Join Us to Celebrate Excellence
The MIT community is invited to celebrate excellence at the 2026 MIT Excellence Awards + Collier Medal ceremony on Thursday, June 4 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Kresge Auditorium (W16) on the MIT campus. A reception will follow from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. The event will also be livestreamed. More on the event.
2026 Recipients
Collier Medal
Michael Grenier, Pub Manager, Dining, Division of Student Life
Serving Our Community
Olivia Cheo, Administrative Assistant 2, Comp Sci & Artificial Intelligence Lab, Schwarzman College of Computing
Clayton Hainsworth, Director for MIT Video Productions, Open Learning, MIT Video Productions, Office of Provost
MIT Health Ambulatory Safety Net and Population Management Team
MIT Health, Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer
- Michele M. A. David, Chief, Clinical Quality & Patient Safety
- Solanlly Mendez, Patient Navigator
- Pamela Mensah, Clinical Analyst/Trainer
- Nicole Napier, Manager, Population Health
- Lucas David Sensius, Patient Navigator
- Stephanie Shapiro, Chief, Medical Informatics & Population Health
Atsushi Mark Takahashi, MRI Physicist / Assistant Director, A. A. Martinos Imaging Center at MIT, MIT McGovern Institute
Embracing Inclusion
Allison Chang, Associate Group Leader, Homeland Protection & Air Traffic Control, Lincoln Laboratory
Mandana Sassanfar, Senior Lecturer, Biology, School of Science
Outstanding Contributor
Trinidad Carney, Associate Director of Admissions, Admissions Office, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education
James Daley, Research Specialist, MIT.nano, VP for Research
Catherine Nunziata, Program Manager, Center for Transportation & Logistics, School of Engineering
Chao Li, Postdoctoral Associate, Research Laboratory of Electronics, VP for Research
Gang Liu, Research Specialist, Chemistry, School of Science
MIT Health Housekeeping Team
MIT Health, Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer
- Michael Batista, Medical Assistant Housekeeper
- Maria Coelho, Medical Assistant Housekeeper
- Mae Evans, Medical Assistant Housekeeper
- Maria Fatima Rosario, Medical Housekeeper
- Selam Stefanos, Medical Assistant Housekeeper
- Claudia Teixeira, Medical Assistant Housekeeper
- Claudia Vidal, Medical Assistant Housekeeper
Barry Pugatch, Video Production Specialist, Open Learning, MIT Video Productions, Office of Provost
Craig Rowe, Senior Aircraft Mechanic, Director's Office, Lincoln Laboratory
Emma Shortall, Admissions and Marketing Coordinator, Leaders for Global Operations Program, School of Engineering
Laura von Bosau, Senior Course Assistant, Materials Science and Engineering, School of Engineering
Bringing Out the Best
Robin Elices, Senior Advisor, Office of the Executive VP & Treasurer
Kate McCarthy, Senior Associate Dean, Support, Wellbeing, & Belonging, Student Support & Wellbeing, Division of Student Life
Jim Mitchell, Production Manager, MIT Press
Innovative Solutions
Kayla S (KB) Burt, Data Analyst, Institutional Research, Office of Provost
Amanda Jarvis, Associate Director, Community Engagement (Human Resources), MIT Sloan Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Sloan School of Management
Sustainability Team
MIT Office of Sustainability, Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer
- Yu Cheng, Sustainability Data Scientist
- Brian Goldberg, Assistant Director
- Susy Jones, Senior Sustainability Project Manager
- Steve Lanou, Senior Project Manager, Sustainability
- Ellie McLane, Sustainability Project Manager
- Julie Newman, Director of Sustainability
Julie Uva, Program Administrator, Social Impact Internships and Employment, PKG Center, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education
Gordon Y. Billard Award
- Cullen R. Buie, Professor of Mechanical and Biological Engineering, Associate Department Head of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, and Head of House, Maseeh Hall
- Traci Swartz, Assistant Director, Community Services Office, Institute Affairs, Office of the President
- David L. Verill, Executive Director, Initiative on the Digital Economy, MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Staff Award for Distinction in Service
- Christina Couch, Associate Director and Lecturer, MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing, Comparative Media Studies, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
