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MIT Media Lab Tightens Its Belt
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.
"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.
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
Does that mean no more bathroom server?
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Assuming that is per hour - it is still a paltry sum.
I believe even Taco Bell pays it slaves $9/hr.
I'm a 2000 man.
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
Sent from your iPad.
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
--
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.
--Chag
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.
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.
-- The Hollow Man
Non illegitimati carborundum
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.
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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.
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 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.
On another note, does anyone think they'll need to tighten their lego budget?
Some men spend their entire lives trying to kill themselves for having been born. --Ross MacDonald
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.
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"...
I'm a 2000 man.
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 :)
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
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!
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
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.
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!"
Developers: We can use your help.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
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
Play with my webcams and lights here
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.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
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
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.
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.
Everything is mainstream now.
$5M in sponsorship for the "smart potholder"? Screw that. Throw some funding at the the "silent jackhammer."
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...
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.
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.
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.
Dream as if you'll live forever.
Live as if you'll die tomorrow.
~Anonymous~
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.
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.
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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.
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.
I guess the "meaningful" bit is a bit hard to define and it's probably too subjective to be measurable. However, I can think of some ways that research can be NOT meaningful:
-Research which is sponsered by a 3rd party which is conducted largely for the purpose of enriching that 3rd party.
-Research for which the results do not contribute into lasting knowledge bases (e.g. assisting with measuring the height of Mt. Everest).
-Research which will not advance the state of the art, but will instead, merely produce a new invention that takes advantage of well known principles.
Perhaps the question for any project shouldn't be "is it meaningful?", the question should maybe be "has it not been proven to be not meaningful?"
IMO - Universities ought to be concerned with the more theoretical matters and companies ought to be more concerned with the practical applications of those results. One will always feed the other, but they must each remain separate in order for both of them to accomplish their relevant organizational goals.
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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.
And in the case of Bell Labs, my theory would state that research would have been more appropriately conducted at a university.
:+)
But, we can thank our lucky stars that wasn't what happened.
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