Two faculty meetings scheduled
A regular meeting of the faculty has been scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 3:30 p.m. in the Kirsch Auditorium of the Stata Center. Agenda items are a vote on a master of engineering in manufacturing degree in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, by David Hardt; a proposal for a master's degree in computation for design and optimization, by Robert Freund and Jaime Peraire; a preliminary discussion about the new minor in management, by Thomas Kochan; an update on MIT's capital campaign, by Barbara Stowe; and a brief status report on the proposed merger of the departments of ocean engineering and mechanical engineering, by Rafael Bras.
A special meeting of the faculty has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 29 to hear a proposal for the merger between the departments of ocean engineering and mechanical engineering, which will be presented by Dean Thomas Magnanti, Professor Stephen Tannenbaum and President Charles Vest. That meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Kirsch Auditorium.
Invention prize coming up soon
The Lemelson-MIT Program invites MIT student inventors to apply for its annual $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventiveness. All currently enrolled MIT seniors and graduate students are eligible to apply, regardless of major or area of study. The application deadline is 4 p.m., Jan. 12, 2005.
Past Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winners have garnered national media coverage from MSNBC, the Associated Press, The Boston Globe and other outlets. Saul Griffith, 2004 winner, and James McLurkin, 2003 winner, both appeared on CNN Headline News. 2002 winner Andrew Heafitz gained a contract with the U.S. Air Force after appearing on Tech TV as a result of winning the prize.
Interested students should submit the one-page application and attach a 1,000 word (max.) description of their inventiveness while at MIT, two letters of recommendation and a current resume. Supporting photos or diagrams may be included. For more information or an application, go to the program's web site or contact Michael McNally at 253-3490 or mmcnally@mit.edu.
The winner will be announced at a press conference the morning of Feb. 16, 2005.
Proposals for Goody Award sought
Proposals are being accepted for the Marvin E. Goody Award of $5,000 from students in any department at MIT who are expected to complete a master's thesis or equivalent (e.g., MArch, SMArchS, SMBT, MCP, M.Eng.) at the end of the spring 2005 term. The award aims to extend the horizons of existing building techniques and use of materials, to encourage links between the academic world and the building industry, and to increase appreciation of the bond between good design and good building. To be eligible for the Goody Award, a thesis proposal must address one or more of those aims. Proposals are due by Dec. 13. Winners will be announced Dec. 22.
Applications will be judged on the promise of the thesis; on evidence that the work it contains is likely to satisfy the intentions of the prize; and the student's record, as evidenced by letters of support and the student's statement. In the last regard, the Committee will look for evidence that the promise of the thesis will be realized. Details and instructions for application available at http://architecture.mit.edu/handbook/ch11.html#goody.
Benefits open enrollment is now
The Benefits Office annual open enrollment period continues through Friday, Dec. 3. Personal enrollment guides will not be sent to active employees in paper form. Instead, the guides were sent to all benefits-eligible employees through MIT e-mail. To maintain current coverage for 2005, no action is required, except to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account for next year. Employees who want to make changes will need to use Employee Self-Service on the web during the open enrollment period.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on November 17, 2004 (download PDF).
