School of Science announces 2020 Infinite Mile Awards

Ten staff members recognized for dedication to School of Science and to MIT.

The MIT School of Science has announced the 2020 winners of the Infinite Mile Award. Selected from a pool of staff members nominated by their colleagues for going above and beyond in their roles within the MIT community, these employees represent some of the most dedicated members to the Institute.

The 2020 Infinite Mile Award winners in the School of Science are:

• Margaret Cabral, an administrative assistant in the Department of Biology, nominated by Helene Kelsey;
• Rachel Donahue, the director of strategic scientific development for the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Quest for Intelligence, nominated by professors Jim DiCarlo and Nick Roy;
• Slava Gerovitch, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, nominated by professors Pavel Etingof, David Jerison, JuLee Kim, and Ankur Moitra;
• Taylor Johns, a technical associate in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, nominated by Professor Mriganka Sur and Grayson Sipe;
• Megan Jordan, the academic administrator in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, nominated by professors J. Taylor Perron, Andrew Babbin, Richard Binzel, Timothy Grove, and Paul O’Gorman, and by Karen Fosher;
• Renée LeBlanc, the senior financial officer in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, nominated by Professor Li-Huei Tsai, Professor J. Troy Littleton, William Lawson, Lauren Anderson, Arlene Heywood-Dortch, Katherine Olson, Abby Reynolds, and Arek Hamalian;
• Aidan MacDonagh, a technical instructor in the Department of Physics, nominated by Peter Dourmashkin, Professor Deepto Chakrabarty, Professor Robert Redwine, Professor Joseph Formaggio, and Michelle Tomasik;
• Avi Shporer, a research scientist in the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, nominated by George Ricker, Maximilian Günther, and Tansu Daylan;
• Rebecca Teixeira Drake, a senior administrative assistant in the Department of Chemistry, nominated by Professor Troy Van Voorhis and Jennifer Weisman; and
• Emily Wensberg, an administrative assistant in the Department of Chemistry, nominated by Professor Troy Van Voorhis and Richard Wilk.

They will be joining the previously-announced 2020 Infinite Kilometer Award winners from the School of Science at a celebratory reception in their honor to be held later this spring, in addition to receiving a monetary award.