Awards, honors and fellowships

Poets & Quants reporter Jeff Schmitt writes that MIT Sloan School of Management’s Assistant Dean Dawna Levenson has been honored as the “MBA Admissions Director of the Year,” by Poets & Quants. “Dawna brings a very human-first approach to MIT Sloan Admissions, deeply learning about our applicants as people and professionals, getting to know them through interviews, and understanding how they hope to make a difference in the world through their education,” says Sloan Dean Richard Locke. “She supports students throughout the admissions journey, providing guidance, helping them navigate the process, and pivoting, as needed, to support their matriculation.”  

NPR’s Greg Rosalsky explains how Robert Hall PhD ’67 and Michael Woodford PhD ’83, winners of the 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, were honored for their work helping to lay the groundwork for New Keynesian economics, taking a fresh scoop of the field. “Hall and Woodford helped rebuild macroeconomics around the decisions of individual people and businesses. Hall broke new ground in understanding how people's expectations about the future shape their spending today. Woodford built on that work, developing a framework that combined forward-looking spending decisions with sticky prices.”

Forbes’ Michael T. Nietzel spotlights Robert Hall PhD ’67 and Michael Woodford PhD ’83, who were awarded the 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for their work on economic stabilization policies. “The work of Hall and Woodford has proved beneficial for managing economic shocks like those from the pandemic and the energy crises of recent years,” Nietzel writes. “While recessions and episodes of high inflation have not disappeared, they tend to be less long-lasting.”  

Robert Hall PhD ’67 and Michael Woodford PhD ’83 have won the 2026 Nobel economics prize for their work “developing models that help central bankers and finance ministers to stabilize their countries, avoiding long recessions and runaway inflation,” writes reporter Graeme Wearden for The Guardian. “The laureates’ work has provided us with a stable theoretical foundation for the models that are now used by central banks and governments around the world,” says John Hassler, chair of the Nobel Committee. “With them, we are better equipped to deal with shocks in the economy, such as energy crises or sudden changes in how much households consume.” 

MassLive’s “Most Influential Innovators” list, which celebrates inventors from across the Commonwealth, spotlights numerous MIT community members including President Sally Kornbluth, Prof. Russ Tedrake; Noubar Afeyan PhD ‘87 (a member of the MIT Corporation), Visiting Scientist Brandon Sorbom PhD ‘17, Visiting Scholar Ariel Ekblaw SM '17, PhD ‘20, Tye Brady SM '99, Maxim Lobovsky SM ‘11, and Andy Ory. “Kornbluth has been working hard to defend the university, which has long been a major economic engine not just for Massachusetts, but for the country,” writes reporter Scott Kirsner. 

Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list spotlights four MIT faculty leading innovation in science and technology: Prof. Paula Hammond, dean of the MIT School of Engineering; Prof. Dina Katabi; Prof. Nergis Mavalvala, dean of the MIT School of Science; and Aude Oliva, director of MIT-IBM Computing Research Lab. The 50 “science and technology standouts on this list are advancing how we use AI, fight osteoporosis and deploy clean energy.”  

Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero was named a winner of the 2026 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for his “foundational work that established the field of twistronics,” reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. Nietzel explains that when using twistronics, "scientists can induce new properties in materials without changing their basic composition."

Forbes contributor Michael T. Nietzel spotlights the 120 new members and 25 international members elected by the National Academy of Sciences for 2026. Several MIT faculty members – including Professors Michale Fee, Gareth McKinley, Keith Nelson, Bengt Holmstrom and Catherine Wolfram – were selected. 

President Sally Kornbluth was named one of the 150 most influential Bostonians of 2026 by Boston Magazine. “MIT isn’t just a university—it’s where the future gets made. And Kornbluth is making sure it stays that way. Under her leadership, the institute has launched major initiatives on climate, AI, health sciences, and human insight, while expanding its campus with the Kendall Common development.” 

Prof. Shu-Heng Shao was one of 15 recipients of the New Horizon Prizes, a Breakthrough Prize that is awarded to early-career physicists and mathematicians. “Shao worked alongside other researchers to develop the theory of “generalized symmetries” in quantum field theory, which helped create a “new language” of possibilities in the field beyond the traditional understanding of symmetries,” reports Bryan Hecht for The Boston Globe.

Graduate student Verena Bellscheidt has been awarded the Zonta Club of Wuaboag Valley Women in STEM award, reports The Republican. Bellscheidt is “dedicated to advancing the field [of theoretical physics] at the intersection of cosmology and particle physics while mentoring the next generation of female scientists.” 

Forbes reporter Jeff Kauflin spotlights Andres Santos MBA '21, co-founder of Común, as one of the six entrepreneurs making their debut on the Forbes Fintech 50 list. Común is a “digital bank for Hispanic immigrants,” writes Kauflin. “Customers can open checking accounts through an app using a passport or ID from their home country and use it for direct deposit, a debit card and international money transfers.” 

Increase, a startup founded by alumnus Darragh Buckley, has been named to the Forbes The Future of Business to Business Banking: Fintech 50 2026 list, reports Brandon Kochkodin for Forbes. “Increase provides banking infrastructure that lets fintechs and businesses move money, store deposits and access payment rails without building direct bank connections,” writes Kochkodin.

Kalshi and Común, two startups founded by MIT alumni, have been named to the 2026 Forbes Fintech 50 list. Kalshi is a prediction market that “had 1.2 million active users in 2025, and total trading volume hit $24 billion” while Común “offers digital banking geared toward Hispanic immigrants,” reports Jeff Kauflin for Forbes. 

Mitali Chowdhury '24 has been named a 2026 Gates Cambridge Scholar, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. Beginning this fall, Chowdhury will pursue “a PhD in Sensor Technologies and Applications [at the University of Cambridge]” explains Nietzel. “Her research will focus on CRISPR-based diagnostics to assess antimicrobial resistance, with the goal of expanding equitable access to health care.”