LSC movies to feature captions
The Lecture Series Committee and the Disability Services Office have installed the Rear Window captioning and display system, which allows hearing-impaired viewers to see closed captions for many of the movies that LSC shows in Room 26-100.
The system synchronizes captioning data with the digital sound time code on the film. Captions are then displayed in reverse on an LED sign at the rear of the theater. LSC provides adjustable reflectors that clip to the seats occupied by hearing-impaired audience members. Check LSC's schedule at http://lsc.mit.edu to see if captions are available for a given film and then ask an LSC worker at the show for a reflector. Contact Alex Rolfe or Erica Peterson at lsc@mit.edu with questions.
Sloan gives new marketing award
The Sloan School of Management has established the Buck Weaver Award for marketing and presented the inaugural award to Paul Green, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The award, sponsored by General Motors Corp., honors those who have made important contributions to the advancement of theory and practice in marketing science. Weaver was a pioneer in marketing research and market-based decision-making in the 1930s. Working for General Motors, he was the first known director of marketing research. Sloan Professor Glen Urban and Vince Barabba of GM developed the concept for the award.
The award was presented to Green on Sept. 6 by C.J. Fraleigh of GM and Urban at a conference at MIT in Green's honor. "Green was a pioneer in developing and applying conjoint analysis, multidimensional scaling and Bayesian decision theory to marketing," said Urban. "He is an excellent example of a balance of theory and relevance."
McGovern creates $50K prize
The McGovern Institute at MIT has created an annual $50,000 annual research prize for major discoveries or advances in neuroscience. The Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience Research honors the former president of Merck Research Laboratories and will be supported by the Merck Company Foundation. The first award will be given in 2004 to a non-MIT neuroscientist who will give a public lecture at MIT.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 10, 2003.
