Sunday, January 30, 2011

Energy (and Other) Events - January 30, 2011

MIT
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Monday, January 31, 2011
Science Writing & Communication
Time: 1:00p–2:30p
Location: 68-181
Dr. Sonal Jhaveri, Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Lecturer for the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, Science Program Director in the Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Affairs Office at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MIT
Amanda Yarnell, Assistant Managing Editor for science, technology and education, Chemical & Engineering News
Dr. Karen Carniol, Scientific Editor, Cell, Cell Press

Are you a good communicator? Are you interested in a career in science publishing? Come hear about a variety of careers in science writing and communication.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/biology/iap.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Biology

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Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Innovation in Healthcare Symposium: Systems Thinking from Discovery to Delivery
Speaker: Read about speakers here: http://innovationinhealthcare2011.com/speakers.html
Time: All day
Location: Kresge Auditorium
On February 1, 2011, the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation (CBI) and MIT Department of Biological Engineering will co-host the Innovation in Healthcare Symposium: Systems Thinking from Discovery to Delivery at Kresge Auditorium. The day-long event will be a forum to stimulate new ways of thinking to address today's greatest healthcare challenges.

Speakers will include Michael Porter, Janet Woodcock, Peter Senge, and Don Berwick, among others.

The symposium will consist of three multi-disciplinary, expert panels structured around three major topics: improving healthcare delivery to patients, reversing the declining productivity of biomedical research, and applying lessons learned by other industries to guide a transformation of the healthcare system. Following the three panels, there will be a question-and-answer session comprising young leaders currently working in the healthcare field discussing how the issues raised by the previous panels impact their work.

The Innovation in Healthcare Symposium was conceived by Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and developed in collaboration with MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation and Department of Biological Engineering. The goal of the symposium is to inspire students, our future experts, to think in new ways to find real solutions to healthcare from discovery through delivery. To learn more about the symposium and register online, visit http://innovationinhealthcare2011.com/.

Web site: http://innovationinhealthcare2011.com/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Engineering Systems Division
For more information, contact:
Stefanie Koperniak

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Dissertation defense of Karen Tapia-Ahumada
Title: Understanding the Impact of Large-Scale Penetration of Micro Combined Heat & Power Technologies within Energy Systems
Committee: E. Moniz (chair), M. Ilic (CMU), J. Kirtley, I. Perez-Arriaga (Pontificia Comillas)
Time: 10am
Location: E51-325

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Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Weather and Death in India: Mechanisms and Implications of Climate Change
Speaker: Dave Donaldson (MIT)
Time: 2:30p–4:00p
Location: E51-376
Weather and Death in India: Mechamisms and Implications of Climate Change

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT/Harvard Development & Environment Seminar

For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa@mit.edu

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Wednesday, February 02, 2011

The Rock Physicochemical Basis for Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring of CO2 Injection

Speaker: Dr. Tiziana Vanorio, Dept. of Geophysics, Stanford University

Time: 4:00p–5:00p

Location: 54-915

Department Lecture Series talk


Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/news/dls.html

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

For more information, contact:
Jacqui Taylor
253-2127
jtaylor@mit.edu

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Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Clear as Mud: Making Sense of Post-Katrina Planning in New Orleans

Speaker: Robert B. Olshansky Professor & Associate Head of Urban and Regional Planning University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Time: 5:00p–7:00p

Location: 9-450

Urban Studies and Planning Departmental Speaker Series
Weekly Lecture Series of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Rob Olshansky teaches and researches on land use and environmental planning, with an emphasis on planning for natural hazards. He has published extensively on post-disaster recovery planning, planning and policy for earthquake risks, and environmental impact assessment. Since September 2005 he has been closely monitoring the post-Katrina planning process in New Orleans. He is the author (with Laurie A. Johnson) of Clear As Mud: Planning for the Rebuilding of New Orleans, ?an objective and intimate look at the people, events, and actions that defined the first 22 months of New Orleans's recovery? (APA Planners Press, 2010).
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The Spring 2011 DUSP Speaker Series explores how each invited scholar-practitioner (or practitioner-scholar) has ?made sense? out of a complex socio-spatial phenomenon. In addition to conveying the substance of their work, the speakers have been asked to reflect on how they do what they do, bringing to life the ways that planners and designers use qualitative methods in their scholarship and/or practice. The subject matter ranges across all of the intellectual domains of the Department, and each topic engages the terrain of more than one DUSP program group.

