Established in 1998, the MIT Arts Scholars Program brings together students who are passionate about exploring the diverse array of arts available at MIT and in the Boston area, and interacting with fellow students, faculty artists and other experts in the art world. The program is structured around monthly excursions or workshops, with an expert in the relevant field of art in attendance.
Caroline Bao
Caroline is an undergraduate student from California studying Computer Science and Molecular Biology with a minor in 21M (Music). At MIT, she plays the flute in MIT’s Chamber Music Society and dancing with Asian Dance Team. In her free time, she enjoys listening to concerts at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, exploring cafes around Boston, and experimenting with new baking recipes.
Elisabeth Bullock
Elisabeth is a graduate student in Course 18. She is interested in dance, particularly ballet and contemporary. At MIT, she is a member and sometimes choreographer for MIT DanceTroupe. She is also a member of Harvard Ballet Company. Elisabeth also enjoys crocheting, reading, running, and babysitting her plants.
Dylan Cable
Dylan is a PhD student in computer science at MIT, studying computational biology. Previously, he completed his B.S. in mathematics at Stanford. Dylan’s interests include improv comedy and playing guitar. With a few colleagues at MIT, Dylan cofounded the band the Electric Manatees, which gives MIT students’ take on psychedelic rock through the eyes of aquatic mammals.
Matthew Caren
Matthew is an undergraduate student studying computer science, music, and math, with a special interest in developing expressive music technology. He is also a mentor and staff member at the MIT Voxel Lab, a music and arts innovation makerspace, and a jazz pianist, film composer, and graphic designer.
Sophia Chen
Sophia is an undergraduate student double majoring in Mechanical Engineering (2A) and Design (4B). Before her current research with GEAR lab, she was a researcher with the Conformable Decoders at the MIT Media Lab. Her work focuses on humanitarian innovation and user-centered product design. Since Spring 2021, Sophia has been the co-Editor in Chief of Infinite, MIT’s fashion magazine. Beyond art and design, she has interests in personal essays, poetry, photography, psychology, philosophy, and music. Her creative work centers around sensation and experience, between color, touch, perspective, and emotion.
Yiming Chen
Yiming is a junior majoring in Course 18 (Mathematics) and 6 (Computer Science) and is interested in exploring the intersection of technology and creativity. She loves playing Guzheng, design, painting/drawing, singing acapella and making anything & everything. She is eager to explore other arts forms by learning from her talented peers!
Madhurima Das
Rima is a current graduate student in MechE and a course 2A 2018 alum. She studies the role of sketching and prototyping in early stage design, equity in makerspaces, and the role of design justice in engineering pedagogy and practice. Her engineering work is fundamentally tied to the arts and she loves finding new links between the arts and sciences! Hands-on visual arts and crafts (currently ceramics and glassblowing) are her favorites but she’s always down to try a new type of art, whether it is dance, theater, or poetry! More than anything, she relishes being a jack of all trades when it comes to making and loves hopping from one medium to another!
Stephanie Fu
Stephanie is an MEng student (double-majored in computer science and music in undergrad) studying computer vision and machine learning. She has been playing the violin for almost her whole life, and is currently a violinist in the MIT Symphony Orchestra. She loves the community aspect of playing in an orchestra, and hopes to one day have the skills to conduct one as well (if she ever develops actual coordination). Stephanie also likes using the little she remembers about music theory to arrange random tunes (think Christmas remix of your washing machine jingle, violin duet inspired by a pre-finals nightmare, etc…) She also spends way too much time thinking about food, buying food, watching videos of food, and taking photos of everything she sees (including food).
Audrey Gatta
Audrey Gatta is an undergraduate student majoring in Art & Design and minoring in Spanish and Economics. She loves all forms of visual arts, including drawing, painting, ceramics, sewing, and photography. Through the Memory Project organization, Audrey enjoys creating portraits for children around the world who have faced substantial challenges. When she’s not making art, you can find her playing volleyball, reading, visiting art museums, leading tours of MIT’s Public Art Collection, and going on long walks.
