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Technology

MIT Media Lab Tightens Its Belt 212

Posted by chrisd from the hope-they-don't-boot-minsky dept.
Forbes Magazine has this story about the MIT Media Laboratory's current "burn rate" problem. It seems that the Media Lab is feeling the same big draft at its posterior that dot-com companies felt last year after years of go-go growth and seemingly unlimited funding. The Media Lab is particularly sensitive to this downturn due to its heavy reliance on corporate sponsorship, as well as its fondness for unconventional, even eccentric, research. Items that will no longer receive funding according to a January 5th internal E-mail from the Lab's Executive Director Walter Bender: cellular telephones, first-class air travel, food at internal Lab meetings, and furniture. Other more serious cutbacks for the Lab include layoffs for 29 staff members and reduced funding for students, including salaries for "Undergraduate Research Opportunities" (UROP) positions. The Media Lab had previously paid such positions $8.75 and up in order to remain competitive with industry offers that even not-yet-graduated students were receiving.
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MIT Media Lab Tightens Its Belt More

MIT Media Lab Tightens Its Belt

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  • "The Media Lab had previously paid such positions $8.75 and up in order to remain competitive with industry offers that even not-yet-graduated students were receiving."

    $8.75 per? Hour? Day? Year?

    Perhaps this submission should have been polished a bit before being unleashed on the unsuspecting (and fact-hungry) public.
    • I agree it must be a typo - undergrads can make $8.75/hour making copies in the admissions office. No way is that even clos to competitive with the other offers these guys were getting.

      • Re:Must Be A Typo... (Score:2, Informative)

        by plam ( 123263 )
        $8.75 is the standard pay for a Undergrad Research [mit.edu]
        Opportunities Program appointment at MIT. It's always seemed
        rather low to me. If you have a professor paying for your UROP appointment,
        then he can give you more money, and I think a lot of profs will do that.



        Keep in mind that this is undergrad student pay, and can be done during
        the term. Plus you get to work with researchers, etc etc.

    • Let's see...
      They paid $8.75. And they paid that much to remain competitive. Damn those slashdot editors for daring to think their readers were smart enough to figure it out for themselves.
      Or maybe, just maybe, the phrase '$8.75 per hour' in the story was supposed to be a clue.
      • But $8.75/hr isn't competitive even with other easily obtainable undergrad jobs, especially if a student has workstudy. Never mind what they could be making working in industry. It may say it in the article, but it really doesn't make sense.
        • But $8.75/hr isn't competitive even with other easily obtainable undergrad jobs, especially if a student has workstudy.

          I believe that there is also some reduction in fees which is actually far more valuable.

          The main reason the students do UROPs however is that it is a good way to get experience with a research group if you want to do a Masters or Doctorate.

          OK so you might get paid as much sorting mail or the like, but doing a Media Lab UROP looks much better on your CV.

      • Are you implying that Forbes magazine intentionally misrepresented researchers' compensation in order to draw attention to the fact that their research sucked?

        Cahones.
    • I'd have to assume $8.75 an hour, as 8.75 per day or year wouldn't even be competitive with Taco Bell (~$7).

      Still, it is possible for those who have not graduated to get contracting work with IT companies for upwards of $40 to $50 an hour, but that depends on skill level and (more importantly) having the right connections.

    • Re:Must Be A Typo... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by edmudama ( 155475 )
      When I was at MIT in the 90s the campus minimum wage was about $7.85 or so. This number is dictated by the need that a 15hour/week need-based work study program cover some fixed percentage of tuition, room, and board.

      The AI lab and Media lab were usually paying in the $8.50-9 range, which back in 92 before the boom we thought was a decent salary.

      Then of course we took one look at off-campus jobs, as the boom started, and realized we could consult for $50/hr as freshmen to some mom-and-pop business that wanted to connect to that internet thing.

      eric
    • $8.75 per? Hour? Day? Year?

      RTFA!

      Starting salaries for paid undergraduate researchers will remain the same--generally about $8.75 an hour. But those students can receive raises, and Bender wrote that the top range of the pay scale could decrease 10% to 20%.
    • "$8.75 per? Hour? Day? Year? "

      that would obviously be hour
    • I'm making $9/hr in the Network Security lab here at (a UC skewl), I feel way underpaid.
    • First, MIT sets the general wage guidelines for undergraduate work-study. Its not all that much higher than prevailing minimum wage of the area, which used to have a tight labor market until the tech crash. Harvard insituted a "living wage" after years of protest for its immigrant janitors of $10.50 an hour.

      Since student's families are paying around $35K a year to go to MIT, hey are paying about $20 / hour (based on MITs own calculation of a 45-hour study week) for the privilege of going to MIT. To get some back, is another privelege.