(Light refreshments served at 5:00, talk to begin at 5:30)

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning

For more information, contact:
Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn@mit.edu

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Thursday, February 03, 2011

Thomas Friedman-Because There Is No Planet B

Speaker: Thomas Friedman

Time: 3:30p–4:30p

Location: W16, Kresge Auditorium

Please join the MIT community for a conversation with
Thomas Friedman

Moderated by MIT President Susan Hockfield

Thomas Friedman is a New York Times columnist and the author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution-and How It Can Renew America

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): President's Office

For more information, contact:
617-253-5734
infocenter-www@mit.edu

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Thursday, February 03, 2011
Green IT: Myth, mirage, or reality?

Speaker: Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar, Google

Time: 4:00p–5:30p

Location: 32-123

Dertouzos Lecturer Series 2010/2011
The Dertouzos Lecturer Series has been a tradition since 1976, featuring some of the most influential thinkers in computer science, including Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Donald Knuth, John McCarthy, and Mitchell Kapor. Formerly the Distinguished Lecturer Series, the series has been renamed in memory of Michael Dertouzos, Director for the Lab for Computer Science from 1974 to 2001.

Abstract:
It seem like just about everyone is talking about "Green IT" these days. But what is it? Can IT be "green"? This talk will discuss what Google is doing to make its servers and data centers more sustainable, as well as the prospects for future improvements. It will also touch on ways in which IT can be used to help make the rest of the world more sustainable.


Web site:http://www.csail.mit.edu/events/eventcalendar/calendar.php?show=event
&id=2763

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): CSAIL

For more information, contact:
Colleen Russell
617-253-0145
crussell@csail.mit.edu

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Thursday, February 03, 2011

Movie Screening and discussion with director : Bhopali (A documentary on the Bhopal disaster)

Speaker: Van Maximilian Carlson

Time: 6:30p–8:30p

Location: 6-120

BHOPALI (www.bhopalithemovie.com)is a feature length documentary about the world's worst industrial disaster, the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India. Thousands were killed and up to 500,000 were affected by the contaminants. 26 years have passed since the disaster, yet the suffering continues and, for the victims, justice has yet to be seen. Award winning director Van Maximilian Carlson presents a modern portrait of shattered lives in the community surrounding the abandoned Union Carbide factory. We focus on survivors of the disaster and their families as they continue life amongst the indelible remainders of contamination and death. Set against a backdrop of high stakes activism, global politics, and human rights advocacy, this film explores the ongoing struggle for justice against Union Carbide, the American corporation responsible for the disaster. Featuring Noam Chomsky, Satinath Sarangi, and attorney Rajan Sharma.

The director Van Maximilan Carlson (http://www.maxcarlsonfilms.com/) will be present for the screening.

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): MIT Students for Bhopal, AID-MIT, GSC Funding Board

For more information, contact:
Karthik Shekhar
217-979-9852
kshekhar@mit.edu

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Systems, Process, Art, and the Social

Friday, February 4
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Edgerton Hall – Room 34-101, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge (map)
*No tickets or registration required

This forum examines the long shadow of cybernetics and systems theory in art and design from the 1950s until today, with particular focus on a decisive shift that took place in the later phase of the development. “Systems esthetics” became a catch phrase in the 1960s, popularized by artists such as Hans Haacke and Jack Burnham, both of whom found MIT to be an important venue for their attempts to craft systemic art and theory, and both of whom, post-MIT, turned dramatically towards a social approach to their artistic work.

