CEE Celebrates 40th Anniversary!
Alumni and Supporters Celebrate Milestone
The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) celebrated its 40th anniversary in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Two hundred and fifty alumni and CEE supporters participated in festivities and special events spread over the weekend of October 13-15, 2023.
Friday’s events included a fascinating and informative panel discussion on the past, present and future of the U.S. nuclear submarine program. It was a fitting way to honor CEE co-founder Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, father of the nuclear navy. Attendees learned, among other things, why nuclear subs are so much more powerful and useful than diesel-electric subs.
Saturday morning brought together three Nobel Laureates for a panel discussion: Dr. Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT; 2019 Nobel Laureate, Economics; Dr. William G. Kaelin, Jr., Sidney Farber Professor of Medicine Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; 2019 Nobel Laureate, (Physiology or Medicine) and Dr. Wolfgang Ketterle, John D. MacArthur Professor of Physics; Director, MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms; 2001 Nobel Laureate, Physics. These Nobel Prize winners were brilliant, humble, and inspiring. They also had no trouble explaining their high-level discoveries to a lecture hall packed full of individuals who have not yet won Nobel Prizes.
The Nobel Laureates panel was followed by a panel on business featuring CEE Trustees Tom Leighton, Founder of Akamai and Pranav Adani, Adani Group of India, and Nader Hariri, RSI ’94, Chairman and CEO, Gateways Venture Holding. Helen Han, Founder of Piqed, was also a panelist. The panel was moderated by Nina Vasan, RSI ’01, Angel Investor and Founder and Executive Director at Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation.
An AI panel featured Sean Kanuck, RSI ’88, Stanford affiliate; Apoorva Panidapu, RSI ’22 Stanford; and Michael Huang, RSI ’22, MIT. The panel was moderated by CEE Trustee Arvind Parthasarathi, RSI ’90, Founder and CEO of Cygnvs.
On Saturday afternoon CEE Talks allowed CEE program alumni to show off their special expertise in both STEM and non-STEM fields, such as Aboriginal art to a recent breakthrough concerning Huntington’s disease. Boiling complex subjects down to ten-minute talks is an enormous challenge, but the speakers were equal to the task.
The main event was the 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner on Saturday night. CEE Trustee Feng Zhang (RSI ’99), Ph.D., Investigator, MIT McGovern Institute, and pioneer of the revolutionary CRISPR gene-editing technology, gave the keynote address on his groundbreaking work. CEE’s President urged alumni to stand up for free speech in science and technology research. Medals of Excellence were presented to Admiral Bobby R. Inman, USN (Ret.), Sanjay Palsamudram, and Gayle E. Wilson. Special thanks were offered to CEE President Joann P. DiGennaro, Executive VP of Programs Maite Ballestero, and CEE’s Board of Trustees.
“The weekend exceeded all expectations!” DiGennaro said. “Thank you to all our terrific panelists, presenters and moderators who helped make this weekend so memorable. Thank you also to all of our 40th anniversary sponsors – the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, DoD STEM, Jane Street, TBL Foundation, Citadel/Citadel Securities, and Two Sigma. Thank you to those who were able to join us in Cambridge and to Feng Zhang and the Broad Institute for hosting us. And most of all, thank you to every person who has made CEE a national and international leader in nurturing STEM talent.”
A detailed event schedule can be found in the 40th Anniversary Celebration Agenda. It includes links to featured videos of exciting and informative panel discussions and CEE Alumni Talks!
CEE Alumni Celebrations across the US, September 2023
RSI and USABO alums met at special events across the U.S. to enjoy cameraderie, food, and networking. California Bay area alumni met on Saturday, September 9 in Napa, CA. CEE Trustee Josie Haspel (RSI '01, Counselor '02) and Dan Haspel (RSI '98, TA '02, AD '04) hosted the event in their home. CEE's Midwest Rickoids and friends gathered in Chicago on Saturday, September 9 at RPM On the Water in downtown Chicago, IL, hosted by Helen Han (RSI '05). The Center's New York City Rickoids gathered on Tuesday, September 12 at Ramp Business Corporation, New York, NY. Karim Atiyeh (RSI '06) hosted the event. CEE alumni also met on Wednesday, September 13 at the Field Club of Greenwich, CT, hosted by CEE Trustee Munir Javeri (RSI '95).
