After MIT, it seemed that studying 
anywhere else, particularly outside of a select set of elite American universities, was really a step down. That was probably a warning sign that it was about time to get out of the MIT bubble.)Nonetheless, MIT may admittedly forever hold a certain revered place in my mind as a magical realm where reality and imagination intertwine in an endless intellectual tango teetering on the brink of insanity. You can therefore appreciate my utter surprise when, at this Wednesday's MIT Club de France reception welcoming MIT President Susan Hockfield to Paris, I learned that the motive of her trip to Europe (as it had included stops earlier in the week in Athens and Istanbul) was to accept an honorary diploma from none other than the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, the university which will ultimately award me both my Master's and doctoral degrees. (Though I do my research at the Institut Pasteur, this is not a degree-awarding institution. I am officially enrolled at UPMC.) I was completely thrilled and honored by the prospect of the MIT President considering my grad school a prestigious enough university as to merit a trans-Atlantic trip. (Not as though a trip to Paris is a real hardship, but oftentimes, as she explained in private conversation, she cannot accept these honors as they are regularly offered to her as the President of MIT.)
As goes along with the appearance of any distinguished guest, there were various glamorous events this week from which I was fortunate enough to benefit. The first was the MIT Club de France reception of two nights ago which I just mentioned. Here, the MIT alums in Paris convened for cocktails at a classy club in the 16th Arrondissement somewhere between the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.
The cocktail hour immediately preceeded a nearly hour-long concert performed by a piano-violon-cello trio, le Trio Kreisler, which includes both the first violon and first cello of the Orchestre de Paris. They performed Schumann's Fantasiestücke opus Nº88 in A minor followed by Mendelssohn's Trio Nº1 Opus Nº49 in D minor. Afterward, the young alums were even invited to stay free of charge for the gourmet catered meal in the club during which time President Hockfield gave a short address and was given a 10000€ gift from the MIT Club de France.
The following evening, the young MIT alums in Paris were invited out for drinks at a club in the Latin Quarter where I probably would not have ventured on my own. The drinks were going for about 12€ a pop, the waitstaff was elegantly dressed, and the staircase was lined with a dark blue carpet edged with many little white LEDs to give one the feel of walking through a starry night sky. Here we met with MIT Alumni Association coordinators to discuss how the MIT Club de France might better reach out to its youngest alums and what events might best serve to connect the young alum community in Paris. It was nice to convene with a bunch of young fellow alums, most of whom I hadn't ever met, and to learn that I have more of a MIT community at my fingertips than I'd previously realized this far off campus.
Finally, Friday capped off the week with the actually honorary degree ceremony in the
Grand Salon of the Sorbonne, an extraordinarily ornate building illustrated in most of the photos posted in this entry. The Université Pierre et Marie Curie awarded eight distinguished international scientific researchers with honorary doctorates today. Though I had not received an invitation to the event, I called the UPMC offices and arrived at the Sorbonne armed with my MIT Alumni and UPMC student id cards and a classy outfit with a great set of heels. After waiting for all the invited guests to arrive, I was permitted to slip into the back of the Grand Salon as the ceremonies began. I could not believe I was allowed to be sitting in a room like this just because of my status as an MIT alum. It was a far cry from the bare-footed debauchery of Saturday night swivel chair racing, dry ice explosives, and hand-built roller coasters that had been my reality at MIT. Susan Hockfield was, I'm pleased to say, the first person awarded a degree. And it wasn't alphabetical. During the speech recognizing her achievements, the President of UPMC even spent a fair bit of time talking about an excellent new program founded at MIT under her presidency, an innovative new department seeking to bridge the gap between biology and engineering and provide the world with a new type of scientist: the biological engineer. I was pretty proud. A string quartet performed pieces by Mozart and Haydn following the awarding of the honorary degrees. In the reception afterward, I caught up with the MIT Alumni Association representatives and even President Hockfield. It was a very exciting Friday afternoon and elegant way to open a less than awesome weekend to be spent curled up with my neuroscience notes in preparation for next week's exams.