How do we get from wartime simulators to contemporary architectural algorithms and interactivity? What does the weather have to do with philosophies of reception in contemporary art? When does an architecture pavilion become a recursive semiotic universe? Scholars, artists, and designers look at the aesthetic and programmatic impact of ideas that at first appeared to have nothing to do with art, and that may have had their most intense articulation (if not their origin) at MIT during and after the war: systems and cybernetics (Norbert Weiner, Jay Forrester), but also computer language design (Muriel Cooper), process-driven urbanism (Gyorgy Kepes and Kevin Lynch), and computer-driven visualization of data and embodied interfaces (the Media Lab).

This forum is moderated by Caroline A. Jones, professor of Architecture at MIT and director of the program in History, Theory + Criticism.

Participants include:
Benjamin Aranda, New York architect, co-creator of “Terraswarm”
Michelle Kuo, editor-in-chief, Artforum
João Ribas, curator of exhibitions at List Visual Arts Center, MIT
Matthew Ritchie, artist, creator of The Morning Line arts pavilion commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary
Matthew Wisnioski, professor of science and technology in society, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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Harvard

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January 31, 2011 | Monday | ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar Series
Rethinking the History of Energy Transitions
12 – 1:30 pm | Bell Hall (5th floor HKS Belfer Building)

Chris Jones is a Ziff Environmental Fellow with the Harvard University Center for the Environment. His dissertation studies the development of America's first fossil-fuel intensive region, the mid-Atlantic. In particular, he focuses on the critical roles played by transportation infrastructure in creating new energy consumption patterns. His research explores the ways coal canals, oil pipelines, and electricity transmission made the widespread and intensified use of fossil fuels possible, stimulated the rise of urbanization and industrialization, and contributed to the emergence of a society dependent on ever-increasing supplies of energy.

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13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown
WHEN Mon., Jan. 31, 2011, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Pound Hall (HLS), Ropes Gray Room
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Labor & Worklife Program, HLS
SPEAKER(S) Simon Johnson, professor, MIT, and former chief economist, International Monetary Fund

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Tuesday, February 1
12 p.m.
"Digital Citizens: The Internet and Politics."
Caroline Tolbert, professor of political science, University of Iowa; co-author of Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation.
Kalb Seminar Room, Taubman 275, Shorenstein Center, Kennedy School of Government

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Lewis Hyde on "Common as Air"

WHEN Tue., Feb. 1, 2011, 7 – 8:15 p.m.
WHERE Barker Center, Thompson Room
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Education, Information Technology, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Berkman Center for Internet & Society / Harvard Humanities Center
SPEAKER(S) Lewis Hyde, Berkman Fellow and author of "The Gift" and "Common as Air"
COST Free
TICKET INFO RSVP to ashar@cyber.law.harvard.edu
CONTACT INFO ashar@cyber.law.harvard.edu
NOTE
Lewis Hyde, Berkman Center Fellow & professor at Kenyon College, will discuss his new book, "Common as Air."
Hyde is a poet, essayist, translator, and cultural critic with a particular interest in the public life of the imagination. His 1983 book, "The Gift," illuminates and defends the noncommercial portion of artistic practice. "Trickster Makes This World" (1998) uses a group of ancient myths to argue for the kind of disruptive intelligence all cultures need if they are to remain lively, flexible, and open to change. Hyde is currently at work on a book about our “cultural commons,” that vast store of ideas, inventions, and works of art that we have inherited from the past and continue to produce.
LINK http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2011/02/hyde

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Wind Energy: Which Way Way Does the Media Wind Blow?

WHEN Wed., Feb. 2, 2011, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Bell Hall, 5th floor, Belfer Bldg, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR HKS Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs & Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy
SPEAKER(S)
Beth Daley, Boston Globe environment reporter
Elizabeth Rosenthal, New York Times environment reporter
COST Open to the public
TICKET INFO Free
CONTACT INFO Cristine_Russell@hks.harvard.edu
NOTE
1st in Clean Energy & the Media Seminar Series
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5388/wind_energy.html

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Green Conversations: "What Americans and Massachusetts Residents Think About Climate Change - Attitude Formation and Change in Response to a Raging Scientific Controversy"
WHEN Wed., Feb. 2, 2011, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
WHERE Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), S020 Belfer Case Study Room, Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Jon Krosnick, the Frederic O. Glover Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences, and professor of communication, political science and pyschology at Stanford

