Since its founding at the midpoint of the nineteenth century, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been a unique institution. Great institutions of higher education are grounded in and learn from the past; interact to some degree with the world of the present; and aspires to influence the future. MIT is no exception, but in large measure, the institutes uniqueness derives from the unusual extent of our engagement with the present and dedication to the future. We apply our talents to problems posed by contemporary society—by its institutions of industry, commerce, arts, healing, and politics. Yet our minds are even more firmly engaged in shaping the future. This somewhat singular approach to our mission has enabled us, over the years, to define new forms of research and scholarship, and to establish new paradigms for education. MIT students, faculty, and staff are deeply engaged in the process of learning in the classroom, in the laboratory, and from each other. There is an exhilarating sense of being at the cutting edge in all that we do. You will find MIT to be intense and demanding, yet the atmosphere here is highly collegial. You will be a very important part of one of the worlds great institutions of learning and exploration.