A record-breaking total of more than 5,000 alumni and friends attended this year’s MIT Tech Reunions, held online June 4–6. There were special events for reunion-year classes, and the entire MIT community was invited to watch the online Tech Night at Pops, learn from faculty during Technology Day, and take virtual campus tours.
Symphony Hall at home
Because the 123rd annual Tech Night at Pops was held virtually, there was no limit to the number of alumni and guests who could attend, and everyone got a front-row seat. Conducted in an empty Symphony Hall by Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops Orchestra performed a program custom-made for the occasion, with Institute favorites like “Arise All Ye of MIT” and a 50th-reunion tribute to the Class of 1971 with tunes from Three Dog Night and Carole King. The evening also included classical pieces such as the first movement of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto—featuring soloist William Wang, an MIT PhD candidate and music student in MIT’s conservatory-level Emerson Program, in his first performance with a professional orchestra. In keeping with tradition, the broadcast ended with “Stars and Stripes Forever” and a (virtual) balloon drop. Throughout the performance, alumni and guests lit up the chat with greetings and reminiscences from around the world:
Stephanie Sharo Chiesi ’99, ’01,
SM ’04:
So excited to be able to share Tech Night at the Pops with my 3.5 year old tonight from here in Tucson!
Debbie Zappen ’86:
Hello from Austin, TX! Here as part of the 1986 35th reunion events. 
Jesse Heines ’70:
We’ve seen the Pops many times, but we always look forward to it.
Maris Fravel ’56:
Greatly looking forward to my first Pops concert since graduation.
Alan Whitney ’66,
SM ’67, PhD ’74:
Alan Whitney, Class of ’66 here (BSEE, MSEE, PhD); as undergrad and grad-school student, I played 1st violin in the MIT Symphony for all those years.
Nowa Lubega ’86:
Greetings from Uganda—my first Pops concert. Lovely!
Dalié Jiménez ’01:
Hello from the road in Southern California! Hi Class of 2001!
Bob Nakata ’81,
SM ’85:
Aloha from Honolulu, Hawaii!
Jennifer Dickson ’96:
Greetings from Charleston SC. This is fun. Cheers to everyone who made this reunion possible.
Lucas Camelo Sá ’16:
Hi from Fortaleza, Brazil!
Jim Mannoia ’71:
Our 50th year reunion! Who could have imagined! Watching the live stream while eating my gift of Tech Night at the Pops popcorn and watching polo at the Santa Barbara Polo Club.
Ric Schonblom ’56, SM ’57:
Great to be here. First time “on campus” in over fifty years!
Philip Huang ’99:
Hello from Shanghai!
Surekha Vajjhala Trivedi
’96, SM ’99:
Hello 25th reunion friends from Class of 1996! I miss seeing all the red jackets in person!
