Rainer Weiss ’55, PhD ’62

Michael Rosbash PhD ’71

It took nearly half a century of careful calculation, collaboration,

and patience, for Rainer Weiss ’55, PhD ‘62, MIT professor emeri-

tus of physics, and his team to work toward the LIGO detector

and to observe long-range gravitational waves. 2017’s Nobel prize

in physics, awarded to Weiss and two chief collaborators, recog-

nized this long-range achievement. According to Weiss, however,

“The big payo� will be in the future.” In another long game,

Michael Rosbash PhD ’71, shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in medicine

for his work—staying the course since 1984—on the discovery of

human genes that help us maintain circadian rhythms, our pat-

tern of daily, nightly waking and sleep.

It has taken 15 years for D-Lab to grow from one class on

Haiti, to a global network for using design to alleviate pover-

ty. Today D-Lab o�ers 20 courses each year. It has served

thousands of students, collaborating with hundreds of com-

munity partners, in more than 20 countries. According to

D-Lab’s founder Amy Smith ’84, MS/ME ’02, “Wonderful

things result from collaborating with the people who are

experiencing the challenge they’re trying to address.”

Two Nobel Prizes Recognizethe Long Game

D-Lab Celebrates 15 Years of Positive Change

“Your patience, support, and confidence

in our community, year after year,

are critical to advancing our mission to work wisely,

creatively, and e�ectively

for the betterment of humankind.”

—MIT President L. Rafael Reif

Your unrestricted gift signals a strong belief in MIT’s mission and decision making. You are not alone. Thousands of members of the MIT community—giving at all levels—choose to strengthen the Institute with an unrestricted gift, supporting MIT’s ability to direct these funds where most needed.

Every unrestricted dollar supports MIT’s ability to attract extraordinary students and faculty by providing the resources students and faculty need to thrive. Your gift provides faculty with support for game-changing ideas. You ensure that students can focus on their studies and engage fully in residential campus life. Unrestricted gifts help maintain MIT’s stellar research, innovation, and education facilities—used by the entire community.

Thanks to you, MIT keeps focused

on what’s most important.

“Every major research discovery in history,

no matter the discipline or area of study,

is united by one common theme: patience.”

—MIT President L. Rafael Reif

Because of you, the Institute can back up our students and faculty with the patience and resources needed to stay the course—to see their ideas, their creations, and their discoveries through to fruition.

2017: Patience Pays O�

Nearly 50% of MIT’s operating budget relies on unrestricted dollars.

600 Memorial Drive, W98 | Cambridge, MA 02139-4822 giving@mit.edu | 617-253-0129

In Fiscal Year 2017, unrestricted funds covered 27% of MIT’s undergraduate

scholarships and financial aid.

Over the past decade, the MIT Annual Fund has seen a 35%

increase in the number of unrestricted gifts of all amounts.

MITEI at 10 Years—Solving Energy With Initiative

Kristala Prather

Angela Belcher

Started with unrestricted funding, the MIT Energy

Initiative (MITEI) has transformed the world’s energy

systems. In just ten years, MITEI has executed more

than 900 projects—ranging from mobile manufacturing

of wind towers to thin-film solar voltaics. MITEI’s new

Bioscience Low-Carbon Energy Center, directed by

Angela Belcher and Kristala Prather, is the latest of

eight low-carbon centers working on “new structures,

devices, and materials that are significantly less energy-

intensive and less harmful to the environment.”