Robert van der Hilst,the Schlumberger Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences,has announced his decision to step down as the head of the Department of Earth,Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the end of this academic year.A search committee will convene later this spring to recommend candidates for Van der Hilst’s successor.“Rob is aconsummate seismologist whose images of Earth’s interior structure have deepened our understanding of how tectonic plates move,how mantle convection works,and why some areas of the Earth are hot-spots for seismic and geothermal activity,”says Nergis Mavalvala,the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics and the dean of the MIT School of Science.“As an academic leader,Rob has been asteadfast champion of the department’s cross-cutting research and education missions,especially regarding climate sciences writ large at MIT.His commitment to diversity and community have made the department—and indeed,MIT—a better place to do our best work.”“For 12 years,it has been my honor to lead this department and collaborate with all our community members—faculty,staff,and students,”says Van der Hilst.“EAPS is at the vanguard of climate science research at MIT,as well Earth and planetary sciences and studies into the co-evolution of life and changing environments.”Among his other leadership roles on campus,Van der Hilst most recently served as co-chair of the faculty review committee for MIT’s Climate Grand Challenges in which EAPS researchers secured nine finalists and two,funded flagship projects.He also serves on the Institute’s Climate Nucleus to help enact Fast Forward:MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade.In his more-than-decade as department head,one of Van der Hilst’s major initiatives has been developing,funding,and constructing the Tina and Hamid Moghadam Building,rapidly nearing completion adjacent to Building 54.The$35 million,LEED-platinum Building 55 will be avital center and showcase for environmental and climate research on MIT’s campus.With assistance from the Institute and generous donors,the renovations and expansion will add classrooms,meeting,and event spaces,and bring headquarters offices for EAPS,the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution(WHOI)Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science,and MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative(ESI)together,all under one roof.He also helped secure the generous gift that funded the Norman C.Rasmussen Laboratory for climate research in Building 4,as well as the Peter H.Stone and Paola Malanotte Stone Professorship,now held by prominent atmospheric scientist Arlene Fiore.On the academic side of the house,Van der Hilst and his counterpart from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering(CEE),Ali Jadbabaie,the JR East Professor and CEE department head,helped develop MIT’s new bachelor of science in climate system science and engineering(Course 1-12),jointly offered by EAPS and CEE.As part of MIT’s commitment to aid the global response to climate change,the new degree program is designed to train the next generation of leaders,providing afoundational understanding of both the Earth system and engineering principles—as well as an understanding of human and institutional behavior as it relates to the climate challenge.Beyond climate research,Van der Hilst’s tenure at the helm of the department has seen many research breakthroughs and accomplishments:from high-profile NASA missions with EAPS science leadership,including the most recent launch of the Psyche mission and the successful asteroid sample return from OSIRIS-REx,to the development of next-generation models capable of describing Earth systems with increasing detail and accuracy.Van der Hilst helped enable such scientific advancements through major improvements to experimental facilities across the department,and,more generally,his mission to double the number of fellowships available to EAPS graduate students.“By reducing the silos and inequities created by our disciplinary groups,we were able to foster collaborations that allow faculty,students,and researchers to explore fundamental science questions in novel ways that expand our understanding of the natural world—with profound implications for helping to guide communities and policymakers toward asustainable future,”says Van der Hilst. 查看详细>>

