Jump to content

L. Rafael Reif

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Reif and the second or maternal family name is Groisman.
L. Rafael Reif
L. Rafael Reif
Reif during the WEF 2013
17th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In office
July 2, 2012 – December 31, 2022
Preceded bySusan Hockfield
Succeeded bySally Kornbluth
Personal details
BornLeo Rafael Reif Groisman
(1950-08-21) August 21, 1950 (age 75)
Maracaibo, Venezuela
SpouseChristine Chomiuk
ChildrenJessica and Blake
EducationUniversidad de Carabobo (BS)
Stanford University (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical engineering
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisDoping process in silicon epitaxy: Transfer function and physicochemical model (1979)
Doctoral advisorJames D. Meindl

Leo Rafael Reif (born August 21, 1950) is a Venezuelan American electrical engineer and academic administrator. He previously served as the 17th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2012 to 2022, provost of the institute from 2005 to 2012, and head of the institute's EECS department from 2004 to 2005.[1][2][3]

Reif sits on the boards of the World Economic Forum, the Carnegie Endowment, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Broad Institute.[4][5][6][7]

Early life and education

[edit]

Leo Rafael Reif was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, to Eastern European Jewish parents who immigrated to Venezuela in the late 1930s through Ecuador and Colombia. His father was a photographer, and the family spoke Yiddish and Spanish at home.[8]

Reif received an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela in 1973 and spent the next year as an assistant professor at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas. He earned a PhD electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1979[9] and then spent a year as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford.

Career

[edit]

Reif joined MIT in January 1980 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. He was promoted to associate professor in 1983, received tenure in 1985, and was promoted to full professor in 1988. In 2004, he was named the Fariborz Maseeh Professor of Emerging Technology. His research centered on three-dimensional integrated circuit technologies and on environmentally benign semiconductor device fabrication. Reif was director of MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories, then associate department head for Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and EECS department head from 2004 to 2005.

As MIT's provost from 2005 to 2012, Reif promoted online learning for students both inside and outside MIT. The effort led to the creation of edX, a massive open online course founded by MIT and Harvard University in 2012.[10][11]

In 2012, Reif was elected president of MIT, succeeding Susan Hockfield.[12] In 2013, Reif was named co-chair of the Obama administration's Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee "2.0."[13][14]

To promote innovation in "tough-tech"[15] science and engineering fields, in 2015 he presented an idea for an "innovation orchard" to provide space, mentorship, and bridge-funding for entrepreneurs to commercialize new science.[16] The idea led to the creation of The Engine.[17]

Beginning in 2017, Reif began to describe what he saw as a need for education combining expertise in computing and other fields. In a 2019 Financial Times op-ed, he coined the term "AI bilingual."[18] In 2018, Reif announced the creation of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.[19] The College aims to prepare students to harness the power of AI while weighing its ethical and social implications.[20]

In January 2021, Reif defended Gang Chen in an open letter following Chen's arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on wire fraud and tax violation charges.[21]

In February 2022, Reif announced his intention to step down as MIT president at the end of 2022, and return to the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science following a yearlong sabbatical.[22]

Corporate affiliations

[edit]

From 2007 to January 2019, Reif served on the Board of Directors of Schlumberger,[23] where he was on the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Science and Technology Committee[24] and currently owns approximately $1,000,000 in stock.[25] He was also a member of the Board of Conservation International, a nonprofit focused on sustainability and the environment.[26]

Reif served on the Board of Directors of Alcoa from 2015-2016[27] and its public spin-off Arconic from 2016–2017.[23]

Reif was elected to the Board of Directors of TSMC in 2021 and serves as an independent director.[28]

Recognition

[edit]

Reif is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers, an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences,[29] and a member of Tau Beta Pi and the Electrochemical Society. The Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) awarded him the 2000 Aristotle Award for "his commitment to the educational experience of SRC students and the profound and continuing impact he has had on their professional careers." For his work in developing edX and MITx, launched in December 2011, he received the 2012 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award. In 2015, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation honored him with the Frank E. Taplin, Jr. Public Intellectual Award,[30] he was recognized as one of the Top 20 Most Influential, Outstanding, Creative and Talented Hispanic professionals working in the US Technology Industry by @CNET @CNET-ES @CBS Interactive.[31] and elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering. In November 2017, Reif was elected a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.[32]

Controversies

[edit]

Handling of scientific fraud allegations

[edit]

