Alumni & People

curation of alumni people, faculty and student profiles

Conan O’Brien Named Harvard’s 2026 Commencement Speaker

The comedian, host, and 1985 graduate will deliver remarks at the May 28 ceremony. 

by Schuyler Velasco

Starlink

Seniors hunker down in communal quarantine.

by Eve Driver

Building a Better COVID-19 Swab

Engineers at the Wyss Institute address a critical shortage of nasal swabs.

by Jonathan Shaw

Alone on Harvard’s Campus

Most days, I see no one at all.

by Jeremy Tsai

At Home with Harvard: The Climate Crisis

Highlights from our wide-ranging coverage of the environment

At Home with Harvard: Rewriting History

From race and colonization to genetics and paleohistory, our favorite stories about the people reshaping the study of history

Letting Go of the “Ideal” Classroom

“The ‘ideal’ classroom never existed anyway, at least not in a perfectly equitable manner,” writes Julie Chung ’20. 

by Julie Chung

Zoom and the zero commute

“The biggest obstacle to our collective learning is the elephant in the room: a global pandemic, taking place amid existing inequalities,” writes Drew Pendergrass ’20. 

by Drew Pendergrass

Stem cell activity linked to lifestyle

Exercise attenuates stem cell production of pro-inflammatory white blood cells.

by Jonathan Shaw

David Barrett reports on New York City’s birds

A quest to chronicle New York City’s avian community

by Nell Porter-Brown

What rights do children have in homeschooling?

Elizabeth Bartholet highlights risks when parents have 24/7 authoritarian control over their children.

by Erin O’Donnell