Splash Biography

VIVIAN HIR, Undergraduate student at MIT

Major: Admin

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2025

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Hi, I am Vivian! I just graduated from MIT and studied computational biology, with minors in chemistry and Asian studies. I am interested in various topics in the life sciences, from AI in drug discovery to organic chemistry. I have taught all kinds of classes for MIT Splash, such as crystal field theory and 19th century French music.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

H966: What Makes Taiwan Taiwan? A Crash Course on Taiwan's History, Culture, and People in Rainstorm Summer 2025 (Jul. 26 - 27, 2025)

Curious about what makes some aspects of Taiwan different from China even though this island is roughly 100 miles away? In this class, I will first go over Taiwan's history from its early days to the KMT to its current political situation. Then, I will discuss interesting aspects of Taiwanese culture from food to people to language (slang, accent, dialect) that are unique to this place and not found in Mainland China. Be prepared to be bombarded by lots of random fun facts!