Technology/Faculty

Northeastern University on Tuesday officially unveiled plans to open a Seattle graduate campus in September. The Boston-based university last year launched a graduate campus in Charlotte, N.C., and plans to start other campuses in Austin, Minneapolis and Silicon Valley. The Seattle branch will feature 16 degree programs, including cybersecurity and engineering, which will be geared to the city's technology sector. Tayloe Washburn, a local business leader, will be the campus's dean and executive officer.

In today’s Academic Minute, Edmund Yeh of Northeastern University explains how the structure of the Internet could be changed to improve efficiency. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.

The Simons Foundation today plans to announced a $60 million grant to the University of California at Berkeley to create a center for the study of the theory of computing, The New York Times reported. The newspaper reported that the work to be done in the center reflects the breadth of fields from the physical and social sciences in which computing theory has growing influence.

Microsoft on Monday announced the purchase of 17.6 percent of the Barnes & Noble Nook unit, which also includes the company's college division, The New York Times reported. Microsoft paid $300 million for that share of the business, providing a significant infusion for the Nook/college unit. Barnes & Noble hopes that the partnership and the funds allow it to better compete in the education market with Apple, which has had considerable success with iPad sales and which is moving to expand its digital educational offerings.