Awards, honors and fellowships

A number of MIT students, researchers and alumni have been named to Forbes’ annual “30 Under 30” list, which honors rising stars in 20 different sectors. 

Writing for The Boston Globe, Sebastian Smee writes that 2015 “was a banner year for great artists and curators who just happened to be women.” In his article, Smee highlights the work of Prof. Emeritus Joan Jonas, who represented the U.S. at the Venice Biennale this year. 

MIT was named one of the top 25 employers in Forbes and Statista.com’s list of America’s best large employers, reports Justine Hofherr for Boston.com. 

“MIT professor emerita Joan Jonas, who represented the United States at the Venice Biennale, has been named the next visual arts mentor for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative,” writes Meredith Goldstein for The Boston Globe. Jonas was named to the initiative along with five other artists.

STAT reporter Andrew Joseph writes about optogenetics and Prof. Edward Boyden’s work developing this technique for turning neurons on and off. “There are just huge frontiers out there for which optogenetics will be one of our most powerful tools,” said Robert Desimone, director of the McGovern Institute.

Boston Globe reporter Felicia Gans writes that a number of MIT researchers have been honored “by the Breakthrough Prize organization, which honors scientists worldwide for their pioneering research.”

Prof. Edward Boyden has been honored as one of the recipients of the Breakthrough Prize, reports Sarah McBride for Reuters. Boyden is being recognized for his work “developing and implementing optogenetics,” writes McBride, which could open “a new path to treatments for Parkinson’s, depression, Alzheimer’s and blindness.”

Writing for Scientific American, Simon Makin explores the many applications of optogenetics, a tool developed by Prof. Edward Boyden, for which he was recently honored with a Breakthrough Prize. Makin explains that, “researchers have devised ways of broadening optogenetics to enter into a dynamic dialogue with the signals moving about inside functioning brains.”

Tina Casey reports for Popular Science that several MIT researchers have been honored with Breakthrough Prizes. Casey writes that Prof. Edward Boyden was honored for his work creating optogenetics, Prof. Joseph Formaggio and his team were honored for their research on neutrinos, and Profs. Larry Guth and Liang Fu won New Horizons Prizes. 

In this BBC News segment, Prof. Robert Langer, winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, discusses his work exploring how to get the human body to respond to vital drugs. Langer explains that his approach to medicine is to “come up with engineering solutions to different medical problems.”

A team of students from Norwood High School is among the recipients of the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam awards for their design of a retractable awning to remove snow from roofs, writes Jean Lang for The Boston Globe. “It’s a great application of science, engineering, and technology,” says teacher Michael Crowley.

Prof. Heidi Williams speaks with Callie Crossley as part of WGBH’s “Genius Next Door” series, which features local winners of the MacArthur “genius grant.” Williams explains that her work focuses on “whether we're getting the right kinds of medical technologies developed.” 

Prof. Heidi Williams, a 2015 MacArthur Fellow, speaks with Bloomberg’s John Tozzi about why drug companies are underinvesting in long-term research. Williams explains that there are “scientifically feasible projects that aren’t getting done because there aren’t sufficient incentives." 

Boston Globe reporter Kathleen Burge speaks with Prof. Heidi Williams, a 2015 MacArthur fellow, about how she felt upon learning she had been honored by the MacArthur Foundation and her research examining technological change in the health care market. “It’s quite overwhelming to hear this news and to get that vote of support,” said Williams. 

Prof. Heidi Williams has been named a 2015 MacArthur “Genius” award winner, according to the Associated Press. Williams was honored for her research exploring, “the causes and consequences of innovation in health care markets.”