that had been charging students $5 for transportation during overnight hours.
Suicide off Harvard Bridge last Thursday
Last Thursday, Oct. 20, Massachusetts State Police recovered the body of a woman from the Charles River after a witness reported seeing the woman jump off the Harvard Bridge into the river. The witness reported the jump around 6:20 a.m., and the body was recovered by police divers around 8 a.m.
20 percent of MIT registered in Cambridge
According to the Cambridge Election Commission, as of Oct. 16, 1207 people living in precincts 2-2 and 2-3 are registered to vote in the upcoming municipal elections — about 20 percent of total population of these precincts. With a few exceptions, including an apartment complex at 100 Memorial Drive, all of the residential buildings within the boundaries of these precincts are owned by or affiliated with MIT.
Some of the TR35
EmTech was not only about what technologies currently exist, but also about the technologies that would come to be. Technology Review has picked 35 of the top innovators under the age of 35 (also known as the TR35) that will likely change the world in the future. All of them were invited to the conference to give a 4-minute elevator pitch about the technologies they were developing. Their work targets up-and-coming and new industries ranging from ubiquitous computing, to cloud technologies, to personalized healthcare and beyond.
Riess ’92 wins Nobel in physics
On Oct. 4, Adam G. Riess ’92 woke up to a 5 a.m. phone call from Sweden. The professor of astronomy and physics at John Hopkins University was told that he had won the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics. Two others shared the prize: Saul Perlmutter of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Brian P. Schmidt of the Australian National University.
CORRECTIONS
A Tuesday article on the Occupy Boston protests spelled Nadeem A. Mazen ’06’s name incorrectly. It is “Mazen,” not “Mazem.”
A look into the future
It’s now official: the information age will drastically change the world. Emerging technologies converged at MIT this week in a showcase to demonstrate how untapped industries could radically shape our future.
Course 7 head Kaiser picked to run NIGMS
Biology Department Head Chris A. Kaiser PhD ’88 has been selected to run the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) beginning next year, the MIT News Office reported on Tuesday. Kaiser will oversee NIGMS’s $2 billion budget for funding basic life sciences research.
MISTI, HASS changes in Faculty Newsletter
The September/October Faculty Newsletter (FNL) is out, opening with an editorial calling for the scientific community to speak “more clearly, more loudly, and more effectively” to counteract the “deeply disturbing” scientific skepticism of some presidential candidates.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK Occupy Boston takes to streets
Oct. 10, Columbus Day, marked the Big Labor and Student Solidarity March, the largest Occupy Boston protest so far. Since Sept. 30, Boston-area residents have come together to protest in Dewey Square, acting in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Movement. On Columbus Day, the number of participants in the march was estimated to be around 10,000, according to Nadeem A. Mazem ’06, an Occupy Boston spokesperson and MIT squash coach.