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Grand Theatre, LeedsStory ballets are the bread and butter of Northern Ballet’s repertory, and it’s easy to see why choreographer David Nixon was tempted by The Great Gatsby. The clothes, the jazz, the dance music, the fatal love affair – much of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel seems tailor-made

for ballet. As a fiction, however, Gatsby works through a subtle balance of irony, concealment and point of view. It’s all in the language, but language, of course, is difficult to choreograph.For much of the first act, though, Nixon has a very good stab at it. He’s given masterful help from designers Tim Mitchell and Jérôme Kaplan, whose skills with lighting and scrims shuffle the action adroitly between different scenes and time zones.
To a collage of jazz music, we’re shown Daisy and Gatsby’s reunion played out against memories of their wartime love affair, and against intimations of the mobster

violence that brought him his riches. Just as swiftly, we’re initiated into Gatsby’s moneyed lifestyle, as the action cuts between the verdant grounds of his house to such claustrophobic interiors as the Wilsons’ garage and Tom Buchanan’s grim little New

York love nest.In pure dance terms, the first act is equally successful.
Many of the principal characters are vividly cast, especially Kenneth Tindall as an aggressively chunky Buchanan, and Giuliano Contadini, a precise, narrow

Nick Carraway (the book’s narrator). In the visceral, vernacular dance he creates for cuckolded mechanic George Wilson, and in his clever abstraction of busy street activity in Manhattan, Nixon’s choreography really flies.But
things fall apart in the second half. Nixon struggles to give depth to the Daisy-Gatsby affair: while Martha Leebolt is a blithe and impetuous Daisy, Tobias Batley has no distinctive material to work with as Gatsby.Even in their love duets, the choreography fails to rise above a one-note ecstasy; that may well be

because Nixon has had to wade through so many accumulating complications of plot. The combination of jealous lovers and lurid deaths, the final confrontation between truth and illusion – all these are too unwieldy to translate into ballet terms.
Halfway through, it becomes clear that Nixon and his team need the courage to cut themselves loose from Fitzgerald’s original structure. There’s a rather good ballet in this Gatsby, but it hasn’t yet found its way on to the stage.•
What have you been to see lately? Tell us about it on Twitter using #GdnReviewRating: 3/5BalletDanceF Scott FitzgeraldJudith Mackrellguardian.co.uk
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One of the best parts of presiding over the Lean Plate Club is being in regular contact with so many of you.Collisions between protons and lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have produced surprising behavior in some of the particles created by the collisions. The new observation suggests the collisions may have produced a new type of matter known as color-glass condensate. In New York, the institutions, intended to save the state money, have undergone a vast expansion and are serving many older people who are not impaired.     Wes Welker is saying so long to Tom Brady and hello to Peyton Manning.
<a href = “http://productreviewer4u.webs.com/fat-burning-furnace”>fat burning furnace review stars as a stalker killer in “Maniac,” a remake of a 1980 thriller.     A panel is looking into whether Christine Lagarde was complicit in embezzling public money when she was the French finance minister. In recent years, AeroAstro has again expanded its mission to support the latest shift in the country’s aerospace enterprise. As the space shuttle program ended, NASA established new targets for space exploration, including near-Earth asteroids and Mars — alien destinations that would first be traversed by intelligent, unmanned vehicles. To advance this

new objective, AeroAstro has launched laboratories to build autonomous vehicles and explore intelligent systems. These new fields require expertise in computer science and information technology — relatively recent additions to the department’s in-house expertise.AeroAstro’s new focus on autonomy has implications beyond space: Faculty researchers are investigating “smart” military drones for ground and air surveillance, unmanned commercial aircraft, and robotic systems for airplane manufacturing, to name a few applications.“This whole idea of autonomy hits almost every aspect of things we do,” says department head Jaime Peraire, the H.N.
Slater Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “Our department in the last 10 to 12 years has been reinvented, and now we’re a much more diverse department than we used to be.”Designing
from a clean sheetIn addition to robotics and autonomy, AeroAstro researchers are continuing to advance the field of aviation.
A major initiative within the department has been to design a “silent” aircraft.
The conceptual design blends a

plane’s wings and body into one smooth fuselage that would produce no more noise than a tractor-trailer truck. The department is also looking at future aircraft concepts such as the “double bubble,” nicknamed for its twin-tube fuselage design that could reduce fuel

use by up to 70 percent.“We’re essentially working with a clean sheet of paper,” Peraire says. “We ask, what type of materials would be available in the future, what types of things will we be able to build, and how would the aircraft look? We are willing to start from scratch and look at new aircraft concepts.” Researchers are also looking beyond the aircraft itself, considering its impact on the environment and society. In the near future, local and international airspace will become more crowded, with an increasing

number of planes taking off daily to keep up with demand. Unmanned aircraft — both military and commercial — may also occupy airspace.
AeroAstro researchers are examining aviation’s broader impact, from air pollution and fuel consumption to airport traffic and ways to forecast ticket pricing and demand. A two-way streetFaculty are also reaching across campus to work with other departments and research centers, including the Laboratory for Information and