In 2006, as MIT's provost, Reif was responsible for coordinating an investigation by the United States Department of Defense into allegations of scientific and financial fraud in an MIT Lincoln Laboratory study of a missile defense system, which were initially brought forward by Theodore Postol.[33][34] Following the investigation, Reif determined that no academic misconduct took place, though Postol alleged that the MIT administration had intentionally hampered the investigation.[35][36]

Aaron Swartz case

[edit]

The Reif administration at MIT played an important role in the prosecution of Aaron Swartz, the founder of RSS and co-founder of Reddit, who was renowned for his anti-copyright (and "knowledge for all") activism on MIT campus.[37][38]

Stephen Schwarzman funding protests

[edit]

After the announcement of the Schwarzman College of Computing in 2019, some students and members of the MIT community criticized Reif's decision to accept funding from Stephen Schwarzman over his ties to Donald Trump and opposition to an affordable housing bill in California.[39][40] During the opening ceremony for the Scharzman College of Computing, a group of roughly 150 to 300 students protested both outside the ceremony and next to Reif's office.[41]

Donations to MIT from Jeffrey Epstein

[edit]

In 2019, in the wake of Jeffrey Epstein's indictment on child sex trafficking and subsequent suicide, it came to light that Epstein had contributed over $800,000 to MIT, much of it beginning in 2013 after he was initially convicted of child sex trafficking. In August 2019, Reif ordered an investigation by law firm Goodwin Procter into Epstein's connections with the university.[42][43][44]

In a September 12, 2019 letter to the MIT community on the institute's website, Reif admitted he signed a 2012 thank you letter to Epstein for a gift to professor Seth Lloyd. In the open letter to the community, Reif said, "I apparently signed this letter on August 16, 2012, about six weeks into my presidency. Although I do not recall it, it does bear my signature."[45] On September 18, he explained, "Many students have asked how I could have signed that acknowledgment letter without asking questions and how I could fail to remember it. The answer is simple: I did not recognize the name, and I sign many standard thank-you letters every week. That includes several hundred letters every year thanking individuals for contributions to the Institute."[46]

In January 2020, a report from the investigation determined that Epstein had made a donation to Marvin Minsky in 2002, several donations to the MIT Media Lab, facilitated by Joi Ito, Joscha Bach, and Neri Oxman, and three donations to Seth Lloyd. Three MIT vice presidents were determined to have known of Epstein's conviction, but the report concluded that Reif did not play a role in approving the donations.[47] Following the release of the report, Reif placed Lloyd on temporary paid administrative leave until a decision by a further review panel could be made.[48][49]

In February 2020, Reif announced that MIT would donate $850,000 to four nonprofits that support survivors of sexual abuse.[50]

Personal life

[edit]

