L. Rafael Reif

President Emeritus L. Rafael Reif speaks with Scott Detrow of NPR’s All Things Considered about the importance of investing in university research. In America, “we have the best research ecosystem in the world. It is fueled by public funds. And it includes not just, of course, the university system but academic medical centers. This is where the best and the most advanced research happens,” Reif emphasizes. He adds that “if we don't have public funds supporting research universities none of the innovations are going to happen.”

Writing for Foreign Affairs, President Emeritus L. Rafael Reif makes the case that “on the battlefield of technology, Americans must both continue to do what they do best and find new ways to improve competitiveness.” Reif explores the United States’ rich history of creating foundational technologies, innovation that frequently stems from research universities. Reif emphasizes: “To avert scientific and technological stagnation, the United States must significantly increase public investments in university-based research, ensure that it capitalizes on discoveries that emerge from academia, and devise sensible immigration policies that allow the world’s best students to study and then work in the United States.”

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala MCP ’78, PhD ’81, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), will address the Class of 2022 at MIT’s Commencement exercises, reports the AP. Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to lead the WTO, noted that: “From the warm and caring welcome of the International Students Office on my first day of graduate school in 1976, to my tough but equally caring doctoral dissertation committee that propelled me to graduation in 1981, my memories of my time at MIT are spectacularly positive.”

BostInno reporter Lauren Landry writes that MIT has received one of the largest gifts in the school’s history from alumnus Samuel Tak Lee. The gift will be used to create a lab dedicated to socially responsible and sustainable real estate development, with a focus on China.