Program Impact
Deepening scholarship at MIT
MLK Scholars enhance their scholarship through all kinds of interactions with the MIT community—they lecture and teach, they share offices and lab benches, they exchange ideas and engage in debates. As a group of 7-10 scholars per year, they form a distinguished cohort, collaborate with like-minded researchers, teach and mentor students, and exponentially grow their network during their time at the Institute.
Becoming part of the MIT community also allows scholars to participate in the Institute’s unique culture, which motivates people to make and build solutions to the most complex problems. As visiting scholars, the MLK Scholars open new opportunities for cross-disciplinary work and advance their academic and creative careers.
Scholar Stories
The MLK scholars use their work to advance academic excellence, social justice, and equality for all. Discover the outstanding contributions these scholars make to their fields, while continuing MLK’s legacy through their impact on the Institute community.
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2024 Visiting ScholarAngélica María Mayolo ObregónWhat support do communities need to protect biodiversity?
Read more about Angélica María Mayolo Obregón“For Latin America, it’s so important to preserve the traditional knowledge of local communities.”
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2024 Visiting ScholarChristine Taylor-ButlerHow can writing for children drive social change?
Read more about Christine Taylor-Butler“Writing is going to be my act of civil disobedience, because it’s a great way to get information to kids.”
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2024 Visiting ScholarJustin WilkersonWhat happens to satellites when they’re impacted by space debris?
Read more about Justin Wilkerson“A satellite can be broken up into smaller pieces, then those fragments themselves can become little bullets that can impact other space assets.”
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2024 Visiting ScholarMorgane KönigWhat is the impact of tackling problems collaboratively?
Read more about Morgane König“We always have to move towards those common spaces, and that creates a chance to talk about physics and exchange our ideas.”
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2024 Visiting ScholarMeleko MokgosiHow can the way a sentence is worded engage its audience more effectively?
Read more about Meleko Mokgosi“If we go to the namesake of this fellowship, MLK, you listen to his words. The way you construct a sentence is an aesthetic protocol.”
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2024 Visiting ScholarJean-Luc PieriteHow does understanding indigeneity create a sustainable future?
Read more about Jean-Luc Pierite“What I really ask of the students is to come with me on an introspective journey so that they would be able to talk about their own connections to land, to water, to ancestors.”
Impact on the Institute community
While at MIT, MLK Scholars are deeply engaged with the Institute community. As part of the program, scholars advance their own research agendas, and they dedicate time to interacting with undergraduate and graduate students, teaching courses, and collaborating with MIT experts in their fields. Because the scholars represent diverse fields, including those beyond MIT’s academic areas, their presence on campus opens up new opportunities for collaboration and learning.
