The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the best college in America for many reasons.
It has outstanding faculty, a top-notch engineering program, and alumni who have gone on to become notable politicians, historians, and physicists.
But many of its current students have already done some pretty incredible things.
These are the 15 most impressive undergraduate students on MIT's campus this semester.
Arfa Aijazi is creating affordable innovations for impoverished communities.
Class of 2013
Arfa Aijazi is a senior who is majoring in materials science and engineering with a minor in applied international studies. She's using her studies to change the world, particularly in the ways of housing and food.
She has done research on polymeric molecules, materials for fuel-cell cathodes, and bamboo as a structural material for stronger, sustainable, and affordable housing.
When Aijazi traveled to Tanzania, she developed a hand-powered grain mill that could grind corn kernels into flour, a life-changing machine for the village she worked with. She also worked to create better housing in Brazilian slums, and has conducted research at Oxford and Cambridge.
Aijazi also writes for the campus life section of MIT's newspaper, The Tech, and serves as the vice president of the Muslim Students' Association. She hopes to pursue a career where she can work to reduce the environmental impact of buildings.
Lizz Albany is an aspiring teacher who is researching the ways young children come to understand the world around them.
Class of 2013
Lizz Albany is a senior at MIT studying Brain and Cognitive Science, with a focus on early childhood cognition.
She conducts research in MIT's Early Childhood Cognition Lab on how children come to understand their environments through social interaction and play.
Albany is an active leader in many organizations on campus, including her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, in which she serves as the chair of its annual philanthropy event. She is also an associate advisor for the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming, a founding member of the Returning Students Mentoring Program, a member of the inaugural Student Advisory Committee on Diversity and Admissions, and a member of the Community Catalyst Leadership Program.
This past fall, Albany gave a TimTalk lecture on why she thinks all MIT students should graduate with at least two degrees, given that they learn so many valuable and different lessons while in school.
While she is working toward her Massachusetts teachers certification in elementary education, Albany is also a SMART Scholar with the Department of Defense, and plans to work for the Army after graduation.
Noam Angrist is engaging youth in athletics and academics with a new approach.
Class of 2013
Noam Angrist is persistent. After he suffered from a blood clot that almost killed him and effectively ended his rowing career (he was a strong athlete and a member of his high school's crew team), he switched to coaching and led his high schools crew team to win gold medals in the Massachusetts state championships.
Now a senior at MIT, Angrist continues to coach crew. He has also found ways to share his love of crew: he co-founded the Amphibious Achievement program, in which he and fellow mentors teach swimming and rowing to Boston youth while also tutoring them and helping them with college prep.
The economics major gave a TIMTalk lecture in May about what he calls a "Do Now" approach to learning, which he uses to engage students in charter schools.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider