Susan Hockfield (born March 24, 1951) is an American neuroscientist who from December 2004 through June 2012 served as the sixteenth president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hockfield succeeded Charles M. Vest and was succeeded by L. Rafael Reif, who had served in her administration as Provost. Hockfield was both the first biologist and the first woman to serve as the Institute’s president.