Business Insider recently named the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the No. 1 college in America.
To get a feel for the kind of talent the top-rated school attracts, we tracked down 15 of its best and brightest students. From winning hackathons to developing new forms of artificial intelligence to mastering the piano, these undergraduates have gone above and beyond the call of their studies.
Scroll down to meet some of MIT’s incredibly impressive students.
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Beckett Colson is exploring underwater robotics using 3D printing.
Class of 2016
Beckett Colson is a two-time recipient of the Alfred A. H. Keil Ocean Engineering Development Award for excellence in broad-based research in ocean engineering. The mechanical and ocean engineering major used the prize money to explore 3D printing and has printed everything from a coffee dispenser that pours the perfect cup to a prototype yo-yo for class.
Now, he’s using his personal 3D printer to build the internal structure and prototype propellers of an observation class ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle). The ROV is both a passion and a service tool — he’ll be using it to pick up trash in Vineyard Haven Harbor, where he sails competitively every year.
Last summer, he sailed with SEA Semester, where he conducted the first-ever study on plastic waste material in the deep Atlantic Ocean. Colson hopes to continue working with underwater robotics and renewable marine energy to solve problems related to pollution.
Connor Duffy won two major hackathons.
Class of 2017
Third-year computer science and molecular biology major Connor Duffy has made his mark all over the world. He’s negotiated million-dollar contracts with Bitcoin mining hardware startups in San Francisco, discussed the future of artificial intelligence on TV in Japan, and worked in labs in Singapore, Bangalore, and the US.
Back at school, he won two hackathons: HackMIT, where he took home the grand prize for developing a web application that manages urgent emails, and the Stanford-MIT Blockchain Hackathon, where he proposed a protocol to record property deed transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain — the currency’s transaction database.
Duffy also founded MIT’s Science Olympiad, which runs team-based science competitions for high school students across the country. MIT’s Olympiad attracts over 1,500 students and is one of the most competitive ones in the country.
Eventually, Duffy wants to work in venture capital, where he can help support entrepreneurs who have ideas on how to change the world.
Daniel Parker is an award-winning pianist.
Class of 2016
Daniel Parker is a music major at MIT and a two-time winner of the prestigious Emerson Fellowship, which has enabled him to study under world-renowned Bach specialist Sergey Schepkin. In December 2014, he performed the entire Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier at MIT’s Killian Hall, a feat even for professional concert pianists.
This past summer, Parker honed his skills at the elite Solo Piano program at the Aspen Music Festival and School where he trained with world-class faculty in studio sessions and masterclasses. Before returning to MIT to begin this semester, Parker won third place in the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition.
When he’s not practicing piano, Parker has spent time as a Zen student at a monastery in San Francisco, where he plans to return for an extended stay. He’s also the founder of a peer education and violence prevention group at MIT. Post-graduation, Parker will complete a master’s degree in piano performance at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
