Soil From Mars May Be Tested For Signs of Life
Since the completion of the human genome project, biologists have been fanning out to study the genetics of virtually every imaginable life form: armadillo, potato, slime mold, various fungi, and many, many others. To this list, Harvard biologist Gary Ruvkun would like to add extraterrestrial life.
DormCon Selects Incoming Officers
A small crowd of about 25 students attended the Dormitory Council elections meeting that selected Sarah C. Hopp ’08 and James T. Albrecht ’08 as president and executive vice president, respectively. The meeting was held last night at the East Campus Talbot lounge. Six other DormCon positions were also selected during the meeting (see the table on page 14 for final results). Bexley Hall and Next House were not represented at the elections.
IS&T Adjusts Phone and Net Charges
Offices at MIT currently pay Information Services & Technology about $200 a year for each telephone or computer network address. Starting this July, these fees will be eliminated in favor of a charge to departments based on number of employees. Offices will be able to add more phone lines and computers without increasing their monthly costs.
MIT Alumni Inspire New Movie
Imagine waking up to see a hovering helicopter just outside your window at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning.
More Students May Return Early This Fall
The number of students returning to campus early this fall may increase, as part of a proposal between Dormitory Council, the Undergraduate Association, and MIT Housing to further participation of upperclassmen in Residence Exploration and freshman Orientation activities.
MIT Flyer Distribution Policy Raises Dispute
A policy regarding students passing out flyers on campus was called into question yesterday, after a student passing out sheets outside a meeting was told by a Campus Activities Complex employee that he was unwelcome.
Admissions Dean Resigns After Lying on Résumé
Dean of Admissions Marilee Jones resigned on Monday after it was discovered that she misrepresented her academic credentials. Jones, who had been employed at MIT for 28 years, apparently never received an undergraduate degree, despite allegedly claiming both a master’s and bachelor’s degrees on her résumé.
Motorcycle Crash Kills Student
Ivan D. Dimitrov '10 died over the weekend from injuries sustained after crashing his motorcycle. Dimitrov, 20, was a Senior House resident and Bulgarian citizen.
Scheduled Earth Week Events
Saturday, April 21 Launch of Working Green@MIT Web site All day Charles River Cleanup 9:30 a.m. noon., Meet at Mass. Ave. Bridge (Cambridge Side) MIT's Environment, Health, and Safety Office Open House 10 a.m. 4 p.m., MIT Museum N52-496 Environmental Health Science: A Closer Look at Environmental Exposures 10 a.m. 5 p.m., MIT Museum N52-200, Large Conference Room Boston Underwater Walking Tour 25 p.m., Meet at E51 (Tang Center) lobby Sunday, April 22 Environmentally Safe Gardening Methods with GreenPort 2:305 p.m., Dana Park, Cambridge. Angels & Airwaves Concert 45:45 p.m., MIT Johnson Athletic Center Talk by TERC researcher LuAnn Dahlmann: Cold Enough For You? 68 p.m., MIT Museum N52-200, Large Conference Room Monday, April 23 to Friday, April 27 The Legacy of Bhopal Photo Exhibit: "We Are Not Flowers, We Are Flames!" MIT Stata Center lobby Tuesday, April 24 An Inconvenient Truth slideshow Noon, E25-119, RSVP required Boston Underwater Walking Tour 25 p.m., Meet at E51 (Tang Center) lobby Lecture by Professor William Thilly: Does the Environment Really Affect Your Health? 78:30 p.m., MIT State Center, 32-141 Wednesday, April 25 Walking Tour of MIT Green Campus Initiatives 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m., Meet outside on the steps of Stratton Student Center Lecture on Uncertainties in Climate Forecasts: Causes, Magnitudes and Policy Implications 4:30 p.m., 32-101 EcoExpo: MIT's Sustainability Showcase 57 p.m., MIT Stata Center TSMC lobby Talk by Boston University researchers: Global Warming, Up Close and Local 68 p.m., MIT Museum N52-200, Large Conference Room Thursday, April 26 MIT Earth Day Fair 10 a.m. 3 p.m., MIT Stata Center lobby MIT Solar Decathlon Earth Day Party 5:308 p.m., NEXUS Green Building Resource Center, 38 Chauncy St., 7th floor, Boston Talk on Plasma and the Environment 5:306:30 p.m., NW17-218 Friday, April 27 Garden Walk With MIT Facilities 121 p.m., Meet at Information Booth in MIT Stata Center lobby
Harvard University Leads Interactive Teaching Method
With neon green and purple chairs in tiered rows, the auditorium in Harvard's science center looks like a stadium theater. But the physics professor at the front of the room, Eric Mazur, takes pains not to behave like a sage on the stage.
Conservation Initiatives Funded to $70 Million
Seeking to become the greenest city in the country, Cambridge launched on March 29 a sweeping $70 million energy efficiency program to conserve energy in virtually every building within city boundaries, reducing emissions that contribute to global warming.
MIT Energy Council Update
Approximately five months after its formation, the MIT Energy Council is gearing up to release a "comprehensive communication for faculty, students, and staff" early next month, according to Ernest J. Moniz, the director of the MIT Energy Initiative.
EcoExpo to Showcase Student Groups
The first-ever EcoExpo will be held tomorrow, April 25, and will feature posters and displays from nearly 30 student-led groups concerned with environmental issues at MIT. Organized by the Students for Global Sustainability group, EcoExpo seeks "to convey the incredible energy and enthusiasm" at MIT and "to inspire new ideas, new connections, and a strengthened campus commitment to sustainability," according to the EcoExpo Web site. EcoExpo will be held in the TSMC lobby of the Stata Center, which faces the intersection of Main and Vassar Streets. Below is a sampling of the groups that will be featured at the event.
Getting Started on the Future Today
"We recognize it is an incredibly urgent issue … we don't have time to do five years of research," said Jason J. Jay G, as he talked about the challenge of creating a more sustainable future with new technologies and policies. Jay, a doctoral student who has an academic interest in corporate and social responsibility and the study of organizations, said that the challenge of sustainability is "for our generation what getting into space was for our parents."
Cap and Trade
<i>Richard Schmalensee '65, PhD '70 is professor of economics and dean of the Sloan School. He is a member of the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP), a non-governmental bipartisan group which last week released a set of energy policy recommendations. The recommendations are comprehensive, addressing everything from guidelines for vehicle fuel efficiency to increases in research budgets, to, perhaps most importantly, the creation of a viable national emissions trading scheme. Here Professor Schmalensee talks about some of the issues at stake in controlling emissions, and the challenges that lie ahead for fighting climate change. </i>
In Short
A documentary on Darfur, Sand & Sorrow, will be screened on Thursday night at 710 p.m. in Room 6-120. There will be a panel discussion with the director and activists after the movie. Free and open to the MIT community. Dinners for the MacGregor dining pilot will be held on Tuesdays from 69 p.m. for the rest of the semester.