Saturday, June 14, 2008
Pauley Pavilion

	Dr. Charles M. Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be this year's distinguished commencement speaker. [Bio]
Credit: Donna M. Coveney; MIT

Commencement Schedule

11:30 am	Doors Open
12:30 pm	Commencement Ceremony Begins Graduates And Faculty Procession National Anthem Dean's Welcome Introductions Conferring of the Hoods for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy Keynote Speaker Recognition of Awards and Honors Presentation of the Candidates for Degrees of Engineer & Master of Science Student Speaker's Address Presentation of the Candidates for the Degree of Bachelor Of Science Closing And Recessional
3:00 pm	Reception to Follow Ceremony
For more information on logistics and details, please visit the Office of Student Affairs commencement 2008 page.

Dr. Charles M. Vest

Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and vice chair of the National Research Council, the principle operating arm of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. He is also President Emeritus and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Vest served as President of MIT from 1990 – 2004.

Vest has worked to bring issues concerning education and research to broader public attention and to strengthen national policy on science, engineering and education. In 1993 and 1994, he chaired the President's Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station and has been a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology since 1994. From 2002 to 2003, Vest chaired the U.S. Department of Energy Task Force on the Future of DOE Science Programs and for eight years Vest was vice chair of the Council on Competitiveness. He is also a past chair of the Association of American Universities.

Vest recently completed service as a member of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and of the U.S. Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education. He now serves on the Department of State Secretary's Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy and the Rice-Chertoff Secure Borders, Open Doors Advisory Board Subcommittee.

During his early career in mechanical engineering, Vest's research focused on thermal sciences and the engineering applications of lasers and coherent optics. He is the author of numerous papers and a book titled, Holographic Interferometry. He is also the author of two books on higher education and research policy, Pursuing the Endless Frontier: Essays on MIT and the Role of the Research University, and The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web.