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MIT
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Webinar: Status of Grid-scale Energy Storage and Strategies for Accelerating Cost-effective Deployment
Speaker: John Kluza, Business Development Manager for Emerging Applications at Satcon Technology and alumnus, MIT System Design and Management Program
Time: 12:00p–1:00p
Location: Virtual -- see link below
MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series
The MIT System Design and Management Program Webinar Series on Systems Thinking for Contemporary Challenges features research conducted by SDM faculty, alumni, students, and industry partners. The series is designed to disseminate information on how to employ systems thinking to address the engineering, management, and socio-political components of complex challenges.
The development of emerging grid-scale energy storage technologies offers great potential to improve the architecture and operation of the electrical grid. This is especially important in the face of increased reliance on clean, dependable electricity and with the influx of renewable generation and smart grid technology. However, at the present, grid-scale energy storage is still in an early, developing stage.
This presentation brings together a broad overview of the sector, including rough revenue estimates for each individually possible application for energy storage, a high-level overview that includes rough cost estimates of each technology and supplier, and a more focused look at the actual or possible implementations in the market with rough estimates of the systems' economics in each implementation. It includes a discussion of notable dynamics and potentially effective strategies, based on current industry conditions and existing academic management frameworks. The investigation was accomplished by leveraging prior research in existing literature, and extending it with first-hand discussions with industry leaders and market analysis.
Web site: http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_032811/webinar-grid-scale-energy-storage.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_032811/webinar-grid-scale-energy-storage.html
Sponsor(s): Engineering Systems Division, MIT System Design and Management Program
For more information, contact:
Lois Slavin
617-253-0812
lslavin@mit.edu
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Slum Free India? Engaging Residents in a New Era a New Plan
March 28, 2011 12:00p–1:00p
The central Government of India (GOI) recently launched the Rajiv Awas Yojana scheme with the objective of making India "slum free". The GOI scheme asks state and local governments to adopt city-wide approaches and to take decisive action in upgrading all slums. The national-level political leadership, budgetary support, and nation-wide scale of this scheme represent a significant step forward for the GoI and an opportunity for creating tangible improvements for the urban poor.
CHF International has been supporting GOI and civil society stakeholders to advance the vision of RAY and implement meaningful, community-driven solutions for urban poverty reduction. Join Brian English, Country Director of CHF International-India, in a discussion on how they have been advancing meaningful "participation" in state-driven solutions and supporting thousands of urban poor to gain more meaningful positions in the market-place and on the policy agendas.
Category: lectures/conferences
Speaker: Brian English, Country Director for CHF International-India, an international development organization founded in 1952.
Location: 32-155
Sponsored by: MIT Energy Club, MIT Energy Initiative
Admission: Open to the public
For more information: Contact MIT Energy Club
energyclub@mit.edu
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Useful Excess Capacity? An Empirical Study of US Oil & Gas Drilling (Host Workshop - Industrial Organization Workshop)
Speaker: Jun Ishii (Amherst)
Time: 2:30p–4:00p
Location: E62-650
Useful Excess Capacity? An Empirical Study of US Oil & Gas Drilling (Host Workshop - Industrial Organization Workshop)
Web site: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/6510
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Energy & Environmental Economics at MIT
For more information, contact: theresa
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Monday, March 28, 2011
ADVANTAGE: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge
Speaker: Adam Segal
Time: 3:30p–5:00p
Location: E40-496
Book Talk with Adam Segal.
Adam Segal, will speak on his recently published book "Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge"
Adam Segal, Ira A. Lipman Senior Fellow,
Counterterrorism and National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Introduction by Taylor Fravel, the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science and member of the Security Studies Program at MIT
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT China Program, MIT India Program, Security Studies Program
For more information, contact:
starrforum@mit.edu
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Joint With Harvard - Toxic Pollutants and Infant Health: Evidence from Plant Openings and Closings
Speaker: Janet Currie (Columbia)
Time: 4:00p–5:30p
Location: E51-376
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Public Economics Seminar
For more information, contact: Theresa Benevento
theresa@mit.edu
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Collision 2 Lecture Series: Ricardo Dominguez
Speaker: Ricardo Dominguez
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location: E15-070, Bartos Theater
Collision 2: When Artistic and Scientific Research Meet
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The ACT Monday night lecture series Collision 2: When Artistic and Scientific Research Meet draws together artists and scientists from different disciplines to discuss artistic methodologies and forms of inquiry at the intersection of art, architecture, science and technology.