Decision

Sciences, the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and most recently, the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).
In this last collaboration, AeroAstro and EAPS researchers are designing next-generation satellites to monitor Earth, as well as deep-space probes to search for faraway celestial objects and exoplanets. “We are a rather small department, yet we are incredibly broad,” Peraire says. “Our strength really comes from working together, and connecting among each

other.”Collaboration, both on campus and outside MIT, is a hallmark of AeroAstro.
Since the department’s early years, its faculty have worked closely <a href = “http://productreviewer4u.webs.com/google-sniper”>google sniper partners to address each successive era’s foremost problems in aerospace. Today, faculty members sit on committees at NASA and the U.S.
Air Force, and many come from key positions in industry and government, at places such as Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Such close ties, Peraire says, have helped the department keep up with the latest industry objectives, as well as fast-tracking AeroAstro research to commercial partners.
“Whenever we need to make strategic decisions, we talk to our partners in industry and government,” Peraire says.
“And to a certain level, what they do is also informed by things we do … It’s a two-way street of information. And this is part of why we’re able to tackle important problems.”Esprit de corpsThe companies and agencies that serve as research partners are also major employers of AeroAstro alumni.
Boeing sends representatives each year to recruit AeroAstro students. At the end of the recruiting process, the company’s chief technology officer travels to MIT to personally hand students job offers. It’s a beneficial arrangement for both parties: Employers such as Boeing gain a new crop of talent, while the department gains new contacts in the corporate world.Increasingly,
AeroAstro alumni are pursuing careers in the commercial space transportation industry, joining companies in this rising field such as SpaceX, Aurora Flight Sciences and Blue Origin.Alumni
return regularly to talk with AeroAstro students about their professions — including former astronauts and military test pilots, and most recently, mission engineers for the Mars Curiosity rover. Peraire says what draws alumni back to

campus is the sense of community they developed as students. AeroAstro’s undergraduate program — known on campus as Course 16, established before the department in 1926 — is recognized for establishing a particularly close-knit cohort. Students start the program as sophomores, learning the fundamentals of aerospace engineering in a rigorous course called Unified Engineering.
Unlike other programs that break students into separate sections, students taking Unified move through each subject as one group.“If you ask our alumni what do they remember of MIT, Unified is going to come first or second on their list,” Peraire says. “Some of them loved it, some of them didn’t like it so much, but the reality is, it really creates this esprit de corps.”Many AeroAstro students also have the opportunity to work on projects with commercial and military applications. A popular program within the department is

the Beaverworks team, a collaboration with MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory that challenges students to invent solutions to current engineering problems. A recent invention — swarms of tiny, atmospheric data-collecting drones designed to launch from aircraft flare dispensers — is now under further exploration by the U.S. Air Force. ‘Our students

are our best advertisement’Several years ago, AeroAstro experienced a drop in student enrollment. At first a

slow decline, the drop turned into a “red alarm,” evoking for Peraire an aviation analogy: “The light was flashing, and enrollment was just like, ‘Pull up, pull up!’” In response, AeroAstro made a concerted effort to reach out to MIT freshmen still contemplating majors.
The department held preorientation programs for incoming freshmen, and hosted informational fairs to introduce students to AeroAstro activities. “I think at some level we are still <a href = “http://forex-growth-bot.webs.com”>forex growth bot introverted department,” Peraire admits. “We like what we do, and if people come ask us about things, we show

them.
But this past year, we made a deliberate effort to really try to reach out to the outside community and explain what we do.”This
conscious endeavor reaped results this year, as the number of undergraduates declaring an AeroAstro major increased by 50 percent — the first enrollment spike in a number of years. Educational outreach has become a major focus for the department: Faculty and graduate students regularly visit local high schools, demonstrating flight dynamics in a portable wind tunnel and explaining how rockets work. Graduate students answer letters submitted to the department from high school students on a host of topics, from what it takes to be an engineer to what makes an airplane tilt.
Each year, the department sponsors an international competition called Zero Robotics, challenging high school teams to write computer programs that direct minisatellites. The competition final, held on MIT’s campus, features a live downlink to the International Space Station, where finalists watch their programs control minisatellites.
The contest has drawn hundreds of participants — who Peraire hopes to see in AeroAstro’s hallways as future students.“Our students are our best advertisement,” Peraire says.
“There’s a responsibility of the department to really contribute to changing the trend of STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] education, and engineering overall.
This is a type of thing that helps the community enormously.
Whatever we can do in that respect, I think we should try to help.”
Industry veteran Bill Rubino has retired as president and CEO of Jofco, a role he held at

