2014 MIT Commencement for MIT News


Graduating students celebrate as they leave Killian Court after the 2014 Commencement at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating MIT students make their way to Killian Court in a procession for the the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Students sit in Killian Court under the MIT Dome during the 2014 Commencement ceremony to receive diplomas at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Friends and family watch the 2014 Commencement ceremony to receive diplomas at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating MIT students make their way to Killian Court in a procession for the the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
In the Kresge Oval, MIT Professors and faculty get dressed academic regalia and prepare for the procession to Killian Court before the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
In the Kresge Oval, MIT Professors and faculty get dressed academic regalia and prepare for the procession to Killian Court before the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
In the Kresge Oval, MIT Professors and faculty get dressed academic regalia and prepare for the procession to Killian Court before the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating MIT students make their way to Killian Court in a procession for the the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating MIT students make their way to Killian Court in a procession for the the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A member of MIT's Class of 1964 (wearing red coats to signify their 50th class reunion) walks through Memorial Lobby before the 2014 Commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating MIT students gather in the Johnson Athletics Center to line up for the 2014 Commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating MIT students gather in the Johnson Athletics Center to line up for the 2014 Commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating students gather outside 77 Massachusetts Ave. at MIT before the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating students gather outside 77 Massachusetts Ave. at MIT before the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating students gather outside 77 Massachusetts Ave. at MIT before the 2014 Commencement ceremony at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating students and others walk through Memorial Lobby at MIT after the 2014 Commencement at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Students return to their seats in Killian Court under the MIT Dome during the 2014 Commencement ceremony after receiving diplomas at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Students sit in Killian Court under the MIT Dome during the 2014 Commencement ceremony to receive diplomas at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Friends and family watch the 2014 Commencement ceremony to receive diplomas at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Students sit in Killian Court under the MIT Dome during the 2014 Commencement ceremony to receive diplomas at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating students receive their diplomas in Killian Court during the 2014 Commencement at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Members of MIT's Class of 1964 (wearing red coats to signify their 50th class reunion) walk near the Kresge Oval before the 2014 Commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Graduating students walk through hallways at MIT after the 2014 Commencement at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
As I've done two of the past three years, I photographed the annual commencement preparation and ceremony at MIT alongside Dominick Reuter. It's a long and involved day, and we split duties photographing the huge event. As in the past, I focused on students and faculty getting ready before the ceremony and looked for colorful moments before, during, and after the event.

Adjunct faculty unionization for the Chronicle of Higher Education


Professor William Shimer is an adjunct lecturer in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Shimer currently teaches 5 courses as an adjunct, or part-time, faculty member. He is a member of the organizing committee of Northeastern's Adjunct Action campaign, an effort to unionize adjunct faculty. In Boston, Adjunct Action is a coalition of people at 5 different universities working to unionize adjunct faculty.
Professor William Shimer is an adjunct lecturer in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. From Fall 2010 to Fall 2012, Shimer used his car, a green Volkswagen seen here, as his office to store teaching materials between classes. Shimer currently teaches 5 courses as an adjunct, or part-time, faculty member. He is a member of the organizing committee of Northeastern's Adjunct Action campaign, an effort to unionize adjunct faculty. In Boston, Adjunct Action is a coalition of people at 5 different universities working to unionize adjunct faculty.
Professor William Shimer is an adjunct lecturer in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. From Fall 2010 to Fall 2012, Shimer used his car, a green Volkswagen seen here, as his office to store teaching materials between classes. Shimer currently teaches 5 courses as an adjunct, or part-time, faculty member. He is a member of the organizing committee of Northeastern's Adjunct Action campaign, an effort to unionize adjunct faculty. In Boston, Adjunct Action is a coalition of people at 5 different universities working to unionize adjunct faculty.
Professor William Shimer is an adjunct lecturer in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Shimer currently teaches 5 courses as an adjunct, or part-time, faculty member. He is a member of the organizing committee of Northeastern's Adjunct Action campaign, an effort to unionize adjunct faculty. In Boston, Adjunct Action is a coalition of people at 5 different universities working to unionize adjunct faculty.
Professor William Shimer is an adjunct lecturer in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Shimer currently teaches 5 courses as an adjunct, or part-time, faculty member. He is a member of the organizing committee of Northeastern's Adjunct Action campaign, an effort to unionize adjunct faculty. In Boston, Adjunct Action is a coalition of people at 5 different universities working to unionize adjunct faculty.
Adjunct lecturer in Accountancy David Fionda teaches a graduate course on Cost Accounting with an emphasis on management at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Bentley University adjuncts voted down unionization and Fionda has gone on record saying that adjunct unionization is a bad idea. Adjuncts at a number of Boston-area schools are trying to unionize.
Adjunct lecturer in Accountancy David Fionda teaches a graduate course on Cost Accounting with an emphasis on management at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Bentley University adjuncts voted down unionization and Fionda has gone on record saying that adjunct unionization is a bad idea. Adjuncts at a number of Boston-area schools are trying to unionize.
Adjunct lecturer in Accountancy David Fionda teaches a graduate course on Cost Accounting with an emphasis on management at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Bentley University adjuncts voted down unionization and Fionda has gone on record saying that adjunct unionization is a bad idea. Adjuncts at a number of Boston-area schools are trying to unionize.
Adjunct lecturer in Accountancy David Fionda teaches a graduate course on Cost Accounting with an emphasis on management at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Bentley University adjuncts voted down unionization and Fionda has gone on record saying that adjunct unionization is a bad idea. Adjuncts at a number of Boston-area schools are trying to unionize.
Adjunct lecturer in Accountancy David Fionda teaches a graduate course on Cost Accounting with an emphasis on management at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Bentley University adjuncts voted down unionization and Fionda has gone on record saying that adjunct unionization is a bad idea. Adjuncts at a number of Boston-area schools are trying to unionize.
I recently photographed two sides of the adjunct faculty unionization fight in Boston for the Chronicle of Higher Education. On the pro-unionization side, I met Northeastern University adjunct lecturer William Shimer, who is an organizer involved with the Adjunct Action movement. Shimer has had to use his car (seen in the photos above) as an office because of inadequate and unsecured office facilities provided to adjunct faculty at the university. On the anti-unionization side, I photographed David Fionda, who teaches business and accounting courses at Bentley University.

