His students agree.

Saurabh H. Sanghvi ’04 says that Rosen “is short and doesn’t look like much, but he has...an amazing presence in the classroom.”

“As a lecturer, he’s top of the line,” she adds.

Rosen was rewarded for his efforts in the classroom in 2002, when he was named a Harvard College Professor—a distinction given for excellence in undergraduate teaching and research.

While some students mention that they have been somewhat intimidated by Rosen and were disappointed that he did not have weekly office hours, others—especially those who have known him outside of large lectures—disagree.

“He’s not intimidating. He comes across as professional and someone that commands a lot of respect, but at the same time is very accessible and veryfriendly,” Jennifer G. Raymond ’06 says.

Rosen says he looks forward to living in Winthrop with his wife Mandana Sassanfar, sons Guive, 13, Kamran, 11, and Bijan, 4, and their two cats.

Rosen says that Sassanfar is an experienced mentor and will play the role of master while he is co-master, but Sassanfar says they have different talents that will be useful on the job.

“We will be complimenting each other well in terms of our personality and energy,” says Sassanfar, who is a biology professor at MIT.

Rosen also says Winthrop’s master’s kitchen will give him the chance to exercise one of his lesser known talents.

“I’m a great cook,” he brags. “Well, I’m a pretty good cook.”

He says his favorite dishes come from Chinese, Italian and Mexican cuisine.

Winthrop residents from a variety of concentrations, not just government, say they are eager to chat with Rosen informally and hear about his adventures at Harvard and in D.C.

“He’s not exactly going to be matronly, but we hear from the TFs that after a couple of margaritas he tells you a lot of interesting things,” says Saw San Myat San ’06.

—Staff writer Iliana Montauk can be reached at montauk@fas.harvard.edu.