The Heads of House are integral to the smooth operation and well-being of residential life at Ashdown House. As liaisons between the residents, the student leadership, and MIT Housing, Heads of House work tirelessly to ensure life in Ashdown is enjoyable, safe, and inclusive. Their work includes advising the Ashdown House Executive Committee (AHEC) and Officer Committees to help develop community-building activities, as well as host their own events such as Open Houses, Boston outings, and residential activities like gardening workshops. They work with the House Manager, Facilities staff, and Housing staff to advocate for student concerns as well as communicate policy changes. They also engage with residents to ensure compliance to policies and supporting healthy well-being within the residence. They give council to students on academics and careers, mental health, medical issues, neighbor issues, discipline, and personal issues, thus acting as reliable in-house accessible support for graduate students. Basically, they do everything and more, in addition to having impressive careers and raising awesome families!
Heads of House: Dr. Katie Román & Prof. Yuriy Román
As Heads of House, we have the privilege of living with you here at Ashdown. Please allow us to introduce ourselves. Yuriy is a professor in Chemical Engineering specializing in heterogeneous catalysis and has been at MIT since 2010. He enjoys playing basketball, running, playing chess, and trying new foods. Katie studied medicine and enjoys biking, reading, and camping. We also have 6 kids between ages 11 and 18 who you will definitely see around the building and at events: Max, Dante, Apolo, Stella, Bruno, and Xander. Our family has served as Associate Heads of Ashdown House since 2011, and we are excited to take on the new role of Heads of Ashdown House beginning now in the fall of 2025.
We want to let you know that we are here to support you in any ways you might need. The easiest way to reach all four Heads and Associate Heads of House is an email to ashdown-hoh@mit.edu. We are also interested in hearing your ideas about how we can make your time in Ashdown more pleasant and fun. Don’t forget to join the Ashdown email lists and slack channel so you don’t miss out on any events. Our Ashdown website is also full of useful information. We are proud to be a part of the strong and vibrant Ashdown community, and we are happy that you are now a part of it as well!
Contact the Heads of House
Katie Román: kroman@mit.edu
Yuriy Román: yroman@mit.edu
Associate Heads of House: Dr. Admir Masic and Emina Masic
As Associate Heads of House, we have the privilege of living alongside you, and we’re here to support your experience at MIT—both academically and personally. This is our first year in the role, and we’re looking forward to exploring Ashdown together and getting to know all that makes this community special.
A little about us: Admir is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering whose research focuses on ancient materials and sustainable infrastructure. Emina has a background in public finance and education policy and is passionate about community-building and social impact. We live here with our two-year-old son, Benjamin, who’s always eager to wave hello in the hallways.
We hope to see you at Ashdown events and around the building throughout the year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re always happy to connect, help, or simply chat.
Contact the Associate Heads of House
Admir Masic: masic@mit.edu
Emina Masic: emasic@mit.edu
For information on past Heads of House please visit here.