This series is part of AR - Artistic Research, a yearlong collaboration between the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology and Siemens Stiftung, Munich, co‑curated by ACT Director Ute Meta Bauer and Siemens Stiftung Curator of Visual Arts Thomas D. Trummer. The lecture series is also part of the related ACT course 4.365/4.366 From Bauhaus to Our House.
The lecture series is free and open to the public.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology presents its Monday night lecture series, Collision 2: When Artistic and Scientific Research Meet
Transborder Disturbances: Aesthetics, Interventions and Technology
Ricardo Dominguez, artist, activist and Associate Professor of Visual Arts, UCSD
Respondent: Christopher Csikszentmihalyi, Director, MIT Center for Future Civic Media
Ricardo Dominguez is co-founder of The Electronic Disturbance Theater(EDT), a group who developed virtual-sit-in technologies in 1998. His collaborative project, the Transborder Immigrant Tool,/i. - a GPS cell phone safety tool for crossing the Mexico/U.S border - is being exhibited at the 2010?11 California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art (La Jolla), and ?Un marco modular? at Centro Cultural De Espa?a, El Salvador (2010). Dominguez teaches in the Visual Arts Department at UCSD, where he runs the b.a.n.g. lab.
Web site: http://visualarts.mit.edu/about/lecture.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology
For more information, contact:
Laura Chichisan Pallone
617-253-4415
clauraa@mit.edu
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011MIT
150 Symposium: Leaders in Science and Engineering: The Women of MIT
Time: 8:30a–5:00p
Location: W16, Kresge Auditorium
We will celebrate the leadership roles played by MIT women in these fields at a symposium to feature plenary sessions of research talks by outstanding MIT graduate and faculty women. In addition, there will be sessions to give historical and current assessments of women in science and engineering.
Web site: http://mit150.mit.edu/symposia/women-of-MIT
Open to: the general public
Tickets: http://www.regonline.com/mit150_women_reg
Sponsor(s): MIT150 Office
For more information, contact: symposium_march28-29@mit.edu
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MAPC Clean Energy Forum: Municipal Energy Challenges and Solutions
March 29, 2011 9:30a–12:00p
The forum will provide an opportunity for municipal staff, volunteers, community non-profit members and other stakeholders to meet and discuss their experiences working in the municipal energy realm. Come share your success stories and lessons learned, discover how other communities have addressed similar challenges, and explore new opportunities for collaboration.
Category: lectures/conferences
Location: Federal Reserve Building, Connolly Room (4th Floor), 600 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA
Sponsored by: MIT Energy Campus Events, MAPC
Admission: Open to the public
For more information: http://mapc.org/register-mapc-clean-energy-forum
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Endogenous Communication in Complex Organizations
Speaker: Andrea Prat (LSE)
Time: 2:30p–4:00p
Location: E62-550
Endogenous Communication in Complex Organizations
Web site: https://stellar.mit.edu/S/project/oe-seminar/?toolset=hidden
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT/Sloan Seminar in Organizational Economics
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa@mit.edu
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Transportation@MIT Seminar Series
Speaker: Noelle Eckley Selin, MIT Engineering Systems Division; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 3-270
Transportation@MIT Seminar Series
Transportation@MIT and the MIT Transportation Club are pleased to announce the continuation of the Transportation Seminar Series. All seminars this spring will be held in 3-270 on Tuesdays at 4pm.
