Students

Graduate student Karenna Groff ‘22 has been named NCAA Woman of the Year, an honor presented to a graduating female student-athlete who has distinguished herself in athletics, academics, leadership and community service, reports Matt Doherty for The Boston Globe. “I think the award is the first recognition I’ve gotten that looks into who I am and who I want to be,” says Groff. “I think it will help me frame the direction towards what I want the next chapter in my life to look like.”

Graduate student Karenna Groff ’22 speaks with CBS Boston reporter Mike UVA about her academic and athletic accomplishments. “Groff become just the sixth Division III student-athlete ever to be recognized as the NCAA Woman of the Year,” says Uva. “An honor that celebrates excellence both on and off the field for all divisions.”

NBC 1^st Look host Chelsea Cabarcas visits MIT to learn more about how faculty, researchers and students are “pioneering the world of tomorrow.” Cabarcas meets the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle team and gets a peek at Nimbus, the single-occupant vehicle that team members raced in the American Solar Challenge from Kansas City to New Mexico. Cabarcas also sees the back-flipping MIT mini cheetah that could one day be used in disaster-relief operations.

GBH reporter Esteban Bustillos spotlights graduate student Karenna Groff '22, the NCAA Woman of the Year, and her efforts to make a difference both on and off the field, from her work as an EMT at MIT to her efforts to reduce maternal mortality in southern India. “Using sports as a platform to drive forward equity in all these different walks of life has always been something that I want to be a part of,” explains Groff. 

Graduate student Matthew Groh discusses Detect Fakes, a research project he co-created aimed at teaching people how to detect deepfakes, with Wall Street Journal reporter Ann-Marie Alcántara. Groh recommends people pay attention to the context of an image or video, noting that people can “pay attention to incentives and what someone is saying and why someone might be saying this.”

Sally Kornbluth, the 18^th president of MIT, speaks with Boston Magazine reporter Jonathan Soroff about why she is excited to lead MIT, Smoots, Boston weather and sports, and how to encourage more girls and women to pursue STEM careers.

President L. Rafael Reif, who will return to the faculty following a Sabbatical, reflects on his tenure and how his upbringing shaped his outlook on education. “For many, MIT’s reputation is one that is defined by innovative research – a technology hub built on drive and hustle,” writes Nour Saudi. “But when Rafael Reif first visited the school in the spring of 1979, he found a campus full of down-to-earth people who wanted to make the world better, something he could get behind.”   

A team of MIT students developed reconfigurable robots capable of exploring rough terrains on the moon as part of NASA's Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge, reports Alejandra Borunda for National Geographic. The MIT students “figured that once astronauts were on the moon, they’d want to use various types of robots so they designed “‘Lego-like combinations that can be reconfigured,’” the team explained.

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah emphasizes the importance of representation in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which featured Riri Williams (Ironheart) as a Black female engineer at MIT. Attiah notes that she is “grateful that ‘Black Panther 2’ exists to show us what #BlackGirlGenius looks like.” 

Boston.com reporter Clara McCourt spotlights how three MIT students - Jack Cook ‘22, Matthew Kearney and Jupneet K. Singh - have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. “The selected students — 32 in total — will go to Oxford University in England next October to pursue wide-ranging graduate degrees," writes McCourt, "with two or three years of study free of charge.”

Matthew Kearney, John “Jack” B. Cook ’22, and Jupneet K. Singh have been named 2023 U.S. Rhodes Scholars, reports NBC Boston 10.

Matthew Kearney , John "Jack” B. Cook ’22, and Jupneet K. Singh  are amongst the 2023 Rhodes Scholars, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. This year’s Rhodes Scholars "will go to Oxford University in England next October to pursue graduate degrees across the breadth of the social sciences, humanities, and biological and physical sciences,” says Elliot Gerson, American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust. “They inspire us already with their accomplishments, but even more by their values-based leadership and selfless ambitions to improve their communities and the world.”

Students and instructors at MIT’s Hobby Shop created “Choo-Choo Chairs,” transforming decommissioned seats from the MBTA Red Line into new chairs, reports Matt Reed for WCVB. “Some people see the chair, and they know exactly where it came from and are very excited, like, ‘Where can I buy one,’” says Coby Unger, an associate instructor for the Hobby Shop.

Members of MIT’s Hobby Shop salvaged decommissioned MBTA Red Line seats  and transformed them into “Choo-Choo Chairs,” reports Spencer Buell for The Boston Globe. The team “spiffed up seven of the old seats, mounting them onto wooden legs made out of reclaimed church pews,” writes Buell. “There’s so much nostalgia for that pattern,” said Coby Unger, an associate instructor at the Hobby Shop. “And the stainless steel construction is really beautiful.”

MIT is part of the Transfer Scholars Network (TSN), an initiative aimed at opening a pipeline between community colleges and four-year colleges for transfer students, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. “As a part of TSN, we hope to send a message to community college students everywhere that you belong and you can succeed at a school like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” says Jeremy Weprich, senior assistant director of admissions.