Katherine Guo
Katherine is a current undergraduate in her third year, studying materials science and engineering and art and design. She is from Dublin but spent most of her childhood moving around various countries. From an early age, she has been involved in creating music, first via the violin and now as a part of MIT’s Concert Choir, in addition to also being active in various visual art and art history circles. Some of her favorite things to do in the Boston area are going to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Thursday nights, running along the esplanade, and walking to Harvard Square for a cup of Berryline frozen yogurt.
Rihn H
Rihn is studying Mechanical Engineering with a Design concentration as well as Comparative Media Studies with a lil bit of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.They are a prolific illustration artist and maker, and they enjoy mixing technology and/or science in art. You can find some of their works here – instagram.com/rihnsworks. Rihn uses they/them pronouns and in their free time, they spin fire, climb ropes, administer ham exams, visit caves, and ferment foods that bring delight to 1/3 of their friends and horror to the rest.
Sharon Jiang
Sharon is a senior majoring in computer science and engineering with a minor in mathematics. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Technique, MIT’s yearbook, photography, and design club. Outside of campus, you can most likely find her listening to virtuosic symphonies at the Boston Symphony Orchestra or roaming the varied galleries in the Museum of Fine Arts.
Sohini Kar
Kar is an MEng at MIT studying 6-2 and 9, with an interest in the intersection of computer and human intelligence. They enjoy painting with gouache and acrylic, and their art can be found at the new MIT Welcome Center. Additionally, Kar is interested in design for technology and they founded the UI/UX@MIT club to spread more awareness for user interface and user experience design on campus.
Rumi Lee
Rumi is a creative problem solver at the intersection of design, technology, and entrepreneurship. She comes from a background in music (solo violin for 13 years) and the arts (freelancing in communication/graphic design). Rumi is currently studying 6-2 (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) and 15-2 (Business Analytics) as an MIT undergrad.
Nghi Nguyen
Nghi Nguyen is an undergraduate fourth year majoring in 6-3, minoring in French, and concentrating in Japanese. She loves finding intersections between art and computer science, and has interests in UI/UX, web development, and graphic design. At MIT, she is involved in ActLingual’s ITEC, Codeit, and DynaMIT. In her free time, she loves drawing digitally, playing tennis, watching Sailor Moon, calling her family, and exploring different bakeries wherever she is.
Martin Nisser
Martin is a PhD student in MIT CSAIL where he develops fabrication methods to make hardware – from structures to robots – that is inexpensive, rapid, and customizable to individual needs and interests. He holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh, ETH Zurich and MIT, and has held appointments at Tesla Motors, Harvard University and the European Space Agency. Martin is particularly excited about engaging in drawing, painting, and classical music.
Anna Waldman-Brown
Anna is a PhD candidate and MIT lifer who’s currently in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, where she researches automation and inequality and writes occasional poetry with the MIT Work of the Future Taskforce. As a science fiction writer, she’s a member of the Catalyze Playwriting Group and the Writers Block @ MIT. She enjoys cooking, theatre, hiking, and playing the djembe, and hails from San Francisco.
Catherine Wong
Catherine Wong is a graduate student at MIT studying computational cognitive science. Her fiction has appeared in publications including Shenandoah, Bayou Magazine, and the Chicago Quarterly Review, and she has made audio with the wonderful podcast people at State of the Human and WNYC. In another life, she biked across America, which she did not recommend in the moment but does now.
Margaret Zheng
Margaret Zheng is an undergraduate student double majoring in Mathematics (18) and CS/Econ/Data Science (6-14) with a minor in music (21M). She actively engages with the visual arts community on campus, painting and animating 4 murals with the Borderline murals, designing the Class of 2023 Brass Rat, making STEM comics on @big_dijkstra_energy, and tending to her original comic character creation, Wide Tim (@wide_tim, pictured here!). Outside of classes, she can also be seen casually playing the piano or jamming with friends.
Not Pictured
- Kidist Adamu
- Miki Chiang
- Amelia Dogan
- Jenny Gao
- Felix Li
- Kristy Lin
- Yutong Lin
- Alexandra Nwigwe
- Savoldy
- Kasturi Shah
- Max Siegel
- Quentin Smith
- Daniel Villagran
- Izzi Waitz
- April Wu
- Diego Yañes-Laguna
- Kitty Zeng