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

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

The New Crew

The 2023-24 Ledecky Undergraduate Fellows. 

A large group of donkeys entering Harvard Yard with a few elephants interspersed.

The Elephant in the Room

Conservative undergraduates’ campus debates

by Max J. Krupnick

Colorful Geometric Illustration

In Defense of Liberal Arts

A semester abroad clarifies the value of the curriculum back home.

by Sofia Andrade

sweeping aerial view of blue sky and Quabbin Reservoir water and mountains

Journey into Quabbin Reservoir’s Hidden Past

Rambling around the Quabbin Reservoir

by Nell Porter-Brown

Illustration that blends iconic images of knowledge and civilization

What Makes Humans Smart?

The critical role of cultural intelligence

by Jonathan Shaw

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