During a ceremony on Wednesday, MIT unveiled a new memorial built in honor of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, reports Jack Harper for WCVB. “The goal was really to take that notion of what is strength and how to celebrate Sean,” said Prof. J. Meejin Yoon, the memorial's architect.
The Associated Press reports that MIT has dedicated a new memorial in honor of Officer Sean Collier. The memorial, “features five granite walls arranged in a radial pattern resembling the spread fingers of an open hand, connected by a vault in the center where ‘In the line of duty, Sean Collier April 18, 2013’ is etched.”
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Professor Dava Newman as the NASA deputy administrator, writes Janelle Nanos for BetaBoston. “It’s an enormous honor to serve at NASA in times when our country is extending humanity’s reach into space while strengthening American leadership here on Earth,” says Newman.
Jordain Carney writes for The Hill that the Senate has approved Professor Dava Newman to be NASA’s next deputy administrator.
Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes that declining government investment in basic research is contributing to a U.S. innovation deficit, citing a new MIT report examining how funding cuts are impacting different areas of research. The report finds that declining support for basic research is “tantamount to mortgaging our scientific future.”
The Boston Herald highlights a new MIT report that examines how decreased government funding for basic research is holding back advances in 15 fields. Science funding is “the lowest it has been since the Second World War as a fraction of the federal budget,” explains Professor Marc Kastner.
Mark Anderson profiles Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus, recipient of the 2015 IEEE Medal of Honor, for IEEE Spectrum, chronicling her journey from a childhood passion for music to her pioneering research on carbon. Anderson writes that Dresselhaus has “blazed a path for researchers eager to exploit the magic of carbon computing.”
A new MIT report finds that declining government investment in basic research could be driving top academic talent overseas, writes RobertMcMillan of The Wall Street Journal. “We are undercutting ourselves by not supporting basic science,” says Prof. Andrew Lo.
Salon reporter Joanna Rothkopf writes that a report prepared by MIT researchers finds that declining government investment in basic research is creating an innovation deficit. “The report warns that the lack of adequate funding for sciences in the U.S. is threatening 15 fields, including neurobiology, cybersecurity, infectious diseases and robotics,” Rothkopf writes.
Jim Morelli reports for CNN on a wheelchair developed by Professor Amos Winter to help to meet the needs of people in the developing world. “We essentially had to reinvent the wheelchair,” says Winter of the wheelchair’s design, which is built to handle rough terrain and can be easily repaired.
A new MIT report examines the growing innovation deficit caused by declining government support for basic research, reports Sharon Begley for Reuters. Prof. Marc Kastner, who led the committee that prepared the report, explained that the decline in basic research funding, "really threatens America's future."
Craig Lemoult of WGBH News speaks with MIT researchers about a new report examining the impacts of declining government support for basic research. Prof. Marc Kastner notes that many of the “technologies that have made our lives better” stem from basic research advances.
Inside Higher Ed highlights a new report prepared by a committee of MIT researchers that examines the need for increased federal funding for basic research. The report “examines the lost opportunities for science and for U.S. competitiveness vs. other nations due to inadequate federal support for basic research.”
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Sara Seager imagines what space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life will be like in 2045. Seager writes that, “Data has been flooding in from the nation’s latest space telescope, one with a 30-meter-diameter mirror (the Hubble’s, for comparison, was 2.4 meters).”
Marvin Pave of The Boston Globe speaks with MIT junior and softball catcher Tori Jensen about her development as a student and an athlete. “I’ve become mentally tougher, knowing my teammates always have my back,” says Jensen, who holds MIT’s single-season records for both doubles and RBIs.