HONORS AND AWARDS
101 MIT Class of 2023 students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Society
Graduating seniors honored for their excellence in the liberal arts
Angela Zhang '23, with family; photograph by Jon Sachs
“We live in a time when many question the very notion of rigorous standards for intellectual discipline and achievement. At such a time, Phi Beta Kappa takes on heightened value. It holds aloft the banner of scholarship, and to the students who by their talent and dedication have proved themselves deserving, it gives the fitting recognition of a special distinction.”
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, held its MIT induction ceremony on Wednesday, May 31, admitting 101 graduating seniors into the MIT chapter, Xi of Massachusetts.
Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary, honors the nation’s most outstanding undergraduate students for excellence in the liberal arts, especially in the humanities, arts, natural and social sciences. Only 10 percent of higher education institutions have PBK chapters, and fewer than 10 percent of students at those institutions are selected for membership.
Diana Henderson, Arthur J. Conner Professor of Literature and President of Xi of Massachusetts, said: “We live in a time when many question the very notion of rigorous standards for intellectual discipline and achievement. At such a time, Phi Beta Kappa takes on heightened value. It holds aloft the banner of scholarship, and to the students who by their talent and dedication have proved themselves deserving, it gives the fitting recognition of a special distinction.”
Diana Henderson, Arthur J. Conner Professor of Literature and President of Xi of Massachusetts. Photo by Jon Sachs.
Arthur Bahr, Associate Professor of Literature at MIT and member of Xi of Massachusetts, began his talk by recalling MIT’s motto, “mens et manus,” and exhorting the audience to keep the “manus” part especially in mind. He then delighted the audience with images of knights fighting snails that appear in the margins of various medieval manuscripts. Bahr told the audience how he was finally allowed to view, indeed touch, one very special manuscript in person after more than a decade of close study of its text. This led to him notice features that he had missed when only reviewing a digital copy of this same manuscript. One thing he discovered was the use of manicules (little hand symbols) to mark interesting pieces in the text. He then connected this to MIT’s motto, as well as to Phi Beta Kappa’s use of the same manicule on the Societies’ key. He concluded, “So when I pivot, as I’m about to, to the “go out into the world, brilliant people” conclusion of this address, I don’t mean to overemphasize literal hands. But there is great power in periodically shifting how one sees, or engages with the world—in this case, reading by hand and not solely with the mind. . . . [And] think about how to do a version of reading by hand in their field, and in their lives ”
After the lecture, Henderson, who specializes in the works of Shakespeare, provided the inductees and their families with an overview of the PBK society. With assistance from chapter historian Anne McCants, Ann F. Friedlaender Professor of History, and chapter guardian Emily Pollock, Associate Professor of Music, McCants introduced the 2023 inductees to the rights and responsibilities of PBK members.
The 101 inductees were then recognized individually, shown the society’s special handshake, and received by a group of MIT faculty and visiting members of PBK. After signing the register of the Xi of Massachusetts chapter, the new members received their certificates of membership.
Sahithi Madireddy '23 and Melissa Hill '23. Photo by Jon Sachs.
Contact
MIT Professor of Literature Diana Henderson is the current President of the MIT Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. For further information contact Kimberly Benard, Secretary of the Chapter, Room 12-189, (617) 253-4378.
Class of 2023 | Graduating Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa
Ajisafe, Frederick; Aeronautics & Astronautics and Music & Theater Arts
Ali, Ayesha; Economics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Alley, Reese; Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Amouei, Negin; Biology
Andales, Hillary Diane; Physics
Anderson, Erik; Mathematics
Aponte, Gabriella; Chemistry
Armelin, Vinicius; Biological Engineering and Chemistry
Asade, Toluwalase; Music & Theater Arts and Mechanical Engineering
Bansal, Umang; Economics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Bao, Caroline; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Barrett, Gabriel; Urban Studies & Planning
Bian, Vincent; Mathematics and Physics
Billings, Jordan; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Boshar, Sam; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Buchanan, Tess; Materials Science & Engineering
Caamano, Gabriel; Chemistry
Carbonell, Elizabeth; Biology and Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Carden, Kylee; Physics
Chen, Curtis; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Linguistics & Philosophy
Cheng, Yu-Chi; Biology
Chowdhury, Zawad; Mathematics
Colon, Pedro; Chemistry
Corcoran, Edmund; Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Cox, Matthew; Mathematics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Damchevski, Stefan; Chemical Engineering
Dogan, Amelia; Urban Studies & Planning and Humanities
Fang, David; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Fang, Emily; Urban Studies & Planning and Civil & Environmental Engineering
Fanggohans, Dean; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Feng, Jiahai; Physics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Fernandez, Sara; Materials Science & Engineering,
Gao, Teresa; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Gazdus, Hannah; Writing and Mechanical Engineering
Glenhaber, Tobit; History and Mathematics
Guo, RuiYang; Chemistry
Gupte, Aparna; Mathematics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Han, Frank; Mathematics
Han, Jerry; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Management
Hill, Melissa; Urban Studies & Planning and Management
Hirt, Tasha; Architecture and Urban Studies & Planning
Horo, Uzuki; Science, Technology, & Society and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Huang, Vincent; Mathematics
Ji, Catherine; Mathematics and Physics
Kearney, Matthew; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Kini, Anjalie; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Economics
Laitipaya, Shelby; Biology and Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Larsen, Skylar; Earth, Atmospheric, & Planetary Sciences
Lee, Chanseo; Chemistry
Lerma, Jacob; Mathematics
Li, Jeffery Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Liu, Dylan; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Luo, Victor; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Madireddy, Sahithi; Biology
Magaro, Annika; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Maldonado, Samantha; Political Science and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Mei, Catherine; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Mejia, Josephine; Humanities & Engineering
Mirda, Sophia; Chemistry
Morgunov, Anton; Chemistry
Munoz, Cecilia; Mathematics
Nguyen, Thao; Biology
Ni, Anton; Chemistry and Mathematics
Oak, Atharv; Mathematics and Biological Engineering
Patale, Dev; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Perez, Sebastian; Mathematics
Qu, Xiaoran; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Quines, CJ; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Raman, Sanjay; Physics and Mathematics
Rothmeyer, Aden; Linguistics & Philosophy and Physics
Schildkraut, Carl; Mathematics
Shahsavari, Shirin; Biology
Shapiro, Jacob; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Shin, Eren; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Simmons, Aquila; Mechanical Engineering and Music & Theater Arts
Singh, Jupneet; Chemistry
Situ, Julia; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Sperry, Bryan; Mechanical Engineering and Physics
Spicer, David; Political Science
Sutton, Michael; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Tockman, Andrew; Mathematics
Ulloa, David; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Vedantam, Saaketh; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Waitz, Isabel; Architecture
Wang, Archer; Physics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Wang, Cindy; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Wang, Crystal; Economics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Wang, Emma; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Wang, Sean; Mathematics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Wang, Wei-En; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Weiler, Alexander; Mathematics
Wu, Westley; Chemistry and Mathematics
Xiao, Brian; Physics
Xiong, Derrick Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Yang, Hanna; Mathematics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Zhang, Angela; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Zhao, Brinley; Humanities & Engineering
Zhao, Jenny; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Zheng, Tianyuan; Mathematics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Zhu, Alan; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Writing
Zhu, Daniel; Physics and Mathematics