This series will feature presentations by faculty researchers at MIT, as well as invited guest speakers from beyond the Institute. Please save the date for the following confirmed speakers:
Noelle Eckley Selin, MIT Engineering Systems Division; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Web site: http://transportation.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free Admission to MIT and General Public
Sponsor(s): Transportation@MIT
For more information, contact:
Rebecca Fearing
6172533366
transportation@mit.edu
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Techno-economic, Location, and Carbon Emission Analysis of Biofuel Technologies
Speaker: Mark Mba Wright, Dept. Chemical Engineering, MIT
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 5-234
Center for Energy and Propulsion Research Seminar Series
The U.S. has established aggressive targets for the production of renewable fuels as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. EISA calls for the generation of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by 2022. Our challenge is to find cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally responsible biofuels. This presentation will argue the case for integrating techno-economic, location, and carbon emission analysis to meet this challenge.
Techno-economic analysis estimates the costs of producing biofuels based on technical and economic assumptions. Location analysis evaluates feedstock availability and market constraints. Carbon emission accounts for carbon sources and sinks. The combination of these methodologies provides a more complete view of the challenges faced by biofuel technologies. Various thermochemical pathways for biomass conversion to drop-in transportation fuels are discussed during this talk.
Pelletization, torrefaction, fast pyrolysis, and gasification are some of the thermochemical processes that will be compared in terms of techno-economic performance, location impacts, and environmental factors. Results from this study highlight some of the challenges and opportunities for thermochemical production of biofuels.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): RGD Lab
For more information, contact:
Patrick Kirchen
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
State of Power Semiconductor Devices and the Future of Power Electronics
Speaker: Dr. Michael Briere
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 34-101
MTL Seminar Series
Refreshments at 3:30 p.m.
Focusing on the application range between 1 and 1200 V, a survey is presented on the current status of performance for commercial power devices and the prospects for further improvements. The relation between power device performance and system level capabilities are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the revolutionary potential of relatively new material systems based devices such as the AlGaN-GaN high electron mobility transistor to dramatically alter the future of power electronics. Recent results obtained using the commercial GaN based HEMT development platform at International Rectifier, known as GaNpowIR, will be presented to demonstrate the current and potential future capabilities of this technology.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact:
Mara Elena Karapetian
452-2545
webmaster@mtl.mit.edu
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Giving new life to materials for energy, electronics, and the environment
Speaker: Prof. Angela M. Belcher
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 10-250
Wulff Lecture
The Wulff Lecture is an introductory, general-audience, entertaining lecture which serves to educate, inspire, and encourage MIT undergraduates to take up study in the field of materials science and engineering and related fields. The entire MIT community, particularly freshmen, is invited to attend. The Wulff Lecture honors the late Professor John Wulff, a skilled, provocative, and entertaining teacher who inaugurated a new approach to teaching the popular freshman subject: 3.091 Introduction to Solid State Chemistry.
Organisms have been making exquisite inorganic materials for over 500 million years. Although these materials have many desired physical properties such as strength, regularity, and environmental benign processing, the types of materials that organisms have evolved to work with are limited. However, there are many properties of living systems that could be potentially harnessed by researchers to make advanced technologies that are smarter, more adaptable, and that are synthesized to be compatible with the environment. One approach to designing future technologies which have some of the properties that living organisms use so well, is to evolve organisms to work with a more diverse set of building blocks. These materials could be designed to address many scientific and technological problems in electronics, military, medicine, and energy applications. Examples include a virus enabled lithium ion rechargeable battery we recently built that has many improved properties over conventional batteries, as well as materials for solar and display technologies. This talk will address conditions under which organisms first evolved to make materials and scientific approaches to move beyond naturally evolved materials to genetically imprint advanced technologies.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
For more information, contact:
617-253-3300
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Development Effects of Electricity: Evidence from the Geologic Placement of Hydropower Plants in Brazil (Host Workshop - MIT/Sloan Seminar in Microeconomic Applications)
Speaker: Mushfiq Mobarak (Yale School of Mgmnt.)
