Harvard President Alan Garber expressed concerns on Thursday about recent federal policy changes that could hinder America’s ability to attract top international students and scholars. Speaking at The Economic Club of Washington D.C., Garber highlighted that these shifts might deter the global elite from engaging in research and study in the U.S. Garber emphasized the…

Health researcher I-Min Lee, who grew up surrounded by laborers, now investigates the impacts of inactivity. At Harvard, she has authored numerous studies on exercise and heart health, contributing to large-scale projects like the Harvard Alumni Health Study and the Women’s Health Study. Lee, an epidemiologist specializing in physical activity, often felt out of place…

After cleaning out a closet, the options for recycling old clothes are limited. Unlike bottles and cans, textiles lack a dedicated recycling process. On average, an American discards about 81 pounds of clothing annually, contributing to over 11 million tons of textile waste in landfills or incinerators. MIT engineers aim to reduce this waste with…

A Wednesday afternoon found me entrenched in grading, immersed in a cycle of providing individualized feedback. Each paper required the same clarifications on APA formatting, thesis coherence, and differentiating analysis from summary. By the seventh time of noting, “This section would benefit from clearer synthesis,” my mind began to operate mechanically. Mid-afternoon marked my descent…

After attending a summer workshop on learning strategies with Professor Andrew Cohen, I returned to my Spanish classes at Northwestern University with a straightforward inquiry: What changes might occur if students understood their own learning processes? To investigate, I introduced an anonymous survey on learning strategies, adapted from the workshop (https://tinyurl.com/2j39ka6m). I informed students that…

Daniel Mason, an acclaimed novelist and psychiatrist, never envisioned writing a comedy until he created the character Miles. His fifth novel, “Country People,” begins with an academic and her family leaving California for her professorship in rural Vermont. The narrative focuses on her husband, Miles, who struggles to adapt to small-town life while working on…

Harvard University is against proposed changes to federal-grant guidelines that could politicize the funding process, hinder scientific and health advancements, and threaten national security and competitiveness. On May 29, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and federal grantmaking bodies suggested a major revision to the Uniform Guidance, the framework for federal grant reviews, awards,…

Dimitri Bertsekas PhD ’71, a prominent figure in computer science and an esteemed author, passed away at 83 on June 3 at his residence in Belmont, Massachusetts. Bertsekas held the title of Jerry McAfee (1940) Emeritus Professor in Engineering at MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was a principal investigator at the Laboratory…

During my initial semester as a faculty member, I realized that most of my stress was not from teaching but from lacking effective systems. I faced numerous minor decisions like responding to student emails, handling extension requests, managing absent students, organizing course materials, and safeguarding research time amid a fragmented schedule. Though each decision seemed…

In the late 1970s, the United States experienced a pivotal realization. For many years, the food industry thrived on convenience and variety, largely without strong public health oversight. The 1977 McGovern Report officially highlighted the long-term costs of diets based on processed foods. The food sector responded by focusing on marketability. When the public was…