A Reason to Celebrate by Bryan

So over in the world of UROP, things were pretty exciting this week.

Now here’s how the morning started. I’ll admit that I don’t read the newspaper or the watch the news as often as I should, but that’s why I am glad everyone else I know does keep up.

Friend: Your UROP advisor is a genius.
Me: Yea, I know that. She’s an MIT professor.
Friend: No, she’s a GENIUS.
Me: Right. I agree.
Friend: SHE’S A REAL GENIUS.
Me: OMG, NO WAY.

Indeed, this year my advisor, Linda Griffith, was named a MacArthur Fellow. Most people refer to the recipients as a Genius because they are awarded a Genius Grant which is a no-strings-attached grant spread out over 5 years. It’s pretty awesome, not gonna lie. It’s also kind of crazy to be able to say that I work for her, and despite her achievements, she’s really down to earth and easy to talk to.

Professors at MIT are not foreign to incredible distinction, and one of the best things I’ve enjoyed at MIT is that they are not distant from the students. Freshman year, I had a recitation taught by a Nobel Laureate. Freshman in 7.012 this term have the privelege of being taught by one of the leaders of the Human Genome Project.

Speaking of UROP, tomorrow, I am giving the biggest presentation of my research career. YIKES. I’ll post about that tomorrow or Tuesday hopefully.