Time: 5:00p–6:30p
Location: E62-650
Development Effects of Electricity: Evidence from the Geologic Placement of Hydropower Plants in Brazil (Host Workshop - MIT/Sloan Seminar in Microeconomic Applications)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Energy & Environmental Economics at MIT
For more information, contact:
theresa
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Special Presentation: Waterfronts: Design and Development Projects by Sasaki Associates
Speaker: Jason Hellendrung, Principal; Gina Ford, Principal
Time: 12:10p–2:00p
Location: 10-485
Part of the Harlem River Bronx Practicum; Lecture open to all.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact:
Eran Ben-Joseph
ebj@mit.edu
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Energy 101: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Speaker: Cristina Botero
Time: 12:45p–1:45p
Location: 3-133
Energy 101 Series
This Energy 101 talk will present the basic technical concepts behind Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), a process by which CO2 emissions from fossil fuel utilization can be avoided by separating -or "capturing"- this gas from the emitting source and permanently storing it underground. Emphasis will be placed on the fuel utilization and capture processes prior to CO2 storage.
Cristina Botero is a second year PhD Student at MIT's Mechanical Engineering Department and has been working on Carbon Capture and Storage for almost five years. She conducts her research in the Reacting Gas Dynamics Lab, where she is looking at cheaper and more efficient ways to utilize coal for power generation and fuel production through gasification with carbon capture and storage. Cristina holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and worked with GE Global Research for over two years prior to coming to MIT.
Lunch will be served. No RSVP required.
Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/energy-101/energy-101-carbon-capture-and-storage-ccs
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact:
MIT Energy Club
cbotero@mit.edu
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Implications of Subsurface CO2 Mobility on CCS
Speaker: Dr. Kurt Zenz House, President of C12 Energy
Time: 5:30p–6:30p
Location: 4-231
MIT Energy Club Lecture Series
Supercritical CO2 injected in the subsurface is highly mobile and buoyant. We discuss the implications that this mobility has for commercial-scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) projects. We will address the current legal landscape for CO2 storage, and argue that the "American Model" of pore space ownership will enable the nascent CCS industry. We then consider some of the physical implications of CO2?s mobility, in the context of this legal landscape. In particular, we combine existing analytical models and numerical simulations of CO2 plume development to demonstrate the value of laterally confined CO2 storage sites. Furthermore, we discuss the potential for miscible CO2 flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to enable CCS projects as well as the potential for CCS projects to enable EOR. In particular, we have identified several opportunities in which combined EOR-CCS projects are financially attractive.
Bio: Kurt Zenz House studies the physics, chemistry, and economics of capturing and storing anthropogenic carbon dioxide in ways that will ensure it does not enter the atmosphere. That work includes both storing CO2 in the sub-surface as well as converting CO2 to stable carbonate minerals. He is currently the President of C12 Energy, a Sequoia backed company which is commercializing projects that combine geologic CO2 storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery. Kurt is also a fellow at MIT, where his work is partially supported by KAUST.
Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/lecture-series/impli
cations-of-subsurface-co-sub-2-sub-mobility-on-ccs
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact:
MIT Energy Club
energyclub@mit.edu
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Building Technology Lecture Series: Lisa Heschong - Creating Consensus on Annual Daylighting Performance Metrics
Speaker: Lisa Heschong, Managing Principle, Heschong Mahone Group, Inc.
