On Dec. 5, HMC community members gathered on campus to celebrate the College’s 70th anniversary with reflections, connection and hands-on fun. President Harriet Nembhard shared remarks honoring the generations of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends who shaped Harvey Mudd into the vibrant, innovative place it is today. Alumna and trustee Kathy French ’97, student leaders Aditi Bonthu ’26 and Simone Yang ’26, and members of HMC’s Founding Class, Don Gross ’61 and Jerry Van Hecke ’61, also shared remarks. Community members participated in makerspace craft activities, sipped Mudder mocktails and enjoyed viewing seven decades of photos on the Mudd Moments Mosaic. Visit the mosaic webpage, watch highlights from the 70th Anniversary Celebration on campus in the December Mudd Minute and enjoy a recap of the 70th Anniversary Symposium. 

Register to join us on campus Feb. 6–7 for Family Weekend! Visit the Family Weekend website for the preliminary schedule, hotel recommendations and more information. We have added programming highlighting the Innovation Accelerator, collaborative projects that unite students, faculty and staff to tackle real-world challenges in STEM and beyond. We hope to see you in February!

A scholarship from the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics will allow Eduardo Ibarra García Padilla to bring new ideas and research directions to his research group and classes. He also looks forward to new collaborations with other physicists in the areas of quantum many-body physics, condensed matter physics and atomic physics.

The first three Innovation Accelerator Laboratories—Thriving (formerly Thriving in the Core), Data Science and Social Impact, and Emerging Health Technology—are growing. Stay tuned for the results of the most recent call for proposals for the Innovation Accelerator in Artificial Intelligence. The Innovation Accelerator continues to serve as the engine that propels innovation across campus.

Cornerstone laying, first building (now Mildred E. Mudd Hall). Shown: Carl Wittenberg, builder; Joseph B. Platt; Reverend Robert Rankin, chaplain of The Claremont Colleges; Mildred E. Mudd; and Robert J. Bernard.

Seventy years ago, the founders of Harvey Mudd College believed that integrating the humanities, social sciences and the arts into a rigorous and cross-disciplinary undergraduate STEM curriculum was key to creating the next generation of well-rounded leaders and compassionate problem solvers. The Harvey Mudd community has maintained an unwavering focus on students and the College’s mission. This timeline of the College’s history is a reminder of the people, ideas and accomplishments shared by the HMC community.

You can shred a potato, but can you shred on a potato? At the makerspace Music with Vegetables workshop, stewards taught students how to use Arduino and breadboard circuit components to capture the natural conductivity of fruits and vegetables to produce electronic sound. Stewards also showed how variations in each fruit and vegetable translated into differences in pitch, waveform, volume and beat. (Photo by Lindsey Sands ’27)

for students and faculty to present their work to the Harvey Mudd community. Lab presentations included discussions on desalination and water reuse, lead-free metal alloy development, bio-inspired fluid mechanics, and Shazam for sheet music. View event images on Instagram or Facebook accounts for more photos. (Photos by Kaitlyn Chen ’29)

CMS women's basketballer Tanya Ghai ’27 (pictured, center) scored 15 points and had six assists in the 82–68 win at La Verne during the first game of SCIAC play on Dec. 3. Senior midfielder Cate Lewison is one of five members of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s soccer team who earned All-Region X honors from the United Soccer Coaches. Lewison was a leading scorer, finishing the year with three goals and five assists for 11 points to earn first-team All-Region honors for the second straight year. Select the headline link for the latest CMS Athletics news.

As we close out the year, you can help strengthen the Mudd experience for today’s students. A gift to the Annual Fund before Dec. 31 sustains financial aid, academic excellence and health and wellness initiatives that make a real difference every day. 

During finals week, HMC Muchachos host evening “Noisy Minutes,” so Mudders have an excuse for a built-in break from studying. Students can join jam sessions, decorate cookies, work on puzzles and play card games to clear their minds before getting back to the books. Photos by Lindsey Sands ’27 and Max Buchanan ’27.

This summer, the College will offer a diverse mix of courses that serve current students, visiting college students and advanced high school students and others. The session runs May 26–July 24. Select the headline link to add your name to the interest list.

As we mark seven decades of impact, we pause to reflect on the people, the progress, and the partnerships that brought us here.

This season, we celebrate not only the history of Harvey Mudd College, but also the future we will build together.

Wishing you peace, joy, and gratitude this holiday season and always.

—President Harriet Nembhard

“Team Teaching 101” Times Higher Ed. Kathy Van Heuvelen on the benefits of team teaching for both faculty development and student learning outcomes.

“Stop Blaming AI. Start Preparing Students for Work” Inside Higher Ed. Harvey Mudd’s successful summer job shadow program pairs students with alumni around the country. 

Tammy Hanna ’02 (chemistry) “Appointed Chief Publications Officer for FASEB and the BioCore Consortium.” Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 

Jon Hakim ’01 (physics) “Environmental passion project documents new species in an Oregon County.” Newsbreak.com. 

Hanna Dearman-So ’25 (“Women in HVACR and Carrier Award $55,000 in Scholarships to Empower Future Women in the Skilled Trades.” Contractingbusiness.com.

The Claremont Colleges Celebrate 100 Years

Healy’s Students Explore Nobel Prize-Winning MOFs

Clinic Team Earns
BeamNetUS Grant

Clinic Team’s Barium Titanate Findings Published in MRS Communications

IA Lab for Emerging Health Technology Connects Students and Alumni via Internships

Ogba Unlocks NSF LEAPS Grant

Dec. 22–Jan. 4  Ι  Winter break; campus closed

Jan. 6 | HMC Reception in Washington, D.C. with Math Faculty

Feb. 6–7 | Family Weekend

Feb. 27–28 | Driving the Impact of Data Science (DIoDS) Conference: From Data to Doing 

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