anywhere else, particularly outside of a select set of elite American universities, was really a step down. That was probably a warning sign that it was about time to get out of the MIT bubble.)Nonetheless, MIT may admittedly forever hold a certain revered place in my mind as a magical realm where reality and imagination intertwine in an endless intellectual tango teetering on the brink of insanity. You can therefore appreciate my utter surprise when, at this Wednesday's MIT Club de France reception welcoming MIT President Susan Hockfield to Paris, I learned that the motive of her trip to Europe (as it had included stops earlier in the week in Athens and Istanbul) was to accept an honorary diploma from none other than the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, the university which will ultimately award me both my Master's and doctoral degrees. (Though I do my research at the Institut Pasteur, this is not a degree-awarding institution. I am officially enrolled at UPMC.) I was completely thrilled and honored by the prospect of the MIT President considering my grad school a prestigious enough university as to merit a trans-Atlantic trip. (Not as though a trip to Paris is a real hardship, but oftentimes, as she explained in private conversation, she cannot accept these honors as they are regularly offered to her as the President of MIT.)As goes along with the appearance of any distinguished guest, there were various glamorous events this week from which I was fortunate enough to benefit. The first was the MIT Club de France reception of two nights ago which I just mentioned. Here, the MIT alums in Paris convened for cocktails at a classy club in the 16th Arrondissement somewhere between the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.
The cocktail hour immediately preceeded a nearly hour-long concert performed by a piano-violon-cello trio, le Trio Kreisler, which includes both the first violon and first cello of the Orchestre de Paris. They performed Schumann's Fantasiestücke opus Nº88 in A minor followed by Mendelssohn's Trio Nº1 Opus Nº49 in D minor. Afterward, the young alums were even invited to stay free of charge for the gourmet catered meal in the club during which time President Hockfield gave a short address and was given a 10000€ gift from the MIT Club de France.
The following evening, the young MIT alums in Paris were invited out for drinks at a club in the Latin Quarter where I probably would not have ventured on my own. The drinks were going for about 12€ a pop, the waitstaff was elegantly dressed, and the staircase was lined with a dark blue carpet edged with many little white LEDs to give one the feel of walking through a starry night sky. Here we met with MIT Alumni Association coordinators to discuss how the MIT Club de France might better reach out to its youngest alums and what events might best serve to connect the young alum community in Paris. It was nice to convene with a bunch of young fellow alums, most of whom I hadn't ever met, and to learn that I have more of a MIT community at my fingertips than I'd previously realized this far off campus.
Finally, Friday capped off the week with the actually honorary degree ceremony in the
Grand Salon of the Sorbonne, an extraordinarily ornate building illustrated in most of the photos posted in this entry. The Université Pierre et Marie Curie awarded eight distinguished international scientific researchers with honorary doctorates today. Though I had not received an invitation to the event, I called the UPMC offices and arrived at the Sorbonne armed with my MIT Alumni and UPMC student id cards and a classy outfit with a great set of heels. After waiting for all the invited guests to arrive, I was permitted to slip into the back of the Grand Salon as the ceremonies began. I could not believe I was allowed to be sitting in a room like this just because of my status as an MIT alum. It was a far cry from the bare-footed debauchery of Saturday night swivel chair racing, dry ice explosives, and hand-built roller coasters that had been my reality at MIT. Susan Hockfield was, I'm pleased to say, the first person awarded a degree. And it wasn't alphabetical. During the speech recognizing her achievements, the President of UPMC even spent a fair bit of time talking about an excellent new program founded at MIT under her presidency, an innovative new department seeking to bridge the gap between biology and engineering and provide the world with a new type of scientist: the biological engineer. I was pretty proud. A string quartet performed pieces by Mozart and Haydn following the awarding of the honorary degrees. In the reception afterward, I caught up with the MIT Alumni Association representatives and even President Hockfield. It was a very exciting Friday afternoon and elegant way to open a less than awesome weekend to be spent curled up with my neuroscience notes in preparation for next week's exams.
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ReplyDeletewee 09s-in-Paris pic! Ya'll look great! Plus its awesome that Hockfield got a degree from your grad school! (and the string of gatherings sound nice :-P)
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