Alumni & People

curation of alumni people, faculty and student profiles

Conan O’Brien in a dark suit and light shirt, smiling and posing with hands clasped.

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

Darren Sears stands to the left of his framed work "Summit"

Ecological Edges: Darren Sears’s Watercolor Landscapes

The surreal, artistic cartography of Darren Sears

by Lydialyle Gibson

Cross-stitched fabric with the text "Home Unaffordable Home" over a background of high-rise apartment buildings.

America’s Housing Problem—Explained

How zoning reforms could address a crisis that squeezes the poor and the middle class

by Jonathan Shaw

Smiling woman in glasses and a dark outfit seated indoors near a staircase and large windows.

How Technology Shapes Elections, Privacy, and Democracy

Latanya Sweeney confronts our all-consuming “technocracy.”

by Lydialyle Gibson

Illustration of a human head with abstract, colorful brain waves overlayed.

How Does the Brain Interpret Language in Real-Time?

New research on how the brain uses sounds to form words and create meaning.

by Jonathan Shaw

Cartoon of a man in a suit and two football players throwing footballs.

Do Ivy League Athletes Outperform in Careers?

How does undergraduate participation in varsity sports enhance career success?

by Jonathan Shaw

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Using Generative AI to Predict Viral Mutations and Develop Vaccines

Biomedical researchers are using AI to survey the viral landscape.

by Nina Pasquini

Cambridge 02138

Letters on academic freedom, reading, the science of sociability, and more

Noah Feldman and Derek Penslar pictured in a lecture room with blackboards in the background

American Jewish Life After October 7

Professors Derek Penslar and Noah Feldman reflect on a difficult year

by Max J. Krupnick

Harvard University Professor Gary Ruvkun is jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. Victoria Ruvkun (from left) with dog Barnaby, Gary Ruvkun, and Natasha Staller are pictured the morning of the announcement at their home in Newton.

Gary Ruvkun Shares Nobel Prize in Medicine

Harvard Medical School genetics professor honored  

by John S. Rosenberg

How to Reform Healthcare

104 Harvard thought leaders outline medicine’s unmet needs.

by Olivia Farrar