| Commencement 2021 | | | | | | MIT’s second-ever online Commencement celebrated the 3,298 graduates receiving diplomas, with tributes from Cambridge to Antarctica. Noted civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson gave a stirring address, asking graduates to commit to making change in an unjust world. “We’re burdened by a long history of racial injustice,” he said. “There’s a smog in the air and these toxins will not dissipate. We’re going to have to change the environment.” |
| President L. Rafael Reif’s charge to the Class of 2021 “Through immense effort, self-discipline, creativity and compassion, you found a way to rise to the demands of this historic challenge ... together,” Reif told graduates. |  |
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| Professor Sangeeta Bhatia’s salute from the faculty “It’s OK not to know,” Bhatia told graduates. “Just keep going. Trust yourself to figure it out and don’t let the uncertainty weigh you down.” |  |
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| MIT Corporation elects 11 term members, three life members Term members will serve between one and five years on MIT’s board of trustees. |  |
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| Engineers create a programmable fiber In a first, the digital fiber contains memory, temperature sensors, and a trained neural network program for inferring physical activity. |  |
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| When masks reveal Students design face masks that uncover personal and collective experiences from the Covid-19 pandemic. |  |
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| Honoring Dixie Lee Bryant, Class of 1891, a trailblazer for women in science |
Bryant will become the first MIT alumna to have a major venue named after her on campus. |  |
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| These locations may look eerily familiar, but none actually exist // Fast Company Strolling Cities, an artificial intelligence video project developed by researchers from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, recreates the streets of Italy based on millions of photos and words. |
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| Opinion: How to keep hybrid work from burning everyone out // The Boston Globe “Our hope is that after this past year’s normalization of remote work, more organizations will stop rewarding face time in favor of a future where a variety of work patterns are recognized as productive and welcome,” write Professor Erin Kelly and University of Minnesota Professor Phyllis Moen. |
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| Amsterdam tests out electric autonomous boats on its canals // Associated Press An electric, autonomous boat developed by MIT researchers is being tested in the canals of Amsterdam as part of an effort to ease traffic. |
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| Opinion: The climate is moving to greater and greater extremes — acting now can reduce risks // The Hill |
Professor Ronald Prinn writes of the urgent need for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help reduce global temperature increases. |
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| | | To commemorate the completion of an undergraduate MIT experience, designer, civil and environmental engineering major, and MIT Admissions blogger Sabrina M. created a playful music video in tribute to Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.” |
| | | Prior to Friday’s online all-MIT Commencement, and in accordance with Institute guidelines around social gatherings, MIT School of Engineering Class of 2021 advanced degree recipients gathered on Killian Court for a special photo opportunity with Dean Anantha Chandrakasan. |
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