News

Where are they now?

Where are they now?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’75 called Hamas and the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS) “branches of the same poisonous tree” in a speech to the United Nations general assembly on Monday. He compared Israel’s strikes in Gaza to the U.S.-led strikes in Iraq and Syria, saying that both were aimed at defeating militant Islam.

Bill Frezza ’76 wrote a column headlined “Drunk Female Guests Are the Gravest Threat to Fraternities” for Forbes, which pulled the piece and fired Frezza shortly after publishing it last Tuesday. Frezza, pilloried online for the column, said he stands by every word. He is the president of the MIT Chi Phi alumni association and a former entrepreneur and venture capitalist.

Jacob Lurie PhD ’04 was named a 2014 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow earlier this month for his work in “derived algebraic geometry.” The fellows each receive $625,000, no strings attached. Lurie, formerly on the MIT faculty, is now a math professor at Harvard.

Leland Cheung MBA ’12, who ran for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, lost to Steve Kerrigan in the Democratic primary earlier this month. Cheung has been a Cambridge city councillor since 2010.

Compiled from media reports. Send tips about former MIT students, staff, faculty, and affiliates to news@tech.mit.edu.