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

Amy Goodman featured in her broadcast studio giving the peace sign

People-Powered Journalism

At Democracy Now! Amy Goodman goes “where the silence is.”

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Head shots of smiling Aloian Scholars

Aloian Memorial Scholars

Enriching life at the Houses 

Alumni Admissions Interviewers Honored

Miller-Hunn Awards

2021 HAA Award Winners

For outstanding service 

A sample of slime mold grows clockwise in a petri dish

Can Slime Molds Think?

A seemingly primitive creature’s complex ability to detect mass from a distance.

by Nancy Walecki

Illustration of a seesaw with a house on one end, and an apple, representing teaching, on the other.

Optimizing Public-School Spending

Home prices are a bellwether of efficient spending in local schools

by Erin O’Donnell

A smokestack spewing smoke with a wind turbine in its shadow

China’s Excess Wind Energy

Rather than shutting down turbines, China can harness surplus wind energy to make “green” hydrogen fuel and industrial chemicals.

by Jacob Sweet

Seven Harvard Affiliates Named HHMI Investigators

The designation comes with $9 million in research support

by Jonathan Shaw

Penny Pritzker

Penny Pritzker Gives $100 Million for New Harvard Economics Facility

Landmark support for an eminently strong department

by John S. Rosenberg

Namwali Serpell speaking on video chat from her office

Namwali Serpell’s Novel-In-Progress

The acclaimed author and English professor will explore mourning and reunion in The Furrows: An Elegy.

by Lydialyle Gibson