Harvard Dominates with 10 Rhodes Scholars Heading to Oxford in 2023
In a remarkable achievement, ten students from Harvard College have been named Rhodes Scholars for the upcoming academic year, reaffirming the university’s academic prowess and commitment to excellence. The prestigious Rhodes Scholarships, established in 1902 by Cecil Rhodes, cover all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford. This year’s cohort consists of nine U.S. recipients and one international recipient, covering diverse areas of study including higher education, philosophy, neuroscience, and more.
The scholars and their respective fields of study are as follows:
1. Aishani Aatresh: From Saratoga, California, Aatresh, a fellow at the Program on Science, Technology & Society at the Kennedy School, will delve into the study of nature, society, and environmental governance at Oxford.
2. Suhaas Bhat: Hailing from Marshfield, Wisconsin, Bhat, who co-founded an organization providing group psychotherapy to students, will focus on mathematical modeling, scientific computing, and international health and tropical medicine at Oxford.
3. Benjamin Chang: Irvine, California native Chang, currently studying chemical and physical biology and computer science at Harvard, will advance machine learning for synthetic biology at Oxford.
4. Isabella B. Cho: A senior studying English from Wilmette, Illinois, Cho, a poet and journalist, will shift her focus to education, particularly higher education, at Oxford.
5. Mira-Rose Kingsbury Lee: Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lee, specializing in human evolutionary biology and history at Harvard, will pursue interdisciplinary bioscience at Oxford.
6. Xavier R. Morales: Coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Morales, who studies applied mathematics and economics with a secondary concentration in philosophy, will further his studies in philosophy at Oxford.
7. Lyndsey R. Mugford: Concentrating in human developmental and regenerative biology, Mugford’s research on somatosensory dysfunction in autism will contribute to her study of clinical neurosciences at Oxford.
8. Asmer Asrar Safi: Hailing from Pakistan, Safi, a social studies and ethnicity, migration, and human rights major at Harvard, will explore progressive political messaging in South Asia at Oxford.
9. Lucy Tu: A senior from Omaha, Nebraska, Tu, studying sociology and the history of science, plans to focus on socio-legal research and comparative social policy at Oxford.
10. Eleanor M. Wikstrom: Oakland, California native Wikstrom, a social studies concentrator, will pursue studies in imperial and global history and U.S. history at Oxford.
This impressive group of scholars, representing a variety of academic disciplines, will embark on their graduate studies at Oxford in October. The 32 students selected from the United States this year, including the ten from Harvard, come from 20 different colleges and include 20 women. Harvard’s American Rhodes Scholars now number 394, solidifying the university’s position as a leader in academic excellence.
