Awards, honors and fellowships

Professor Marin Soljacic was one of three winners of the prestigious Blavatnik National Awards, reports Nature. Soljacic received the award for his work on electromagnetic phenomena, including wireless charging of batteries.

The Associated Press reports that Professor Marin Soljacic was one of three Massachusetts scientists to receive the prestigious Blavatnik National Award. Soljacic was recognized for his “discoveries of novel phenomena related to the interaction of light and matter, and his work on wireless power transfer technology.”

Carolyn Johnson writes for The Boston Globe that Professor Robert Langer has been awarded the $500,000 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology, which honors significant scientific, cultural, or spiritual leaders. Langer is best known for his pioneering contributions to the field of tissue engineering.

“The prize for astrophysics goes to Alan Guth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Andrei Linde of Stanford University, and Alexei Starobinsky of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow,” writes Malcolm Ritter for The Associated Press about this year’s Kavli recipients. 

Professor Alan Guth has been awarded the prestigious Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, reports Carolyn Johnson of The Boston Globe. Guth received the award for his work on the theory of cosmic inflation.

“The dynamic at the Federal Reserve may be about to change,” writes Sara Eisen of CNBC about MIT alumnus and former professor Stanley Fischer’s appointment to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. “Fischer's presence is likely to change the shape of the Fed in a variety of ways.”

“Previously Fischer taught at the University of Chicago and MIT, where his students included former Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers,” writes Don Lee of The Los Angeles Times about Stanley Fischer’s appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. 

In an article for The Boston Globe, Bloomberg News reports that former professor and MIT alumnus Stanley Fischer was confirmed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by the Senate. Fischer previously served as the governor of the Bank of Israel.

Pedro Nicolaci Da Costa of The Wall Street Journal reports on former Professor Stanley Fischer’s appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. “Mr. Fischer, former chief of the Bank of Israel, is expected to play a leading role helping Chairwoman Janet Yellen forge consensus on the Fed's sometimes-fractious policy committee,” writes Da Costa.

NECN reports on the “National Peace Officers Memorial Day” ceremony in which fallen MIT Officer Sean Collier was among those honored. More than half the MIT police force turned out for the service held in Washington, D.C.

Reuters reports on Professor Kristin Forbes’ appointment to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. "Dr Kristin Forbes is an economist of outstanding ability with real practical experience of policy making," says Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborn.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborn has appointed Professor Kristin Forbes to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, writes Asa Bennett for The Huffington Post UK. Forbes is the second woman appointed to the committee under Osborn.

“Kristin Forbes, a former economic adviser to George Bush, is to break the all-male stranglehold on interest-rate setting in the UK when she becomes a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee in July,” writes Larry Elliot of The Guardian. 

“Kristin Forbes, a professor of management and global economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will join the MPC for its July meeting, completing an almost wholesale transformation of the committee’s membership within a year,” write Chris Giles and Emily Cadman for The Financial Times. 

Jennifer Ryan and Emma Charlton of Bloomberg News report that Professor Kristin Forbes has been appointed to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Forbes previously worked for the U.S. Treasury during the Bush administration and was the youngest member ever on the White House Council of Economic Advisers.