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        McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
history

facts at a glance

the McGoverns

faculty

administration and leadership


Lore Harp McGovern and Pat McGovern founded the McGovern Institute for Brain Research in 2000. They have given the largest gift in the history of MIT, and they continue to play important roles in improving the community's vast learning resources.

In the early 1950s, Pat McGovern read a library book about a "giant brain," which sparked his interest in computers, and led to an MIT education and an illustrious career in communication. At MIT, he studied computer science and physiology, and he became deeply concerned about how and why people fail to communicate clearly with each other. Pat founded IDG, the world's leading computer publishing, research, and exposition management company, in 1964. He has launched more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers, including Computerworld and PC World. He believes that by learning how the human mind processes information, we can achieve better human understanding and reduce interpersonal conflict and aggression. These advances will also lead to more effective methods of teaching and learning.

Lore Harp McGovern is a highly successful entrepreneur who has started or run companies in health care, educational publishing, and high technology. A co-founder in 1976 of Vector Graphics, one of the earliest PC companies, she is currently involved with numerous start-up ventures in Silicon Valley. Lore fosters a lifelong interest in the brain and how it accounts for the great achievements of the human mind. She hopes that a deeper knowledge of the brain can contribute to understanding the sources of prejudice and conflict in the world, and lead to treatments for learning and emotional disorders.

Pat McGovern has been a member of the MIT Corporation since 1989 and a life member since 1998. He is a trustee at the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, where Lore has served as Chairman of the Board of Associates. In forming the McGovern Institute at MIT, Pat and Lore combined their knowledge of MIT with their vast experience in building successful organizations.

   


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