People

Dr. Kurt Fendt is Principal Research Associate in Comparative Media Studies/Writing (CMS/W) and Executive Director of HyperStudio – Digital Humanities at MIT. He teaches Digital Humanities subjects in CMS/W and German Studies courses in Global Studies and Languages.

Ping Zhang

Hi all! I’m a second-year urban design student in Harvard Graduate School of Design and also have a background at architecture. For this semester, I want to learn big data and visualization technologies to help with researching urbanization issues occurred in developing countries like China. Since I have already practiced graphic design for a long time, I would like to learn more relevant tools like programming and logistic thinking in this course.

Hello! My name is Sarah Aladetan and I’m currently a senior studying 21E with a minor in Music here at MIT! 21E is “Humanities & Engineering” so I get to study one of each of my choosing. My humanities concentration is Comparative Media Studies and my engineering concentration is Computer Science. I enjoy finding ways to combine the two (and a little music even!), hence my gravitation to this class. Outside of academics, you can find me singing on campus in the MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble and R&B/Soul band “Love & a Sandwich”!

Hello! My name is Parker Greene and I’m currently a senior at MIT majoring in computer science with a concentration in CMS. I have a strong interest in computer graphics, and this past summer I worked for Pixar on the rendering team for the movie “Coco”. In addition to animation and movies, I’m also interested in video games and virtual reality.

Michelle Gelberger

Hi! I’m Michelle - I’m a senior at Wellesley College majoring in Media Arts and Sciences, an interdisciplinary major between computer science + art. My current interest lies in wearable tech, specifically innovating ways to merge physical + digital components to create seamless experiences. I’m currently working as an interaction design intern part-time at Bose and as a TA for a Human Computer Interactions course back at Wellesley.

Hi Everyone! I’m Maya, a senior Math Major and Economics Minor at Wellesley. As a student at a liberal arts college, I’ve taken quite a few humanities classes on top of my main coursework and am here to get an interdisciplinary perspective on what I’ve learned. I was abroad all of last year studying math at Oxford University in the UK, so I’m excited to learn more about modernizing historical scholarship.

Hi everyone, I’m Kelly, a senior majoring in Economics at Wellesley College. Having been curious about the various and new ways knowledge and data can be presented, especially after taking courses in sociology, education and economics, I hope to explore this subject further through the course. With interests in exhibitions and theater, I am particularly looking forward to the topics: data visualization, curation, and spatial design.

Hello! I’m Hiya, a rising Junior at Wellesley studing Media Arts and Sciences and minoring in Economics. I’m an aspiring UX designer, in my free time I love to travel, eat/cook and visit museums. I’m really excited to build projects this semester. Having studied in a liberal arts school for the past two years, I’m intrigued by the synthesis of different fields and their evolving nature over time.

Hey there! I’m Erick Friis, a junior Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (6-2) major here at MIT. I’m concentrating in Comparative Media Studies (CMS), which landed me in this class on digital humanities. Aside from class, I work part-time at Sonos designing and prototyping smart speaker concepts, I lead the teaching staff for Engineering, Innovation, and Design (6.902), and am an active member of my fraternity’s leadership.

Hey, I’m Calvin! I’m an aspiring engineer-turned-architect-turned-social-scientist in the Department of Architecture + Comparative Media Studies. In Architecture, I focus on digital fabrication and design computation and TA How to Make (Almost) Anything and in CMS, I work on human-centered design and leverage digital media for social impact.

Peter is a third year undergraduate studying computer science. His first foray into programming was with Bookshrink – he’s been interested in building tools that further our understanding of text ever since. Before coming to MIT he spent time in San Francisco working as a software engineer, and maintains a healthy interest in artistic creation through digital media and photography.