Reif and his wife, Christine (Chomiuk),[51] live in Newton, Massachusetts. They have a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Blake. Jessica is Dr. Reif's daughter from his first marriage.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Office of the MIT President | MIT History". Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  2. ^ "L. RAFAEL REIF Full Biography" (PDF). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  3. ^ "Departmental History – MIT EECS". www.eecs.mit.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  4. ^ "Board of Trustees", World Economic Forum
  5. ^ "Board of Trustees", Carnegie Endowment
  6. ^ "Board of Directors", Council on Foreign Relations
  7. ^ "Board of Directors", Broad Institute
  8. ^ "L. Rafael Reif selected as MIT's 17th president". MIT News Office. May 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  9. ^ Reif, Rafael Leo (1979). Doping process in silicon epitaxy: Transfer function and physicochemical model (Ph.D.). Stanford University. OCLC 38652041. ProQuest 302978153.
  10. ^ Carmichael, Mary (May 2, 2012). "Harvard, MIT to partner in $60m initiative on free online classes". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "edX 2020 Impact Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  12. ^ "About President L. Rafael Reif | MIT Office of the President". president.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  13. ^ Rocheleau, Matt (September 27, 2013). "MIT President Reif picked by Obama to co-chair committee trying to boost US manufacturing". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  14. ^ "President Obama Launches Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee "2.0"". The White House (Press release). September 26, 2013. Archived from the original on 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
  15. ^ jmill (2020-08-05). "What is 'tough tech'? » Tough Tech Today with Meyen and Miller". Tough Tech Today with Meyen and Miller. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  16. ^ Reif, L. Rafael (May 22, 2015). "A Better Way to Deliver Innovation to the World". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Reif, Rafael (October 26, 2016). "New MIT Innovation Hub Takes on World's Biggest Challenges". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Reif, L. Rafael (February 10, 2019). "Prepare Students for a Future of Artificial Intelligence". reif.mit.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  19. ^ Rosen, Andy (October 15, 2018). "MIT announces $1b outlay for study of artificial intelligence, computing". The Boston Globe.
  20. ^ Lohr, Steve (October 15, 2018). "M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed by $1 Billion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  21. ^ Fernandes, Deirdre (January 22, 2021). "MIT president and faculty members defend professor arrested for China ties". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Bradt, Steve (February 10, 2022). "L. Rafael Reif to step down as MIT president". MIT News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Schlumberger. "Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-10-06.,
  24. ^ Schlumberger Limited. "2014 Annual Report"., p. 106, also available as an image Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ^ Saul R. Laureles, Attorney-in-Fact. "SEC Form 4 for 05/03/2019". Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-06. for 31,473 shares, valued at $31.88 per Google Finance. "Schlumberger Limited. (NYSE:SLB)". Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-11-11. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ "Conservation International Board of Directors". Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  27. ^ "Alcoa Elects L. Rafael Reif to Board of Directors". Alcoa. Archived from the original on 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  28. ^ "TSMC Annual Report 2023". Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  29. ^ "Alphabetical Index of Active Members" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Fall 2016. p. 197. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  30. ^ "Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation | Woodrow Wilson Foundation Honors". woodrow.org. Archived from the original on 2015-10-25. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  31. ^ Martínez, Laura & Sama, Gabriel (September 17, 2015). "CNET en Español: The 20 most influential Latinos in tech". CNET. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  32. ^ Xiang, Bo (27 November 2017). "Bill Gates elected to Chinese Academy of Engineering". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Provost Announces Government Inquiry Into Lincoln Lab Misconduct Charges". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2006-03-03.
  34. ^ "Report to the Provost: Ad Hoc Committee To Review Factors Delaying Resolution of a Research Misconduct Proceeding" (PDF).
  35. ^ Wang, Angeline (2007-04-03). "Lincoln Lab Not Guilty of Fraud, DoD Says". The Tech.
  36. ^ Postol, Theodore A. (2008-02-05). "MIT's Missile Defense Cover-Up". The Tech.
  37. ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (2013-07-19). "MIT Delays the Release of Aaron Swartz's Secret Service File". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  38. ^ "MIT Steps In To Block A Reporter From Getting Aaron Swartz's Secret Service File". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  39. ^ Kary, Tiffany (2019-02-18). "Schwarzman College at MIT Spurs Outcry by Students, Faculty". bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-14.
  40. ^ "Schwarzman gift to MIT draws criticism". Yale Daily News. 2025-11-30.
  41. ^ Sheill, Zoe; Zhang, Whitney (2019-03-07). "Protesters gather against College of Computing celebration". The Tech.
  42. ^ "Head of MIT Media Lab faces crisis that tears at lab he helped elevate". The Boston Globe. 2019-08-23. Archived from the original on 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  43. ^ Ronan Farrow (Sep. 6, 2019), "HOW AN ÉLITE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTER CONCEALED ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN", The New Yorker magazine.
  44. ^ Tiffany Hsu, David Yaffe-Bellany & Marc Tracy (Jan. 10, 2020), "Jeffrey Epstein Gave $850,000 to M.I.T., and Administrators Knew", The New York Times: "The university investigated its history with Mr. Epstein after Joichi Ito, the face of its prominent Media Lab program, acknowledged receiving money from the convicted sex offender."
  45. ^ Staff Writer (2019-09-12). "Letter regarding preliminary fact-finding about MIT and Jeffrey Epstein". MIT News. MIT News Office. Archived from the original on 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  46. ^ Staff Writer (2019-09-18). "Remarks by President Reif at Institute faculty meeting". MIT News. MIT News Office. Archived from the original on 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  47. ^ Chen, Angela (2020-02-26). "Epstein update". MIT Technology Review.
  48. ^ Bradt, Steve (2020-01-10). "MIT releases results of fact-finding on engagements with Jeffrey Epstein". MIT News.
  49. ^ Melendez, Pilar (2020-01-10). "MIT Puts Prof on Paid Leave Over Secret Epstein Donations". The Daily Beast.
  50. ^ Gurumurthy, Ananya (February 13, 2020). "MIT to donate $850,000 to nonprofits supporting sexual abuse survivors". The Tech. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  51. ^ "Biega Funeral Home: Obituaries". Biega Funeral Home. October 2012. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L._Rafael_Reif&oldid=1351968829"