MIT chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society inducts 92 graduating seniors
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, held its MIT induction ceremony on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, admitting 92 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.
Emily Pollock, Associate Professor of Music and President of Xi of Massachusetts, welcomed the students and their families. She was assisted in the ceremony by Anne McCants, Ann F. Friedlaender Professor of History, who served as Historian of Phi Beta Kappa, and Graham Jones, Professor of Anthropology, who served as Guide for the ceremony.
The annual lecture was delivered by David McGee, Associate Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science and member of Xi of Massachusetts. McGee began by explaining his research as, “reading messages about our climate future from the deep past.” He spoke about how current climate modelling is not as effective in predicting the more extreme variations that the world is experiencing, but through the study of paleoclimatology, scientists can gain better certainty. McGee showed the audience photos from ancient, dried shorelines, and how core sampling lets scientists understand how that change occurred. This work is providing better information to improve models so that the world will have fewer uncertainties in the future.
After the lecture, Pollock provided the inductees and their families with an overview of the PBK society and introduced the 2024 inductees to the rights and responsibilities of PBK members. The 92 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.
Inductees:
Malhaar Agrawal (Course 21W), Scarsdale, NY
Sagnik Anupam (Courses 6 & 18), New Delhi, India
Joy Bhattacharya (Course 6), Bloomington, IN
Elizabeth Bitman (Courses 15 & 18), Brooklyn, NY
Allison Brattley (Courses 8 & 9), Fleetwood, PA
Luka Bulic Braculj (Courses 17 & 18), Solin, Croatia
Sundeep Chakladar (Course 7), Redondo Beach, CA
Lynette Chan (Courses 10 & 7), Walnut, CA
Heng Jui Chang (Course 5), Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Anushree Chaudhuri (Courses 11 & 14), San Diego, CA
Seoyeon Choi (Courses 8 & 7), Seoul, Korea
Jessica Cohen (Course 8), Poughkeepsie, NY
Jakob de Raaij (Course 18), Tullnerbach, Austria
Diana Degnan (Courses 17 & 14), Isle of Palms, SC
Nora Donnelly (Courses 15 & 18), Cliffside Park, NJ
Paige Dote (Course 18), Fresno, CA
Katherine Duan (Course 5), Hanover, NH
Owen Dugan (Course 8), Sleepy Hollow, NY
Heidi Durresi (Courses 18 & 24), Carmel, IN
Jonathan Edelman (Courses 18 & 6), Brookline, MA
Ibrahim Suat Evren (Courses 18 & 6), Denizli, Turkey
Chirag Falor (Courses 8 & 6), Pune, India
Jonathan Fei (Courses 6 & 18), Clarksville, MD
Ana Florescu-Ciobotaru (Courses 5 & 10), Bucharest, Romania
Hope Fu (Course 8), Shanghai, China
Isabela Fuentes (Course 5), Lincroft, NJ
Mudita Goyal (Courses 5 & 20), Kota (Rajasthan), India
Sierra Green (Courses 3 & 21M), Huntington Beach, CA
Maks Groom (Course 18), Seattle, WA
Melody Guo (Course 9), Santa Fe, NM
Henry Hardart (Course 5), Annapolis, MD
Grace Harrington (Course 1), Seattle, WA
Michael Holcomb (Course 15), Oak Park, CA
Shicheng Hu (Course 5), Shanghai, China
Amanda Huang (Course 11), South Salem, NY
Roderick Huang (Courses 6 & 18), Cupertino, CA
Carol Jiang (Courses 6 & 21M), Weston, FL
Sruthi Kalavacherla (Course 7), Pleasanton, CA
Christina Kim (Course 5), Princeton, NJ
Cameron Kleiman (Course 6), Austin, TX
David Koplow (Courses 6 & 9), Belmont, MA
Seo Yeong Kwag (Course 18), Boston, MA
Liberty Ladd (Courses 17 & 2), Cornelia, GA
Hanjun Lee (Course 7), Suncheon, Korea
Katherine Lei (Courses 3 & 21S), Rockville, MD
Heidi Lei (Courses 6 & 18), Boston, MA
Saba Lepsveridze (Course 18), Tbilisi, Georgia
Amy Li (Courses 6 & 24), Dallas, TX
William Li (Courses 8 & 6), Tampa, FL
Jason Li (Courses 9 & 6), Milton, MA
Rupert Li (Courses 6 & 18), Portland, OR
Phoebe Lin (Courses 12 & 18), San Jose, CA
Eileen Liu (Courses 6 & 18), Vestavia Hills, AL
Jason Liu (Courses 6 & 18), Reno, NV
Claudia Lozano (Courses 6 & 9), McAllen, TX
Catherine Lu (Course 6), Diamond Bar, CA
Yuyuan Luo (Course 18), Ada, MI
Jessica Mann (Course 5), Lincolnshire, IL
Emma Martin (Course 5), North Andover, MA
Sabrina Meng (Courses 20 & 6), San Diego, CA
Katherine Miner (Course 18), Lockport, NY
David Morgan (Courses 18 & 21M), Newport News, VA
Dien Nguyen (Courses 10 & 7), Chandler, AZ
Daniel Ogbe (Course 18), Hopkins, MN
Elaine Ortiz (Courses 18 & 15), Wake Forest, NC
Cecilia Perez Gago (Course 16), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Grace Pu (Course 6), Westford, MA
Muhender Raj Rajvee (Course 6), Bengaluru, India
Achilleus Savvidis (Courses 5 & 8), Filothei, Attica, Greece
Abigail Schipper (Course 2), Portland, OR
Quentin Smith (Courses 14 & 21M), Buckhead, GA
Alyssa Solomon (Courses 6 & 24), Mystic, CT
Thana Somsirivattana (Courses 18 & 6), Bangkok, Thailand
Jack Suggs (Courses 10 & 7), Raleigh, NC
Grace Sun (Course 6), Shreveport, LA
Yihang Sun (Course 18), Boston, MA
Linnaea Uliassi (Courses 3 & 21M), Fairbanks, AK
Daniel Villagran (Courses 18 & 21M), McAllen, TX
Helen Wang (Courses 6 & 17), Sugar Land, TX
Stacy Wang (Courses 14 & 6), Dallas, TX
Frank Wang (Course 18), Belle Mead, NJ
Jessica Wang (Courses 8 & 6), Palo Alto, CA
Cindy Xie (Course 11), Northridge, CA
Clara Xu (Courses 8 & 21S), Rochester, MN
Yi Jun Yang (Course 10), Allen, TX
Isabella Yu (Courses 6 & 18), Palo Alto, CA
Melody Yu (Courses 7 & 9), Walnut, CA
Valerie Yuen (Courses 18 & 6), Forest Hills, NY
Kristine Zheng (Course 6), Ann Arbor, MI
Ziqian Zhong (Courses 6 & 18), Fuzhou, China
Alexis Zitzmann (Course 18), Darien, CT
Irina Zoccolini (Courses 6 & 14), Richmond Hill, NY
