Praveen Subramani, an M.S. Student in MIT’s Media Arts and Sciences program, plans to study the possibilities surrounding shared and electric transportation in Santiago, Chile. While at MIT, Subramani worked in the “Changing Places” group, which explores design and engineering possibilities for green mobility systems, like electric cars. “There’s a booming economy in Chile and a lot of excitement about the power of entrepreneurship and the power of design and technology to change things,” he said.

Diana Jue, an M.S. student in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, plans to study public administration and land development in Bangalore, India.  Her specific focus is the transformation of green space into urban land, which Jue will use as a platform for larger questions: “I want to study how local bodies make those decisions, and what is considered a successful decision making process,” she said. “How does one act as a successful civil servant? What goes into that?”  Jue, who received her undergraduate degree from MIT, says her specific interest in India grew from her participation in the MISTI (MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives) program, which gave her an opportunity to do research in India as an undergraduate. “I’m really excited to return to India and pursue research in an area that I care about, an area that impacts the lives of many people living here,” she said. “Change from the top is how change often happens in developing countries. We need to know more about that process.”

Daniel Jimenez, who graduated from MIT in 2011 with an M.S. degree in structural engineering, will travel to the Philippines to study cost-efficient building technologies. Jimenez says he became interested in larger the social issues connected to engineering while studying civil engineering as an undergraduate at MIT, when fieldwork abroad drew his attention to “the effect that the lack of infrastructure can have on the lives of people and their ability to progress socially, have access to healthcare, and so on—for instance, when difficulty traveling makes them isolated.” In the Philippines, he hopes to design affordable buildings that can better withstand the natural disasters that frequent the region. “There’s such a need there for my passion, which is using infrastructure to overcome natural disasters and overcome poverty,” he said. “I’m trying to use my engineering degree while having as large and impact as I can.”

Jeremy Ferwerda is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Political Science at MIT. His research will focus on immigration and naturalization reform in Germany, asking how policy makers are motivated to legislate reforms in the face of broad opposition.  Jeremy will graduate in 2014. His undergraduate degree is from Cornell.

Birju Shah and Parul Singh, Application of Advanced Entrepreneurial Techniques 15.S24 – The Patrick J. McGovern ’59 Entrepreneurship Award

The Patrick J. McGovern, Jr. ’59 Entrepreneurship Award is presented annually to an individual student or student team that has made a significant impact on the quality, visibility, and overall spirit of entrepreneurship education and support across the Institute.  This year we have two recipients, one individual and one team.  The team McGovern award goes to the newest class at the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship. The class, Applications of Advanced Entrepreneurial Techniques, came about through a classic case of network effect. A couple of students knew others working on companies-to-be out of their dorm rooms and those students knew other students, and so they all got together one night. Starting as an independent study in the fall, then turning into an IAP class, and now a spring seminar, the class and these seven students are the voices of young entrepreneurs, and they continue to conceive of new initiatives.  Graduate team members include Birju Shah and Parul Singh.

Matthew Everett Lawson – The Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts

The Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts is presented annually by the Council for the Arts at MIT to three students who demonstrate excellence in creating a body of work in the visual arts.  Only the first-prize recipient is honored at this ceremony.  This year’s first prize recipient, Matthew Everett Lawson, is a graduate student in the School of Architecture and Planning. Matthew’s art explores and interprets the notion and action of seeing and the operations and capabilities of the eye, the organ of sight. Spanning several genres, including film/video and performance, the level of sophistication and technical expertise of the work is astounding. Matthew was chosen as the winner primarily for the depth, breadth, and poignancy of his art. The harmonic union of art, science, and technology that exemplifies his artwork is a union that so often is the hallmark of the arts at MIT.

 Yifan (Amy) Zhou – The Graduate Student Council Teaching Award

The Graduate Student Council Teaching Award is awarded to a professor or teaching assistant for excellence in teaching a graduate-level course.  Yifan (Amy) Zhou’s excellent teaching skills and strong devotion to her students make her a truly exceptional asset to MIT.  At Sloan, Amy successfully taught a class of mid-career students some very difficult concepts with patience and good humor. She invested a tremendous amount of time in ensuring her recitations were easy to digest for students from all backgrounds (including those who couldn’t recall high-school algebra). Amy responded extremely well to feedback; rapidly adapting her teaching style to this unique group. She was flexible, available, generous and extremely knowledgeable in her field.  Amy went well above and beyond to ensure that the students truly understood the underlying concepts and principles.

