Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel ’78, a successful businessman who created MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab 10 years ago to bring a rigorous, evidence-based approach to poverty-alleviation programs around the world, will receive an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. Earlier this year, he created the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab at MIT to spearhead research aimed at combatting shortages of food and water in the face of climate change and population growth. “Mr. Jameel has helped to foster innovative, high-impact approaches to some of humanity’s most pressing problems,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif. The title of Honorary Knighthood in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire recognizes people who are not citizens of the U.K. or Commonwealth nations who have demonstrated values such as commitment, compassion, and a drive toward positive social change.

Read the News Office story: https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/mohammed-abdul-latif-jameel-knighthood-1029