MIT
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
EARTH SYSTEM INITIATIVE YOUNG FACULTY SEMINARS
Speaker: Janelle Thompson, Doherty Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 54-915
LAND AND SEA: MICROBIAL PROCESSES FROM CORALS TO CARBON SEQUESTRATION
Microorganisms drive global cycles of carbon and energy and are integral to the health of living systems at scales from the microscopic to the geologic. Research in our Microbial Ecology and Engineering Lab aims to understand how microbial communities influence the integrity of perturbed environments at multiple scales. Our projects include exploring how shifts in microbial activity mediate the balance between health and disease in reef-building corals; and studying the nature and engineering applications of microbial populations isolated from subsurface carbon sequestration sites, which remarkably can grow in supercritical carbon dioxide conditions. We also are developing a model system of a well-characterized sea anemone and its? associated microbial community to help us understand the role microbes play in acclimatizing ?hosts? to different environments. These three unique ?problem spaces? are unified by our view of microbial systems as integral to the functioning of living systems at every scale.
NOTE: Reception to follow at 5pm
THE ESI YOUNG FACULTY SEMINARS is a series of occasional talks by our young faculty affiliates. The goal is to foster cross-departmental community and new collaborative research relationships by having them present their very latest work to colleagues in other departments.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth System Initiative
For more information, contact:
Kurt Sternlof
kurtster@mit.edu
(617) 253-6895
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Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan for Saudi Arabia
Speaker: Dr. Turki bin Saud bin Mohammad Al Saud (Vice President for Research Institutes, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology)
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 3-270
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is embarking on a major effort to advance its position in science and technology in order to expand its economy, address problems of national importance, and improve the quality of life of its people. This is motivated by the desire to shift the economy of the Kingdom away from one based on natural resources towards one driven by knowledge and innovation, with strong knowledge-based industries that develop and make use of the Kingdom's human talent. This effort involves establishing an effective national innovation system that engages research and development (R&D), education, and economic institutions in a strategically coordinated and productive way. This led to the establishment of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (NSTIP). The plan calls for the Kingdom to join
the technologically advanced industrialized nations by 2025. The responsibility of planning and managing the execution of NSTIP was assigned to the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). KACST is both the Saudi Arabian national science agency and its national laboratories. KACST is an independent organization administratively reporting to the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): ASO, ESD
For more information, contact:
Arab Students Organization
arab-comm@mit.edu
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Thursday, June 03, 2010
Current Status & Development of Biofuel in China
Speaker: Prof. LIU Dehua, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University
Time: 3:00p–4:30p
Location: 3-343
MIT CEER China Energy and Environment Talk Series
The world is actively seeking alternatives for highly in-demand petroleum. Biofuel, as a renewable energy, has been drawing more and more attention in recent years. China's total energy consumption already occupies the second place in the world and Chinese central government pays special attention to the development of biofuels. According to the "Mid and Long Term Development Plan of Renewable Energies", by 2020, the annual consumption of bioethanol and biodiesel will reach 10 million tons and 2 million tons respectively in China. This lecture will focus on the current status and development of biofuel in China. Prof. Liu?s group is taking the leading role in the research of biofuel (especially biodiesel) in China and some research progress from his group will be shared.
Dr. Dehua Liu received his Bachelor degree and Ph.D degree in 1986 and 1991 respectively in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute of Process Engeering, Chinese Academy of Science from 1991 to1993, and visited Purdue University from 1994 to1995 as a visiting professor. Since1999, he has been working in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University as a full professor. Currently his group is mainly engaged in biorefinery of renewable resources for the production of biofuel and bio-based products.
Web site: http://ceer.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT China Energy and Envrionment Research Group
For more information, contact:
LIU Hengwei
liu.ccs@gmail.com
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Friday, June 04, 2010
The Need for Cost-Reducing, Low-Carbon Technologies in the post-Copenhagen World
Time: 3:15p–5:00p
Location: 10-250
Join this panel for an invigorating update on the energy activities happening at MIT. Hear from faculty as they share their dreams for the world?s energy future. Alumni not attending reunions are welcome to attend, but seating is limited. Please email alumnienergy@mit.edu if you?d like to attend. Or, register for Tech Reunions online no later than midnight tonight.
Panelists: Daniel Enderton PhD ?09, Executive Director, Sustainable Energy Revolutions Program, MIT, Moderator; Professor Jeff Grossman, Carl Richard Soderberg Associate Professor of Power Engineering; Professor Sarah Slaughter, Coordinator, MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative; and Professor Mujid Kazimi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Director, Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (CANES).
For more on these faculty please visit:
Professor Jeff Grossman http://dmse.mit.edu/faculty/faculty/jcg/
Professor Sarah Slaughter http://slaughte.scripts.mit.edu/
Professor Mujid Kazimi http://meche.mit.edu/people/?id=48
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:
Christine L. Tempesta
tempesta@mit.edu
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Harvard
Models of Global Health Education
WHEN
Wed., June 2, 2010, 2 – 4 p.m.
