Prof. Kripa Varanasi was named to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40” list, which honors “business and civic leaders who are making a major impact in the community while also improving the civic health of the Boston area through volunteer work and other forms of philanthropy.”
Architect David Adjaye has been named the recipient of the 2016 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT, writes Mark Shanahan for The Boston Globe. The prize “includes an artist residency at MIT next spring during which Adjaye will participate in four programs open to the public.”
LinkedIn Next Wave, LinkedIn’s list of 150 professionals selected for their transformative work, features a number of MIT alumni and researchers, reports Jessica Geller for BetaBoston.
Boston Magazine reporter Paul Albani-Burgio speaks with two of MIT’s newest Institute Professors, Sally “Penny” Chisholm and Marcus Thompson. Chisholm says that one of the most rewarding aspects of her job is working with MIT students. “They’re just a constant source of renewal and excitement,” she explains.
Professor Junot Díaz will be honored as one of this year’s We Are Boston Award recipients for embracing “diversity and immigrant heritage,” writes Jennifer Usovicz for The Boston Globe. “Boston is beautiful precisely because of our immigrant communities,” says Díaz. “Our energy and sacrifice is the dynamo that drives the city forward.”
Last weekend Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus became the first woman to receive the IEEE Medal of Honor for her pioneering work with carbon materials, reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. Lotts writes that Dresselhaus is known “for her work with buckminsterfullerenes (buckyballs), nanotubes and graphene as well as her dedicated work ethic and caring nature.”
WGBH reporter Jared Bowen highlights the selection of Prof. Emertia Joan Jonas’ films and videos currently on display at the MIT List Visual Arts Center in his weekly roundup of recommended exhibitions, movies and musical performances. “Those of us who can’t make it to Italy can see seven of her films and videos that pushed the media forward, right in Cambridge.”
MIT celebrated the induction of Robert Robinson Taylor, the Institute’s first African American graduate, into the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series. “Robert Robinson Taylor graduated MIT in 1892 and is believed to be the country’s first academically trained black architect,” reports Sara Feijo for The Cambridge Chronicle.
Boston.com reporter Bill Griffith writes that MIT and the New England Motor Press Association are holding their fifth technology conference on May 21 at the Media Lab. During the event, MIT alumnus Chris Brewer will receive the “Winter Vehicle of New England” on behalf of Ford.
Professor Esther Duflo has been awarded Spain's Princess of Asturias social science prize for her work studying poverty in developing countries, the Associated Press reports. The organizers of the prize said that Duflo has “profoundly changed strategies for education, health and employment in Africa, Asia and Latin America.”
Guardian reporter Jason Farago writes about Prof. Emerita Joan Jonas’ multimedia installation at the Venice Biennale. Farago writes that Jonas’ exhibit has been “has been the hit of the Giardini,” and “that in a show with too little regard for form, her profound and affecting new work proves that politics and beauty are not at odds.”
Prof. Emerita Joan Jonas’ installation at the Venice Biennale is a “triumphal exhibition,” writes Roberta Smith for The New York Times. Smith says that Jonas’ exhibit is “one of the best solo shows to represent the United States at the biennale in over a decade — an effortless combination of maturity and freshness.”
Prof. Robert Langer, winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, speaks with Joel Brown of The Boston Globe about his current research and the need for government support for basic research. “So much good stuff has come out of basic research, research that you don’t really know where it’s going to go. So you want people to be able to get grants to do that,” explains Langer.
Boston Globe reporter Laura Collins-Hughes speaks with Professor Emerita Joan Jonas about her upcoming display at the Venice Biennale. “At the moment what attracts me, what I’m focusing on, is that the world is sort of in trouble in relation to the natural environment,” said Jonas about her motivation for her installation.
Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus has been named the recipient of the 2015 IEEE Medal of Honor “for her leadership and contributions across many fields of science and engineering,” reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. Dresselhaus is the first woman to receive the award, the IEEE’s highest honor.