Dear Physics Community,
Today we were back at “work” – at home. Up early and reading the New York Times to find a story on the MIT ventilator design that started 10 years ago as a student project, now with FDA approval.
Academic Continuity Meeting
Student work news – MIT has decided to make UROPs for credit an option for this summer (waiving tuition that is usually associated with course credit). Also, seniors may be hired after graduation this summer and the Administration is working to make it administratively possible to have short term postdoc positions for those who defend their Ph.D.’s this Spring.
CP* – used to be CPW, was last week. Very good turnout, 2,100 parents and students. Lots of questions about what happens in the Fall, etc. that we cannot yet answer. Early evidence is that yield will be higher this year than last.
Success coaches – well underway. 4,400 undergraduates and 1,110 graduate students have coaches. Pretty good for a program that started as an idea about three weeks ago.
Discussions about the fall – have started. There are three scenarios under consideration, depending on local circumstances:
- Fully remote – no or few students in residence, all courses online
- Some remote/some residential – what this means is not yet clear, but could be the case if visa problems prevent foreign students from entering the country.
- Fully residential, with physical distancing.
Some interesting numbers: MIT has a total seating capacity of 13,000 in classrooms at any one time. These classrooms have a total area of 260,000 sq. ft., so that is 20 sq. ft. at full capacity. If we require 6 feet between people at all times, each student has to be in the center of a 13′ x 13′ empty square, about 160 sq. ft. Imposing this in classrooms lowers the capacity of 1,600 students. To give you an idea, 10-250 would seat 15 students…
…we’ll have to see how this shakes out.
Physics Department
Graduate admissions – is largely complete. It looks like the incoming graduate class next year will be 39-40 students, so it is a good year.
Summer UROPs – we are working on helping students connect for UROPs. There will be a followup note from Cathy and Kimeee to the student who responded to the first message, so please respond quickly.
Los Endos
At times, I feel optimistic that we will take the things we learn from this time into our lives and things will change. This poem, which appeared on my high school alumni page, gives me some hope.
And the people stayed home
And the people stayed home.
And read books, and listened, and rested,
and exercised, and made art, and played games,
and learned new ways of being, and were still.
And listened more deeply.
Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently. And the people healed.
And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways,
the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed,
and the people joined together again,
they grieved their losses, and made new choices,
and dreamed new images,
and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully,
as they had been healed.
– Kitty O’Meara, Irish March 2020
Peter
P.S. I am posting these messages in my blog roll here. Thanks to Physics Council, Cathy Modica, Vicky Metternich and Christina Andujar for input and comments on these messages.