Alumni

MIT alumnus Jonathan Pasternack ’90, a political science major with a focus on international human rights, is the artistic director and conductor of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra in rural Washington state. He doesn’t merely conduct: He chooses programs, selects musicians and guest soloists, and manages business operations. As a conductor, however, his favorite place is still “in the middle of the sound, helping things to go along.”

MIT alumna, Chinese minor, and electrical engineering and computer science major Kristen Palmer ’23 is a software engineer at Google and competitive fencer. “Fencing helped me learn to stay in control of my emotions,” she says. “Not to let mistakes or bad calls from the referee affect my focus.”

MIT alumnus Benjamin Gulak, a computer science, economics, and data science major, founded the startup NALA, which directly matches art buyers with artists. “There’s so much talent out there that has never had the opportunity to be seen outside of the artists’ local market,” Gulak says. “We’re opening the art world to all artists, creating a true meritocracy.”

MIT alumna and neurosurgeon Emanuela Binello, who double majored in Russian studies and nuclear engineering as an undergraduate, treats her patients by first learning their stories and medical histories. “It informs the treatment choices,” she says. “And it can help you tease out the nuances of what’s important to that patient.”

MIT alumnus Paul Josephson, who completed his doctoral study at MIT in political science, explores history, technology, and how technological advances can yield unintended consequences.

Noelle Kanaga DeLuca ’06 double-majored in business and French. Now she’s a world champion martial artist.

Parmesh Shahani SM ’05 is a prolific author, culture curator, and LGBTQ+ activist. Breaking boundaries is his brand, and it began at MIT.

MIT alumna Laura Martini, user experience design leader for Google Analytics, wants to help make digital spaces accessible to everyone.

“Twenty years ago, I was a stoked kid working with topsoil in Iowa. Now, I get to work with ancient dirt and sediments to better understand Earth and life’s past.”

Catharine Conley, SB ’88, who earned two bachelor’s degrees in biology and the humanities, spent more than a decade as NASA’s planetary protection officer, working on protocols to prevent biological contamination on Earth and beyond.