 Adrian Chi-Yan Liu – The Goodwin Medal

The Goodwin Medal is presented to a graduate student whose performance of teaching duties are “conspicuously effective over and above ordinary excellence.”  In ways that go well beyond his classroom teaching, Adrian Chi-Yan Liu inspires our undergraduates with his passion for physics and the clarity with which he communicates it.  “He was always the correct amount of helpful,” wrote one nominator. “He would get you out of the tricky spots and help you to understand the underlying concepts, but he never gave away too much information.”  Performing so far beyond the norm as a graduate student teacher, he has been called the single best recitation instructor the physics department has seen in many years.  “Adrian Liu is a teaching legend. Full stop,” wrote another nominator. “He inspires me, and many of my peers, to want to be more like him, and I think that is the mark of a great teacher.

 Professor David Kaiser – The Frank E. Perkins Award

The Frank E. Perkins Award is given each year to a professor who has served as an excellent advisor and mentor for graduate students.  Somehow this year’s recipient, who produces what is unanimously acclaimed as the best work in his field, is never, ever too busy for his students. Professor David Kaiser’s office door is always open and his advice is full of wisdom and warmth.  “His was a calm voice of reason during a major moment of decision in my life,” wrote one nominator.  Professor Kaiser brings pure generosity, care, humor, and respect to his relationships with students. He is an excellent example of what it means to be a mentor, teaching our students how to give advice as well as take it.

 Patrick Barragan – The Karl Taylor Compton Prize

The Compton Prize is the one of highest distinctions given by MIT to students or student organizations.  One was awarded to a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, an active member of the MIT Glass Lab – and a pole vault coach who has helped produce 13 All-American pole vaulters for MIT.  In eight years at the Institute, he’s earned four degrees — which comes out to a pretty good average.  As one of his admirers told us, “Nothing Patrick Barragan takes on is second best.”  The nomination letters streamed in from all across campus — and their descriptions of Patrick’s intense dedication to countless activities make us distinctly suspicious …that there’s cloning involved.  With the pole vault team, his individualized coaching has transformed athletes who were about to be cut from the team into All-American pole vaulters.  “He never gives up on us,” wrote one nominator, “even when we have given up on ourselves.”  As another observed:  “MIT pole vaulters feel two forces pushing and pulling on them, always:  gravity…and Patrick.”  He has a gift for teaching — for leading students to the right answer rather than leaping in to tell them.  Write him a 2AM email – and don’t be surprised if you get a detailed response right back.  As one nominator explained, “Patrick is a non-stop helping machine who is a fixture in the MIT community.”  As another fan put it, “Whether [he’s] fixing a robot, debugging Python code, or explaining differential equations, I have never seen Patrick be less than enthusiastic or wear any expression but a smile.”  “He is exactly the kind of person who makes MIT a community, rather than a collection of individual human beings who happen to live and work here.”

The Kremlin Fellows Program was founded in 2010 to introduce the next generation of American leadership to the Russian Federation and the cultural/historic context in which Russian people and institutions operate. Spatocco will travel to Moscow May 25 to June 3, 2012 and represent MIT in meetings with Russian government officials, entrepreneurs, and student leaders. Past delegations of Kremlin Fellows have met with Vladislav Surkov, Viktor Vekselberg, Arkady Dvorkovich, members of the State Duma, and members of the Federation Council.

CAREEL partners with the Federal Agency on Youth Affairs to facilitate the Kremlin Fellows Program in order to help dismantle stereotypes left behind by the Cold War and create a new image of the Russian Federation for young Americans based on firsthand experiences and interactions. The Kremlin Fellows Program enables the most accomplished young American leaders to visit the Russian Federation and meet their Russian peers. During this exchange, Spatocco will meet with students at Moscow State University, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and Skolkovo Open University.

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply for future programs and opportunities. To learn more visit http://www.careel.org.