  • Wow. (Score:4, Funny)

    by spatrick_123 ( 459796 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:35PM (#2889264)
    First class cross country airfare - $2000.

    Limo to and from the airport - $400.

    Building designed by I.M. Pei - $4,000,000.

    Inventing the "smart" potholder - priceless

  • OH NO! (Score:4, Funny)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:35PM (#2889269) Homepage Journal
    Does that mean no more bathroom [mit.edu] server?
    • Does that mean no more bathroom server?
      Of course not! The bathroom server is run by undergrad students paying $26k tuition per year, plus $3300 in rent for Random House -- but that rent does include the internet connection.

    • Re:OH NO! (Score:3, Funny)

      by krlynch ( 158571 )

      No ... but it might mean less clean laundry [mit.edu] [mit.edu] (Same dorm.... gosh, living there was fun :-)

  • $8.75 (Score:2, Informative)

    by eples ( 239989 )

    Assuming that is per hour - it is still a paltry sum.

    I believe even Taco Bell pays it slaves $9/hr.
    • it is per hour. i went back to actually read the article and it said so :)

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:$8.75 (Score:3, Informative)

      by IPFreely ( 47576 )
      It's not about the amount.
      These are students. Their primary concern is education and graduation. Along with that, they get (often as a part of financial aid) on campus or school related jobs.
      The media lab offers work that is in a related field, the opportunity to see cutting edge research up close, the opportunity to work with the best researchers and learn how it's done. That is what they are mostly getting. that's why it is called Undergraduate Research Opportunities. Oh and by the way, they also get a little cash on the side.

      How many of you have turned down more money to get a job that is more fun, in a more interesting area, or has better environment? I have. If these students want more money, they can quit school and get super wage jobs. That's not why they are there.

    • Errr, I think you need to come to grips with reality and realize that the majority (even the folks in IT) don't all live in major metropolitan areas so payrates are not going to be the same. What a sysadmin in Atlanta makes on average is not going to be what he would make in the small town of say Sparks, GA (yes, it is real, look it up :-p).

      In other words, $8.75 per hour is probably right in line with the region around MIT where recruiters were trying to pull people into... starting pay that is. Let's not forget all the other benefits like 401K, good dental, vision, and health insurance, etc. A lot more than just an hourly/weekly wage goes into a job package - even in these economic times.

  • $8.75? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Where do I sign up?
  • $8.75 per hour huh? To some of the brightest minds in the world? I say cut the stupid first class travel, cut the nice office equipment, but save that salary. These "kids" are cutting edge innovators.

    Imagine if something like this had happened to the folks at Bell Labs? Even with all the layoffs Lucent had, business there went on pretty much as usual. Throughout history, the true innovators were rewarded for their knowledge, not penalized for something they didn't really have anything to do with. Poor spending is poor spending, but save the salaries...

    I expect to hear from people on my innovators of history part, but bear in mind I said most....

    thanks

    • I agree entirely. While finishing up my CS degree, my friends and I all had internships with companies for between $15 and $20/hr.

      We didn't even have to go to MIT :)

      Just another case where there are a few people sitting at the top reaping the benefits of hard work done by others whom they care very little about.
    • I expect to hear from people on my innovators of history part, but bear in mind I said most....

      You didn't say "most".
    • Agreed, but it's short sighted to care what you get paid as an intern. The long term economics of having the phrase "MIT Media Lab" on your C.V. far outweighs the difference between $5.15 and hour and $20 and hour over the course of an internship.
    • These "kids" are cutting edge innovators.

      No, they're "kids". The cutting edge innovators are the professors and research fellows.
      • Different labs at MIT find their inspiration from different sources. I should know, I've worked for 3 different research groups at MIT, one of which was the intelligent graphics group at the Media Lab. Places like the AI lab are mostly driven by the professors who have built their careers there. But the Media Lab is of a different sort. It is totally driven by the students. With few exceptions (Neil Gershenfeld's Physics and Media group being one) most research groups in the Media Lab are propelled by students. Undergrads cook up all the crasy projects, they hack together all the pieces, they write all the code. The reason is that most of the staffers who work there are not engineers, they are artist types who like to reflect on the social ramifications of how great their projects are, but never really get much done. They hire genius undergrad engineers to come and bulid everything, and produce much of the fantastic gadgets that the Media Lab is famous for.
    • $8.75 per hour huh? To some of the brightest minds in the world? I say cut the stupid first class travel, cut the nice office equipment, but save that salary. These "kids" are cutting edge innovators.

      The problem is that the university administration charges an utterly ludicrous overhead. The student gets $8.75 an hour, the administration deducts $35 an hour from the grant.

      So even though the Media lab is 'loosing' money, MIT is still raking in cash hand over fist.

