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

Fanciful illustration of plastic-eating microbes

Polishing off Plastic Pollution?

Engineering microbes to metabolize plastic waste

by Colleen Walsh

Illustration of two teams working together. One is well-coordinated, the other is not.

Picking Team Players

A test can identify these productivity-boosting personnel.

by Max J. Krupnick

Irene Soto Marín with Harvard's Ancient Mediterranean Classical Sculptures

Irene Soto Marín

Ancient history professor studies coins, ceramics, and Zelda.

by Max J. Krupnick

“This global, diverse, vibrant community”

Alumni Association President Ty Moore

by Nell Porter-Brown

Honoring Alumni Interviewers

Miller-Hunn Award recipients

Serhii Plokhy in his Harvard office, smiling with his arms crossed. Behind him hangs a Ukrainian flag signed by Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko

The Return of History

Ukrainian scholar Serhii Plokhy on the war in his home country

by Lydialyle Gibson

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt standing off a red, white, and blue mural he painted after George Floyd’s death. Floyd's right hand is bandaged after he was attacked while painting the mural.

Getting His Reps in

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt’s wildly profuse art

by Lydialyle Gibson

Ben Purkert headshot

The Men Who Can’t Be Saved

Novelist Ben Purkert’s playfully serious look at masculinity

by Stuart Miller

Amir Bitran

Making Music Out of DNA Loops

Composer and biophysicist Amir Bitran ’16, Ph.D. ’23

by Nancy Walecki

Portrait of editors Rebecca Panovka and Kiara Barrow

The New Little Magazines

Keeping literature and long-form journalism alive

by Nancy Walecki