Time: 12:30p–2:00p
Location: 4-231
Building Technology Spring Lecture Series
Designing well daylit buildings is understood to provide numerous benefits, from improved human well-being to reduced environmental impacts. However, a quantitative definition of a well-daylit building has illusory. With the advent of greater computing power, it is now possible to simulate the daylighting performance of interior spaces in great detail, point by point and hour by hour, and yet, consensus on how to best interpret the data and its meaning has been slower to develop. Lisa Heschong describes the process of forming an international committee to guide the development of new annual-simulation based metrics, the field studies behind the discussions, current proposals to translate the metrics into daylighting requirements in codes and standards, and the need for additional research to explain the dynamics of human comfort in daylit spaces.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Building Technology Program, Department of Architecture
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Ross
617 253 1876
kross@mit.edu
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Materials Science and Engineering Seminar: Engineering the Nanoparticle-Biology Interface
Speaker: Prof. Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli
Time: 4:00p–5:15p
Location: 66-110
Materials Science and Engineering Seminar Series
Sponsored by CMSE, DMSE, and MPC. To receive announcements about this series and other events of interest to the MIT materials community, subscribe to the matseminars mailing list at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/matseminars
Nanotechnology has held great promise for enhancing biological systems and engineering new capabilities in biology. We use laser excitation of gold nanorods to control the release of multiple species independently. Laser excitation at the nanorod surface plasmon resonance can release biomolecules conjugated to the nanorod. Because the SPR is tunable by changing nanorod aspect ratio, nanorods can be excited independently at different wavelengths. We exploit this property for selective and mutually exclusive release of two different DNA strands. Also, we are utilizing nanoparticles to enhance biological reactions. One of the biggest barriers for nanobiotechnology is non-specific adsorption, where biomolecules non-covalently stick to nanoparticles. Typically, non-specific adsorption is viewed as a major hindrance to nanobiotechnology, but we demonstrate that it can actually be used to enhance protein production in in vitro translation. By tuning the balance between non-specific adsorption and specific binding, we can optimize enhancement and also enhance specific genes.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for Materials Science & Engineering, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Processing Center, Materials@MIT
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Between Page and Screen: Digital, Visual, and Material Poetics
Speaker: Amaranth Borsuk
Time: 4:00p–6:00p
Location: 2-105
CMS Colloquium Series
Amaranth Borsuk discusses her poetic practice as a multi-media writer and artist, reading selections from recent work and showing images and performance footage from current projects. What is a poetics of materiality and how does it play out across print and digital media? What does a focus on the material of language do to our constructions of authorship? Borsuk will read from Between Page and Screen, a digital pop-up book of poems, Tonal Saw, a chapbook constructed from a religious tract, and Excess Exhibit, a flip-book of conjoined poems that mutate from constraint into rapturous abundance. She will also show digital work in progress and read selections from her recently completed manuscript Handiwork, whose poems explore the relationship between torture and writing, trauma and creativity through a combination of Oulipo constraint and surreal lyricism.
Web site: http://cms.mit.edu/events/talks.php#033111
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies
For more information, contact:
Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cms@mit.edu
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
BUDRUS - Film Screening
Time: 7:00p–8:30p
Location: 6-120
***WOMEN TAKE THE REEL*** 2011 Film Festival Celebrating Women's History Month***
It takes a village to unite the most divided people on earth.
Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel's Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women's contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today.
In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat. While this film is about one Palestinian village, it tells a much bigger story about what is possible in the Middle East.
Discussion with film director/producer to follow.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/wgs/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Women's and Gender Studies, Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies, Palestine@MIT, The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT, Center for International Studies
For more information, contact:
The Friendly WGS Staff
253-8844
wgs@mit.edu
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Making Synthetic Biologists - iGEM the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition
Speaker: Randy Rettberg
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location: NE-30, Broad Institute Auditorium
IEEE/ACM Joint Seminar Series
Exploring the edge of computing technology.
Can simple biological systems be built from standard, interchangeable parts and operated in living cells? OR, is biology so complicated that every case is unique? The minicomputer revolution thrived on interchangeable parts from the TTL catalogue. There was a rich explosion in computer companies, semiconductor companies, and the industries that supported and used those computers. Today, the biotechnology industries are like the mainframe companies of the 1960's. Can the engineering principles of standardization and interchangeable parts create an industrial revolution of synthetic biology based on standard parts? iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition is implementing this vision. Each year teams of undergraduate students are given a kit of 1000 biological parts as DNA. The parts include sensors for small molecules, coding regions for various proteins, and other control parts. Over the summer, the teams build systems from these parts and make new parts of their own. They come together at MIT in the fall, present their work, win prizes, and have fun meeting other new synthetic biologists.
Randy Rettberg is the Founder and Director of iGEM at MIT. Previously, he worked as a computer and network designer at BBN, Apple, and Sun.
