Spring 2011

One Gorgeous Celebration

From the President

A Letter from the President

The Campaign for Students

Photo: Veer Images

One Gorgeous Celebration

MIT celebrates the Campaign for Students, a remarkably successful effort that to date has raised nearly $555 million to support generations of MIT students — a striking achievement in the most difficult economy since the Great Depression.

“…Taking our team to a national tournament, people noticed,” says Eric Zuk, captain of the MIT Men’s Basketball Team. Photo: Len Rubenstein

New Heights

Freshman Jazzmyne Washington says a scholarship has helped give her the financial and academic freedom to bring her dreams to pass. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Inspired By Generosity

After the Haiti earthquake, Aaron Zinman (left) and Greg Elliott launched a service that makes it possible to index the skill sets of local residents so agencies can find them after a crisis. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Rebuilding Communities After Crisis

Sara Ferry worked in Paris at Areva, a nuclear energy company. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Educating Global Citizens

Srikanth Bolla recently developed a computer-training center for visually challenged students in Hyderabad, India. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Living His Dream

Carla Perez-Martinez, lead author on a published paper, is shown here at MIT’s Space Propulsion Lab. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Published Author

Gabriel Sanchez, who often travels on foot, plans to redesign public transportation systems for people around the world. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Better Than Walking

“Some of my best memories and best friends at MIT came from the squash team,” says Robert Wickham, who in true team spirit recently rounded up three former teammates, pooled their resources, and together named a squash court. Photo: Len Rubenstein

The Spirit of the Team

David Kaiser, Professor of the History of Science, senior lecturer in physics, and editor of Becoming MIT, is coming out with a new book, How the Hippies Saved Physics. Photo: Len Rubenstein

MIT Historian’s Tale

David Kaiser’s upcoming book contends that a group of hippie physicists helped launch a new field.

Prof. Sherry Turkle says if you don’t teach your children how to be alone, they only know how to be lonely. Photo: Richard Howard

Alone Together

Sherry Turkle’s new book Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other reveals that we’re so busy communicating that we neglect each other.

Photographer Andy Ryan transcends time and space with these four images of Alice Chen, who is shown not only smiling in the foreground — but is also shown working in the background. Photo: Andy Ryan

Innovative Ideas

Alice Chen wins the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for invention.

Anant Agarwal is putting the equivalent of a data center on a chip. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Data Center on a Chip

Anant Agarwal is designing chips that contain thousands of processors, or cores, making them up to 10 times more efficient than today’s chips.

Neri Oxman’s field, “material ecology,” unites principles of nature with those of engineering to create new materials for architecture and design. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Material Ecology

Neri Oxman’s work unites principles of nature with those of engineering to create new materials for architecture and design.

Jianzhu Chen’s work may one day lead to a cancer vaccine. Photo: Len Rubenstein

Resisting Cancer

Jianzhu Chen is working to harness the immune system against tumors.

Larry Dickerson and Marcela Donadio, parents of a son who graduates this spring, make a commitment to help expand MIT’s learning community. Photo: Dave Einsel

Attracted by MIT

Marcela Donadio and Larry Dickerson of Houston make a commitment to help expand MIT’s learning community.

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