  • Its legions of techies have eagerly spent money donated by corporate sponsors since the lab opened its doors in 1985. The money--an annual budget of about $40 million--went not only to sometimes wild ideas like "smart" potholders, dice, chairs and animal building blocks, but also apparently to fund some dot-com-style largesse. . . . won't be paid for out of the laboratory till: cell phones, limos, first-class flights and furniture. (It's not clear whether this applies to new chairs and couches that "think.")

    Oh such brutal cuts. And less than two years after the private sector had to cut such frivolities as . . . everything. I know my company sympathizes with them.

    The Gardener

    • Oh such brutal cuts. And less than two years after the private sector had to cut such frivolities as . . . everything. I know my company sympathizes with them.

      You are absolutely correct. No academic I knwo would spend money flying first class out of their research budget (altho' they will happily accept it if a company wants to fly them in as a speaker).

      The Media Lab has coasted on its reputation for a long time, and has produced a lot of column inches in Wired for Negroponte, but let's face it, not much else. Any undergraduate knows the basic law of economics, you can't have your cake and eat it.

  • Lego chairs... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Chagatai ( 524580 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:39PM (#2889318) Homepage
    I like this combination of quotes from the article:

    Among the things Bender says won't be paid for out of the laboratory till: cell phones, limos, first-class flights and furniture.

    and...

    But why is the Lab unhealthy in the first place? Unlike other academic institutions at MIT and elsewhere, the Media Lab gets the bulk of its money from corporate donors. Among them: IBM, Intel, Gillette, ChevronTexaco and LEGO .

    Damn, so now all those MIT researchers will be forced to build their own Lego chairs and tables? Sounds like the kind of perfect ergonomic environment we all need. Don't like the height of the table? Just snap off the legs and away you go.

  • Reaction from a UROPer (Score:4, Interesting)

    by aeames ( 528197 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:40PM (#2889320)
    I worked at the media lab as a freshman MIT EECS student last spring for $8 an hour. My group was decked out with donated 18.1 inch LCDs, food at meetings and other perks. I can't imagine all the things professors and grad students got to play around with. All good things have to come to an end, the environment there through the dot-com boom was definitely too good to be true.

  • Sad and yet not (Score:2, Informative)

    by cadfael ( 103180 )
    Having used many of the papers and ideas that came out of media lab as jumping off points for my own research, any cut back in their research will impact many others outside their doors. However, the loss of perks is just aligning them with the rest of the world.

    The scariest part is the layoff of the staff. I hope that these weren't specifically research assistants (instead of admin staff). RA's (often unrecognized for their efforts) usually complete the necessary but inglorious tasks that really help get research done.
  • I'm not sympathetic to edu's that want a free ride for all sorts of worthless research. It's especially bad when they start consorting with companies for all sort of bennies that have nothing to do with *meaningful* research. This not only diverts them from more meaningful activity, but it propagates the sort of economic bloat that gets passed on to consumers and/or taxpayers, directly and indirectly.

    Maybe we'll start seeing some more great things from MIT (and other schools) as the economy forces them to focus on their core goals again.

    • Re:This should keep them focused... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by spellcheckur ( 253528 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:29PM (#2889686)
      I'm not sympathetic to edu's that want a free ride for all sorts of worthless research.

      It's tragic that a significant portion of the private sector takes this kind of a stance. The Media Lab, in it's day, was a unique place where sometimes extremely disparate companies were able to work together, share ideas, and advance not only their businesses, but technology in a much more significant way than they would have separately.

      What happens when Intel sits down with Lego and some creative, bright students? Lego gets Mindstorms [lego.com]... Intel gets an entirely new product line [intelplay.com]. This was the place where corporate R&D hit the academic cutting edge. It brought you HDTV, Mindstorms, Electronic Ink (which is turning very quickly into printable transistors). It's working on building automation with cooperation from both appliance companies and building companies. MEMS, Education, Agents, News Delivery... Hell, students there even had a part in remeasuring Mt. Everest [nationalgeographic.com]. Worthless indeed.

      As for "frivolous perks," the professors at the lab get paid academic salaries. Many of them, who consult with their sponsors as a condition of their sponsorship contracts, travel 150-200k miles /year. Have you tried logging that much travel in coach, without a cell phone?

      Yes, there are significant parts of the Media Lab designed to make it "plush" for both sponsors and researchers, but you don't attract some of the brightest and most creative people on the planet by giving them a cinder block office $5.25 an hour.

      • Your perspective is limited, and so is mine... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Da VinMan ( 7669 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @04:47PM (#2890223)
        Like nomadic, who replied above, I also suffered through a public university. In my case, the computer science program was barely able to afford the basics. This is in Minnesota, USA which is one of the most highly taxed regions of the country and yet, we could barely afford the basics. I paid my own tuition, I paid for my own meals, I paid my own room and board, and I worked the $4.25/hour jobs to do it. I emerged from school with much less debt than my coastal peers and, for the most part, with much more willingness to bust my ass to succeed.