DISCUSSANTS: Stephen Ansolabehere, professor, Harvard Department of Government
Daniel P. Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology; professor, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; director, Harvard University Center for the Environment

NOTE
During the past two decades, many scientific experts have been frustrated by the American public's apparent indifference to climate change and the threats it may pose. And even during the two years, headlines on newspapers across the country have proclaimed: "Scientists and the American Public Disagree Sharply Over Global Warming" and "Public Concern About Climate Waning." Is it really true? Do Americans really not accept the opinions of scientific experts on climate change? In this presentation, Professor Jon Krosnick will describe findings from a series of national surveys that he has designed and conducted since 1996, as well as a recent survey of Massachusetts residents, tracking what people do and do not believe on this issue and what they do and do not want to have done about it. Surprising results challenge many widely held presumptions about public opinion, illuminate the increasing politicization of the issue, and provide a context for watching and understanding future efforts to pass (and block) legislation on climate change.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-02-02/green-conversations-jon-krosnick

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Using Social Media to Engage Youth & Promote Democracy
WHEN Wed., Feb. 2, 2011, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S)
Jonathan Margolis, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, serves as deputy coordinator for Global Programs for the Bureau of International Information Programs at the Department of State. IIP is the principal international strategic communications entity for the U.S. foreign affairs community. The bureau informs and influences foreign audiences by presenting a positive vision rooted in U.S. values, supporting U.S. foreign policy with timely and trusted information, and countering extremist violent ideologies. Margolis is responsible for overseeing all of the bureau’s Internet and print products and publications, including its multimedia content and interactivity strategies.
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Bruce Jackan: 617.495.7548, bruce_jackan@hks.harvard.edu
LINK http://ash.harvard.edu/Home/News-Events/Events/Using-Social-Media-to-Engage-Youth-and-Promote-Democracy

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February 2, 2011 | Wednesday | Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy
Climate Treaties and Approaching Catastrophes
4:10 – 5:30 pm | Littauer 382

Scott Barrett is a Professor of Natural Resource Economics at Columbia University. Barrett's research focuses on transnational and global challenges, ranging from climate change to infectious diseases. He is the author of Environment and Statecraft: The Strategy of Environmental Treaty-Making, published in paperback by Oxford University Press in 2005. His most recent book, Why Cooperate? The Incentive to Supply Global Public Goods, also published by Oxford University Press, will appear in paperback, with a new afterword, in May 2010. His research has been awarded the Resources for the Future Dissertation Prize and the Erik Kempe Award. He has advised a number of international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, the OECD, the European Commission, and the International Task Force on Global Public Goods. He was previously a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a member of the Academic Panel to the Department of Environment in the UK.

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Technology, Policy and Politics: Energy in 2011 and Beyond
WHEN Thu., Feb. 3, 2011, 12 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School
Pound Hall 101
1563 Mass Ave, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Information Technology, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment; Harvard Law School; Harvard Kennedy School; Harvard Business School
SPEAKER(S)
Cathy Zoi, acting under secretary of energy; assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, U.S. Department of Energy
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE
Zoi oversees a broad energy portfolio, including the Offices of Electricity Delivery and Reliability, EERE, Legacy Management, Environmental Management, Fossil Energy, and Nuclear Energy. Included in her purview are a multitude of programs for improving the nation’s energy infrastructure, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy security, and creating jobs.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/cathyzoi

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February 3, 2011 | Thursday | Brown Bag Lunch moderated by the Business and Government Professional Interest Council
Davos Debrief
12 – 1 pm | Malkin Penthouse, 5th Floor Littauer Building |Refreshments provided

The Davos Debrief brings together several Harvard experts just back from the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In an information setting, Harvard experts will share their unique perspectives on the global proceedings. Participants include:

· David Ellwood. Dean, Harvard Kennedy School
· Daniel Shapiro. Associate Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project
· Ricardo Hausmann. Director of Harvard’s Center for International Development
· Justin Fox. Editorial Director, Harvard Business Review Group