The story is available to read at the Chronicle of Higher Education website: Power in Numbers: Adjuncts turn to citywide unionizing as their best hope

MIT’s Dr. Alex “Sandy” Pentland for The Verge / Vox Media


Professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland is the director of the Human Dynamics Laboratory and of the Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
People gather in common areas in MIT's Media Lab (Building E14) at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
An early wearable technology vest stands in the Human Dynamics Laboratory in MIT's Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland is the director of the Human Dynamics Laboratory and of the Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland is the director of the Human Dynamics Laboratory and of the Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Various versions of the sociometric badge designed in the Human Dynamics Laboratory hang on a dummy in the Media Lab at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The badges measure face-to-face interaction involving the person wearing it.
People gather in common areas in MIT's Media Lab (Building E14) at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A few months ago I had a short portrait shoot with Dr. Alex "Sandy" Pentland at MIT's Media Lab for The Verge / Vox Media. Pentland's a busy person, but was happy to spend a little time with me after I reminded him of the last time I photographed him (that time, for the Wall Street Journal).

Click through to read the story at the Verge: Meet the Godfather of Wearables

Mimo, the smart baby monitor, for the Wall Street Journal


10-month-old Sadie Gutner wears a Mimo onesie with sensors at the Mimo headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Mon., April 28, 2014. Sadie is the daughter of Mike Gutner who handles operations for Mimo, and she is wearing one of the company's onesies, made by Mimo, which has a variety of sensors on it. The onesie has a detachable frog-shaped communication device that transmits data from the onesie's sensors and sends the data to a smartphone app, which displays information about the baby's respiration, skin temperature, position, and activity level. The onesie is washable and the device is water-resistant.
Dulcie Madden, co-founder and CEO of Mimo, displays a baby onesie that Mimo manufactures in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Mon., April 28, 2014. The onesie has a detachable frog-shaped communication device that transmits data from the onesie's sensors and sends the data to a smartphone app, which displays information about the baby's respiration, skin temperature, position, and activity level.
Partially assembled Mimo smart monitor devices lay on a desk at the Mimo headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Mon., April 28, 2014. Mimo manufactures a baby onesie that has a variety of sensors on it. The onesie has a detachable frog-shaped communication device that transmits data from the onesie's sensors and sends the data to a smartphone app, which displays information about the baby's respiration, skin temperature, position, and activity level. The onesie is washable and the device is water-resistant.
Dulcie Madden, co-founder and CEO of Mimo, holds 10-month-old Sadie Gutner at the Mimo headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Mon., April 28, 2014. Sadie is the daughter of Mike Gutner who handles operations for Mimo, and she is wearing one of the company's onesies, made by Mimo, which has a variety of sensors on it. The onesie has a detachable frog-shaped communication device that transmits data from the onesie's sensors and sends the data to a smartphone app, which displays information about the baby's respiration, skin temperature, position, and activity level. The onesie is washable and the device is water-resistant.
For a Wall Street Journal piece on wearable technology for babies, I photographed Rest Devices co-founder Dulcie Madden and the Mimo smart baby monitor at the companies headquarters in downtown Boston. It's the first time I've really photographed a baby, so the shoot presented some challenges.