the office-furniture manufacturer for 25 years. Billionaire

hedge fund manager John Paulson announced Friday that he has no plans to move to Puerto Rico, denying media reports that he was considering establishing residence in the U.S. island territory to help cut his tax bill.
One method for inferring alien worlds is flawed, says study Consolidation among publishers carries costs you won’t find on a price sticker.     Your correspondents (Letters, 15 March) conflate mitochondrial replacement with “genetically modified ‘designer’ babies”.
The intention is different, the methods are different, and a baby free from mitochondrial disease has nothing to do with the design of appearance, or any characteristics other than the presence or absence of such debilitating and life-threatening disease. In the UK, the amount of compensation payable to egg donors is limited – unlike in the US, where foolish individuals

may choose to pay a premium.
There

is little if any advantage to be had from using eggs donated by Ivy League students, and any purchasers

who think otherwise are ignorant of genetics.Finally, I fail to see how parents who choose to

use technology to have a child free from inherited mitochondrial disease are “dehumanising and commodifying” their relationship with that child.Sarah NorcrossDirector, Progress Educational TrustGeneticsBiologyguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Get ready for the juggler. Advances in flat-screen technology have made older monitors and televisions obsolete, decimating demand for tube glass used in them and creating vast stockpiles of useless material. Penny Arcade spent a <a href = “http://micro-niche-finder.webs.com”>micro niche finder review of last week with its foot in its mouth.    
The author of this week’s cover article answers questions about how her son’s illness informed her reporting, and where the field of food allergy research is heading. Oracle and NetSuite are to jointly offer cloud services to mid-size business customers.
The alliance announced

Wednesday is the third this week around Oracle’s technologies. The Redwood Shores, Calif., company announced earlier this week agreements with Microsoft and cloud computing company Salesforce.com. Golos gained prominence for identifying voter fraud during parliamentary elections in 2011 and is facing a temporary suspension.    
The House of Delegates voted 82-56 to repeal Maryland’s death penalty on Friday, making the state the sixth in as many years to abolish executions and delivering a major legislative victory to Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Read full article >> A five-bedroom contemporary in Hewlett Harbor, L.I., and a Westchester, N.Y.,
home with a high-end kitchen renovation. Consumer and environmental groups say that the chains, with 2,000 stores, have pledged not to sell a fish genetically engineered to grow faster. Looking for clues about the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court vote on gay marriage? Check out California’s past.
The Production and Operations Management Society recently honored Professor David Simchi-Levi of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Engineering Systems Division with an article published in the January-February issue of the journal Production and Operations Management.
The journal honors two to three researchers annually.
Past honorees include MIT Sloan professors Jay Forrester and Stephen Graves. The article cites Simchi-Levi’s contributions to both the theoretical and practical aspects of supply-chain management as demonstrated by the quality and reach of his published research; the application of this research in corporate practice; his seven years as editor-in-chief of Operations Research; and the popularity of his second book as a graduate business education text.That book, “Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies and Case Studies” (McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007) by Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, is now in its third edition.
In 2000 it was named book of the year by the Institute of Industrial Engineering. Earlier this year, the blog Supply Chain Management (SCM) Operations listed the book on its “10 Greatest Supply Chain Management Books of All Time,” based on the number of citations for books found by Google Scholar.  After receiving  his Ph.D.
from Tel-Aviv University, Simchi-Levi was on the faculty of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia University (1986-1993), the Department of Industrial Engineering and

Management Sciences at Northwestern University (1993-2000) before joining the MIT faculty. At MIT, he is the engineering faculty co-director of the Leaders for Global Operations program; co-director of the MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation; head of the new Accenture and MIT Alliance in Business Analytics’ leader of the MIT-Technion

Postdoctoral Program; a member of the Operations Research Center and former co-director of the System Design and Management partnership.In 2009, he was awarded the Revenue Management and Pricing Section Prize from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the world’s largest professional society for the field of operations research, management science and business analytics. INFORMS awarded the prize to Simchi-Levi for a series of three papers that made fundamental contributions to the

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