This spring, 26 MIT students and postdocs traveled to Washington to meet with congressional staffers to advocate for increased science funding for fiscal year 2025. These conversations were impactful given the recent announcement of budget cuts for several federal science agencies for FY24. The participants met with 85 congressional offices representing 30 states over two […]
MIT has again been named the world’s top university by the QS World University Rankings, which were announced today. This is the 13th year in a row MIT has received this distinction. The full 2025 edition of the rankings — published by Quacquarelli Symonds, an organization specializing in education and study abroad — can be […]
It’s no news that companies use money to influence politics. But it may come as a surprise to learn that many family-owned firms — the most common form of business in the world — do not play by the same rules. New research by political science PhD candidate Sukrit Puri reveals that “family businesses depart […]
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation announced that it has awarded fellowships to 10 PhD students with ties to MIT. The prestigious award provides each recipient with five years of doctoral-level research funding (up to a total of $250,000), which allows them the flexibility and autonomy to pursue their own innovative ideas. Fellows also receive lifelong […]
The MIT Corporation — the Institute’s board of trustees — has elected 10 full-term members, who will serve one-, two-, or five-year terms, and two life members. Corporation Chair Mark P. Gorenberg ’76 announced the election results today. The full-term members are: Nancy C. Andrews, Dedric A. Carter, David Fialkow, Bennett W. Golub, Temitope O. […]
For the graduating class of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, the advice they received from their highly accomplished Commencement speaker may have come as a surprise. “The title of this talk is ‘Off Track is On Track,’” said Diane Hoskins ’79, the global co-chair of Gensler, an international architecture, design, and planning firm with 55 […]
Biotechnology leader Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87 urged the MIT Class of 2024 to “accept impossible missions” for the betterment of the world, in a rousing keynote speech at the OneMIT Commencement ceremony this afternoon. Afeyan is chair and co-founder of the biotechnology firm Moderna, whose groundbreaking Covid-19 vaccine has been distributed to billions of people […]
Below is the text of MIT alumnus Noubar Afeyan’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery on May 30. Thank you, Mark, for that generous but somewhat embarrassing introduction. President Kornbluth, trustees and faculty, students and families, guests, and members of this remarkable community of scholars and solvers: It’s a special honor to be with you […]
Below is the text of President Sally Kornbluth’s Commencement remarks, as prepared for delivery today. Penny, and Mikala — thank you both, for your reflections today, and for your leadership in our community. Good afternoon, everyone. It’s customary, on this day of celebration, for the president to deliver a “charge” to the graduating class. In […]
It’s a question that occupies significant bandwidth in the world of nuclear arms security: Could hypersonic missiles, which fly at speeds of least five times the speed of sound, increase the likelihood of nuclear war? Eli Sanchez, who recently completed his doctoral studies at MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), explored these harrowing […]
