MIT Commencement 2006 - Investiture of Doctoral Degree Hoods

Search transcript...

[MUSIC FROM SCHOOL BAND]

PRESENTER: Please be seated.

[APPLAUSE]

Good afternoon and welcome to the annual Hooding Ceremony celebrating the commencement of this year's doctoral recipients. As in other parts of commencement, our emphasis this afternoon is on beginnings and on the empowering value of education. To the graduates, today, MIT faculty invest you with the ceremonial hood that symbolizes your membership in the academy-- that select group of men and women who have earned the highest of academic degrees.

This is an important passage. You were students. You are about to become colleagues. You should be proud of your accomplishments and also grateful to the family and friends who have supported you to achieve this status. The faculty and I look forward to long years of association with you as fellow members of the academy and of the MIT faculty.

You need not wear your hood for identification purposes, but you should keep it handy for occasions when it is the proper attire. Your hood is new to you, but it is part of an academic costume that has evolved over centuries. The rules governing American academic regalia go back to the 1890s, but the scholar's gown has its origins in the Middle Ages. Doctoral gowns are typically black with velvet trim, puffy sleeves with three bands on each arm.

In 1995, MIT adopted a silver gray gown trimmed in cardinal red. The cap is a simple mortarboard. There is no standard as to which side the tassel is worn. At MIT, we award two hoods-- for doctors of philosophy-- red and gray inside, the MIT colors; blue velvet outside. The blue velvet denotes success and mastering the process of seeking wisdom and truth. For doctors of science, red, gray, and blue inside with yellow or gold velvet outside, which symbolizes the value and contributions of science to humanity.

The hood for an HST PhD is the same as for the MIT PhD. The hood for the Woods Hole PhD is similar but adds blue inside. Hoods used to serve as head covers, shoulder capes, or bags for arms. And one vestige of those early days survives today. At the very bottom of your hood is a small sack, which is large enough for a small book, a large sandwich, or an iPod.

[LAUGHTER]

In a moment, MIT's 16th president, Dr. Susan Hockfield, will offer you her own words of welcome to the Academy. Following the president's remarks, we will proceed with the investiture of hoods. Our readers this afternoon are Dr. Ike Colbert, MIT'S Dean for Graduate Students; professor emeritus Jay Keyser, Special Assistant to the Chancellor; and Dean Alice Gast, Vice President for Research and Associate Provost. The faculty marshals will assist students and proceeding to the stage and in reclaiming their seats. Now, it is my pleasure to introduce to you president Susan Hockfield.

[APPLAUSE]

SUSAN HOCKFIELD: Good afternoon and welcome. To the newly minted doctoral recipients, welcome to the Academy. And to your families and friends who have gathered here to celebrate your achievements, welcome to MIT. Congratulations on this important occasion. This is a moment that celebrates and marks the pinnacle of academic achievement-- the culmination of years of scholarship and research involving countless days and nights in the laboratory and the library, the employment of exacting methodologies and insightful imagination, and, most importantly, the creation of new knowledge.

The creation of new knowledge is the central requirement for the doctoral degree. And to my mind, it is among the hardest of intellectual tasks. Accomplishing this task, adventuring into the realm of the, as yet, unknown can, at times, be a lonely and even a terrifying experience, but each of you has ventured successfully into that new land. You have expanded the base of human knowledge, each in your own field, as scholars before you have done for centuries. In doing so, you have prepared yourselves for lives and careers of discovery.

That is a precious gift-- a gift to your chosen field, a gift to the academy, and a gift to the world. But perhaps the greatest gift is you. You have developed the skills, the understanding, and the wisdom to make important contributions to the world. As difficult and as frustrating as working against the unknown can be, it is rewarding beyond measure.

The remarkable and wonderful paradox of advanced study-- or we could call it advanced intellectual adventure-- the remarkable paradox is the personal reward of pursuing one's personal intellectual aspirations and, at the same time and by the very same work, contributing to the betterment of humankind. It may not be entirely paradoxical, but neither is it entirely obvious that the product of indulging one's intellectual passion can improve the human condition.

