L. Rafael Reif is a professor of Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

 and the current Provost

Provost (education)

A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....

 of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

. Reif previously served as the head of MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science between 2004 and 2005 and the director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories.

Reif, born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia, Venezuela

Valencia, Venezuela

Valencia is the capital city of Carabobo State, and the third largest city of Venezuela.The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. The population of Valencia reached some 1.5 million in the year 2003, and it is expected to grow dramatically...

 in 1973 and his doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 in 1979. He joined the MIT faculty in 1980 and now holds the Maseeh Professorship

Fariborz Maseeh

Fariborz Maseeh is a pioneer in the field of micro-electro mechanical systems and philanthropist who founded IntelliSense in 1991 and later sold it in 2000. He is founder and managing principal of Picoco LLC, an investment management firm which invests in various assets and manages several...

 in Emerging Technology. Before his appointment as Provost, his research centered on three-dimensional integrated circuit technologies and on environmentally benign microelectronics fabrication.

Reif is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers and is a member of Tau Beta Pi

Tau Beta Pi

The Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity...

 and the Electrochemical Society.

Reif and his wife, Christine, live in Newton, Massachusetts

Newton, Massachusetts

Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

and have a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Blake.