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Lauren Tsai, member of Class of 2004, 26

Lauren Tsai
Caption:
Lauren Tsai

Lauren Tsai, who graduated from MIT with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2004, was killed Saturday in a car crash in Newton. She was 26.

Lauren was the sister of senior Geoffrey Tsai and of Michael Tsai '02, MNG '02. She was originally from Etna, N.H., but lived in Waltham and worked for Raytheon.

"We send our condolences to the Tsai family in the tragic death of Lauren," said Chancellor Phillip L. Clay. "Our hearts are with Michael and Geoffrey at this difficult time with the loss of their sister. I know this is a painful loss. I hope Lauren's memory will sustain her family and friends in this difficult time."

A passionate athlete all her life, Lauren was a co-captain of the varsity field hockey and the varsity basketball teams while at MIT. In addition, she skied, skated and hiked and played baseball and softball. As a high school student at Phillips Academy in Andover, she played three varsity sports -- field hockey, basketball, and softball -- and was named MVP of the New England Prep School Basketball Championship in her senior year.

After graduating from MIT, Lauren earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. Lauren was a recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the study of science and engineering and had been inducted into the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and the Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society.

Lauren had completed the rotational Engineering Leadership Development Program at Raytheon. While in this program, she worked for Raytheon in Tewksbury, Mass., Tucson, Ariz. and Plano, Texas. She recently returned to the Boston area to take a position as senior engineer at Raytheon's research and development campus in Sudbury, Mass.

A viewing will occur from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home in Hanover, N.H. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. the following day in Rollins Chapel at Dartmouth College in Hanover. Following the service, there will be a reception at the "Top of the Hop" at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College.

Flowers may be sent to the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home, 11-1/2 School Street, Hanover, NH 03750. Contributions may be made in Lauren's name to benefit children's literature at the Howe Library, 13 South Street, Hanover, NH, 03755.

If you have memories or photos that you would like to share with Lauren's family and friends, or if you have questions about the arrangements, please e-mail: contact@laurentsai.com.

The MIT News Office will update this article as more information becomes available.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on December 17, 2008 (download PDF).

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