Make no mistake in understanding the potential of your hard won new skills, because the world needs you as it never has before. Think of some of the challenges before us-- the development of sound energy technologies and policies for the developing and for the developed world, making the discoveries that can fuel the innovation economy, understanding the brain and the mind to tackle unremitting diseases, improving health through advances in the converging disciplines of the life sciences and engineering, advancing scientific literacy, building stronger communities and more livable cities. The list could go on, and it does.

But together, with the perpetual drive to understand better the furthest reaches of our world, there are more than enough challenges to go around. But wherever you choose to put your intellect and your talents to work-- in the academy, in business, or in industry, or in government service, know that you have joined an extremely select and extraordinary company. You have not only reached the edge of your discipline. You have pushed the boundaries further. You have invented new ways of thinking about age-old problems. You have created new tools for exploration.

In the process, you have taught junior colleagues in the classroom and the lab. And you have enriched the MIT community in countless ways. We're grateful to your families and your friends for the support they have given you over these past several years.

As I hope you have learned in your time here, MIT is, as past president Paul Gray has said, a special place-- a place that values deeply the life of the mind and the exploration of the limits of our universe. Through your experiences here, you have become part of MIT, and we hope that you will continue to consider MIT to be your community, your alma mater, your intellectual home. Welcome to the community of scholars and congratulations on your success.

[APPLAUSE]

DR. IKE COLBERT: Thank you, President Hockfield. And now, as our honored doctoral recipients begin to come forward, you have a moment to reflect once again on the great achievements and anticipate the joys yet to come for what they will give the world.

We will now invest the candidates with their hoods with the degrees of Doctor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. In school of architecture and planning, representing the Department of Architecture and assisting Chancellor Clay is Professor Adele N. Santos. For Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Professor Lawrence J. Vale. For Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the program in Media Arts and Sciences, Professor Mitchel Resnick. For Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

In the School of Engineering, representing the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor Patrick Jaillet. For Doctor of Science,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Professor Nicholas M. Patrikalakis. For Doctor of Science,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Material Science and Engineering, Professor Edwin L Thomas. For the Degree of Doctor of Science,

[READING NAMES]

JAY KEYSER: Representing the Department of and Computer Science, Professor Eric l Grimson. For the degree of Doctor of Science,

[READING NAMES]

For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Chemical Engineering, Professor Robert C Armstrong. For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Professor Wesley L. Harris. For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering is Professor Ian H. Hutchinson. For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Biological Engineering Division, Professor Douglas A. Lauffenburger. For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Engineering Systems Division, Professor David H. Marks. For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

My name is Jay Keyser. Please remember that name. You may never hear it again.

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

ALICE GAST: In the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, representing the Department of Economics, professor Bengt Holmstrom. For the Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Political Science, Professor Charles H. Stewart III. For the Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Professor Irene R. Heim. For the Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the program in Science, Technology on Society, Professor Michael Fisher for the Doctor of Philosophy.

[READS NAME]

In the Sloan School of Management, representing the Sloan School of Management, Professor Steven D. Eppinger for the Doctor of Philosophy.

[READING NAMES]

Representing the program in Operations Research, Professor James B. Orlin for the Doctor of Philosophy.

[READING NAMES]

In the School of Science, representing the Department of Chemistry, Professor Timothy M. Swager for the Doctor of Philosophy.

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Biology, Professor Chris Kaiser for the Doctor of Philosophy.

[READING NAMES]

DR. IKE COLBERT: Representing the Department of Physics, Professor Marc A. Kastner. For the degree of Doctor of Science,

[READS NAME]

For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Professor Matthew A. Wilson. For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

Representing the Department of Mathematics, Professor Michael F. Sipser. For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

And with a flip, we move to the next. Again, [READS NAME]-- you're not expected to flip.

[READING NAMES]

The Dean of Graduate Studies at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Dr. James A. Yoder. For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

In the Whittaker College of Health Sciences and Technology, representing the Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Professor Martha L Gray. For Doctor of Philosophy,

[READING NAMES]

And last but by no means least, [READS NAME]

[APPLAUSE]

PRESENTER: Our tradition for closing this ceremony is to ask the family to stand and give a hearty salute to our new colleagues.

[APPLAUSE]

The faculty and stage assembly will recess. After the faculty departs, the degree candidates do not recess but will join the faculty and their families for a reception at the Johnson Athletic Center, first floor, for a reception. The Johnson Center is adjacent to this building. Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

[MUSIC FROM SCHOOL BAND]