        To me, that is valuable. Having a role in remeasuring Mt. Everst, Legos products, and other commercial innovations is interesting to be sure. However, if we don't afford our students a bit of hardship, then how are they to have enough character to make real contributions to the world and not just invent the next profit margin gimmick? MIT may have done some important things in the past (and are probably doing so right now in some ways), but it didn't do those because they had every convenience and plush toy available to them. Why should that be the case now? If I provide all those extras, who am I going to attract? Will I attract those with an interest in being among the elite? Or will I attract those with an interest in being merely comfortable? If I simply provide an education with a reputation for producing lean and mean technologists, who will I attract? I will attract those who are motivated to become better.

        As for professors, I do not begrudge any professor their salary. They put up with way too much for the likes of me to badmouth them. But there's a limit there too.

        Excessive comfort does not promote real innovation.
      • Yes, the Media Lab was a unique place, but even during my time at MIT (4 years ago already), it was considered an embarrassment by the majority of the MIT community. This is the place that could suck down $40 million a year and have only Lego Mindstorms to show off after a decade of work by the entire laboratory. This is the place that would hire fashion models to wear their wearable computer crap for the dog and pony shows they'd run to try to suck more money out of the industry suits. This is the place that would do non-novel, non-useful research as long as it looked cool and they could show it off to their corporate sponsors.

        The majority of the research that was done at the Media Lab belonged in industry, and was of no academic significance (electronic ink being on of the few counter examples). The only real reason it was tolerated at MIT was 'cause the Media Lab brought in its own money (and a lot of it).

        And no, HDTV was not created by the Media Lab, the EE department (Prof. Lim) worked on that.

      • I always felt it spent too much of (our, I work for a sponsor) cash on frivolousness, and as someone who works at a corporate R&D lab, beleive me I can recognise a rigged demo when I see one.

        The lego and the learning was the best stuff to make it out there -why did we have to pay for things like that wierd bloke with the webcam on his head, or Negroponte's endless travels to ask us for more money. Given we sponsors travel in coach and use our own cellphones, it is irritating to see the academics frittering away our stuff. That and buying computers from vendors like Dell who dont give them any money on the grounds they are cheaper: of course they are cheaper -they dont waste money on MIT.

        I think this will give the group focus. If it doesnt, they will go the way of Interval Research

        -steve
    • Being a graduate of a public university that, like many, was in a constant state of budget crisis, I'm even less sympathetic.

  • Not to mention bad bookkeeping. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:42PM (#2889342)

    The recent layoffs and cutbacks were spurred by the discovery that the Media Lab didn't have $6 or $7 million in the coffers, but were rather that much in the red.

    Let me say that again: instead of a surplus of several million US dollars, they had a similar deficit. I can't fathom how anyone keeping the books -- even the most incompetent of accountants -- could make such a mistake. But it was made, and it's what sparked this whole trimming-of-the-fat. Worst bit is that some regular employees (not grad students, not UROPs) are having their hours cut, while the UROPs -- many of whom do nothing but sit on their asses all day long -- can work full weeks.

    Let's hope some generous sponsor(s) will cough up the cash to get them back on track and not disrupt their research too much.

    • Re:Not to mention bad bookkeeping. (Score:4, Funny)

      by smertens ( 12060 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:45PM (#2889361)
      Arthur Andersen strikes again?
    • Remind you Office Space?

      "Dammit! I always miss some mundane detail!"

    • Re:Not to mention bad bookkeeping. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Let's hope some generous sponsor(s) will cough up the cash to get them back on track and not disrupt their research too much.
      Why do they deserve it?? They were already given a chance and they FAILED. Any money given to them could be better spent somewhere else. Give the money to an institution that proves its worth instead of supporting this irresponsibly run playground.
      • I have attended recent seminars at MIT sponsored by the Industrial Liaison program, and have found the work Media Lab is doing to be quite good. In fact, I'm disappointed that the 2001 MIT Information Technology Conference was given nary a mention in Slashdot. And especially the Media Lab presentations given there.

        Back to the point, programs like Media Lab's Digital Nations eDevelopment are worth every penny spent. Go read about their research [mit.edu] before you spout such drivel.

    • Yep, this is exactly what I heard (Score:4, Informative)

      by srichman ( 231122 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @04:48PM (#2890235)
      A few weeks ago a friend of mine in the Media Lab mentioned to me that the shit was really hitting the proverbial fan because of the missing millions, and that layoffs and cutbacks were a result of this. So, as I understood it, the belt tightening was a direct result of this serious accounting mistake (oops) and not some nebulous result of the dot com slowdown.
  • I mean it's been what, only about 2 years since just about every tech company has had to start cutting back. They should count themselves lucky they still get any corporate sponsorship at all.
    It amazes me that companies cut jobs, but still give huge amounts of money to "media labs" and such, but I'm glad they do (although I wouldn't be glad if I was one of those that had my job cut).
    There has to be some responsibility somewhere for how the money is spent, and if it means the employees/students can't take advantage of it with free meals and first-class flights, so be it.
    $8.75 though, if that's per hour, is a pretty damn low rate for just about any job.

