Susan Hockfield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Susan Hockfield
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| 16th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
| In office 2004–2012 |
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| Preceded by | Charles M. Vest |
| Succeeded by | L. Rafael Reif |
| Provost of Yale University | |
| In office December 2002 – August 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Alison Richard |
| Succeeded by | Andrew D. Hamilton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 24, 1951 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Spouse | Thomas Byrne |
| Education | University of Rochester (BS) Georgetown University (MS, PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Yale University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | Afferent and Efferent Neuronal Connections of the Dorsal Horn of the Caudal Medulla (Trigeminal Nucleus Caudalis) Demonstrated by Retrograde Labeling with Horseradish Peroxidase (1979) |
| Doctoral advisor | Stephen Gobel |
| Other academic advisors | Allan Basbaum |
| Doctoral students | Daniel Geschwind |
Susan Hockfield was born on March 24, 1951. She is an American scientist who studies the brain. From 2004 to 2012, she was the 16th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This is a very famous science and engineering school.
Today, Susan Hockfield is still a professor at MIT. She teaches about the brain and how it works. She also helps lead important groups like Break Through Cancer and the Lasker Foundation. These groups work on big problems like cancer research. She also serves on the board of the Pfizer company.
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Early Life and Education
Susan Hockfield finished high school in Chappaqua, New York, in 1969. She then went to the University of Rochester and earned a degree in Biology in 1973.
Later, she earned her Ph.D. (a very high-level degree) from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1979. Her special research was about how our nervous system feels and understands pain.
Career Highlights
After her studies, Susan Hockfield worked at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory starting in 1980. She was hired by James Watson, a famous scientist who helped discover the structure of DNA.
In 1985, she became a professor at Yale University. She became a full professor of neurobiology in 1994. Soon after, she started taking on leadership roles.
From 1998 to 2002, she was the Dean of Yale's Graduate School. She was in charge of 70 different study programs. During her time as Dean, twice as many students wanted to join the graduate school. She also helped students get better healthcare and financial support.
In 2002, she became Yale's Provost. This is the second-highest leader at the university. She oversaw all 12 of Yale's schools. She also led big projects in science, medicine, and engineering. This included spending $500 million to build new science buildings.
Leading MIT
In August 2004, Susan Hockfield was chosen to be the next president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During her time as president, MIT raised almost $3 billion. This was more money than any other president had raised before.
Even with money challenges, she made sure that MIT remained affordable for students. The money given to students for financial help went up by about 75 percent.
New Ideas and Research
When she became president, Hockfield encouraged scientists to combine engineering and life sciences. She wanted them to work together to solve big global problems. She helped create new research centers, such as:
- The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
- The Ragon Institute, which works on health issues.
- The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center. This center helps many universities and companies work together on big computer projects.
Hockfield also started the MIT Energy Initiative. This project raised over $350 million to research new ways to create clean energy. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama visited MIT. Hockfield gave him the first tour of an MIT lab ever given to a sitting U.S. president.
She also pushed for more research in manufacturing. She believed that America needed to create new, high-tech manufacturing jobs. She helped lead a group called the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP). This group included leaders from government, industry, and schools.
Student Life and Campus Growth
During Hockfield's time as president, more women and minority students joined MIT. The graduating class of 2015 had 45 percent women and 24 percent minority students.
She also helped expand the number of undergraduate students. She improved student life by building a new home for graduate students. She also updated MIT's oldest building to create more space for students to work together.
The MIT campus also grew with new buildings. These included an extension to the MIT Media Lab and a new building for the MIT Sloan School of Management. She also helped make the area around MIT, called Kendall Square, a hub for science and technology companies.
Online Learning
In 2011, MIT launched MITx. This was a free online learning platform that offered MIT courses to anyone. In 2012, Hockfield and Harvard's president announced edX. This was a partnership between MIT and Harvard for online education. Hockfield said edX would help improve education for millions of learners worldwide.
Scientific Discoveries
Before becoming a university leader, Susan Hockfield made important scientific discoveries. She found a way to use special tools called monoclonal antibodies in brain research. She also discovered a gene that helps cancer spread in the brain.
Her work on a type of brain tumor called glioma was very important. She found molecules that allow glioma cells to move through healthy brain tissue. This movement makes glioma tumors very dangerous.
Awards and Recognition
Susan Hockfield has received many honors and awards for her work:
- She was elected President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2016.
- She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- She has received honorary degrees from many universities around the world.
- She won the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal from Yale University.
- She received the Amelia Earhart Award. This award honors women who have helped create more opportunities for other women.
- In 2005, she received the Golden Plate Award from the Academy of Achievement.
- In 2010, she won the Edison Achievement Award for her focus on new ideas.
Books and Articles
Susan Hockfield has also written books and articles:
- The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution, published in 2019.
- Our science, our society, an article in Science Magazine, 2018.
Personal Life
Susan Hockfield is married to Thomas N. Byrne, M.D. He is also a professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT. They were married in 1991. They have one daughter named Elizabeth.
