MIT has launched a campaign aimed at advancing the Institute’s work on some of the world’s biggest challenges, reports Laura Krantz for The Boston Globe. Krantz writes that President L. Rafael Reif’s vision for the campaign is centered around the idea that the “university of the 21st century should do more than educate students and advance knowledge — it should solve real problems.”
As part of a special section on Kendall Square, The Boston Globe highlights key milestones in MIT’s 100-year history in Cambridge. “In 1912, the Kendall Square T station opened, and that year MIT’s leaders purchased 46 acres in Cambridge for $775,000. Ever since that move, Kendall Square has been on a centurylong roll that shows no signs of slowing down.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Jaclyn Reiss highlights that MIT was named one of the most prestigious colleges in the world in a new ranking by Times Higher Education.
Prof. John Ochsendorf speaks with Boston.com reporter Allison Pohle about MIT’s Moving Day celebrations. Ocsendorf notes that the celebrations are a “once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate MIT and bring it to the larger community.”
Tech reporters Drew Bent and Katherine Nazemi speak with MIT President L. Rafael Reif about the MIT Campaign for a Better World. “We want to be as strong as we can, but for a purpose, and the purpose is to do something good for the world,” says Reif. “That’s very uniquely MIT.”
In a Boston Globe special section, Juan Enriquez and Kathryn Taylor describe how MIT has helped transform Kendall Square. “MIT now serves as a local and global example,” they write. “Policy makers, government types, university officials, and assorted entrepreneurs walk its hallways trying to figure out what makes it tick.”
Chronicle of Higher Education reporter Jeffrey Young speaks with MIT student Battushig Myanganbayar about how students taking MOOCs need greater opportunities to apply their education. President L. Rafael Reif explains that in addition to creating an entrepreneurship MOOC, MIT aims to “help the people who are learning with us learn how to think differently."
MIT has been named one of the most reputable universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, reports Karsten Strauss for Forbes.
Boston Globe reporter Steve Annear speaks with Prof. Amos Winter about this year’s 2.007 robot competition, during which student-built robots will compete on an American Revolution-themed course. “I think this is one of the most real-life engineering experiences the students can get,” says Winter.
MIT’s parade this Saturday "promises to be quite the sight" declares an article by Steve Annear in The Boston Globe. Annear explains that the parade across the Charles River “is part of the school’s ‘Moving Day at MIT’ extravaganza” to celebrate the school’s move from Boston to Cambridge 100 years ago, and touts the return of MIT alumnus Oliver Smoot to serve as grand marshal.
STAT reporter Damian Garde spotlights alumna Lita Nelson, who led MIT’s TLO for 23 years. Garde notes that Nelsen, “shattered the glass ceiling for women in tech transfer,” and Katharine Ku, head of Stanford’s Office of Technology Licensing, adds that she has been “a beacon for the tech transfer community.”
The researchers involved with the successful detection of gravitational waves have been honored with a Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, reports Joseph Ax for Reuters. "This is the first time we've seen the full force of Einstein's theory of gravity at work,” says Edward Witten, head of the selection committee.
New York Times reporter Dennis Overbye writes that the scientists of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration have been honored with a $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work successfully detecting gravitational waves.
Mina Corpuz writes for The Boston Globe that the MBTA is releasing a new app, developed by MIT researchers, called QualiT that will provide passengers with an opportunity to anonymously rate their bus trips and give feedback. Corpuz explains that the app will, “allow riders to see their travel on a map and rate their trips after getting off the bus.”
In an article for Scientific American, Prof. César Hidalgo examines how to improve the design of and make open data websites more usable. “To make open data really open, we need to make it searchable, and for that we need to bring data to the surface of the web,” writes Hidalgo.