December 4, 2016 – (San Francisco) – The Breakthrough Prize and founders Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, tonight announced the recipients of the 2017 Breakthrough Prizes, marking the organization’s fifth anniversary recognizing top achievements in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. A combined total of $25 million was awarded at the gala ceremony in Silicon Valley, hosted by Morgan Freeman. Each of the Breakthrough Prizes is worth $3 million, the largest individual monetary prize in science.
Xi Yin of Harvard wins the New Horizons in Physics Prize.
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Category: News
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Breakthrough Prize to Mark 5th Anniversary in Award Ceremony on Dec. 4
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Dr. Walter J. Lee Joins Good Shepherd Community Care’s Board of Directors
Boston, Dec. 12, 2016, — Good Shepherd Community Care welcomes Dr. Walter J. Lee (Brighton) as one of the newest members to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Lee has been providing care as an Internal Medicine and Primary Care Physician since he began his internship and residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in 1981. Dr. Lee is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his graduate and undergratuate studies at Northeastern. He also ranked Major and served in the United States Army from 1975 to 1987. Dr. Lee continues to maintain faculty appointments at both Tufts and Northeastern University. His long list of professional affiliations includes the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Directors Association and he is a past President of the Chinese-American Medical Society.Dr. Lee brings to Good Shepherd a wealth of community engagement experience and has been providing care for Chinese patients in the Greater Boston area for 35 years. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center and sees patients at many nursing homes.
“We are so grateful to Dr. Lee for his commitment to the community and to Good Shepherd’s mission and welcome him to our volunteer Board of Directors,” states Tim Boon, President and CEO. “Dr. Lee embodies the kind of dedication to service for others that makes Good Shepherd Community Care possible.”
Good Shepherd recently launched its Asian Hospice Program with Chinese-speaking staff to care for the growing Chinese patient population in Greater Boston. “We are honored to have Dr. Lee as a part of Good Shepherd” explains Lola Tom, Director of Asian Program and Community Development. “His insights and decades of working with the Chinese elderly patients will be invaluable to us as we continue building out our Asian program and expanding end-of-life services in the community.”
Good Shepherd Community Care is not-for-profit, non-sectarian and one of the most trusted health care organizations in Greater Boston focusing on hospice and palliative care. Its specialty hospice programs include adult and pediatric palliative care, a Russian Hospice Program, Asian Hospice Program and Good Shepherd Institute, a community resource for training, education and research about end-of-life issues.
Please visit www.gscommunitycare.org for more information. To make a referral, please call 617.969.6130.
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Westlake Institute for Advanced Study Attracts International Talents
Hangzhou, China, Dec. 10, 2016 — Westlake Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS) hosts its founding ceremony today in Hangzhou. WIAS is a non-profit research institute that is dedicated to the advancement of natural sciences and the frontiers of engineering disciplines. WIAS is located in the beautiful Cloud Town of Xihu District of Hangzhou.
WIAS hosted the second academic interview on November 20, 2016 in Hangzhou, China. Twenty outstanding talents from United States of America, Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan participated in this round of interviews. Through presentations and questions, WIAS judges evaluated the candidates’ independent thinking abilities as well as their dedication to academic studies to select the best talents.
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Thank-you Letter to 2016 We Are Boston Gala Supporters
Thank you to all our supporters for making We Are Boston 2016 a great success!
A special thank-you to our co-chairs, Rob DeMartini, Steve Melia and Micho Spring for leading the amazing WAB committee – Mark Bettencourt, Sherry Dong, Atsuko Toko Fish, Rita German, Lucas Guerra, Cynthia Izzo, Robert Lewis, Jr., Sam Mazzarelli, Robert L. Reynolds, Bob Rivers, James E. Rooney and Brad Ulrich. We are so grateful to all of you!
Mayor Walsh(right) and Director St. Guillen hand out award at the Gala.
