In Cambridge, Massachusetts yesterday, MIT dedicated a new permanent memorial to Sean Collier, the campus police officer ambushed by the Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, on April 18, 2013. The completed structure, a months-long collaboration among MIT architecture professor Meejin Yoon, structural engineering professor John Oschendorf, students, and a crew that included Collier's brother, stands on the site of the murder and is laden with symbolism. From the choice of material—32 giant pieces of polished granite painstakingly excavated from a New Hampshire quarry—to its overall shape—an "open hand" that represents service and generosity, the memorial is the striking physical embodiment of "Collier Strong," the simple words that Boston has embraced in remembrance of the fallen officer.
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