Bob Langer, MIT professor and Cornell alumnus, congratulates newly admitted students. He attended Cornell from 1966 to 1970, later built a career at MIT and launched startups, and advises prioritizing classes before other pursuits.
Hello, my name is Bob Langer, and it's a pleasure for me to congratulate you all on being able to go to Cornell, which I had the good fortune of going to many years ago. I went there in 1966 and graduated in 1970, and actually, two of my children went there, and I was on the board of trustees for eight years. It's a wonderful place. In fact, seven of my students, I'm a professor at MIT now, have become professors at Cornell themselves, so I hope some of them are able to teach you. I think Cornell just gave me a wonderful education. After I went to Cornell, I went to MIT for my graduate work. And actually, I've been a professor there for the last 50 years now, and I've not only been able to do things in science, but also help start companies like Moderna. And, you know, I. I was going to say in terms of possible advice, you know, when I still have many students in my lab, and, you know, some of the advice that I give everybody when they come as incoming freshmen or students really, at any level, is to first make sure, because there's so many opportunities and so many great things you can do, but I'd make sure that you do a good job on your classes first. Once you show yourself that you can do that, then I think all kinds of the wonderful activities that Cornell has to offer are well worth doing. Cornell is just not only a tremendous academic institution, it's certainly one of the best in the world. It's also, I think, one of the most beautiful college campuses and has a wonderful campus life. I really enjoyed being in the Ithaca area and, and everything at Cornell. And I know both my daughter and my son had wonderful experiences there, and I hope you all do, too. So congratulations, and please have a wonderful, wonderful number of years at Cornell and Ithaca. Thank you for listening.