  • Hubris (Score:3, Flamebait)

    by kenneth_martens ( 320269 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:45PM (#2889362)
    The MIT Media Lab has apparently always aimed a little high--for example, the article states that their building was designed by I.M. Pei. The world's most famous architect? For a Media Lab? It seems they could spend their money more frugally. They may be hurting from the dot-com bust and the economic slowdown, but that's to be expected--everyone is hurting. The MIT Media Lab is hurting more because they've spent money unwisely in the past.

    Of course, I could be completely and utterly wrong.
    • I.M. Pei was an MIT grad. You can bet it was done at a *substantial* discount or, better yet, for FREE. That's not the only building he did for MIT, either.

    • Communication (Score:2, Insightful)

      by maggard ( 5579 )
      The MIT Media Lab has apparently always aimed a little high--for example, the article states that their building was designed by I.M. Pei. The world's most famous architect? For a Media Lab?

      1. Aim high and fly, aim low and crawl.
      2. I.M. Pei is probably not the "world's most famous architect" - that would likely be Leonardo DaVinci. Even for current ones I expect Frank Gehry might more rightly hold that crown.
      3. Yes, a quality building to emphasize the arrival of the new lab. On a campus with many mediocre buildings and a few great ones it was felt appropriate to include something more then average. That it was also dramatic & different met with the image Negroponte wants to project. Or should all buildings be cheap boxes from a catalog?

  • Students working for free? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by JoshMKiV ( 548790 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:45PM (#2889365) Homepage Journal
    I understand they had to offer the $$$ to keep people from going elsewhere. But I remember when students used to do this for free, and loved it. This is probably the most fun you will ever have, and you will look back on those years fondly. I'd love to go back and play with the toys we had in robot and VR lab.

    Memories of early Nintendo Powerglove hacking... Mmmmm.
    • I'm not sure of the situation in the U.S. but in Canada the tuition rates are very high. They are in essence working for "free" as the $8.75/hr is probably just around the amount needed to get them through the semester, it would be pointless to work for too low a wage, even if you are learning, that wouldn't allow you to continue school.

  • The problem with the media lab (Score:3, Interesting)

    by nesneros ( 214571 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:46PM (#2889374) Homepage
    In every talk I've attended given by Media Lab personnel, I've been given a very distinct impression that its home to a large number of extremely intelligent people who like to sit around a think a lot, and aren't particularly motivated to doing much actual hands-on research. This is both a good and bad thing on the whole, but when times get tight, the doers are more likely to survive than the thinkers.

    On another note, does anyone think they'll need to tighten their lego budget [ericharshbarger.org]?

    • Hullo! I (dated impression) was thinking that the one person who needed to go was the odd lady... she was a kind of Theological/Psychological quack...who focused herself on the "expression" eyes thingie?! That robot?! Seemed to me (At her talk!) that she was skumming on top of the research, cuddling up to soft unsciences. Really, I hope she wasn't on MIT's payroll in the first place. This post needs research! (I'm lazy!)
    • Yes, and how many of those talks were given by grad students? In my experience, most (definitely not all) of the grad students are the hard workers who do your actual hands-on research.

      Furthermore, while it may be true that the Media Lab is more frivolous than, say, LCS, it still outputs some truly great things - such as, as others have pointed out, LEGO Mindstorms. For more, check out their patents list [mit.edu].

      Of course, there are the ideas that are... well, harebrained. The "smart" oven mitt, for example, that tells you if an object you touch is hot. Let me see, I'll go put on my oven mitt to take something out of a heated oven... well goddamn, it's hot. Better not touch it.

      Maybe some ideas are better left as ideas. :)

  • Nine comments posted and five are about the $8.75 and if it is hourly. If these same folks had read the article (which does explain this) instead of posting about their confusion we'd have all been spared their village idiocy.

    Mod this however you want; I'm tired of the post-from-the-hip / can't-be-bothered-to-read-the-links / explain-to-me-the-nouns / can't-use-a-search-engine droolers.

  • Reality (Score:1, Redundant)

    by john82 ( 68332 )
    Its great that MIT is a bastion of engineering and research. Its also apparent that, like many other schools of this ilk, they neglect reality.

    There is a budget. And its not infinite. A lesson that someone should have explained before we launched into the dot-com idiocy in the first place. I view the situation at the Media Lab as another opportunity to learn.