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Algeria: Understanding What We Are Seeing
WHEN Thu., Feb. 3, 2011, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE The Cason Room, Taubman Building Room 102, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Middle East Initiative
SPEAKER(S) Hugh Roberts
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5368/algeria.html

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Future of Energy: "Solar's Fit in Energy's Future"
WHEN Thu., Feb. 3, 2011, 5 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Jefferson Lab 250, 17 Oxford Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Bruce Sohn, president, First Solar
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE
Bruce Sohn has served as president of First Solar since March 2007. Sohn served as a director of First Solar from July 2003 until June 2009. Prior to joining First Solar as president, Sohn worked at Intel Corporation for 24 years. He is a senior member of IEEE and a certified Jonah. He has been a guest lecturer at several universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Sohn holds a degree in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/bruce-sohn

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Bots that Mimic Bugs
WHEN Thu., Feb. 3, 2011, 6 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Allston Education Portal, 175 North Harvard Street, Allston, MA. Free event parking is available at the 219 Western Avenue parking lot, at the corner of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue adjacent to the Ed Portal.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Allston Education Portal with the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory
SPEAKER(S) Ben Finio, Ph.D. student at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and researcher from the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory
COST Free
CONTACT INFO 617.496.5022, allston_edportal@harvard.edu
NOTE
How do you build a robot that can fly like a bee, crawl like a cockroach, or wiggle like a worm? How do you make the robots small enough to fit in the palm of your hand?
Ben Finio will explain how scientists and engineers in biology, mathematics, and engineering work together to build insect-sized robots modeled after real animals.
Learn how the microrobots are built, watch video demos of the robots in action, and see the display of the different robots.
LINK http://edportal.harvard.edu/news

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Place is the Space: The 'hood as a Locus of Jazz History

WHEN Fri., Feb. 4, 2011, 2 – 4 p.m.
WHERE Lower Library, Robinson Hall
35 Quincy St.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Music
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Project on Justice, Welfare, and Economics
SPEAKER(S) Robin D. G. Kelley, University of Southern California
COST Free
CONTACT INFO jbarnard@wcfia.harvard.edu
NOTE
Part of the JWE Spatial History Seminar
LINK http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/jwe/home

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Tufts

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Important Future Research Areas for Information Visualization (and Visual Analytics)
February 3, 2011
2:50 pm - 4:00 pm
Halligan 111
Speaker: Georges Grinstein, UMass Lowell
Host: Carla Brodley
Abstract

In looking at current papers in Information Visualization, one does not see many striking new topics (there are some). Many papers describe an application of visualization. Most others describe either an incremental change in a technique to a classic problem or an improved algorithm reducing computational complexity. There are papers on user interfaces, on interaction, on usability, on representation, on aesthetics, on graph drawing algorithms. There are papers on a wide variety of interdisciplinary topics. There are papers on a new discipline's role in visualization. Finally there are papers describing something of relevance to the author but not to the field.

What are the exciting problems to be solved? This is an important question for a field to identify. Self-introspection is a necessity for a field to continue to grow.

There have been grand challenge panels, papers, and pamphlets (in the 70s). I, as a youngster (I am still young), participated in several of these as far back as 1992 (IEEE Conference panel on “Grand Challenge Problems in Visualization Software”). These are valuable. However in my view many of these are driven by the timely political nature of funding (see for example the excellent "Illuminating the Path: Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics").

In this talk I will present five areas which are extremely important for our field and identify key problems in these five areas. Five areas which can provide for rapid new growth and which need researchers. And I will identify one in particular which is my favorite.

These areas are:

1. Measuring Information Visualization (information, accuracy, uncertainty, insight)
2. High-dimensional Visualization (hundreds and thousands of variables)
3. Real Time Massive Data Set Visualization (sensors, networks)
4. Interactive Collaborative Information Visualization (Web 5.0)
5. Modeling Data Exploration (where is the user going?)

I will suggest a number of key problems, hints to some solutions, possible impact and future scenarios.

Bio:

Georges Grinstein is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, head of its Bioinformatics and Cheminformatics Program, Co-director of its Institute for Visualization and Perception Research, and of its Center for Biomolecular and Medical Informatics. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Rochester in 1978.