Celebrate CEE in Palo Alto, 5/24/2023
More than 50 alumni gathered to 'Celebrate CEE' at the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. The evening was hosted by Stanford clinical assistant professor Nina Vasan (RSI '01) who shared the importance of RSI friends and its network in her life. CEE Trustee Arvind Parthasarathi (RSI '90) spoke on behalf of the Center's board leadership and emphasized the importance of alumni campaign participation to outside funders. California Superior Court Judge Danny Chou (RSI '86) described how his RSI STEM experience has advised his legal and judicial career. CEE camaraderie was abundant as guests shared their memories and networked for four hours into the late evening.
RSI 2022 Class Reunion, 4/29/2023
Twelve Rickoids were able to attend this casual but exciting event. Almost all are high school seniors, so naturally discussion zeroed in on college plans--schools and majors. International alumni were well-represented, and Zoomed in from Lebanon, Turkey, Spain, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. A few participants stayed for a second hour, demonstrating their second and third languages. There will be no report on the conversation, though. As the saying goes, "What happens in a Zoom in Arabic, stays in a Zoom in Arabic." Never break Zoom's unwritten rules.
USABO 2018-2022 Class Reunion, 3/26/2023
Nineteen USABO Alumni were able to attend this fun get-together, along with the wonderful Kathy Frame and the hapless Alumni Liaison. USABO 2022 was particularly well-represented, with over half hailing from that class. Apparently MIT is the place to be and the place to go. Current and former college-goers passed their wisdom on to the college-bound. The consensus: don't get wound around the axle. Remember to take a breather every now and then. If you think you're in any kind of trouble, ask for help. But with or without that advice, this group will surely thrive.
RSI 2021 Class Reunion, 3/25/2023
It was a great time for a Zoom since many students were on break from their demanding college schedules. We were all fortunate to be able to welcome the participation of the Favorite Jamie Wells, the Fantastic Jenny Sendova, the Fabulous Maite Ballestero, and the Famous Mollie Joe. Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Duke, Yale, Georgia Tech, and ETH Zurich were represented, with budding mathematicians, computer scientists, and present and future researchers in attendance. We learned that linear algebra is the most fun anyone can have other than number theory; solar car batteries are dangerous companions; and RSI 2021 is just plain better than another RSI year that shall remain nameless. Shhh... don't tell.
Jenny compiled many screenshots into a pdf for everyone!
RSI 2020 Class Reunion, 2/26/2023
Rickoids from the RSI class of 2020 took time off from their studies to catch up with classmates from 2-1/2 years ago. Many are in their second year of school, pursuing majors in their favorite STEM field. Several others couldn't choose between two or even three fields, so had no choice but to double or triple major. Warning: indecision leads to lots of schoolwork. ("Oh, these crazy kids with their TikTok challenges and their extra majors!") Conversation went well into the second hour, with discussion of the hazards of being graded on a curve, and trying to figure out if and why math should require in-person participation and the porting of trash bags.
Jenny's commemorative pdf again!
RSI 2019 Class Reunion, 2/19/2023
The RSI 2019 Zoom participants are another very fun and hardworking group. Three and a half years after RSI, almost all of them are in their junior year at Harvard, MIT, or a handful of other top universities. Most have already started doing undergraduate research or corporate internships, while a couple have even founded their first companies! It was particularly gratifying to have participation from a perky Rickoid from Zurich and a sleepy Rickoid from Seoul--part of a semimonthly reminder that RSI spans the globe. Someone noticed that the RSI 2019 Zoom was on 2/19. Was it coincidence, planning, or proof that numerology is real?
Once again, Jenny made a special pdf to commemorate the occasion!
RSI 2018 Class Reunion, 1/29/2023
An enthusiastic group of Rickoids from RSI 2018 gathered virtually on a Sunday afternoon in order to specify whether they're studying Computer Science at Harvard or Computer Science at MIT. This is only a slight exaggeration. We were joined not only by the fabulous Maite Ballestero but by the legendary Jenny Sendova, unofficial table tennis ambassador from the great nation of Bulgaria. Other participants Zoomed in from as far as Sweden, Lebanon, and Singapore! We also learned that a covid gap year is likely to lead to founding a startup. Cause and effect--it's like science.
Jenny made a special pdf to commemorate the occasion!
RSI 2017 Class Reunion, 1/22/2023
A large group of Rickoids from the class of 2017 gathered online for a casual review of the years since RSI. Most have just finished their undergraduate stints at MIT or ivy league schools, and are moving on to consulting, higher education, or tech startups. Singapore was strongly represented, even though it was 3 am there! Grzegorz instructed us all in the perplexing art of conversation: "The thing about talking is you don't necessarily need to convey any information; you just need to start talking." These are wise words that can shepherd you through many a cocktail party.
There have been far too many Alumni events to fit on this page! See below for older event writeups.