Boston Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz spotlights the work of Margaret Hamilton, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom who led the development of software for the Apollo missions while at MIT. President Barack Obama noted that Hamilton, “symbolizes that generation of unsung women who helped send humankind into space.”
TechCrunch reporter Devin Coldewey writes that Margaret Hamilton, a computing pioneer who led the development of the Apollo program’s on-board flight software during her time at MIT, has been named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Coldewey writes that Hamilton is an inspiring figure “for anyone looking to enter the fields of computer science and engineering.”
In an article for The Boston Globe’s special section on the 2016 “Top Places to Work,” Sacha Pfeiffer highlights MIT’s new commuter benefits. Pfeiffer writes that MIT is providing “employees free MBTA bus and subway access through a chip embedded in their university ID cards.”
Women You Should Know celebrates the 80th birthday of computer scientist Margaret Hamilton with a video spotlighting her work at MIT developing code for NASA’s Apollo program. Hamilton’s “Apollo code ultimately saved the Apollo 11 astronauts from having to abort their historic moon landing.”
MIT will be offering employees free MBTA passes for local bus and subway service to encourage more people to use public transportation and reduce the environmental impact of commuting, Inside Higher Ed reports.
In an article for The Boston Globe, Steve Annear writes that MIT is rolling out several new benefits for faculty and staff commuting to campus, including free, unlimited subway and local bus usage. “By providing employees with the pass, the school hopes to ease the demand for parking near campus and help reduce carbon emissions,” Annear writes.
Boston.com reporter Eric Levenson writes that MIT senior class president Anish Punjabi, “closed his commencement speech at graduation on Friday with a rush of rap riffing on Matt Damon’s film career, sending the actor into hysterics.”
Matt Damon was awarded an honorary MIT Pirate Certificate during MIT’s Commencement, Nicole Hernandez reports for The Boston Globe. The certificate - which is presented to students who complete courses in pistol, archery, sailing and fencing - notes that Damon is “no longer a lily-livered landlubber.”
Chloe Melas reports for CNN on Matt Damon’s address at MIT’s 2016 Commencement exercises. During his speech, Damon called on graduates to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. "This world has some problems that we need you to drop everything and solve," Damon noted.
During his MIT Commencement address, Matt Damon urged graduates to engage with the world, reports WBUR’s Andrea Shea. Senior class president Anish Punjabi likened MIT students to Will Hunting, the character Damon played in “Good Will Hunting,” noting that “like Will we possess a gift not just for creativity, but more importantly a gift for relentless service and compassion.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, James Sullivan recounts MIT’s 2016 Commencement exercises, which featured an address from actor and filmmaker Matt Damon. In his charge to the graduates, Sullivan noted that MIT President L. Rafael Reif reminded graduates that “heart is what makes the hard problems worth solving. Heart is what makes the data sing with meaning.”
The AP spotlights MIT’s 2016 Commencement exercises, which featured an address from actor and filmmaker Matt Damon. Damon told graduates, “You’ve got to go out and do really interesting things, important things, inventive things, because this world has problems that we need you to drop everything and solve."
Stephanie Couch has been named the new executive director of the Lemelson-MIT program, reports Curt Woodward for The Boston Globe. Woodward notes that Couch “comes to MIT from California State University at East Bay, where she specialized in advancing science, technology, engineering, and math education.”
NPR reporter Judith Kogan examines how MIT staff members “go the extra mile” to correctly pronounce the names of the graduates announced during MIT’s commencement. “The best thing of all is when you've worked with a student,” says Sarah Gallop, one of MIT’s readers. “You get it right, and the student looks at us and smiles.”
Hashim Sarkis, dean of SA+P, speaks with Vanessa Quirk of Metropolis about MIT’s widespread presence at the 2016 Venice Biennale, the Institute’s approach to architectural challenges and its interdisciplinary ethos. “MIT thrives on what it calls complex societal problems,” says Sarkis. “And what better complex societal problems are there today than cities and architecture and the environment.”