After anational search,the MIT Office of the Vice Chancellor has named Denzil A.Streete senior associate dean and director of the Office of Graduate Education(OGE).Streete succeeds Blanche Staton,who retired this summer after serving for more than 25 years at MIT.He will begin his role at MIT on Sept.12.Streete brings significant experience as aleader in critical aspects of graduate student life and learning,including admissions and recruitment,diversity,academic success,and graduate student support.He is currently assistant vice provost for graduate studies and chief of staff,and director of the Office for Graduate Diversity at the University of California at Berkeley,home to 13,000 graduate students in over 126 doctoral and master’s degree programs.“Denzil is anatural collaborator and passionate advocate for students,”says Ian A.Waitz,vice chancellor for undergraduate and graduate education.“This will serve us well as we navigate some very complex issues,like graduate student unionization and the impacts of the recent SCOTUS[Supreme Court]decision on the use of race in admissions.”In his new role,Streete will work across more than 100 graduate programs to recruit and support roughly 7,000 graduate students at MIT.“I can tell how critical this new role will be to graduate students and the staff and faculty who serve them,”says Streete.“As Ijoin my colleagues in OGE,we look forward to continuing to serve and uplift the dreams,aspirations.and needs of graduate students in every corner of the Institute.”Streete’s roles and involvement in graduate education at Berkeley are multifaceted,covering the recruitment,departmental admissions process,and academic success of adiverse body of talented graduate students;operations management;and other key priorities,including graduate diversity,campus and departmental climate,professional development,support for the graduate student community,and development and fundraising efforts to support graduate students.He has atrack record of bolstering graduate student diversity.During his tenure at Berkley,the university received arecord number of graduate applications from underrepresented applicants in 2021,while operating within the constraints of Proposition 209,which banned affirmative action in admissions in California public universities in 1996.Prior to that,Streete served as assistant dean for graduate student development and diversity at Yale University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,focusing on recruitment and academic and professional success,and serving as the deputy Title IX coordinator and dean’s designee.Under his leadership,the number of students from diverse backgrounds applying to Yale graduate school increased sharply in 2020.Originally from Morvant,Trinidad and Tobago,he earned his bachelor of arts in economics,with honors,from St.Francis College in Brooklyn,New York.His passion for graduate education developed at Columbia University,where he earned his PhD in comparative and international education,after what he describes as“taking aprovidential professional detour through legal research and administration,and media and communications management.”Streete’s scholarly and research interests include access and equity in higher education,the“Free College Movement,”and minoritized males in higher education.“MIT graduate students have joined our community to pursue groundbreaking research,foster an indomitable spirit of inquiry,and form avibrant community with their peers.As Iembark on this new journey,my commitment is to further these aspirations by fostering an environment where our graduate students can thrive and are made visible,where ideas are valued,and where the pursuit of knowledge knows no bounds.I’m eager to connect,collaborate,and embark on this new chapter together—with aheavy dose of joy,”says Streete. 查看详细>>

The MIT Stephen A.Schwarzman College of Computing named Armando Solar-Lezama as the inaugural Distinguished College of Computing Professor,effective July 1.Solar-Lezama is the first person appointed to this position generously endowed by Professor Jae S.Lim of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science(EECS).Established in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing,the chair is being awarded to Solar-Lezama for being an outstanding faculty member who is recognized as aleader and innovator.“I’m pleased to make this appointment and recognize Armando for his remarkable contributions to MIT and the scientific community,”says Daniel Huttenlocher,dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and the Henry Ellis Warren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.“I’m greatly appreciative of Professor Lim for his thoughtful gesture in creating this new chair in the college,providing us with the opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of our faculty.”Solar-Lezama,a professor of electrical engineering and computer science,leads the Computer-Aided Programming Group in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory(CSAIL)that focuses on program synthesis,an area of research that lies at the intersection of programming systems and artificial intelligence.The group’s research ranges from designing new analysis techniques and automated reasoning mechanisms to developing new programming models that automate challenging aspects of programming.A member of the EECS faculty since 2008,Solar-Lezama,who also serves as the associate director and chief operating officer for CSAIL,is most interested in software synthesis and its applications to particular program domains such as high-performance computing.He first found this niche area of program synthesis as agraduate student at the University of California at Berkeley,for which his thesis project,a language called Sketch,treats program synthesis as asearch problem in which the algorithms pare down the search space to make the search faster and more efficient.Since then,program synthesis research has greatly expanded into the active field it is today. 查看详细>>

Cynthia Barnhart SM’86,PhD’88,a longtime faculty member and MIT’s former chancellor,will be the Institute’s next provost,President L.Rafael Reif announced today.Barnhart,a Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering and professor of operations research at the MIT Sloan School of Management,has served the Institute in avariety of roles since joining the faculty in 1992.She has been both associate and acting dean of the School of Engineering,and co-director of the Operations Research Center and the Center for Transportation and Logistics.As chancellor,from 2014 to 2021,she led ateam that took numerous measures to enhance student well-being,support,and success.“A widely respected member of the faculty,Cindy is both apleasure to work with and one of the most energetic,determined and effective managers Ihave ever known.We are extremely fortunate that she has agreed to step forward once more in service to the Institute,”Reif wrote in an email to the MIT community,which also announced his intention to step down as president.The provost is MIT’s senior academic and budget officer,with overall responsibility for the Institute’s educational programs,as well as for the recruitment,promotion,and tenuring of faculty.Working closely with the president,the chancellor,the academic deans,and other members of the Institute’s senior leadership team,the provost heads efforts to establish academic priorities,manage financial planning and research support,and oversee MIT’s international engagements.Barnhart’s appointment is effective March 7.“As Istep into the role of provost,I am energized by the exciting prospects that lie ahead,”Barnhart says.“And Iam grateful to Rafael for once again giving me the opportunity to try to make adifference at MIT.I look forward to helping him carry out his priorities as he finishes his term.”Removing barriers to success Barnhart succeeds Provost Martin Schmidt,who will be leaving the MIT community after 40 years to become president of his alma mater,Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.“Marty was an exceptional colleague and thoughtful leader.I’m delighted to be able to bring continuity to the post after working with him closely as chancellor,”Barnhart says. 查看详细>>

