Undergraduate

MIT sophomore Maryann Gong has been named the NCAA Division III Women's Track Athlete of the Year. According to The Boston Globe, “Gong is the fifth Engineer to win the award.”

Nidhi Subbaraman reports for BetaBoston on MakeMIT, “a hardware hackathon that challenges students to produce practical applications for cutting-edge industrial tools.” A group of undergraduates started the event in an effort to provide students with an opportunity to build new products. 

In a piece for Scientific American, Amanda Baker writes about the MIT Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament, which brought together more than 60 teams of high school students from 14 states. The event was organized by a group of MIT undergraduates dedicated to improving the experience of science competitions for high school students. 

Junior Madison Douglas speaks with Boston Globe reporter Marvin Pave about the many activities she is involved in at MIT, including researching volcanic activity in Spain, playing flute in the orchestra and serving as the women’s sabre squad leader. “I really enjoy everything I do, but at the same time I have to be disciplined and maintain a balance,” says Douglas. 

MIT alumnus Noam Angrist and seniors Anisha Gururaj and Elliot H. Akama-Garren were among 32 Rhodes scholars selected from the U.S. this year, reports Jennifer Smith for The Boston Globe. “The American scholars will join an international group of students chosen from 14 other global jurisdictions, according to the Rhodes Trust,” Smith reports. 

Two MIT seniors and alumnus Noam Angrist have been named Rhodes Scholars, reports Dave Collins for the Associated Press. “It’s a total dream come true,” says Angrist. “The skills I will get at (Oxford) are just incredible, and I’ll come back into the world fully equipped to do what I love to do.”

Boston Magazine reporter Steve Annear writes about a new robot, designed by MIT undergraduate Patrick McCabe, that can play the game Connect Four. “It’s kind of a magical thing with computer science and technology, being able to leverage that to actually make something smarter than you are,” said McCabe of the device, which can beat its creator.

Steve Annear of Boston Magazine writes about ‘Sesame Rings’ first developed by a group including MIT undergraduates. The ring acts as a stored-value MBTA pass for using public transportation in and around Boston.

Kevin Colon of CNN reports that MIT undergraduate Matt Guthmiller will attempt to become the youngest person ever to fly solo around the world. "My real goal is to inspire other young people to attempt things of a similar magnitude,” Guthmiller explains.

"I'm not really nervous. Of course, once I get out an hour over the ocean for the first time and all I can see is blue, that might change a little," says MIT student Matt Guthmiller in this Huffington Post article. 

Matt Guthmiller will attempt to be the youngest person to fly solo around the world, reports Melissa Mahan of FOX 25. "Flying was just kind of one of those things that I always wanted to do for as long as I can remember and a few years ago I finally started doing it," explains Guthmiller.

Senior Kirin Sinha discusses her after-school program SHINE for Girls with CBS News. SHINE uses dance to help teach math and science to young girls.