Meet the 'rockstar' MIT professor who's been linked to Brad Pitt and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman

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• Brad Pitt is reportedly spending time with MIT Media Lab professor Neri Oxman — though the relationship isn't romantic.
• Oxman is reportedly dating billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
• Oxman was born in Israel, coined the term and pioneered the field of "material ecology," and has her work featured in museums across the globe.

Universal heartthrob Brad Pitt has a new friend — and it's someone who works thousands of miles from Hollywood.

Neri Oxman is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a pioneer in her field ("material ecology" — heard of it?).

Page Six, which called Oxman a "rockstar MIT professor," reported that nothing romantic has developed between the two, though a source also told Page Six that Oxman is dating billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Ackman's team declined to comment to Page Six.

Below, some of the highlights of Oxman's life and impressive career.

This is Neri Oxman. She is an associate professor of media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab.

Source: MIT Media Lab

Page Six reported that Oxman and actor Brad Pitt have been spending time together, after meeting through an architecture project at MIT. A source told Page Six, "Brad and Neri instantly hit it off because they share the same passion for architecture, design and art. This is best described as a professional friendship."

Source: New York Post

According to Page Six, Oxman has been dating billionaire Bill Ackman for seven months, although Ackman's team declined a request for comment. Ackman is the founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, and was once called the next Warren Buffett.

Source: New York Post, Business Insider

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