Sunday, January 31, 2010

Events - February 1, 2010

MIT

Monday, February 01, 2010
"Technology X will save the world" and other myths of social entrepreneurship

Speaker: Manish Bharadwaj

Time: 3:00p–5:00p

Location: 1-277

The Fellows Series
Fellows of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics & Transformative Values at MIT share their work.

Predicting the success of any new enterprise is difficult, but most social entrepreneurs face an added challenge: their lives bear little resemblance to the people they serve. This can significantly impede their understanding of what matters most to their customer, her priorities and concerns, resources, the constraints imposed by her environment, and the interplay between agents. Bridging this gap, and not technology per se, is arguably the chief determinant of success. While there is no substitute for gaining a deeper understanding of the community, in part by immersing oneself in it, this talk will draw lessons from past successes and failures to help us avoid common traps, and improve our chances of meaningfully serving our communities.
(Acknowledgment: The title myth is courtesy Kentaro Toyama, Microsoft Research India.)


Web site: http://thecenter.mit.edu/events/upcoming/

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values

For more information, contact:
The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics & Transformative Values
4-6030
info@thecenter.mit.edu


Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Susan Tierney: Why is Modernizing Our Energy Technologies So Darn Hard, But Worth the Effort?

Speaker: Susan Tierney, Managing Principal, Analysis Group

Time: 4:15p–5:30p

Location: 66-110

MITEI Seminar Series
A year-long series of seminars given by leaders in the energy field sponsored by the MIT Energy Initiative.

So much work is underway to advance energy technologies to make them more efficient, have a lower carbon footprint, more accessible to communities, and so forth. And yet, it is so hard to put new energy technologies into place in domestic (and many international) markets. Why is that? Tierney discusses the array of factors arising out of national energy policy, regulatory approaches and practices, energy and other politics, investment settings, and so forth, that create tenacious barriers to the introduction of advanced energy technologies into existing systems. She also will address what is happening to overcome those obstacles and why more is needed.

Sue Tierney, a Managing Principal at Analysis Group in Boston, is an expert on energy economics, regulation and policy. Her previous positions included Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, and executive director of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Council. She co-chaired the DOE Agency Review Team for the Obama Presidential Transition Team. Currently, she co-chairs the National Commission on Energy Policy, chairs the board of the Energy Foundation, chairs the Advisory Council of NREL; and is a director of World Resources Institute, Clean Air Task Force, Clean Air - Cool Planet, Evergreen Solar, and Ze-gen.


Web site: http://mit.edu/mitei/news/seminars/darn-hard.html

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative

For more information, contact:
Jameson Twomey
4-2408
jtwomey@mit.edu


Thursday, February 04, 2010

LIDS Special Seminar Series: Future Challenges in Energy Systems and Networks

Speaker: Richard O'Neill (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)

Time: 2:00p–3:00p

Location: 56-154

LIDS Special Seminar Series


Web site: http://www.eecs.mit.edu:8008/cgi-bin/calendar.cgi?page=2010/data/22.d
at

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): LIDS Events Calendar

For more information, contact:
Jennifer Donovan
617-253-2142


Thursday, February 04, 2010

Old-fashioned Futures and Re-fashionable Media

Speaker: Joel Burges and Wayne Marshall

Time: 5:00p–7:00p

Location: E14-633

CMS Colloquium Series

Joel Burges and Wayne Marshall, MIT's Mellon Fellows in the Humanities (2009-11), will contribute to the rethinking of media studies at MIT by taking up the shared metaphor of fashion?the fashionable, the old-fashioned, the re-fashioned. Burges will talk about the turn away from the digital in contemporary cinema, particularly the case of Fantastic Mr. Fox, in an attempt to think about the uneven development of media over time. Marshall will discuss how popular but privatized platforms like Facebook and YouTube, pop culture fashion?and the negotiable refashionability of both?present crucial challenges to the study of media today.


Web site: http://cms.mit.edu/events/colloquiaforums.php#020410

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies

For more information, contact:
Andrew Whitacre
617.324.0490
cms@mit.edu


Thursday, February 04, 2010

Petroleum 102: Reservoir Modeling

Speaker: Professor Ruben Juanes

Time: 5:30p–7:00p

Location: TBA

Professor Ruben Juanes, ARCO Assistant Professor in Energy Studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will present an introduction to petroleum reservoir simulation. This talk is part of the Petroleum 102 lecture series of the Oil & Gas Subcommunity of the MIT Energy Club.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
Francisco Flores
fflores@mit.edu


