MIT
MIT Faculty Newsletter  
Vol. XXVII No. 5
May / June 2015
contents
A Letter to the Class of 2015
Interview with New MIT Corporation Chairman Robert Millard
Is Research the Soul of MIT?
Reflections on My Time
as Chair of the Faculty
Krishna Rajagopal New Faculty Chair
Federal Budget Priorities: Public Transit
Rather Than Nuclear Submarines
Professor Stephan Chorover
Launching a Next Generation
Sustainability Framework at MIT
Faculty Demographics
Printable Version

In Memoriam

Professor Stephan Chorover

Jonathan King

Stephan Chorover
Stephan Chorover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Chorover, who passed away on February 20 at age 82, was a founding member of the MIT Faculty Newsletter. Instrumental in the development of the Brain and Cognitive Science faculty, Steve was also one of the faculty leaders who pressed for the establishment of the Program in Science, Technology and Society. Steve was an astute observer of the social context of scientific and academic work, and of the human dimensions of those engaged. His book From Genesis to Genocide, which critiqued the import of pseudo-scientific determinism into social and political policy, was influential among the generation of biological and social scientists responding to the civil rights movement and resistance to the war in Vietnam.

Steve was very sensitive not only to the danger of authoritarian aspects of federal policies, but also their reflection within university administrations. He was one of the first senior faculty to voice opposition to then-Provost John Deutch’s termination of the Department of Applied Biological Science in 1988. This led to his participation in the establishment of the Faculty Newsletter.

Steve was unusually sympathetic and attuned to the personal concerns of students, faculty, and staff, and always brought this dimension into the discussions of the FNL Editorial Board. He was one of those rare faculty members, who, after inquiring how your research and teaching were going, inquired about how you were doing in general. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

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