Dear Physics Community,
Doing your part – physical distancing at MIT.
Fighting COVID-19 – new New England Journal of Medicine paper (courtesy of Bob Jaffe).
We are moving into the time when many will be infected and hospitals will be stretched thin. Do what you can to help: keep at home, physically separate when you go out, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. Tony Fauci said he washes his hands 50 times a day. At 20 s per wash, that is only 17 minutes. Just do it. Also, close the lid on the commode when you flush. If you really need to know why, ask me. But really, just do it. For the next week, be local in both space and time: here, now.
Physics Events
- Thursday, April 9, 2020, 12-1:30 pm – Faculty-Staff-Student lunch, “Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing”, David Kaiser and Julie Shah
- Thursday, April 9, 2020, 4-5:50 pm – Colloquium – Caterina Doglioni
- Thursday, April 16, 2020, 12-1:30 pm – “Grading and Exam Guidelines for the Spring Term”, Nergis Mavalvala
- Thursday, April 23, 2020, 12-1:30 pm – Nikta Fakhri
Physics Department
I read this story in Quanta. I would love to see a colloquium about the relationship between time and finite digit numbers.
Academic Continuity Meeting
Emergency Hardship fund – MIT Work/Life has established a fund for MIT employees who are in dire need, https://giving.mit.edu/search/node/hardship. Gift of up to $2,000 may also be made from discretionary funds (contact Heather).
Budget – The Provost reported on the budget situation. MIT faces three challenges in this regard:
- Decline of the endowment – as a result of 2008, MIT put measures in place to mitigate against rapid drops in the value of the endowment, but there still will be a lower payout.
- Immediate expenses – MIT spent tens of millions starting remote teaching, moving students, paying contract employees through May, etc.
- Anticipated revenue losses through summer and fall – highly uncertain.
The Provost and VP for Finance have already taken steps to meet the anticipated shortfall:
- Immediate actions – curtail spending, absorb costs locally where possible, approved hiring only
- Reducing the 2021 General Institute Budget – FY2021 starts on July 1, 2020, so the FY2021 budget will have to be redone. The rebudgeting will be biased against any layoffs.
- Keep payout at the FY20 level, instead of FY21 level from the Tobin Rule.
The Provost was asked about layoffs in 2008 and he said there were 110. He said keeping everyone will be a priority, even with the large uncertainties. Filling empty staff (*) positions will be hard and merit raises will be small or unlikely. Faculty hiring will continue at a reduced level, probably. Personal note: I find Marty expresses what he has to say very clearly and succinctly. The news is not good, but I believe what he is saying and that is a comfort.
Student/Faculty/Staff support – Cecilia talked more about the importance of using empathic and people-centered language as we move into the time when people we are close to are becoming infected. We cannot shy away from what is happening around and perhaps to us, but we can talk about it in a personal way. MIT has resources to help but frequently what is needed is someone to listen and hear each other’s concerns. David Randall talked about two groups that are especially vulnerable: high-risk colleagues and those with children at home. Check-ins can really help.
Campus access – we currently have the LAP list and the people on this list are Designated Personnel. Should there be a state of emergency declared, this list will contract to Critical Personnel and they will need a letter allowing them to travel to and from MIT. DLCs have been contacted about what subset of their people should ve listed as Critical.
Ramp-up – Maria talked about ramp-up once the crisis passes. Soon (next week?) DLCs will be given guidance about information to provide to prioritize who is needed to restart research. How this will work is being worked out, but PIs should think about who in their group should return to MIT first. Those who can work remotely should plan to continue to do so.
Los Endos
The last one – I didn’t think many would know about the Hindenburg crash site, but Rachel, Albert, Bolek, Samuel, Will, and Phiala got al (all before 8 am the next day). I thought this would be a hard one. The default end for a hydrogen-filled airship was to explode – I recall that something more than half ended like that. If you are really interested in this stuff, this book is a must.
Here is one more. Lat. 35° 0’36.96″N Long. 106°32’49.73″W.
Peter