Danielle Geathers, president of the MIT Undergraduate Association, joins Kelly Clarkson to discuss her goals for her presidency. Geathers highlights the Talented Ten Mentorship program, which aims to help increase matriculation of Black women by pairing “Black women in high school with Black women at MIT.” Clarkson applauded her work, noting “that’s amazing mentorship…You can dream big when you see that someone has made it there.”
Danielle Geathers, president of the Undergraduate Association (UA), writes for Time about how her childhood helped inspire her to desire to advocate for change. “My activism was nurtured by my mother’s emphasis on cultural education,” writes Geathers. “I had early exposure to Alex Haley’s Kunta Kinte, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois and Maya Angelou. I was planted in solid ground with roots that stretched back generations.”
Lex Celera at VICE highlights the story of Hillary Diane Andales, a 19-year-old from the Philippines who is preparing to attend MIT after surviving Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. “Even though I was already interested in science, I didn't know what a storm surge was,” said Andales. "I think that was a big flaw in the process of science communication in our country because I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know [about it].”
Boston Globe reporter Dugan Arnett spotlights MechE senior Alex Hattori, a six-time national yo-yo champion. Hattori, who was originally inspired to attend MIT so that he could take a course where students design and build yo-yos, explains that he doesn’t think he’ll ever stop competing. “I love yo-yoing as much as I did the first day,” he says.
Spencer Buell of Boston magazine reports that Massachusetts colleges are among the best in the country according to U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings, with MIT being named the number three school in the country.
MIT was named one of the top three colleges in the country on U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of the best colleges, reports Felicia Gans for The Boston Globe. Gans notes that, “MIT was also ranked first for best engineering programs.”
Wired reporter Aarian Marshall highlights how MIT is launching a new undergraduate major that will combine computer science and urban planning. Prof. Eran Ben-Joseph explains that the motivation for the major is studying how, “you make a better connection between the training and computation, and what the implication of the work will be, for communities, for policies.”
Laney Ruckstuhl of The Boston Globe writes about “Calculated Imagination,” the Course 2.007 Willy Wonka-themed robot competition based on “creativity and innovation.” Students are graded on their work leading up to the competition. “You can earn an ‘A’ with a robot that scores zero points but that demonstrates good engineering and design skills,” Prof. Amos Winter explains.
In an article for Science, Vijaysree Venkatraman highlights MIT’s Translational Fellows Program, which helps “postdocs go from being job seekers to job creators.” Founded by Yoel Fink, the program allows students to evaluate business ventures for real-world sustainability.
Washington Post reporter Martin Weil writes about this year’s recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship. Two MIT students were named Rhodes Scholars this year - Mary Clare Beytagh and Matthew Chun. Weil writes that Chun is, “designing the first prosthetic knee intended specifically for use in the developing world.”
Boston Magazine reporter Hayley Glatter spotlights how two MIT seniors - Mary Clare Beytagh and Matthew Chun - were among this year’s winners of the Rhodes Scholarship.
AP reporter Gene Johnson writes about this year’s group of Rhodes Scholars, which includes two MIT students, Mary Clare Beytagh and Matthew Chun. Johnson highlights how Chun, “leads a team designing the first prosthetic knee for use in the developing world.”
Boston.com reporter Erica Yee highlights several Boston-area residents who were named to Forbes’ “30 under 30” list, including MIT postdoctoral associate Yichen Shen, who was honored for his work with nanophotonic breakthroughs, and undergraduate Jenny Xu, who was recognized for her work creating popular mobile games.
Boston Globe reporter Alyssa Meyers spotlights an MIT course that exposes students to what it is like to live with different disabilities. Based off their experience, students develop, “an assistive technology for a client, where the clients are individuals in the community who have proposed project ideas to the class,” explains senior lecturer Julie Greenberg.
UPI reporter Ed Adamczyk writes that MIT was named to the number five spot in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 best college rankings. “Factors for the rankings include graduation and retention rates, surveys of college officials and high school counselors, faculty funding, and selectivity in admissions,” Adamczyk explains.