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MIT Associate Professor Thomas Rose, an expert in ancient metallurgy, passed away on Sept. 2 due to injuries sustained during a bicycle accident in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The incident, currently under investigation, occurred at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Massachusetts Avenue. Rose was 37.
Rose, who was MIT’s POSCO Professor of Materials Science and a member of MIT’s Center for Materials Research in Archaeology (CMRAE), joined MIT in January of this year and was still putting the finishing touches on his laboratory. But he had already endeared himself to colleagues and students by going the extra mile in mentorship, encouraging others to use his new equipment, and even using a portion of his lab startup funds on things the department needed.
“Everyone can look at his papers and his past and understand why he was such a good fit here technically,” Senior Lecturer Michael Tarkanian says. “But in the time he was here, it was even more impressive how likable, friendly, and open he was. He was everything you could have asked for as a colleague and a person. I thought, ‘What luck to be able to work with this person for the rest of my career.’ He was that good.”
Rose was born in Berlin, Germany. He discovered his life’s passion as a child, through a set of books about ancient Egypt.
“Thomas had a strong interest in archaeology already from a young age and participated in an excavation before he began his studies of archaeology,” Katrin Westner of the Deutsches Bergbau Museum Bochum and Professor Sabine Klein of the Ruhr University of Bochum wrote in a joint email tribute. “He was an incredibly inspired and enthusiastic researcher and was always bursting with new research ideas. We remember Thomas not only as a brilliant and dedicated researcher but also as a very close friend. We miss him deeply.”
Rose received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Goethe University Frankfurt and earned his PhD in archaeology through a joint doctoral program at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and Sapienza University of Rome in Italy. Before coming to MIT, Rose held research and coordination roles in Germany at the Deutsches Bergbau Museum Bochum and Goethe University Frankfurt.
Rose’s research focused on ancient metallurgy and pyrotechnology that shaped early human societies, including how copper and its alloys were produced, transformed, and circulated.
The work integrated geochemistry, mineralogy, experimental archaeology, and materials science, making Rose an excellent fit in MIT’s tight-knit CMRAE group, which merges materials science with archaeology.
“The field of archaeometallurgy is unique,” explains Professor Polina Anikeeva, head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “We had been looking for a faculty with the right skill set for at least 20 years. We needed someone who was world class in archaeology and materials science. We were looking for a unicorn, and we found him.”
Following the announcement of Rose’s hiring, a group from CMRAE traveled to a conference in Italy and heard from scholars based around the world about how lucky they were to have him.
“Thomas was an exceptionally talented and versatile scientist,” says University of Tuebingen Professor Silvia Amicone. “His ability to bring together archaeology, archaeometallurgy, geoscience, and materials science was remarkable. He was also committed to developing digital tools and promoting open, accessible, and reusable archaeological data. This combination of scientific rigor, methodological creativity, and engagement with broader archaeological questions made his work especially valuable. I was always impressed by Thomas’s brilliant intellect, collegial spirit, enthusiasm, and dedication to his work. Above all, he was a genuinely kind and good person.”
Rose had never taught before coming to MIT, but he was excited to begin his first courses this fall. His lab’s first batch of graduate researchers just arrived at MIT, but Rose had already begun mentoring students.
“He was the kindest person you could meet,” says Assistant Professor Tania Lopez-Silva, whose office was close to Rose’s. “He was always smiling. He really cared about his students, and he had a lot of momentum here. He was here first thing in the morning and late into the night.”
Several colleagues recalled the energy and enthusiasm he brought to work.
“He was so excited every day,” Anikeeva says. “Every day was a dream come true for Thomas. He was at the right place at the right time. He was so excited to collaborate and learn. He felt like he got his dream job, and everything he’d ever imagined was about to happen. It’s an unrealized vision.”
Tarkanian had recently restarted weekly meetings among researchers in CMRAE, which Rose attended consistently. Forging connections was a theme of Rose’s career.
“He had a long reach with both young and established scholars, and he inspired his friends and colleagues to show up,” says postdoc Benjamin Sabatini. “His work in archaeometry was paramount, and it showed in the people who gathered around him.”
Rose was also the co-founder of the Young Researchers in Archaeometry workshop, which brought together early-career researchers from around the world to present work and connect.
“Since [its founding], he accompanied every year’s workshop organizing meeting, always with immense kindness and support, making a lasting impact on each of us,” researchers Sinem Haciosmanoglu and Baptiste Solard wrote together in an email. “He was an exceptionally talented and dedicated researcher. Even at an early stage of his career, he brought new ideas and perspectives to the field. For many of us, he also played an important role in bringing together all fields of archaeological sciences, natural sciences, and cultural heritage.”
Outside of research, Rose was fond of rowing on the Charles River and was an avid member of MIT’s Archery Club. He loved manga Japanese comics and dancing. Lopez-Silva described Rose as humble and sometimes reserved, but on a recent recruitment outing with students, he fully committed himself to a very memorable karaoke performance.
“The students loved him,” Tarkanian says. “You could see that he cared about them, and they cared about him. He was going to be that kind of mentor.”