Joint meeting of the Boston Chapters of the IEEE Computer and Engineering in Medicine
and Biology Societies, the MIT biological engineering and biomedical engineering student group (BE-BMES) and GBC/ACM.
Web site:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/Rettbergtalk.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): ACM & IEEE/CS
For more information, contact:
Peter Mager
p.mager at computer.org
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Friday, April 01, 2011
Approaches to Professionalism in the Face of Mismanagement or Corruption in Developing Countries
Speaker: Jonathan Richmond, MIT
Time: 12:00p–2:00p
Location: W20-307
CTL DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS SERIES
This speaker series brings at least three speakers each semester to the MIT campus to talk about their expertise in fields that are studied by members of the Transportation Students Group, including transit, airlines, high speed rail, and intelligent transportation systems.
Efforts to help developing countries move forward frequently fail because they inadequately respond to the prevalence of mismanagement or corruption. International agencies tend to emphasize staffing with technically proficient personnel who deal with their developing country clients primarily in a language of economic rationality.
Despite the existence of anti-corruption units, far more needs to be done to both require and assist with governance reforms that are preconditions to development in countries troubled by corruption.
This talk will review attempts by the author to plan for major transportation improvements together with governance reforms in Mauritius and Bangladesh while working for those countries' national governments as a World Bank funded transport adviser. It will discuss the problems encountered and propose new approaches to professionalism in development that promise greater effectiveness in assisting countries with governance problems and promoting their successful development.
Light lunch provided.
Web site: http://ctl.mit.edu/distinguished-speakers
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Center for Transportation & Logistics
For more information, contact:
Veronica Hannan
vhannan@mit.edu
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Friday, April 01, 2011
Saltpeter, the Mother of Gunpowder, and the Quest for Infinite Security in the Age of Bacon and Boyle
Speaker: David Cressy
Time: 12:00p–2:00p
Location: 16-128
David Cressy, Humanities Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio State University, will speak on "Saltpeter, the Mother of Gunpowder, and the Quest for Infinite Security in the Age of Bacon and Boyle"
Friday, April 1, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., Rm. 16-128
Website: http://history.osu.edu/people/view/AllFac/678
All members of the MIT community are welcome (space permitting), but please reserve a place with Cheryl Butters (cbutters@mit.edu) at least one week in advance so that she can order enough food for everyone who will attend.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/concourse/www/series.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free of charge, but RSVP to Cheryl
Tickets: RSVP to Cheryl
Sponsor(s): Concourse
For more information, contact:
Cheryl Butters
(617) 253-3200
cbutters@mit.edu
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Friday, April 01, 2011
It is Necessary to Revolutionize Climate Prediction: Is it Possible?
Speaker: Professor Jagadish Shukla, Climate Dynamics, George Mason University
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 54-915
EAPS Department Lecture Series
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/news/dls.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0.00
Tickets: N/A
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
For more information, contact:
Jacqui Taylor
253-2127
jtaylor@mit.edu
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Friday, April 01, 2011
MITFAC Celebr-ATE: A celebration of innovations that are building a healthy food system
Speaker: Michel Nishan
Time: 5:00p–8:00p
Location: 32-4th floor, R&D Pub
Join the MIT Food and Agriculture Collaborative (MITFAC) and Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts for a celebration of food! This inaugural MITFAC event will explore the problems with our current food system and showcase the solutions that are being developed within the MIT community. Hear sustainable food pioneer, chef, and author Michel Nishan discuss the role each of us can play in rebuilding our nation's food system, learn what the MIT community is doing to address some of the most pressing challenges to our food system, and watch chefs from Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts demonstrate the art of cooking with sustainable ingredients, and then taste their creations.
This event is open to everyone interested in improving our food system! We welcome attendees from both within the MIT community and beyond.
April 1 | 5pm-8pm | MIT R&D Pub (4th Floor of Stata Center, 32 Vassar St., Cambridge)
Space is limited, so reserve your ticket today! Tickets are free and can be reserved at http://mitfac.eventbrite.com.
