MIT Professors Bring Anime 'Madness' to life
"Live Action Anime 2009: Madness at Mokuba" takes the Japanese animated form to the stage. A collaboration between professors Ian Condry and Thomas DeFrantz, the performance by MIT Dance Theater Ensemble members was at the Hynes Convention Center in May, then traveled to Tokyo for two shows. Cool Japan program
Full Story at the Boston Globe
Fotini Christia on the Meaning of Afghani Election Campaign Attire
From The New York Times: "In ethnically divided Afghanistan, what a candidate wears sends as powerful a message as what he says. Fotini Christia, Assistant Professor of Political Science, and Thalia Chantziara, an artist in New York City, present a slideshow...of the three top candidates (President Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani) who have all used dress in their election strategy — be it for ethnic unity or exclusion." Full Story
Foreign Languages and Literatures Awards
Awards have been announced to students for several FL&L prizes: the Awards for Excellence in foreign language and cultural understanding; the Lufthansa Prize, for Excellence in German Studies; the Summer Study Scholarship in Mexico, for Excellence in Spanish Studies; and the January Scholars in France, for Excellence in French studies. For a list of all recipients visit MIT News. Full Story at MIT News
Five Students Receive MISTI Sun Fellowship Awards for 2009
Five MIT students have received a 2009 Anthony Sun Fellowship Award to pursue international internships this summer through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). Full Story at MIT News
U.S. Congress Encounters the "Politics of Apology"
Congressional lawmakers ran into barriers recently, while attempting to pass a resolution calling on the U.S. to apologize for historic injustices to African-Americans. The Ledger-Enquirer's story about the proposed resolution includes perspective from Melissa Nobles, MIT political science professor and author of The Politics of Official Apologies. Full Story at the Ledger-Enquirer
HASTS graduate student, Nick Buchanan, receives Siegel Prize.
The Benjamin Siegel Prize annually awards $2500 to an MIT undergraduate or graduate student who excels in the history and philosophy of science and technology, in social and cultural studies of science and technology, or in science and technology policy. More
Jonathan Gruber on Obama's Health Plan Guarantee
WASHINGTON - June 19, 2009 - Associated Press "MIT's Jonathan Gruber, a leading health economist, said Obama's promise shouldn't be taken as a sign that Americans will be able to keep indefinitely the same coverage they have now. 'With or without reform, that won't be true,' said Gruber. 'His point is that the government is not going to force you to give up what you have, but that's not to say other circumstances won't make that happen.' Gruber predicts only a small share of employers will drop coverage, and they will use the money they would have spent on premiums to give raises to their workers." Full story at WBUR-AP
Five at the School receive Fulbright Scholarships
5 of the 12 MIT students recently awarded Fulbright Scholarships are doctoral students in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. More
Evan Ziporyn's New Opera Premieres in Bali
The MIT News Office recently interviewed Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music, Evan Ziporyn about his new opera "A House in Bali." Based on a 1930s memoir of the same title, "A House in Bali" traces the roots of the West's century-long infatuation with Bali, through the true story of three Westerners—composer Colin McPhee, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and artist Walter Spies—during their 1930s sojourn in Bali. Ziporyn composed the music, which premieres June 26-27 in the Puri Saraswati, a part of the palace complex in the village of Ubud, Bali. More
Objects and Identity: The Boston Globe on Sherry Turkle's Research
"In 1976, when Sherry Turkle arrived at MIT to teach the sociology of science, she quickly noticed how the still-new computer was becoming part of the fabric and language of daily life. When she probed deeper, she found 'there was a real passionate attachment to the computer, a possibility to project yourself into the machine.' Within that, Turkle, a psychologist as well as a professor, saw bigger questions about how that might change our very sense of self-identity." Full Story at The Boston Globe
Esther Duflo elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, is one of eight members of the MIT community recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Established in 1780 by founders of the nation, the academy undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems. Full story at MIT News
MISTI Seeks Seed Grant Proposals
MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) has launched a call for proposals for its second round of Global Seed Funds grants. For more details and to apply, please visit http://mit.edu/misti/faculty. Full Story at MIT News
Chomsky on American Identity
Frankie Martin, Ibn Khaldun chair research fellow at the American University in Washington DC, reflects on a conversation with Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor of Linguistics....It was last October, and I was sitting face to face with Noam Chomsky at MIT. Chomsky was answering a question posed by Akbar Ahmed, American University's chair of Islamic studies: "What is American identity?" Full Story at The Guardian
Video Feature on the Economic Crisis:
The School's economists see some bright spots
Six months after a panel of faculty economic and business experts forecast that the financial crisis could get far worse, the same group re-convened, and has identified a few bright spots on the economic horizon. Watch at MIT News
Guido Lorenzoni named a Sloan Research Fellow
Six junior MIT faculty, including Guido Lorenzoni of the Department of Economics, have won 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellows, intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. More
A Watershed Moment in Economics
The recession has opened up new areas for research and encouraged innovative approaches to teaching economics. Full story
Major Report on Spaceflight: A New Vision for People in Space
A team led by MIT researchers released on Monday, Dec. 15, the most comprehensive independent review of the future of the nation's human spaceflight program undertaken in many years. The report recommends setting loftier goals for humans in space, focusing research more clearly toward those goals, and increasing cooperation with other nations and private industry. More
Stewart and Ansolabehere on the Election of President Obama
Some political observers have declared that the election of the first black president signals a new era of post-racial politics in the United States—but the data show otherwise, two MIT researchers say." More
Institute Professor John Harbison Celebrated on his 70th Birthday
This spring, the Music and Theater Arts Section at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology celebrated and honored one of the most prestigious members of its faculty—composer John Harbison—with a concert and other tributes to mark his 70th birthday. The celebration of composers' significant anniversaries is a tradition in the music world, and often includes events surrounding a major concert of the composer's works. More
Berger receives French Legion of Honor medal