WHERE
Massachusetts General Hospital, Ether Dome, Bulfinch Building - 4th floor, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION
Education, Health Sciences, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR
Center for Global Health
Massachusetts General Hospital
SPEAKER(S)
Neal Nathanson, associate dean for global health programs, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; David Henderson, MGH Division of Global Psychiatry; David Bangsberg, MGH Center for Global Health; Al Mulley
MGH Division of General Medicine; Pat Lee, MGH Division of General Medicine
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Other
Nerdnite May 31: beer n’ hackin’
Hello Boston nerds and friends of nerds,
Wrap up your Memorial Day grilling early and come out to the Middlesex for a nerdy kick-off to summer. The Nerdnite barbecue is cookin’ up a ton of nerd-o-licious info about beer brewing and internet chicanery. We hope you’ll join us at 8pm on Monday May 31. As always, musical entertainment will be courtesy of DJ Claude Money.
The talks:
1. Preparing for the next prohibition: a primer on brewing your own beer.
by Desika Narayanan
Desika likes snowboarding, playing basketball, brewing beer and doing astronomy. Unfortunately (for him), he sucks at the first three enough that he only gets paid to do the latter. Fortunately (for you), he practices the penultimate enough that he’s able to give this talk. He’ll tell you exactly how to put sugar, yeast and water in a bucket and turn it into the sweet, sweet, delicious alcohol that your brain loves so much. And the best part is that what comes out tastes like a million times better than bud light. (Disclaimer: This is coming from an Indian [dot not feather] bred in the south on natty light.)
2. Attack of the Packets!: A brief history of Internet Denial of Service attacks.
by Karthik Arumugham
Karthik has been active in the Internet network engineering community for the past 11 years, both in operations as well as research and development. He currently works as a consultant in the fields of IP networking and security, Unix systems engineering, and software development. Karthik strongly agrees with the notion of hosting geeky talks in the presence of good beer!
Be there and be square
Monday May 31 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
$5
www.boston.nerdnite.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52318050296
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Tuesday, June 1
Crawling to Collapse: Ecologically Unsound Ornamental
Invertebrate Fisheries
7 p.m. in the NE Aquarium's Harborside Learning Lab
Andrew L. Rhyne, Research Scientist, New England Aquarium and
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Roger Williams University, RI
The invertebrate ornamental fishery in Florida, with increasing catches over a more diverse array of species, is poised for collapse. The last decade has seen aquarium hobbyists shift their display preference from fish-only tanks to miniature reef ecosystems that include many invertebrate species, creating increased demand without proper oversight. The once small ornamental fishery has become an invertebrate-dominated major industry supplying five continents.
Andrew L. Rhyne used eggs collected from queen triggerfish at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and copepod cultures to successfully rear four queen triggerfish to sub-adulthood, and all four are now feeding on dry food.
Register at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar/854720890?view=Detail&id=102601
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Where's the Bus 2.0?
• Date: 6/3/10
• Location: Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
• Time: 6-8pm
• Audience: Developers, T Riders, Cool People
• Description: On March 24th, MBTA General Manager Rich Davey announced that this summer the MBTA would be unlocking real-time bus location data for every bus in the MBTA system. On June 3rd at 6pm, we will be announcing our next steps as we unlock real-time bus information for developers and for riders.
Climate Legislative Panel Discussion
Cambridge Public Library, Central Branch- 449 Broadway, Lewis Room
Thursday, June 3rd
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Please join us for a discussion on federal climate policies currently on the table to regulate greenhouse gases and the potential impacts of these bills. Rob Garrity, the Executive Director of Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) will moderate a distinguished panel of experts who will break down potential climate bills, legislative regulatory tools, and how these bills would impact greenhouse gas emissions.
Sign up for this free event http://wheresthebus.eventbrite.com/
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Cambridge River Festival
Saturday, June 5
on Memorial Drive from JFK Street to Western Avenue
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Upcoming:
Save the date for a follow up meeting on Thursday, June 10th at the Cambridge Public library, 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
The Climate Legislative Panel Discussion is sponsored by: Green Decade Cambridge, Cambridge Energy Alliance, and Cambridge-Somerville for Change.
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Three Of New England's Most Creative Singers Join Voices Against Climate Change
Saturday, June 12 — 7:00 pm
Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston
Mili Bermejo, Warren Senders, Dominique Eade
On Saturday, June 12, three singers from widely varied musical traditions will join together to draw attention to the global climate crisis. Featured artists include: the Latin jazz stylings of the Mili Bermejo/Dan Greenspan duo, Hindustani classical vocalist Warren Senders, and the brilliant jazz singer Dominique Eade. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Tickets are $20; $15 students/seniors. All proceeds will go to the environmental organization www.350.org. For information and ticket purchasing, please go to the event website: http://www.warrensenders.com/journal/?page_id=1158
Videos and more information at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/27/870422/-Singing-For-The-Planet-MA-Climate-ActionNow-With-Video!
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