WISDM,the Women in Innovation and STEM Database at MIT,celebrated the first anniversary of its digital launch on March 8—International Women’s Day.To mark the occasion,the tremendous growth of the WISDM community,MIT Innovation Initiative(MITii),which manages the platform/community,announced the WISDM Fellowship Program.WISDM promotes the visibility of women in the MIT academic community,increases gender diversity in innovation and entrepreneurship,and makes it easier to find talented and diverse speakers for various events.In partnership with MITii,WISDM founder Ritu Raman,an MIT postdoc and AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador,applied for and was awarded a$10,000 AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors Grant for public engagement with science activities that teach,inspire,and promote the next generation of women in STEM.With this funding,WISDM launched afellowship program for scientists interested in improving their public speaking capabilities. 查看详细>>

The MIT AgeLab and Transamerica shed light on the challenges and costs of caregiving in the United States during adaylong symposium held Nov.12 on the MIT campus.The meeting,titled"New Conversations for aNew Challenge:Caregiving in the 21st Century,"brought together experts and professionals from academia,medicine,and financial planning to discuss costs,challenges,technologies,and ideas related to caregiving.An estimated 77 million people in the United States are current or former caregivers.As the baby boomer generation ages,caregiving is expected to become even more common,with an accompanying increase in caregiving costs.A RAND Corporation study found that caregivers spend$522 billion and provide 30 billion hours of care annually to older adults.Caregiving also takes atoll on U.S.businesses,including$33.6 billion in lost productivity—an average cost of$2,110 to employers per full-time working caregiver.The symposium coincides with National Family Caregivers Month,which occurs every November.National Family Caregivers Month aims to recognize the millions of Americans across the nation who care for family members who are chronically ill,elderly,or who have adisability. 查看详细>>

The MIT Libraries,together with the MIT Committee on the Library System and the Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research,announced that it has developed aprinciple-based framework to guide negotiations with scholarly publishers.The framework emerges directly from the core principles for open science and open scholarship articulated in the recommendations of the Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research,which released its final report to the MIT community on Oct.17.The framework affirms the overarching principle that control of scholarship and its dissemination should reside with scholars and their institutions.It aims to ensure that scholarly research outputs are openly and equitably available to the broadest possible audience,while also providing valued services to the MIT community.“The value of scholarly content primarily comes from researchers,authors,and peer reviewers—the people who are creating knowledge and reviewing and improving it,”says Roger Levy,associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences and chair of the Committee on the Library System.“We think authors should have considerable rights to their own intellectual outputs.”In MIT’s model,institutions and scholars maintain the rights to share their work openly via institutional repositories,and publishers are paid for the services valued by authors and readers,such as curation and peer-review management. 查看详细>>

The Office of the Vice President for Research announced the appointment of anew leadership team for the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory(NRL).The team will consist of Gordon Kohse,managing director for operations;Jacopo Buongiorno,science and technology director and director for strategic R&D partnerships;and Lance Snead,senior advisor for strategic partnerships and business development and leader of the NRL Irradiation Materials Sciences Group.The team will succeed David Moncton,who plans to return to his research after taking adepartment head sabbatical.Moncton has served as director of the NRL since 2004.The new leadership team will collectively oversee an updated organizational model for the NRL that will allow the laboratory to more closely align its operations with the scientific research agenda of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and other MIT researchers.“I look forward to working with this thoughtful and experienced team as they implement their vision for avibrant operation supporting the critical work of our research community,”says Maria Zuber,vice president for research. 查看详细>>

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Beaver Works is opening anew space in the recently renovated Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics(AeroAstro)Building 31.This new facility builds on the successful partnership between Lincoln Laboratory and the School of Engineering by providing another location for innovation,collaboration,and hands-on development.The new site will also strengthen connections between AeroAstro researchers and practicing engineers at the laboratory while supporting collaboration on projects such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and cutting-edge research on autonomous drone systems. 查看详细>>

The new MIT Stephen A.Schwarzman College of Computing is destined to become amajor center of artificial intelligence research.But apublic conversation between the college’s founders on Thursday helped illuminate the very human impulses guiding it.“It’s aremarkable expression of the human spirit that you have here,”said Stephen A.Schwarzman during adialogue with MIT President L.Rafael Reif at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium.Schwarzman is the principal benefactor of the college,which is intended to drive forward research in computing and artificial intelligence,and link computing to every other discipline at the Institute.Its formation represents the biggest change to MIT’s institutional structure since the 1950s.Schwarzman has delivered a$350 million gift to the Institute,as part of the roughly$1 billion college. 查看详细>>