His work is broad and interdisciplinary, ranging from the perceptual foundations of visualization to techniques for very high-dimensional data visualization to a theory of visualization, with the emphasis on the modeling, visualization, and analysis of complex information systems.

He has over 30 years in academia with extensive private consulting, over 100 research grants, products in use nationally and internationally, several patents, numerous publications in journals and conferences, a new book on interactive data visualization, founded several companies, and has been the organizer or chair of national and international conferences and workshops in Computer Graphics, in Visualization, and in Data Mining. He has mentored over 25 doctoral students and hundreds of graduate students. He has been on the editorial boards of several journals in Computer Graphics and Data Mining, a member of ANSI and ISO, a NATO Expert, and a technology consultant for various public agencies.

For the last seven years he has co-chaired the InfoVis and VAST contests in visual analytics leading to new research areas; has taught Radical Design, a course teaching students how to innovate with "radical" new products instead of evolutionary ones; is a member of the new Homeland Security Center CCICADA; and is co-director of the new Open Indicators Consortium that has developing a web-based interactive collaborative visualization system.

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Wentworth

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The 2030 Challenge
19 years and ticking
Tuesday, February 1
6:00 – 8:00pm
Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Watson Hall (550 Huntington Ave, Boston)
The AIA called for a commitment from architectural firms to design carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. Eleven years into this bold challenge, what are firms doing today to progress toward the goal, and what does the future of building energy look like?

Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) hosts a roundtable discussion with leading architects working on a broad range of sustainable projects. We'll look at real-world strategies; case studies; challenges; and opportunities related to team selection, design and implementation.

The discussion is free and open to BSA members and the public. Space is limited. Parking is also limited. Why not use public transportation?

Co-moderators
Philippe Genereux AIA, LEED AP (SMMA/Symmes Maini & McKee Associates)
Jim Stanislaski AIA (Gensler)
Panelists
Bruce Coldham FAIA (Coldham & Hartman Architects)
Martine Dion AIA (SMMA/Symmes Maini & McKee Associates)
Kenneth Fisher AIA (Gensler)
Robert Hoye AIA (TRO Jung|Brannen)
Deborah Rivers AIA (Perkins + Will)

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Other

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Clean Economy Network Boston Happy Hour and Networking
Monday, January 31, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)
British Consulate General
One Broadway, Suite 700
Cambridge, MA 02142

Please join CEN Boston for our January Happy hour on January 31st at the British Consulate General in Cambridge, MA. The evening will feature plenty of networking and some light appetizers and beer.
The evening will be hosted and sponsored by the UK Trade and Investment group, who is hosting a number of companies on a trade mission to Boston from Jan 31 - Feb 2 (they'll spend the second half of the week in NYC)

The companies are involved in UK Offshore Wind, Anaerobic Digestion, and Green Build technology. We'll be scheduling a series of meetings and briefings for them at the Consulate, and they are very interested to connect with local cleantech companies and leaders. The companies are from the East of England, with ties to Cambridge, UK - so we even note the Cambridge to Cambridge connection.

RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1241801261

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February 1
7 pm
Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
Jane McGonigal
Harvard Book Store
1256 Mass Ave
Cambridge
contact 617-661-1515 or http://www.harvard.com

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CEA Energy Social - John Harvard's Brew Pub

Harvard Square

February 01, 2011 7:00p–10:00p

Are you a student and passionate about energy? Come to the Regional Energy Social this Tuesday (2/1/11) for an evening of energy debate and discussion! All are welcome, and energy clubs from schools across the Northeast are invited to this intercollegiate mixer. This will be a unique opportunity to meet graduate and undergraduate students who are passionate about energy. Hope to see you there! Over and under 21 welcome.

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2011 FARM SHARE FAIR
Thursday February 3rd @ 5:30-8PM
The Democracy Center
@
45 Mt Auburn St in Harvard Square
* *presented by theMOVE * | *Free Admission*
*more info @ www.getoutma.org/farmsharefair
*
A CSA share is a weekly box of fresh/delicious/natural veggies (and sometimes meat/fish) delivered by local farms to convenient pickup spots within our community. We're bringing all the CSAs together in one place -- to get you the info you need to get signed up! Meet the folks who grow your food, and bring your checkbook to reserve a share!

