Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why is my name not showing up in the list?

• Leave out any periods, commas, or apostrophes.
• Try refining your search by typing in both the first and last name.
• Use full names instead of nicknames, e.g. “William” instead of “Bill.”
• If a person has changed their name since graduation, try searching by the name they are known by now. Sometimes name spellings change as well, e.g., “Joerg” instead of “Jorg.”

Q: Which categories of the MIT community are included on the wafers and can be found by searching the site?

• Most living and deceased degreed and non-degreed alumni
• Most currently matriculated students (as of September 2023)
• Most postdoctoral associates and fellows (as of September 2023)
• Faculty (as of September 2023)
• Staff (as of September 2023)

Q: Which categories of the MIT community may not be included?

• Cross-registered, visiting, or special students
• Spouses and parent of current or former students
• Certificate program participants
• Affiliates

Q: Why is the number of names increasing each time?

Every year MIT welcomes new students, staff, and faculty to join the community! We also take the opportunity with each new design to fix errors and add names previously missed - often discovered with the help of visitors like you.

Q: Why is nothing showing up as I zoom in?

Names are loaded as vector tiles at higher zoom levels, but it might take a few moments. Read more about how here.

Q: What order are the names in?

The names are in pseudo-random order. Read more about why here.

Q: Who designed One.MIT?

MIT Professor W. Craig Carter leads the artistic vision and intricate mathematical designs for every version of One.MIT. Learn more about the design process here.

Q: How is the wafer made?

Each wafer is fabricated right in MIT.nano cleanrooms on campus, led by Dr. Jorg Scholvin with assistance from MIT undergrad students! Learn more about the wafer fabrication here.

Q: How is the website made?

MIT alum Georgios Varnavides implemented the name-search functionality. The 2018 version uses precomputed images at different magnifications. The 2020 and 2024 versions use vector tiles to implement a navigation-like interface. Learn more about the name search implementation here.

Q: Will you be adding new students/faculty/staff and recent graduate names?

We have not settled on a definite plan for adding in recent graduates and new faculty/staff, but we’re planning to generate a new version every couple years.