John Wyatt, who served as an MIT professor for 36 years and was known for his work developing retinal implants, died on Feb. 3, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Marquard writes that Wyatt helped found the field of retinal prosthetic research, which was aimed at restoring “sight to those diagnosed with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.”
Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach writes about the life and work of Prof. emeritus Marvin Minsky, who died on Sunday. Achebach writes that Minsky’s colleagues knew him “as a man who was strikingly clever in conversation, with an ability to anticipate what others are thinking -- and then conjure up an even more intriguing variation on those thoughts.”
In an article for The Boston Globe, Bryan Marquard writes about Prof. emeritus Marvin Minsky, co-founder of the former AI Lab (now CSAIL), a founding member of the Media Lab, and a pioneer in the field of AI, who passed away on Sunday.
Prof. emeritus Marvin Minsky, one of the founders of the field of artificial intelligence, died Sunday at age 88, reports Glenn Rifkin for The New York Times. Rifkin writes that Minsky “combined a scientist’s thirst for knowledge with a philosopher’s quest for truth as a pioneering explorer of artificial intelligence.”
Prof. Emeritus James Fay, who served as the chairman of the Massachusetts Port Authority and helped launch the Union of Concerned Scientists, died on June 2, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. “To know him and benefit from his wisdom, courage, kindness, and friendship was a gift I will treasure for the rest of my life,” says senior lecturer Frederick Salvucci.
Nobel laureate John Nash, who taught at MIT from 1951 until 1959, died Saturday at age 86, writes Erica Goode for The New York Times. “John’s remarkable achievements inspired generations of mathematicians, economists and scientists,” says Christopher L. Eisgruber, the president of Princeton.
Kathleen McKenna of The Boston Globe writes that Professor Alexander Rich, whose research confirmed DNA’s double-helix structure, died at 90 on April 27. Shuguang Zhang, associate director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering at MIT, said that Rich was “warm, wonderful, and open-minded.”
Washington Post reporter Martin Weil writes that Prof. Alexander Rich, who was known for his work with molecular biology, passed away on April 27. Rich’s work on hybridization, the pairing of two single strands of DNA or RNA, “is regarded as integral to creating much of modern biotechnology, with applications in diagnostics, forensics, genealogy and gene sequencing.”
Jane Farver, former director of the MIT List Visual Arts Center, died on April 29. Farver, who led the List for 12 years, brought about “an increase in the commissioning of major public artworks across campus.”
Prof. Alexander Rich, a noted biophysicist known for his work investigating the structure of DNA and RNA, died on April 27, writes Denise Gellene for The New York Times. “I can think of no one else who has made as many major contributions to all facets of modern molecular biology,” said University of Maryland Prof. Robert C. Gallo.
Norman Leventhal, an MIT alumnus, life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation and real estate developer, died Sunday, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Leventhal is known for building and renovating some of Boston’s most renowned landmarks, including Center Plaza and South Station.
Professor Emeritus Stephan Chorover, a founding faculty member of MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, died on Feb. 20, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. “In his writings and in the classroom, Dr. Chorover encouraged scientists and students to look closely at the wider social context of current and historical attempts to control behavior,” Marquard writes.
Professor Emeritus Jack Ruina, a noted expert on strategic arms control who served as MIT’s vice president for special laboratories and was the first director of MIT’s Security Studies Program, passed away Feb. 4, reports Boston Globe reporter Bryan Marquard. Prof. Emeritus George Rathjens said that “there wasn’t a better faculty member that I knew in the universe.”
David Hoag, an MIT alumnus and aeronautical engineer for the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory (now the Draper Laboratory) who led the development of the guidance, navigation and control systems for several Apollo systems, died on Jan. 19, reports Jasper Craven for The Boston Globe. “Technically, he was about as gifted a person as I have ever encountered,” said former colleague Norman Sears.
The Associated Press reports on the career of Professor Emeritus Irving Singer, a prominent philosopher who passed away Feb. 1 at the age of 89. Singer, who served on the MIT faculty for more than 50 years, wrote 21 books in the field of humanistic philosophy.