MIT political science professor Suzanne Berger was presented with a French Legion of Honor medal Monday in recognition of both her research and her efforts to strengthen ties between MIT and French researchers. More
Wall Street Journal Editorial on Merton's Muh Lecture
L. Gordon Crovitz writes, "In his lecture, Mr. Merton said this crisis was not a failure like the space shuttle Challenger disaster that could be blamed on the single factor of a faulty O-ring. Instead, many factors we're just beginning to understand, sparked by the housing bubble, led to the collapse." 20 April 2009 More
Three from the School Among World's Top Young Economists
Three of the School's economists—Esther Duflo, Amy Finkelstein and Iván Werning—have been singled out by The Economist magazine as among the world's eight best young economists, who are "making a big splash in their discipline and beyond." The magazine compiled the list of the top eight, who all received their PhDs in the past 10 years, by soliciting recommendations from leading economists. More
2009 Burchard Scholars Selected
Twenty-six undergraduates have been named 2009 Burchard Scholars. The Burchard Scholars Program brings together distinguished members of the faculty and promising sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated excellence in some aspect of the humanities, arts, and social sciences, as well as in science and engineering. More
J-PAL receives the Frontiers of Knowledge award
MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which uses scientific methods to assess the effectiveness of poverty relief and development programs, has been given a major new international award in recognition of its contributions and innovations. More
School's Philosophers Release Eight Books
It's unusual for philosophers to publish many books these days, which is why the publication of eight books by eight of the 12 MIT philosophy faculty in the span of a year marks a noteworthy chapter for the Institute's philosophy section. More
"Alien Ocean" explores the world of marine microbiologists
When Professor of Anthropology Stefan Helmreich set out to examine the world of marine microbiologists for a new book, his research took an unexpected twist. Helmreich, who has been recognized for his innovative cultural anthropology work, had decided to study scientists who chase some of the world's smallest creatures in some of the world's most forbidding places. So he spent long hours interviewing microbial biologists. But during the years of Helmreich's research, the entire field shifted gears. More
"The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes" is performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company
The innovative play, which opened in London, was catalyzed by Janet Sonenberg, Head of Music and Theater Arts, and Diana Henderson, Professor of Literature. The play examines "the time of silence"—the years between 1642 and 1660 in England when Puritan rulers shuttered theaters—which was also a period of intense interest in experimental science. More at MIT News
School's Disciplines Rank High Among the Top 100 Universities
MIT ranks ninth among 604 universities from around the world included in the 2008 Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings released today. The School's humanities, arts, and social science disciplines also rank high. More at MIT News
Former Professor and Alumnus Paul Krugman wins the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Former MIT economics professor Paul R. Krugman PhD '77 has won the Nobel economics prize for "his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity." More at MIT News
Professor of Economics and MacVicar Faculty Fellow Jonathan Gruber is inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Eight MIT faculty members will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) as part of its new class of 190 fellows and 22 foreign honorary members. More at MIT News
Dean Deborah Fitzgerald gives Tech Talk interview on the role of the School, international education, and more
Tech Talk has brought readers a series of interviews with each of MIT's five school deans. The third in this series features Dean Deborah Fitzgerald, dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. In the following interview with Sarah H. Wright of the MIT News Office, Fitzgerald discusses the School's impact on the international-education aspect of MIT and the school's future. More at MIT News
Kai von Fintel, Professor of Linguistics, is named Associate Dean of SHASS.
Making the announcement, Dean Fitzgerald cites his intellectual acuity, institutional experience, and personal warmth. More
Paxson wins 2008 Levitan Prize
Heather Paxson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, has been awarded The 2008 Levitan Prize in the Humanities, which honors innovative and creative scholarship by faculty in the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. More at MIT News
Keeril Makan, Assistant Professor of Music, receives The Rome Prize.
MIT professor Keeril Makan, a musician and composer acclaimed for his technique of layering recorded and live sounds, has been awarded the prestigious Luciano Berio Rome Prize for musical composition by the American Academy in Rome for 2008-2009. More at MIT News
Junot Díaz, Associate Professor of Writing and Humanistic Studies, receives the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle 2007 Award.
MIT professor Junot Díaz' critically acclaimed debut novel, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," enjoyed another wondrous round of literary praise today, winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction just one month after receiving the National Book Critics Circle Award for best novel of 2007. More at MIT News
Matt McGann's Admissions Office Blog Salutes the Writing and Humanistic Studies Program.
New York Times cites SHASS-based Jameel Poverty Action Lab for making economics relevant again.
It was only a decade ago that economics seemed to be an old and tired discipline. The field no longer had intellectual giants like John Maynard Keynes or Milton Friedman who were shaping public policy by the sheer force of their ideas. Instead, it was devolving into a technical discipline that was even less comprehensible than it was relevant. More from the New York Times
James Poterba, Head of the Economics Department at MIT SHASS, to lead the National Bureau of Economic Research.
James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics and head of the MIT economics department, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting greater understanding of how the economy works. More at MIT News
Deborah Fitzgerald appointed Kenan Sahin Dean
Deborah K. Fitzgerald, professor of the history of technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, has been appointed Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Full Story at MIT News
Michael M. Kaiser, MIT Sloan School of Management 1977, receives Robert A. Muh Alumni Award in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and delivers talk entitled "Cultural Diplomacy", March 1, 2007.
Michael M. Kaiser, the "turnaround artist" who led the financial revitalization of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Ballet Theatre and other arts organizations, is the recipient of the 2007 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award. More at MIT News
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