  • competitive? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Giant Killer ( 33130 ) <dave AT davegandy DOT com> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:48PM (#2889389) Homepage
    The Media Lab had previously paid such positions $8.75 and up in order to remain competitive with industry offers that even not-yet-graduated students were receiving.


    give me a break. these students who work at the media lab could make quite a bit more than $8.75 an hour in pretty much any field in existance. MIT pays a minimum wage on campus of $8 for undergrads. i suspect that this is the 'industry' that they are trying to remain competitive with.

    but, then again, there is little chance that these students are there to cash in on the huge salary. i am currently an undergraduate assistant for a january class at mit (2.670) where students make a working stirling engine, and learn enough solidworks to make a working assembly of the engine. i could easily spend this time during january and work a real job solid modelling and make at least 5 times the amount.

    but i like teaching. its not about the money.

  • MIT researchers experimenting with drugs! (Score:5, Funny)

    by eples ( 239989 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:48PM (#2889390)

    The Media Lab still has a place, but it may, during the economic downturn, see itself overshadowed by more concrete research--by tangible products like drugs.

    Pass the bowl, I need to do some "tangible research"...

  • Hey big spender! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by babbage ( 61057 ) <cdeversNO@SPAMcis.usouthal.edu> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:48PM (#2889392) Homepage Journal
    The Media Lab had previously paid such positions $8.75 and up in order to remain competitive with industry offers that even not-yet-graduated students were receiving.

    It's probably a typo (on Slashdot? Nooo....), but $8.75 an hour is pretty close to the minimum wage here in Massachusetts. Is that actually what was meant here? If so, no wonder they were having staff problems :)

    • Well, the Forbes article says $8.75 an hour.

      Maybe the Harvard students in the Living Wage campaign ought to march down the street and stage a sit-in at the MIT Media Lab. :)
    • $8.75 is completely accurate. Pretty sad wage if you ask me. People work at the media lab because it tends to have a more flexible schedule, and provides opportunities for masters work later.
    • So, if you could pick only one, which would you pick? $8.75 as a MIT Media Lab student (pretty damn good for the old resume when you graduate), or $15 as a grocery store bagger (and nothing for the resume when you graduate)?

      • Re:Hey big spender! (Score:3, Insightful)

        by babbage ( 61057 )
        Oh Media Lab, no question, but it's not always an easy choice. Cambridge is a pretty expensive city to live in, and choosing to take a low paying job can be an indulgence that not everyone can afford.

        I mean, I myself am right now trying very hard to get a job at another Boston area university, and while I'm really looking forward to it, it's going to be a pretty significant paycut from the job I got laid off from last fall. I'm choosing to go for it because my fiance also works, and between us we think we'll be able to cover the bills & mortgage, put a little aside, and not have to tighten our belts that badly.

        But not everyone can do that. Sometimes it can come to a choice between an intellectually stimulating but low paying job, or a more monotonous one that will be able to pay the bills, and you can't have a say in the matter. (For an example, take a look at the protests over Harvard employees wanting to get a better "living wage" over the past few months.) It's unfortunate that the Media Lab effectively imposes this decision on their employees, and I wouldn't be surprised if their attrition rate is pretty high as a result of it.

  • Media Blab (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Hoi Polloi ( 522990 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:50PM (#2889402) Journal
    First Class tix, cell phones...all justifiable because so much irreplaceable work has come out of the Media Lab. Hold on, let me think of some...uhhhh...ummmmm...I know, lots of articles about themselves in Wired!

  • A Symbol of Elegance and Waste (Score:3, Funny)

    by WindowsTwinkee ( 461451 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:51PM (#2889407)

    From the beginning, the Media Lab was a monument to technical optimism--or maybe hubris. Its very building, designed by MIT alum and world-famous architect I.M. Pei, was a symbol of elegance and waste. On the outside, its tiled surface resembles nothing so much as a bathroom.

    But inside, it is almost entirely empty, with a giant courtyard stretching up through its center--just because it looked cool. Maybe if that space had been filled with offices, the Lab wouldn't be spending money constructing a new building next door. And perhaps without the expense of the new building, the Lab wouldn't need to lay off staff now. At one point, Bender says he actually suggested filling some of the atrium -- which is four stories high -- with office space instead of moving staff out of the building. MIT nixed the idea.

    (quoted directly from the article)

    Just like the Internet bubble - spiffy on the outside, empty and nearly useless within.

  • When I was your age... (Score:3, Funny)

    by truthsearch ( 249536 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:55PM (#2889439) Homepage Journal
    Items that will no longer receive funding ...: furniture

    "Son, when I was your age, I had to walk 8 miles to school... in the snow... with no shoes... uphill... in both directions. We didn't even have classroom chairs in those days!"
  • Where will we get all our new toys from?
  • The talent is still there, So, keep expecting
    great "hacks" from them, albeit affordable ones
    -- no more dough to lift a cop car.
    Expect something like .. a coin trick.
  • They should get a grant to study this serious
    problem [slashdot.org] and maybe get a solution for that. Surely it would get them a lot of funds if they get them a solution.

