Prof. Emeritus Stephen Erdely, who taught at MIT from 1973 to 1991 and also served as chair of the music department, died on Feb. 25, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Marquard writes that Erdely, an acclaimed violinist, “delighted audiences with duets through the years” with his wife, pianist Beatrice Erdely.
John Authers of the Financial Times writes about Prof. Stephen Ross, best known for the arbitrage pricing model, who died at age 73. Ross was "one of the world’s most respected financial economists,” writes Authers. “Exceptionally versatile, he had at least three insights each deserving of a Nobel citation.”
Prof. Stephen Ross, whose work helped reshape the field of financial economics, died at 73, reports Jessica Silver-Greenberg for The New York Times. Prof. Antoinette Schoar said that all of Ross’ “intellectually intricate finance theories were aimed at solving real-world problems,” adding this the models he developed were “both extremely elegant and extremely practical.”
Clive Cookson of the Financial Times spotlights the work of Institute Professor Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus, who died at 86. Known as the “Queen of Carbon,” Dresselhaus’ research “led the way to round molecules with 60 carbon atoms, known as fullerenes or buckyballs, and ultimately to graphene,” explains Cookson.
Prof. Stephen Ross, a prize-winning professor known for his work developing the arbitrage pricing theory, died on March 3, reports Stephen Miller for Bloomberg News. Miller writes that Ross’ “work in the field of financial economics provided powerful contributions to both investment management and academic research.”
Wall Street Journal reporter James Hagerty spotlights Institute Professor Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus’ pioneering work in thermoelectric materials and as an advocate for women in science. Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero says that Dresselhaus, who died on February 20th, was also known for helping struggling students. “She was always able to see the best in you and bring it out.”
NPR reporter Colin Dwyer writes about the life and work of Institute Professor Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus, who died at 86. Dwyer writes that “during her celebrated career, she sought to prepare a path for potential successors — the female scientists whom she mentored and opened doors for across decades.”
Institute Prof. Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus, known for her work deciphering the secrets of carbon, died at 86, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Dresselhaus’ granddaughter Leora Cooper, an MIT graduate student, explained that by being a role model for women in STEM, “she encouraged me to not just see the changes that needed to be made, but to start making them.”
New York Times reporter Natalie Angier memorializes the life and work of Institute Professor Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus, affectionately nicknamed the “Queen of Carbon” for her pioneering research into the fundamental properties of carbon. Angier notes that Dresselhaus was also “renowned for her efforts to promote the cause of women in science.”
Institute Professor Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus, who was known as the “queen of carbon science” and was an advocate for women in STEM, died at 86, reports Mark Anderson for IEEE Spectrum. Dresselhaus “pioneered the study of carbon nanostructures at a time when studying physical and material properties of commonplace atoms like carbon was out of favor.”
Boston Globe reporter J.M. Lawrence writes about the legacy of D. Reid Weedon Jr., an MIT alumnus and life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation, who died at age 96. Lawrence notes that Weedon was a “key fund-raiser for MIT for 60 years,” and “worked with nine MIT presidents while mentoring many young fund-raisers.”
In this KQED segment, reporter John Sepulvado remembers MIT alumnus Nicholas Walrath, who died in the warehouse fire in Oakland, California. Walrath’s friends describe him as “a hyper-intelligent, humble, athletic man in constant search of understanding why the world — and people — existed.”
Writing for Nature, James Shorter and Aaron Gitler memorialize Prof. Susan Lindquist’s research on protein folding and its role in human disease. They write that Lindquist was “a visionary who connected concepts across disparate disciplines,” adding that her insights, “paved the way for innovative strategies to treat diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer.”
New York Times reporter Paul Vitello writes that Prof. Emeritus Bruce Mazlish, a historian known for his psychoanalytical biographies of world leaders, died at age 93. Mazlish’s “experience teaching European history to young scientists and engineers inspired a lifelong interest in understanding the divide between science and the humanities.”
Bryan Marquard writes for The Boston Globe about the legacy of Prof. Emeritus Jay Forrester, a computing pioneer who died at age 98. Marquard writes that Forrester was a “trailblazer in computers in the years after World War II,” then “pivoted from computers into another new field and founded the discipline of system dynamics modeling.”