Professor Thomas Rose (1989-2026)
Dear members of the MIT community,
With a heavy heart, I write to let you know that Thomas Rose, the POSCO Professor of Materials Science and an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, died yesterday due to injuries from a bicycle accident on August 21. The incident, now under investigation, occurred at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Massachusetts Avenue.
As Thomas’s family, friends, colleagues and students absorb this terrible unexpected loss, I hope we can hold them close in our hearts. Institutionally, we are providing support to those closest to Thomas and anyone else who may need it.
About Thomas Rose
Raised in Berlin, Germany, Thomas found his calling through a collection of books about the ruins and artifacts of ancient Egypt: At the age of nine, he knew he was meant to be an archeologist. He went on to a bachelor’s in the field from the University of Tübingen, with a focus on prehistory, followed by degrees in geochemistry from Goethe University Frankfurt. A special joint program between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Sapienza University of Rome brought him full circle to his doctorate in archeology, which in turn led to postdoc positions at several German institutions.
In the 1960s, MIT pioneered the application of materials science to archeology, opening new doors to understanding the emergence, production and cultural role of metals, ceramics and other materials in ancient civilizations. In 1977, this led to a consortium across MIT and seven other institutions called the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE). In more recent years, as our Department of Materials Science and Engineering sought new faculty talent for CMRAE, it felt “like seeking a unicorn”: How to find an individual doing frontier work as both an archeologist and a metallurgist? They found their unicorn in Thomas Rose.
Since he joined our community in January of this year, Thomas created a wonderful stir of new energy and promise. Colleagues were immediately taken by his boundless enthusiasm for his own work and everyone else’s, by his honesty, openness, curiosity and willingness to learn, by his kindness and generosity. They remember him as always smiling, as working side by side with his students in the lab, as arriving early and staying late, inspired by the opportunities ahead for his research and for the field itself. Even in his short time at MIT, Thomas had made himself at home, joining the Archery Club to practice an old passion and relaxing by rowing on the Charles.
You can read more about Thomas and his work in this obituary on MIT News.
Supporting each other
In the face of such a senseless loss, we all seek consolation. If you or anyone you know would like support, counsel or just a listening ear, I encourage you to make use of our many campus resources, listed below.
Over time, Thomas’s colleagues and friends will find ways to celebrate his life, mourn his loss and honor his contributions.
With deepest sympathy,
Sally Kornbluth
Key Campus Support Resources
- DoingWell: Key support resources for the MIT community.
- Chaplains in the Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL) are available to offer support and counsel to anyone in the MIT community.
- Student Mental Health and Counseling Services: Working with students to identify, understand and solve problems, and to help transform that understanding into positive action.
- Student Support Services: An easily accessible hub of support for undergraduates.
- GradSupport and the Graduate Assistance Information Network offer a wide variety of resources to help grad students and families deal with the unexpected.
- Staff, faculty, postdocs, and their adult household members have free, confidential, 24/7 access to MIT MyLife Services. MyLife Services counselors provide 1:1 support in navigating emotional and mental health concerns, including grief and loss. If you need additional information or would like to speak with a counselor, please call 844-405-5433 or request a return call.