Thursday, February 04, 2010

Energy Discussions: Demand Response - Managing Peak Electricity Demand

Speaker: Dan Livengood

Time: 6:00p–7:00p

Location: 26-204

A well-known challenge facing system operators on the electric grid is being able to generate enough megawatts to meet peak electricity demand. As the peak electricity demand grows, the traditional way to continue to meet the peak is to build more power plants. Instead of building more generation, an alternative strategy is to slow or prevent the growth of the peak electricity demand via demand side management. One of the many demand-side strategies for managing peak electricity demand is demand response, which targets electricity reductions during the peak hours via responses from all types of consumers. Some programs focus on securing large reductions of electricity usage from commercial and industrial consumers when called upon by the system operator. Other strategies include implementing time-varying pricing for all consumers, including residential consumers. We will discuss the pros and cons of these and other demand response strategies and the tradeoffs facing the different stakeholders when implementing these strategies as a means of producing ?negawatts? instead of megawatts during the peak hours of electricity demand.

Please prepare for the discussion by reading the articles provided on the event website. Refreshments will be served.


Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
Rebecca Walsh Dell
rwdell(at)mit.edu


Friday, February 05, 2010
UEA Spring Lecture - Paul Krugman

Speaker: Paul Krugman

Time: 4:15p–5:15p

Location: 32-123

Paul Krugman PhD '77, Nobel Laureate, and columnist for the New York Times, will speak on the current economic crisis and related topics in his talk titled "What have we learned, if anything?". Professor Krugman is an esteemed writer and economist, famous for his self-avowed liberal perspective. A reception will follow.

Open to: MIT-only

Cost: 0

Tickets: N/A

Sponsor(s): Undergraduate Economics Association

For more information, contact:
Gary King
617-253-0951
uea-officers@mit.edu


Friday, February 05, 2010

Building an Ethical Economy: Theology & the Marketplace

Time: 5:00p–9:00p

Location: W32-141

February 5 5pm-9pm
February 6 9am-4pm

* Theology & Economics: Two Different Worlds?
* Is Capitalism a Belief System
* What is Wealth?
* What Do We Owe the Future?

Video keynote addresses by Archbishop Rowan Williams, ethicist Kathryn Tanner, and economist Sir Partha Dasgupta. On-site reflection groups to deepen learning and prepare for action. Local experts to respond to keynote addresses, answer questions, and participate in conversation. Advice and insight on organizing for justice from leaders of Boston Faith and Justice Network and Mass. Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice.

Advanced registration required.
To register: Christina English for registration details: cenglish@mit.edu
Info also at http://web.mit.edu/tac


Web site: http://web.mit.edu/tac/upcoming/index.html#theo

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT, Boston Faith and Justice Network, Episcopal Divinity School, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Life Together: The Young Adult Internship Programs of the Diocese of MA, and Mass. Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice

For more information, contact:
Christina English
617-253-4101
cenglish@mit.edu


Harvard

Climate Change & the Media Series

February 4, 2010 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Contact Name:
Christine Russell
Cristine_Russell@hks.harvard.edu
Harvard Kennedy School Nye B/C, Taubman Building, 5th Floor 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA


"The Public Divide Over Climate Change: Scientists, Skeptics and the Media."

Speakers:
Andrew Revkin: The New York Times "Dot Earth" blogger and journalist; senior fellow, Pace University Academy for Applied Environmental Studies
Matthew Nisbet: Assistant Professor, American University School of Communication; "Framing Science" blogger; climate change public opinion expert
Thomas Patterson (discussant): Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, Shorenstein Center, HKS
Moderator: Cristine Russell, senior fellow, Belfer Center Environment and Natural Resources Program
First in a new spring seminar series on "Climate Change & the Media," sponsored by the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.
Climate change coverage has greatly increased in the international mainstream press and in the opinion-driven blogosphere in recent years, including the recent focus on "Climategate" science emails, the US congressional debate and the United Nations Copenhagen conference. Surveys show that the American public is among the most divided in terms of agreement with scientific findings that climate change is a serious manmade threat that requires urgent action in the United States and abroad. The public divide appears to be increasing in this country, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.This seminar will focus on the role of the media in communicating about climate change science, policy and politics to the general public and the influence on public opinion. The seminar will look at ways to improve the public dialogue over climate change.
All are welcome and invited to attend. Lunch will be served. Admittance will be on a first-come, first serve basis.

Bioenergy, Biodiversity, Food and Global Change Mitigation – Can We Have It All?

WHEN
Thu., Feb. 4, 2010, 5 p.m.
WHERE
Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave.
TYPE OF EVENT
Environmental Sciences, Presentation/Lecture, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR
Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S)
Stephen Long, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
COST
Free and open to the public
NOTE
Reception to follow. Part of the Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change Series.
LINK
www.environment.harvard.edu


Thanks to Fred Hapgood's Boston Lectures on Science and Engineering list
http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html

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