On June 3, 2016, Matt Damon served as commencement speaker at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's 2016 commencement exercises. MIT President
L. Rafael Reif noted that in
The Martian, Damon's character Mark Watney declares himself a "space pirate": in parodic honor, Reif presented Damon with an honorary pirate's diploma, which is bestowed to select MIT students on completion of certain Physical Education requirements. ==References==