The story is available online at the Wall Street Journal website and there are more pictures from the shoot available in my archive.

Michael Levin and the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology for New Scientist magazine


Dr. Michael Levin is a professor and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
Collected frog eggs float in a petri dish in the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
Frogs swim in tanks in Dr. Michael Levin's lab at the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
Dr. Michael Levin is a professor and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
A frog with an extra working eye on its back (near the top of the left leg) swims in a tank in Dr. Michael Levin's lab at the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Researchers caused this extra eye to grow on the frog by taking cells that would become an eye from one frog egg and transplanting it onto cells that would become a frog's back in another egg. The donor egg developed two eyes normally, and the recipient egg developed two normal eyes and the third, all of which function as normal eyes would in a frog. This frog was born in August 2011 and continues to live as normal as of May 2014. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
Freshwater planaria worms float in petri dishes in Dr. Michael Levin's lab at the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. These planaria worms exhibit abnormalities found in worm colonies, including worms with multiple heads, and have been tracked in the lab since 2010. Some of the abnormalities have been achieved through drug treatments such as gap junction blocking, which blocks communication between cells during development. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research. Switzer collects eggs from adult frogs to be used in research.
Adult frogs live in the "frog system" in Dr. Michael Levin's lab at the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
Dr. Michael Levin is a professor and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research.
Earlier this month, I spent about an hour with Dr. Michael Levin in his lab at the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology for New Scientist magazine. It was a typical lab shoot in that most labs are pretty similar, but Levin's work involves live frogs and I was excited to try and integrate the animals into the shots. Holding the frogs is pretty well out of the question; while photographing a lab tech gathering eggs, the frogs kept jumping all over the place.

You can see how the magazine ran the pictures over in the tearsheets section of this website.

More images are available at my online archive.

Glenn Greenwald for Dagbladet Information


Glenn Greenwald speaks with an interviewer at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald (dark suit) and Noam Chomsky speak to an audience at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square for a Harvard Book Store author event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The event was part of a book tour for Greenwald's recently released book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. Chomsky is a well-known linguist, professor at MIT, and writer on political topics. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald (dark suit) and Noam Chomsky speak to an audience at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square for a Harvard Book Store author event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The event was part of a book tour for Greenwald's recently released book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. Chomsky is a well-known linguist, professor at MIT, and writer on political topics. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald speaks with an interviewer at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald poses for a portrait at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald (dark suit) and Noam Chomsky speak to an audience at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square for a Harvard Book Store author event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The event was part of a book tour for Greenwald's recently released book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. Chomsky is a well-known linguist, professor at MIT, and writer on political topics. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald (dark suit) and Noam Chomsky speak to an audience at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square for a Harvard Book Store author event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The event was part of a book tour for Greenwald's recently released book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. Chomsky is a well-known linguist, professor at MIT, and writer on political topics. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald (dark suit) and Noam Chomsky speak to an audience at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square for a Harvard Book Store author event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The event was part of a book tour for Greenwald's recently released book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. Chomsky is a well-known linguist, professor at MIT, and writer on political topics. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Glenn Greenwald speaks with an interviewer at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Greenwald is a lawyer, blogger, writer, and journalist, known most recently for his role in the Snowden NSA leaks. Greenwald recently received a Polk Award for National Security Reporting, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
A couple weeks ago I had the great opportunity to photograph Glenn Greenwald for Dagbladet Information, a large Danish newspaper. Greenwald was visiting Cambridge, MA, on tour promoting his latest book, No Place to Hide, and would be speaking with Noam Chomsky as part of Harvard Book Store's phenomenal author lecture series. The newspaper arranged time for a 15-minute interview beforehand, but not time for a portrait, so I took pictures during the interview, during the lecture, and managed to get about two minutes with Greenwald after a second interview after the event.

You can read the interview at Dagbladet Information's website, which also includes an English version of the interview. More pictures are available in my archive: Images: Glenn Greenwald and Noam Chomsky in conversation.