*Delicious pizza will be on sale (by donation) courtesy of Zing Pizzato benefit theMOVE
*
* Co-sponsored by NOFA/Mass + Somerville Climate Action
* Arlington will also have its own CSA Fair! on Thursday February 24th @ 4:30-7:30p


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What do Madison, Wisconsin, Lawrence Township, NJ, and over 70 cities and towns in Sweden have in common? They are all Eco-communities

Learn how eco-municipalities are taking a comprehensive approach to sustainable change—as opposed to carrying out a collection of disparate sustainable development projects.

Speaker: Sarah James, Institute for Eco-municipality Education & Assistance

Also, a brief report from Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis abut her participation in the European Capital Cities Conference in Stockholm, Sweden

Thursday, February 3, 7pm
Main Library Auditorium, 449 Broadway

Sponsored by CREATE (Cambridge Renewable Energy Action Team) and CEA

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Sherry Turkle discusses
Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other

Friday, February 4, 2011
3:00 PM

Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138

Harvard Book Store is pleased to welcome MIT professor of technology and society SHERRY TURKLE as she discusses the effect our technology has on our social relationships and her new book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.

Consider Facebook—it’s a form of human contact, only easier to engage with and easier to avoid. Developing technology promises closeness. Sometimes it delivers, but much of our modern life leaves us less connected with people and more connected to simulations of them. In Alone Together, Sherry Turkle explores the power of our new tools and toys to dramatically alter our social lives. It’s an exploration of what we are looking for—and sacrificing—in a world of electronic companions and social networking tools, and an argument that, despite the hand-waving of today’s self-described prophets of the future, it will be the next generation who will chart the path between isolation and connectivity.

“As the digital age sparks increasing debate about what new technologies and increased connectivity are doing to our brains, comes this chilling examination of what our iPods and iPads are doing to our relationships.... Turkle's prescient book makes a strong case that what was meant to be a way to facilitate communications has pushed people closer to their machines and further away from each other.” —Publishers Weekly
General Info
(617) 661-1515
info@harvard.com

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Upcoming

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Green Your Condo, Save Your Money, & Help Your Planet, too.*
Learn how “green” investments in your condo can make it more sustainable and add value to your home.
Tuesday, February 8th
6:30pm-8:30pm
171 Huron Avenue, Coldwell Banker Office
At this seminar you will learn about energy efficiency and smart living starting with small steps to take within your condo like installing weather stripping, then moving onto larger steps for your entire condo building like getting a free building-wide energy assessment or even installing solar. We will also cover how to cash in on the incentives/rebates, as well as the attractive 0% financing available through local banks and NSTAR. Come learn how to make your condo greener, more energy efficient, and save yourself and neighbors money each month.
Presenters
Sustainable Life Solutions
Next Step Living
S&H Construction
Cambridge Portuguese Credit Union
Attendees will have the opportunity to win raffle prizes of green gear and purchase Smart Strips powerstrips with the utility discount already included.
*Please view the attached flier.
Co-sponsored by CEA and Coldwell Banker agents Amy Tighe and Robin Miller.
RSVP to outreach@cambridgeenergyalliance.org

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Wednesday, February 9
7:00 pm.
WORLD ON THE EDGE: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse*
Internationally renowned environmentalist Lester Brown has been assessing the health of the earth?s ecosystems for more than two decades. Over that time he has seen increasing signs of break-down until we are now facing issues of near-overwhelming complexity and unprecedented urgency. Can we change direction before we go over the edge? In his new book World on the Edge, Brown attempts to answer that question by systemically laying out both challenges and potential policy solutions.

First Parish in Cambridge, Meetinghouse
3 Church Street
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA 02138

FREE and Open to the Public

Book: World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse

Co-sponsored by Tim Weiskel and an anonymous Friend of Cambridge Forum.

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NO WAR, NO WARMING!

