2025 MIT Award Winners

On May 12th, 2025 two members of the DUSP community were honored at the MIT Student  Awards Convocation. PhD student Nick Allen received the Karl Taylor Compton Prize, MIT’s top student prize, and Arí Pero received three awards: the Priscilla King Gray Public Service Award, the Albert G. Hill Prize, and the Golden Beaver Award.

The convocation is one of MIT’s largest awards ceremonies, in which departments and programs across the Institute recognize student achievements in arts, athletics, academics, and Institute service. At the ceremony, over 40 students were recognized for their remarkable contributions to MIT.

Karl Taylor Compton Prize

Nick Allen received the 2025 Karl Taylor Compton Prize, MIT’s most prestigious student award. The Compton Prize is awarded to students or student organizations “in recognition of excellent achievements in citizenship and devotion to the welfare of MIT.” Compton, MIT's ninth president (1930-1948), transformed engineering education, forged the federal government’s partnership with universities, and created the first modern venture capital fund—ideas that reshaped both MIT and American scientific progress.

Chancellor Melissa Nobles presented the award, recalling Allen’s contributions to MIT’s student stipend policy, campus housing development, and ideas for dining program reform. She praised his efforts to “fully understand complex issues, ensuring his recommendations are not only well-informed but also practical and impactful.” One nomination described Nick as “the single most dedicated, thoughtful, and helpful graduate student collaborator with whom I have had the pleasure of working in my time as an MIT administrator.”

One throughline in the nominations was that “Nick’s leadership is rooted in empathy, integrity, and a genuine desire to make our community stronger.” His support for undergraduate advisees and participation in senior search committees were given as examples of his dedication to the Institute.

Allen is a PhD student in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. His research focuses on improving the design of local tax systems. He draws from urban planning, institutional economics, and public finance. He has advised several U.S. cities on options for fundamental tax reform.

Previously, Allen was an economic development official in Detroit and conducted research on urban development in India, Singapore, and Malaysia. He received a BA from Yale University and a Master of City Planning from MIT. 

Priscilla King Gray Public Service Award, the Albert G. Hill Prize, the Golden Beaver Award

The Priscilla King Gray Public Service Award recognizes graduate and undergraduate students who are exceptionally dedicated to community engagement and making positive social and environmental changes at MIT and beyond. The Albert G. Hill Prize at MIT recognizes and celebrates the contributions of junior and senior students who are from underrepresented minority backgrounds and who have maintained high academic standards while actively contributing to diversity, equity, and inclusion at MIT. The Golden Beaver Award at MIT recognizes outstanding contributions to student life and the wider campus community. The award is presented to those who demonstrate a strong organizational structure, exceptional programming, and a significant positive impact on campus life.

Vice Chancellor Suzy Nelson presented all three awards to Ari Peró. During her remarks Nelson cited Peró’s work “as president of G@MIT, [where they] led efforts to create more inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ students and fostered constructive dialogues between students and the MIT administration. Their nominator noted that Ari “embodies the highest ideals of academic excellence, visionary leadership, and dedicated public service at MIT, passionately striving for change while empowering others to do the same” and “Ari’s pioneering research in computer vision and urban innovation complements their diligent efforts mentoring underrepresented students in STEM fields, and advancing social justice through MITES, MCSC, and the PKG Public Service Center programming. Ari also co-founded Students Demand Action: Miami, dedicated to ending gun violence through advocacy and community engagement.” 

Peró is a class of 2025 undergraduate student with double majors in Urban Science & Planning with Computer Science and Music at MIT. Their work explores the use of machine learning and visual AI to detect and analyze species across diverse ecosystems, contributing to the preservation of global biodiversity and advancing computational approaches to ecological monitoring.