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The Moment: July 2025
In this issue
One morning in 1939, George Dantzig showed up late to his statistics class at Berkeley, saw the homework on the blackboard, and got to work. The theorems assigned were tricky, and he apologized to his professor for taking longer than usual to work out the proofs—only to learn this hadn’t been homework at all. Written on the blackboard had been two famously unsolved statistical theorems.
Dantzig was plainly brilliant. But brilliance alone doesn’t change the world; it needs time, support, and the right environment. Stanford understood that, and in 1966 he joined the faculty. In time he’d develop the legendary simplex algorithm, transforming everything from military logistics to airline schedules to oil production. In just two decades, it was estimated to generate more than $100 billion in economic value.
Stories like this are legion at Stanford. The Farm doesn’t just foster innovation—it incubates the improbable.
We kick off this issue with a collection of such minds tossed, for our entertainment, into that ultimate academic rivalry: the Three Minute Thesis competition. Watch our sharpest intellects spar for glory—and vote on who should take home that oversized novelty check.
And watch our new video about a Stanford researcher searching for answers to a rare childhood disease—who instead stumbled on something much bigger.
Finally, we leave you with three favorite stories from our archives. If you were busy solving unsolvable theorems, now’s your chance for some Stanford beach reading.
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Three minutes to triumph
Stanford’s inaugural Three Minute Thesis competition asked PhD students to do the unthinkable: summarize years of research in 180 seconds.
Three minutes to triumph
Meet the finalists—and try to guess who wonStanford’s inaugural Three Minute Thesis competition asked PhD students to do the unthinkable: summarize years of research in 180 seconds.
Uche Medoh, MS ’22, PhD ’24, assistant professor of chemical engineering Monther Abu-Remaileh, and chemistry professor Carolyn Bertozzi share the story of the discovery Medoh made in a Stanford lab.
From dead end to breakthrough
Watch how Medoh’s work could transform the way we treat neurodegenerative diseaseGrad student Uche Medoh spent two years chasing the wrong idea—until an unexpected discovery led to a potential new treatment for common diseases. With help from the Innovative Medicines Accelerator, that discovery is speeding toward patients.
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