Contact Info:

Mark Hempstead
MD 311
33 Oxford St.
Cambridge MA, 02138

mhempste [at] eecs dot harvard dot edu

Over the past three years, I have lived among undergraduates as a resident tutor in Lowell House. My responsibilities range from resident assistant to academic advisor to intellectual/social coordinator. I’m responsible for the well being of thirty-five students and I also have five formal academic advisees. Lowell House is a vibrant multi-generational and interdisciplinary environment. I have enjoyed long conversations with students, professors, and visiting scholars in this historic building with its unique traditions. For instance, you'll see that at 7am on May 1st ... I wore a tux.

I believe that social connections fuel interdisciplinary collaborations. With graduate students from applied physics, applied math, engineering and computer science, I founded an organization to build community within the growing engineering school. I served as a co-president of the graduate student life community for two years. We secured significant funding from the department, and held regular social events. I met with the administrative deans regularly to communicate student needs and receive feedback from the administration.

Separately, I served as the chair of the new student orientation for graduate students held September 2006. I organized a day long program for 75 students across disciplines with guest speakers, panels and discussion sessions, and team building.

Regular exercise has kept me sane during the trials of graduate school. Cambridge and the Charles river is a wonderful place to run -- even in winter's cold and ice. Last year I decided to try training for something longer ... my first marathon. I finished the picturesque Cape Cod Marathon in 4 hours and 5 minutes, Oct 26, 2008.

I'm an Eagle Scout who grew up in New England -- hence my desire to hike, camp, water ski, and canoe whenever possible.