HONORS AND AWARDS
82 MIT Class of 2022 students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Society
"Love of wisdom is the helmsman of life.”
Desmond Edwards '22, new member of Phi Beta Kappa; photograph by Jon Sachs
“These students were chosen on the basis of their exceptional academic performance. They not only demonstrated excellence in technical subjects but also a substantial commitment to the humanities and social and natural sciences — the liberal arts."
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, held its MIT induction ceremony on Thursday, May 26, 2022, admitting 82 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, which includes the humanities and natural and social science fields. Only 10 percent of higher education institutions have PBK chapters, and fewer than 10 percent of students at those institutions are selected for membership.
Speaking at the first in-person ceremony since 2019, Emily Richmond Pollock, Associate Professor of Music and Executive Board Member of Xi of Massachusetts, said: “These students were chosen on the basis of their exceptional academic performance. They not only demonstrated excellence in technical subjects but also a substantial commitment to the humanities and social and natural sciences — the liberal arts."
Elizabeth Wood, Professor of History
“Here at MIT in general and in SHASS in particular we strive hard to educate our students in what I call 'paradigm shifts,' thinking about social, political, and cultural topics in new ways in order to be better citizens."
— Elizabeth Wood, Professor of History and Russian Studies
“Love of wisdom is the helmsman of life.” There's also a secret handshake.
Elizabeth Wood, Professor of History at MIT and member of Xi of Massachusetts, began her talk with a reflection on the Phi Beta Kappa motto, “Love of wisdom is the helmsman of life.” She stated, “Here at MIT in general and in SHASS in particular we strive hard to educate our students in what I call 'paradigm shifts,' thinking about social, political, and cultural topics in new ways in order to be better citizens.”
In that tradition, she offered the students what she called, “their last MIT lecture,” on the question “Would Vladimir Putin be invited to join Phi Beta Kappa?” Wood enjoined the audience to use the classroom as a forum for debate, so all answers were welcome. She then proceeded to give an engaging overview of the history of Ukraine and Russia and imagery of Putin as a war leader.
After the lecture, Pollock, who specializes in opera studies, provided the inductees and their families with an overview of the PBK society. With assistance from chapter historian Dean David Randall, Senior Associate Dean, Rebecca Saxe, chapter guardian and Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Pollock introduced the 2022 inductees to the rights and responsibilities of PBK members and invited any returnees from the classes of 2020 and 2021 to join.
The 82 inductees were then recognized individually, shown the society’s secret handshake, and received by a group of MIT faculty. After signing the register of the Xi of Massachusetts chapter, the new members received their certificates of membership.
Suggested Links
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Nation's Oldest Academic Honor Society
The American Scholar
Magazine of the Phi Beta Kappa Society
MIT chapter, Xi of Massachusetts
Emily Richmond Pollock | MIT webpage
Elizabeth Wood | MIT webpage
Take the TOUR de SHASS online
The Power of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at MIT
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.
Emily Richmond Pollock, Associate Professor of Music, with four of the new MIT PBK inductees in the MIT Class of 2022. These students, majors or double majors in 21M (MIT Music) are, L to R: Eva Demsky, Anna Aldins, Shulammite Lim, and Stephanie Fu.
Class of 2022 | Graduating Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, held its MIT induction ceremony on Thursday, May 26, 2022, admitting the following 82 graduating seniors into the MIT chapter, Xi of Massachusetts.
Aldins, Anna; Music
Atia, Dina; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Barnet, Isabel; Mechanical Engineering
Bezugla, Ether; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Bjornstad, Lindsey; Aeronautics and Astronautics
Brown, Chloe; Chemical Engineering
Bullock, Elisabeth; Mathematics
Carloni, Kiara; Physics
Chandler, Alana; Materials Science & Engineering
Chen, Ashley; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Chen, Tiffany; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Humanities & Science
Chen, Valerie; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Chen, Maggie; Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Chen, Yuxin; Political Science
Chen, Kenny; Mathematics
Chen, Laura; Biological Engineering
Cho, Silvia; Biology, Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Condon, Sean; Physics
Cucu, Theodor; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Linguistics & Philosophy
Culbertson, Alena; Urban Studies & Planning
Cuozzo, William; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Dai, Yutong; Chemistry and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Darrow, David; Physics and Mathematics
Das, Haimoshri; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics;
Dehadrai, Aniket; Chemistry
Demsky, Eva; Economics and Music
Dinh, Hieu; Chemistry and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Dinsmore, John; Physics
Edwards, Desmond; Biology and Biological Engineering
Fu, Stephanie; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Music
Gao, Jenny; Biological Engineering
Garg, Swapnil; Physics and Mathematics
Garza Romero, Flor; Materials Science & Engineering
He, Michelle; Biology and Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Hegel, Peter; Chemistry
Hines, Liam; Nuclear Science & Engineering and Linguistics & Philosophy
Hoey, Alexandra; Mathematics
Huang, Tiffany; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Jones, Shuli; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science;
Kanehara, Lenna; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Kelkar, Rucha; Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Kharod, Ruby; Chemistry
Lares, Jesus; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Lee, Heya; Biology
Levenson, Emily; Urban Studies & Planning
Lim, Shulammite; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Music;
Lin, Andrew; Physics and Mathematics
Lincoln, Sarah; Biology and Humanities
Lu, Ruoxin; Chemical Engineering
Markland, Kyle; Materials Science & Engineering
McMillan, Lucy; Economics
Murray, Keith; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Linguistics & Philosophy
Murugan, Pranav; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Nguyen, Avery; Chemical Engineering and Literature
Northrup, Natalie; Civil & Environmental Engineering and Economics
Pan, Carol; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Park, Justin; Mathematics
Payra, Syamantak; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Prasad, Suparnamaaya; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Writing
Ren, Kevin; Physics and Mathematics
Roman, Anthony; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Music
Rosado, Laura; Mechanical Engineering and Writing
Sales Rodriguez, Pedro; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Physics
Santiago-Reyes, Omar; Chemistry
Savoldy, H; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Music
Scott, Abigail; Chemistry
Seabold, Amelia; Urban Studies & Planning
Song, Edwin; Economics and Mathematics
Tso, Kathryn; Materials Science & Engineering and History
Vleck, Sydney; Biology and Chemical Engineering
von Franque, Max; Biology and Urban Studies & Planning
Wang, Zhishan; Biology
Weng, Shannon; Chemistry
Williamson, Max; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Wu, Kelly; Chemical Engineering
Xiong, Grace; Mathematics
Yen, Derek; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Linguistics & Philosophy
Yost, Leah; Mathematics and Writing
Yu, Jeffery; Physics and Mathematics
Zhang, Shengtong; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mathematics
Zhang, Chelsea; Biological Engineering
Zhang, Alice; Mathematics and Linguistics & Philosophy
Story by Kim Benard
Photographs by Jon Sachs
Prepared and published by SHASS Communications