In a wide-ranging live conversation, MIT President Sally Kornbluth joined Jim Blood and Margery Egan live in the GBH studios. boston public radio They talked about MIT, the pressures facing America’s research enterprise, the importance of science, the 2023 Congressional hearings on anti-Semitism, and more, including Sally’s experience as a type 1 diabetic.
“This is science!” exclaims Kornbluth as he reflects on how research and innovation in diabetes treatment has advanced over decades of research, leading to vast improvements in patient care.
With new financial pressures facing universities, increased competition to attract talented students and scholars from outside the United States, and unprecedented pressure on university leaders and campuses, co-host Egan asked Kornbluth what he thinks will happen in the next few years.
“One of the biggest challenges for us right now is the donation tax,” Kornbluth said. “That’s $240 million a year. Think about how much science you get for $240 million a year. Are we managing that? Yes. Are we still moving forward with all the exciting work? Yes. But we’ve had to reconfigure things. We’ve had to integrate things. And that’s not the way we should be spending our time and money.”
look and listen Full video available on YouTube. President Kornbluth will appear one hour and seven minutes into the broadcast.
Following Kornbluth’s appearance, MIT assistant professor John Urschel (also a former offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens) joined host Edgar B. Harwick III on GBH’s newest show. curiosity desk, He talks about his family, linear algebra, and his love of football.
As for how he ultimately chose math over football, Urschel quipped: “Well, I hate to say it too much, but I like math better…I’ll tell you, when I started my PhD at MIT, I fell in love with this place. I fell in love with the idea of being in this environment where everyone loves math and everyone wants to learn. I was always excited just to show up every day.”
Professor Urschel will appear approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes into the YouTube webcast.
Coming to Curiosity Desk later this month…
Broadcast time is weekdays from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. curiosity desk We plan to welcome additional MIT guests in the coming weeks. On Thursday, February 12, Annette “Peco” Hosoi, Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Jerry Lu MFin ’24, a former research fellow at the MIT Sports Lab, will visit. curiosity desk Discuss how AI is being used to help Olympic figure skaters improve their jumps.
Next, on Thursday 19 February, Professor Sangeeta Bhatia and Professor Angela Belcher will speak with Ms Harwick about their research to improve the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. We learned that ovarian cancer begins in the fallopian tubes about 80% of the time, and how this points the way to an entirely new approach to diagnosing and treating the disease.