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Boston’s New 25 MPH Default Speed Limit Effective Jan. 9, 2017
Boston, Nov. 30, 2016, — Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that the default speed limit on City of Boston streets will be reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph effective January 9, 2017. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Mayor, Boston City Council, Governor Baker, MassDOT and Massachusetts State Legislature this change will improve roadway safety for people walking, driving, and bicycling on city streets. State owned roadways located in the City of Boston will not be affected by this new law. Visit boston.gov/25mph to learn how to show your support and get engaged.
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International Culture Festival Brings The World to Tsinghua
Beijing, Starting from 10am on November 12 until late afternoon, the scale and popularity of the 8th annual international cultural festival was unprecedented in Tsinghua. Students of Tsinghua University from over 30 different countries took part in the event. The festival brought both Chinese and international students together, and attracted guests from many other countries.
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Mayor Walsh: On-street Testing of Autonomous Vehicles to Begin in Boston
BOSTON – Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Boston Transportation Department and the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics today announced the City of Boston will partner with nuTonomy to begin testing autonomous, or self-driving, cars in Boston by the end of 2016. nuTonomy, a leading developer of autonomous vehicles, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that will authorize nuTonomy to begin testing its growing fleet of self-driving cars on public roads in Boston, once their application is approved. Last month, Mayor Walsh and Governor Baker simultaneously issued Executive Orders directing the development of an on-street testing process. The City of Boston will be able to carefully monitor the effects of autonomous vehicles, and further identify how autonomous vehicles will further the safety, access and sustainability goals of Boston’s transportation plan, Go Boston 2030 through this first partnership.
A nuTonomy vehicle in front of Boston Public Library
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Chinese King of Pop Wang LeeHom Rocks BSO and Receives Honorary Degree from Berklee
By Gracia Lei
Boston, Nov. 15, 2016, — The fully-packed, sold-out performance hall at BSO was packed with over 2,500 Sunday night. They embraced Wang LeeHom, who received an honorary doctoral degree from Berklee College of Music, along with the array of orchestral, vocal, and Chinese drum performers, many of whom are current students or faculty of world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
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Videos from 2016 Acton Chinese Music Night
Acton, Mass., Nov. 13, 2016, — 2016 Acton Chinese Music Night was held at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School last night. Over 600 people showed up for this late Fall concert that featured The Sounds of China: Music from the Dream of the Red Chamber.
Conductor Tianshen Guo and the BCMA band thanked the audience at the end of the concert.
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President Reif’s Letter to MIT Community
With our eyes on the future
Nov. 9, 2016To the members of the MIT community,
Today, we learned that we will have a new administration in Washington that promises a great deal of change.
Within the global MIT community – more than 26,000 of us here in Cambridge and at Lincoln Lab, and 134,000 alumni – some will find those changes welcome. Some will not.
As I saw this afternoon, students have wrapped the six great columns in Lobby 7 with huge sheets of paper. Three ask that you “Share Your Hopes,” three to “Share Your Fears.” They are covered with handwritten responses. People are lingering to read and add their own. Many say they fear for the future of the country, some for their personal safety, for their civil rights or that “my values no longer matter.” Others fear that their peers will never take the time to understand why they voted for the winner. One hope struck me in particular: “I hope to understand the 48% of Americans who disagree with me.” Nearly all the writers express some kind of pain. Yet together they have created a wonderful example of mutual respect and civil dialogue.
Whatever may change in Washington, I believe there is great power in remembering that it will not change the values and the mission that unite us.
As a community and as a practical force for good, MIT is a quintessential expression of America at its best: Bold, optimistic and focused on inventing the future. Delighted and energized by our diversity, with a meritocratic openness to talent, culture and ideas from anywhere. Humble, pragmatic, crazy about science and insistent on seeking the facts. A place of rigor, ingenuity and real-world problem-solving, where generations of bright young minds have come from every corner of the Earth to make something of themselves and work together to make a better world.
That is MIT.
Nothing can change that. And nothing can change our commitment to tackling big, important problems for humanity – climate change, clean energy, cybersecurity, human health – with colleagues of every identity and background.
As an institution, we do some of our best work when we turn outward to the world. Let’s continue to do that now. And, following our students’ lead, let us find ways to listen to one another – with sympathy, humility, decency, respect and kindness.
Sincerely,
L. Rafael Reif