    Seriously:

    The Media Lab should probably change their focus for more "grant awarded" concerns. They had gone with the hip and money of dotcoms and know should refocus.

  • Too much funding. (Score:2, Redundant)

    by Restil ( 31903 )
    Even if you have practically endless funding, I can see better uses of that funding then paying for first class airline tickets and limo service. These ARE students we're talking about, right? They certainly don't fit into the "starving college student" role very well.

    Not that the rest of the dot-com wave didn't suffer from the same problems. And yes, when any college student who once turned on a computer could land a lucrative job in this industry, with all the lavish perks that go with it, I can see where MIT might have to compete on those grounds to attract that same talented individuals. But there would always be others. There would always be people to whom the research was more important then the perks. Yeah, you'd have to search a little harder, but I'm sure there were a few real starving college students at MIT that would have been happy for a $9 an hour starting salary job.
    And when the wave collapsed, MIT labs wouldn't be struggling, and wouldn't HAVE to cut back or cut jobs, and the people in those jobs would be VERY happy.

    But hey. What can ya do?

    -Restil

  • so they foolishly followed dotcom trends then? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:59PM (#2889467) Homepage
    sorry but paying cellphone time for anyone is pretty stupid unless they are the on-call administrator. same goes for first class travel or the catered meetings. (bring a coke and a twinkie if you're hungry, the rest of us have to buy our own lunch!)

    The problems I saw was excessive spending for un-important things thus taking funds away from many important projects.... gluttony at it's finest.

  • lessee (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by sinserve ( 455889 )
    * beer for homiez ... $30
    * fake police car ... $275
    * knowing that will be your last penny ... priceless

  • Questionable value of research (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TDoris ( 97746 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:02PM (#2889490)
    It finally all makes sense. Media Lab set up a "European Branch" in Dublin about a year ago, for which they got about 50 million IRP (approx) $60 million, which was allocated from the indigenous research funds supposedly reserved for research activities in Irish Universities (not the most affluent at the best of times, but still producing solid results). The initial payment was not exclusively for the Dublin site, rather a large chunk was redirected back to Media Lab in Mass., supposedly it represented a "payment" from the Irish people so that Irish students we could have the privelege of access to Media Lab's IP. To the best of my knowledge, the number of students in the Dublin institution, a year after its establishment, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Oh yeah, I almost forgot that they managed to get a clause agreed on that a significant percentage of all funds donated to "Media Lab Europe", i.e. the Dublin based institution, would be redirected back to Media Lab in Mass. We're suckers.
    Meejalab [tripod.com]

  • Value of Research (Score:4, Interesting)

    by f00zbll ( 526151 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:05PM (#2889509)
    This goes back to the age old question of "what is the value of research?" Having been told by a few academic people who do research, it's not about being useful. It's about exploration. From an engineers perspective (smart potholders) some of the research topics sounds absolutely ludicrous, but you never know if that stupid idea inspired a good idea. Researchers like to think big and dream, but I still don't know that warrants funding assinine research. MIT has been around a long time and I've met some graduates. Every university has the same problems with funding (though some to a lesser degree). Is MIT really all that different? It's not like MIT is the only place that is doing wild cutting edge research.

    MIT is more well known because of a few famous people who taught, graduate or worked there. People shouldn't put too much stock in prestiege. All degrees are only as valuable as the effort you put into it. Likewise, an university is only as good as it's students' ability to be resourceful. I don't know that having the world at your finger tips with first class flights really fosters a scrap dog mentality. If necessity is the mother of invention, having everything at your fingers tips (as MIT is accustomed to) might inhibit creative thinking.


  • cellular telephones, first-class air travel, food at internal Lab meetings, and furniture

    They're going to cut back on FOOD and FURNITURE? Yes, of course, makes sense, have everyone sit on the floor and eat lint. Saves on cleaning costs too.

    But they got free first class airfares and cell phones? Wish I coulda been there.
    • More like no more catered lunches consisting of gourmet food (go to the deli and get yourself a sandwich)., and no more $800 Aeron chairs. Nothing too outrageous if you ask me......
  • I think MIT won't have to worry too much - they have enough brains and creativity overthere that they could probably do cool stuff with $100 per year.

    :)

  • This article came as a surprise... (Score:5, Funny)

    by CmdrSanity ( 531251 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:09PM (#2889534) Homepage
    ...considering the fact that the Media lab is currently (and noisily) constructing an enormous expansion wing [mit.edu] right outside my window.

    $5M in sponsorship for the "smart potholder"? Screw that. Throw some funding at the the "silent jackhammer."

