Chinese American student dies in MIT dorm room

A 17-year-old Chinese American student died in her dormitory room at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to an e-mail from the school’s president to the university’s community on Tuesday.

The cause of the student’s death was not mentioned in the e-mail.

The student, Phoebe Wang from Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, was a sophomore in mechanical engineering, according to MIT’s newspaper The Tech on Wednesday.

President L. Rafael Reif said Wang was a flute player in the university’s symphony orchestra. Her friends said she had a good sense of humor and was enthusiastic about music.

According to Wang’s Facebook profile, she also worked at MIT’s Lewis Music Library and conducted research at the MIT Energy Initiative.

“In recent months we have lost too many of our cherished students and dear friends,” Reif was quoted as saying in the report.

Austin Travis, an MIT graduate student of chemistry, died last month.