(In alphabetical order)
A devout Red Sox fan, John Hildebidle passes his idle moments snapping jpegs, writing poetry, and composing short fiction. His fourth collection of verse, SIGNS, TRANSLATIONS, is forthcoming momentarily. During more than two decades of teaching at the Institute, he has offered subjects on American writing, 20th century Irish fiction and verse, and the whole canon of Anglo-American poetry, with particular attention to contemporary Americans. Many (too many) years studying at Harvard did not improve his manners or teach him to play golf.
Dr. John B. Lewis studied mathematics at the University of Chicago and at the University of California at Berkeley, and then at MIT where he received his doctorate in 1970. After working for two years in the metal trade, he taught at the University of Washington, Seattle and at state colleges in Massachusetts. When not teaching, he has the habit of returning to mathematical research in the areas of harmonic analysis and modular forms. Since 1994, he has been a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn and the College de France in Paris during leaves and summers. When not teaching or doing research, he often dreams about hiking in the White Mountains or in the West, and occasionally even manages to do it. Machines made out of metal, especially the kind with torque that corner well, are another continuing interest.
Prof. Sekazi Mtingwa graduated Phi Beta Kappa with B.S. degrees in physics and mathematics from MIT in 1971 and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in theoretical high energy physics from Princeton University in 1976. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Rochester, the University of Maryland - College Park, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, where he served one year as a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. Subsequently, he served in staff physicist positions at both Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory. At Fermilab, Mtingwa and James Bjorken developed a theory of particle beam dynamics called intrabeam scattering, which is used widely by accelerator physicists to understand the behavior of intense particle beams. This theory recently played a crucial role in improving the rate of proton-antiproton collisions in the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab. During 1991-2004, Mtingwa was Professor of Physics at North Carolina A&T State University, where he served as Department Chair during 1991-1994 and laid the foundation for the current graduate program in physics. During 2001-2005, he served two years as Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor of Physics at MIT and two years as Visiting Professor of Physics at Harvard University. Currently, he is Senior Physics Lecturer in Concourse and Faculty Director of Academic Programs in MIT's Office of Minority Education. In addition to his research activities, Mtingwa is involved in a number of national and international initiatives. He is Board Member and one of the founders of the African Laser Centre, which is based in South Africa and is a network of laboratories that are developing the scientific and technological infrastructure related to laser research and training throughout Africa. During 1998-2008, he served on the Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee (NERAC) to the U.S. Department of Energy. As part of his responsibilities to NERAC, he served on its Subcommittee for Isotope Research & Production Planning and continues to serve on its Subcommittee on Advanced Nuclear Transformation Technology, which advises DOE on its nuclear reactor waste partitioning and transmutation R&D program. During 2002-2006, Mtingwa served on the Corporation Visiting Committee for MIT's Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering. In the spring of 2007, Prof. Mtingwa received the Science Education Award from the National Council of Ghanaian Association for his contributions to science education in Africa. The award was presented during the Council's March 10th Benefit Gala, at which Prof. Mtingwa was the keynote speaker, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Ghana's Independence. In 2008, he was named a Lifetime Achievement Finalist by the Benjamin Banneker Institute in Washington, DC. In that year, he also was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society. That award is limited to no more than one-half percent of the APS membership. Mtwingwa holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is fond of studying foreign languages.
Jeremy Orloff studied math as an undergraduate at Brown and as a graduate student at MIT. He wrote his doctoral thesis under Sigurdur Helgason on harmonic analysis on symmetric spaces, finishing in 1985. He then spent five years teaching and doing mathematics research, including stints at Tufts and Northeastern. The birth of his son coincided with a decision to leave academia, after which he spent ten years studying speech recognition as a principal research scientist at Dragon Systems. As a mathematician, he was used to an infinity of data. The transition to speech scientist was difficult, but he can now draw useful conclusions from a handful of noisy data points. He plays fast pitch softball, runs and, like many of his colleagues, loves to hike. He is also a firm believer in the value of commuting by bicycle and a big fan of Krazy Kat and Calvin and Hobbes.
John Pope studied Computer Science and Mathematics during his undergraduate years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During graduate school, he shifted his studies to Computer Science and Public Policy, focusing on public perceptions of and attitudes about science and technology. Teaching allows him to share his passion for science and engineering. If taught right, even physics can be fun and exciting for everyone.
Dr. Gabrielle Stoy did her undergraduate degree at Manchester University in the UK, and her graduate work at Oxford University, where she earned her D.Phil. She worked in the Mathematics Department at Oxford University and at Lady Margaret Hall (one of Oxford University's colleges) for many years, before relocating to Boston with her husband, who also works in the area. Her special interest is in Group Theory. She enjoyed looking after American students in Oxford as the Academic Coordinator of the "Junior Year Abroad" Visiting Student Programme for Lady Margaret Hall. She is now happy living in the centre of the city of Boston, and being able to retreat to a house on the Cape, which she and her husband have set up since moving to the area. In her spare time she enjoys swimming, music and reading.
Bernhardt Trout studied Chemical Engineering at MIT, receiving both his SB and SM in 1990. He then performed his doctoral studies at UC Berkeley, and after a post-doc at the Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Physics, he began his faculty position here in Chemical Engineering in 1998. He has taught both undergraduate and graduate classes at MIT, including Philosophical History of Energy, which is cross-listed in Chemical Engineering and Philosophy. He has a particular passion for integration between the humanities and the sciences. His research focuses on pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical processing, formulation, stabilization, and crystallization. He has over 70 papers and 4 patent applications submitted.
Jeremy Wolfe was supposed to major in English or History and perhaps become a lawyer. However, a summer job in his senior year in high school pushed him toward a study of visual perception. He majored in Psychology at Princeton and received his Ph.D. in Psychology at MIT in 1981. After nine years on the MIT faculty, he decamped to Harvard Medical Schools where he is a Professor of Ophthalmology. He runs the Visual Attention Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He has authored or co-authored over 100 papers as well as a Sensation and Perception textbook. Professor Wolfe has taught some version of Introductory Psychology every year since 1981. A set of his lectures was in the top ten downloads on Itunes U. for over a year. He lives in Newton with his wife Julie, a neuroanatomist, and has three sons: Ben, Philip, and Simon.