Friday, February 11, 2011, 7-9 PM
Photonics Bldg, Room 206, Boston University
8 St. Mary's Street, Boston
just off Comm. Ave., close to the BU Central T Stop (Green Line B)

Suggested donation, $5.00

Featured Speakers:
Barry Sanders, author of The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of
Militarism, examines the environmental impact of US military practices and
declares military activity, from fuel emissions to radioactive waste to
defoliation campaigns, as the single-greatest contributor to the worldwide
environmental crisis.

Dr. Maggie Zhou, biologist, member of Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy
Communities and Climate SOS, will discuss the climate justice perspective,
international climate conferences in Cancun, Copenhagen/Cochabamba, and the
race to militarism vs. peace.

Co-Sponsors:
Boston UNAC (United National Antiwar Committee), United for Justice with
Peace, Alliance for Democracy-Boston/Cambridge & North Bridge Chapters,
Peace & Justice Task Force of Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety,
Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, Massachusetts Global
Action, Boston University Antiwar Coalition

For further information, contact Boston UNAC at BostonUNAC@gmail.com

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February 18, 2011


FERC Policies and New England;

Smart Power and the
Future of Electric Utilities;
and

Massachusetts' and Boston's New Clean
Energy and Climate Plans for 2020


Raab Associates presents:
The 121st New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Date: Friday, February 18, 2011
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm

Foley Hoag LLP
155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor
Boston, MA 02210
Click here for directions
We start off the new year and our 17th Roundtable season with a trifecta of exciting topics. FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur will kick-off our 121st Roundtable with a discussion of FERC's new policy directions on a variety of issues that will impact New England, ranging from capacity markets and transmission to both renewable and demand-side resources. As the former acting CEO at National Grid, Commissioner LaFleur knows New England well and is well-positioned to provide relevant and insightful comments for its regulators, market participants, and other stakeholders.

Next up is Dr. Peter Fox-Penner, author of a new and provocative book entitled Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of the Electric Utilities. Currently a principal at the Brattle Group, Peter worked in top-level positions in energy policy at U.S. DOE and the White House, and is also quite familiar with New England, having spent many years at Charles River Associates in Boston. In keeping with our "restructuring" focus, Peter's new book envisions the need for a very different utility industry and regulatory structure if we are to succeed in transforming the electricity system to meet climate and other public policy objectives.

Our final panel will feature Massachusetts' and Boston's "hot-off-the-press" and nationally-ground-breaking Clean Energy and Climate Plans. These plans will become the primary vehicles for ensuring a wide range of energy and climate goals, including lowering energy costs, increasing energy independence, growing clean energy jobs, and reducing emissions. The plans consolidate existing policies and programs, as well as present important proposed new developments spanning electricity supply, efficient buildings, and transportation.

Governor Patrick's Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2020, just released in December, will be presented jointly byUndersecretary for Energy, Phil Giudice, and Assistant Secretary for Policy, Dr. David Cash, both at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Jim Hunt, Chief of Environmental and Energy Services at the City of Boston, will then present the City's forthcoming climate plan. The soon-to-be-released report is based on a year-long stakeholder and community engagement process, culminating in a comprehensive plan and set of recommendations to Mayor Menino, entitled Sparking Boston's Climate Revolution.

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Request for Help

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The Somerville Winter Farmers Market is beginning its first year! It will be Saturdays 10-2 at the Armory on 191 Highland Ave in Somerville, MA. January 8th through March 26th. Please spread the word to your friends, family and coworkers.

ALSO----We are looking for musicians, as well as people interested in leading skillshares and workshops on a variety of topics having to do with food or
sustainability in general. It would be great to collaborate!

Please email me at adrianne.schaefer@gmail.com with suggestions, leads, or contacts.

Thanks!

Adrianne Schaefer
Market Manager
Somerville Winter Farmers Market

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Resource

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Boston Food System

"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."

The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.

Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.

It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs

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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/

Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/studios

Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation

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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com

Thanks to

Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the
Boston Area http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html

Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/

http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template

http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/

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Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most
Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston
area that catch the editor's eye.


If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events
email gmoke@world.std.com

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