For a list of faculty at MIT, see List of Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty.
“ | The title of Institute professor is an honor bestowed by the Faculty and Administration of MIT on a faculty colleague who has demonstrated exceptional distinction by a combination of leadership, accomplishment, and service in the scholarly, educational, and general intellectual life of the Institute or wider academic community.[1] | ” |
— MIT Policies and Procedures: Special Professorial Appointments, Institute Professor |
Institute Professor is the highest title that can be awarded to a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is analogous to the titles of distinguished professor, university professor, or regents professor used at other universities in recognition of a professor's extraordinary research achievements and dedication to the school. At MIT, Institute Professors are granted a unique level of freedom and flexibility to pursue their research and teaching interests without regular departmental or school responsibilities; they report only to the provost.[1] Usually no more than twelve professors hold this title at any one time.[1] The position was created by President James R. Killian in 1951 and John C. Slater was the first to hold the position.[2]
Institute Professors are initially nominated by leaders representing either a department or school. The chair of the faculty then consults with the Academic Council and jointly appoints with the president an ad-hoc committee from various departments and non-MIT members to evaluate the qualifications and make a documented recommendation to the president. The final determination is made based upon recommendations from professionals in the nominee's field. The case is then reviewed again by the Academic Council and approved by the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation.[1]
Contents
List of Institute Professors[edit]
Current[edit]
Name | Department | Elected | Notability | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sallie W. Chisholm | Civil and Environmental Engineering | 2015 | Discovery and biology of the Prochlorococcus marine cyanobacteria | [3] |
Ann Graybiel | Brain and Cognitive Sciences | 2008 | Basal Ganglia; National Medal of Science (2001) | [4][5] |
John Harbison | Music and Theater Arts | 1995 | Composer; Pulitzer Prize (1987) for Flight into Egypt; MacArthur Fellow (1989) | [6] |
Robert S. Langer | Chemical Engineering & Biological Engineering | 2005 | Drug delivery and tissue engineering; youngest person to be elected to three American academies; Lemelson-MIT Prize (1998), Draper Prize (2002), National Medal of Science (2007), Millennium Technology Prize (2008) | [7] |
Thomas Magnanti | Mechanical Engineering | 1997 | Operations research; Dean of Engineering (1999–2007) | [8] |
Ron Rivest | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | 2015 | Co-inventor of the RSA (cryptosystem) algorithm; founder of Verisign, RSA Security | [3] |
Phillip Sharp | Biology | 1999 | RNA interference and splicing; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1993) | [9] |
Marcus Thompson | Music and Theater Arts | 2015 | Violist; Artistic Director of Boston Chamber Music Society | [3] |
Daniel I.C. Wang | Chemical Engineering | 1995 | Biochemical process engineering | [6] |
Sheila Widnall | Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering | 1998 | Secretary of the Air Force (1993–1997); first MIT alumna appointed to MIT engineering faculty; first woman to chair the MIT faculty | [10] |
Emeritus[edit]
Deceased[edit]
Former[edit]
Name | MIT department | Current institution | Elected | Notability | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
David Baltimore | Biology | Caltech | 1995 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1975) | [6] |