  • The 8.75 is not a typo... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:16PM (#2889585)
    Many people think that it's a typo...it's not. The MIT Minimum Wage is basically ~$8/hr...Meida Lab UROPs got paid a little more base starting salary. Hardly the small fortune the article makes it out to be, considering how much most could've gotten paid locally at some dotcom (esp., during the height of the boom).

    Also, as a former Media Lab UROP, I can strongly state that the UROPs in the Media Lab were the BACKBONE of work in the Media Lab. Another misconception from the article is that they UROPs had "projects" that they circulate looking for funding that the Media Lab would fund. Couldn't be more wrong. The UROPs are/were more like contract programming labor hired to support/flesh out the theories of the grad. students/professors. Cutting such is going to be the hardest cut to make...

  • To quote an AI Lab posting (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:31PM (#2889704)
    This came over one of the AI Lab mailing lists shortly after the Media Lab annuncement (GSB is a social event that happens every Friday). Formatting modified from the original ASCII because slashdot code is incompetently written and didn't deal:

    Recently, it has come to our attention that certain financial difficulties have befallen our bretheren at the Media Lab. Our diligent den-mothers intelligence sources have intercepted the list of cost cutting measures which have been instituted down the street:

    1. Please use only one or two squares of toilet paper at a time. In extreme cases, use only as many additional squares as are necessary.
    2. There will no longer be free food at Media Lab seminars. Instead, seminars will be scheduled to start 15 minutes after AI Lab seminars. An advance team will be dispatched to go down the street, sneak as much food out of NE43 as they can carry, and bring it back to the Media Lab.
    3. Central heating will be shut off between the hours of 6 pm and 8 am. For those working late, a makeshift fireplace will be set up in the Cube, along with the remaining 152,400 unsold copies of ``Being Digital.''
    4. Student workstations will now be coin-operated. To use your workstation for thirty minutes, insert a quarter into the slot and turn the knob all the way to the right. Change machines will be installed in the lobby to facilitate this procedure.
    5. New students will not be given offices, but will construct free-standing ``pods'' out of corrugated cardboard. We hear this has been tried with great success in the AI Lab.

      The lesson for us all is to be very, very nice to our sponsors, or suffer a similar fate. Come discuss the fiscal realities of cutting edge AI at this week's

      girl scout benefit

  • I don't attend to MIT, but I'm fairly familiar with the campus/situations there. To my understanding, they are REQUIRED to pay at least $8.50 an hour for any students in UROP.

    I'm not exactly certain whether it's 8.50 or 7.50 (but I'm about 80% sure it's $8.50 per hour.) But, I do know that they cannot pay students any less than that baseline.

  • Limos and First Class Flights (Score:3, Interesting)

    by west ( 39918 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @04:01PM (#2889943)
    While limos, first class flights, and a new nicely designed building might seem outrageous, one should keep in mind that sites that look pedestrian and work on basic research rarely get corporate funding.

    Every company wants to donate money to a "successful" department and, like it or not, a lot of people controlling the money determine success by the outward signs. Likewise, good research that doesn't have some flash/publicity potential isn't worth a whole lot when it comes to getting donations. It's why some of the wierder projects are very important from a fund-raising point of view. They get you noticed.

    Of course, you can go too far, start looking ostentatious and have your projects look like time wasters. It's a careful balance and not an obvious one at that.

  • Endowment (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    MIT's endowment compared to that of other research universities is about the same as John Holmes Vs Kermit the frog.

    MIT has the cash if they want to keep the funding around , but apparently they have better places to spend their money. What papers have came out of the Media lab? I haven't noticed any particualy good ones. Not quite my field of expertise, but compared to other areas of research I would venture to say the department is lacking in the results it produces.
  • Many MIT students would PAY to work in the media lab. Their families are already paying $35K to attend MIT. Computer science is the most popular MIT major, choosen by 40% of the unergrads. Computer science labs are the most sought after positions for pleasure or student-aid jobs. And the playful media lab is the most popular of the computer labs.
  • The Media Lab was in a mega-expansion mode. First it is building a second building on the MIT campus. Second it is planning up to three branches abroad. These branches are quasi-independent of MIT. They are more like dot.com incubators. They get their funding entirely from industry and foreign governments. They do not have professor slots or degree granting rights. However, MIT profs and tudents may spend some time in the branches.
  • When I worked there back in the late 90s, my group's furniture was old and needed replacing: the lounge's chairs were kind of ratty, the keyboard trays kept falling off of the desks, and there weren't enough desk chairs for the number of desks.

    We never did get any new furniture. If we'd wanted high-end workstations to sit on, we could have had those, but furniture was just impossible.

    Probably now groups will take up a collection and buy themselves new furniture, since the lab isn't going to say they'dd buy it but not actually do so.

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