Families from around the country and the world will visit the MIT campus next Friday through Sunday, Oct. 17-19, for Family Weekend. The event, hosted by the MIT Parents Association, includes tours, talks and presentations, receptions in dorms and living groups, music and more.
Friday's highlights include the Nobel Laureate Luncheon at 12:15 p.m., when Professor H. Robert Horvitz, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine, will speak on "Cell Suicide: Programmed Cell Death in Development and Disease." Professor Pauline Maier will give the keynote address on Saturday at 9 a.m. Her talk is titled "You Teach History at MIT? How We Do It and Why." MIT World will videotape the address.
Also on Friday, the student comedy group Plush Daddy Fly will perform at 6:45 p.m. in Room 54-100, followed by the MIT Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble concert in Kresge Auditorium at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, MIT faculty will give 10 special lectures on topics ranging from "Exploring the Ocean with Artificial Dolphins" to "Really Smart Cameras and Sugar-Cube-Sized Video Projectors." A community meeting with top MIT administrators will start at 2 p.m. in Room 10-250. "This gives families an opportunity to voice their opinions and have their questions answered," said Tish Callanan, associate director of the MIT Parents Association and Fund. "Family Weekend gives MIT families the opportunity to experience first-hand all that the Institute has to offer."
Pre-registration is required for tours, lectures and luncheons. Students are welcome to attend all events. On-site registration will be in Lobby 10 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. For more information, contact Krista McCabe at kmccabe@mit.edu or 253-8183. A detailed schedule is online at http://alum.mit.edu/parents/family-weekend.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 8, 2003.
