Profile

John Urschel, a PhD candidate in math and offensive lineman in the NFL, speaks with The Tech's Ray Wang about "juggling two worlds." Urschel describes how his competitiveness in football translates to his studies: "This is competitive ‘me’ against the unknown — against things I’m trying to solve."

MIT graduate student Maia Majumder speaks with Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston about her digital habits. Subbaraman writes that Majumder, “uses Twitter as a professional tool to discuss her research and to interact with colleagues around the world.”

BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman writes about how graduate student Steven Keating's thirst for knowledge may have saved his life. After experiencing phantom odors, Keating urged his doctors to perform a brain scan, which revealed a tumor. Since then, Keating has “open-sourced” his illness, and become a “champion of a movement to provide patients with more information about their health.”

Steve Lohr of The New York Times writes about how allowing patients like brain cancer survivor and MIT graduate student Steven Keating greater access to their medical records can not only improve patient health, but also benefit medical research. The sharing of medical records could be a “huge crowdsourcing opportunity for research,” Keating explains. 

In a New York Times article, Steve Lohr spotlights how graduate student Steven Keating’s active participation in his medical care led to early detection of a brain tumor. In describing patient access to medical records, Keating explains his belief that “data can heal.”

New York Times reporter Hilarie Sheets spotlights Paul Ha, director of the List Visual Arts Center, and his successful efforts to increase awareness of the arts at MIT. Associate Provost Philip Khoury says that Ha has been “getting students and faculty over to the List and building up its reputation.”

Hannah Northey of Greenwire features the work of MIT alumnus Samuel Brinton, an energy fellow at Third Way and LGBT activist who is known for his bright red mohawk. "A lot of Hill staffers know me as the MIT or nuclear kid with a red mohawk," says Brinton. "It gets the conversation started."

Barbara Walters selected MIT alumnus and corporation member David H. Koch as one of the ten most fascinating people of 2014. In an interview with Walters, Koch discusses his commitment to philanthropy, saying, "I intend to continue being very philanthropic for the rest of my life."

Financial Times reporter John Thornhill speaks with MIT alumnus and former British foreign secretary David Miliband about his work with the International Rescue Committee, life in New York City and the European Union. 

Russell Platt writes for The New Yorker about Professor Keeril Makan’s music. “The work’s brave exploration of expressive territory makes it memorable. It’s lulling, thrilling, and, at times, downright eerie,” writes Platt of Makan’s piece “Resonance Alloy.” 

Dr. Tara Swart speaks with Charlotte Clarke of The Financial Times about her work and what inspired her to switch from working in medicine to business. “My mission is to disseminate simple, pragmatic neuroscience-based messages that change the way people work and that translate to tangible financial improvements in business,” says Swart of her work.

Science reporter John Bohannon spotlights Professor Paula Hammond’s chemical engineering lab at MIT and the career paths of her graduate students. Hammond explains that she decided to pursue a career in academia as she “wanted the freedom to pursue my own research,” she explains. 

Simon Kuper of The Financial Times speaks with Professor Carlo Ratti about urbanism. One of the biggest changes to modern cities, argues Ratti, could be the introduction of driverless cars: “Think how much real estate you are using to store idle pieces of metal that are used for what – an hour a day?”

Science reporter Vijaysree Venkatraman speaks with Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Professor Mildred Dresselhaus about her career, in particular what it was like to be a female professor in a male-dominated field. Her advice for other women aspiring to work in academia: “Don’t give up.”