Web site: http://mitfac.eventbrite.com
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: http://mitfac.eventbrite.com
Sponsor(s): MIT Food & Agriculture Collaborative
For more information, contact:
Kristine Cass
food-exec@mit.edu
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Friday, April 01, 2011
MIT China Forum: Sci-Tech Innovation and Scientific Development in China
Speaker: Dr. ZHOU Ji, President, Chinese Academy of Engineering
Time: 5:30p–6:45p
Location: 6-120
MIT China Forum lecture series
Web site: http://global.mit.edu/index.php/initiatives/china/china-forum/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT China Program, Office of the Associate Provost
For more information, contact:
Sean Gilbert
253-5068
china@mit.edu
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Friday, April 01, 2011
Architecture Lecture Series: The 22nd Schein Memorial Lecture
Speaker: Ryue Nishizawa, Architect, Sanaa, Tokyo
Time: 6:30p–8:00p
Location: 10-250
Architecture and Landscape
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture
For more information, contact:
617-253-7791
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Saturday, April 02, 2011
International Development Night @ the MIT Museum
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location: N51, MIT Museum
Showcasing activities, programs, and ventures pursuing international development innovations in clean energy, future cities, safe water, healthcare, microfinance, village utilities, mobiles, humanitarian innovations, and much more!
Free and Open to the public
Hosted in collaboration with the 17th Annual
International Development Conference at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
http://harvardidc.com/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT, International Development Initiative, Graduate Student Life Grants
For more information, contact:
Laura Sampath
617-253-7052
lsampath@mit.edu
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Harvard
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Targeted Killings: The U.S., the U.N. and Accountability
WHEN Mon., Mar. 28, 2011, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Allison Dining Room
Taubman Building, 5th Floor
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Ethics, Information Technology, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
SPEAKER(S)
Philip Alston, Sidley Austin Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School; John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; chair and co-director of NYU Law School Center for Human Rights and Global Justice; former United Nations special rapporteur for extrajudicial executions
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO carr_center@hks.harvard.edu, 617.495.5819
LINK http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/events/2011/month03/PhilAlston_28.php
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Digital Culture, Technology Platform Colloquium
WHEN Mon., Mar. 28, 2011, 12 – 3 p.m.
WHERE Room 112, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Brooke King: events@gsd.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/index.cgi
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Monday, March 28
12:00pm - 1:30pm Energy Technology Innovation Policy/Consortium for Energy Policy Research Energy Policy Seminar Series
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS Cambridge, MA
"Do Americans Consume Too Little Natural Gas?" Erich Muehlegger, HKS.
louisa_lund@hks.harvard.edu 617-4955-8693
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Fragmentation of the True North: Canada's Identity Crisis in the Face of Environmental Politics
WHEN Mon., Mar. 28, 2011, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE K262 - Bowie Vernon Room, WCFIA, CGIS Knafel, 1737 Cambridge Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR WCFIA Canada Program
SPEAKER(S) Severn Cullis-Suzuki, cultural and environmental activist and writer
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/programs/canada
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Tuesday, March 29, 12 p.m.
"Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama." Eric Alterman, Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; columnist for The Nation; regular contributor to The Daily Beast.
Kalb Seminar Room, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
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How Will Japan Recover from the Great Earthquake?
WHEN Tue., Mar. 29, 2011, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Bowie-Vernon Conference Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; co-sponsored by the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S)
Kotaro Tamura, research associate, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University; member, House of Councillors (2002-10); chairman, Committee on Land and Transport, House of Councillors (2008-09); and parliamentary secretary for economic and fiscal policy and for financial affairs, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan (2006-07)
Discussant: Koichi Hamada, Tuntex Professor of Economics, Yale University.
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Xiao Tian: xtian@wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/schedule/schedule.htm
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Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity and Self-Branding in Web 2.0Alice Marwick, Microsoft Research
Tuesday, March 29, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person to Amar Ashar (ashar@cyber.law.harvard.edu)
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast) and archived on our site shortly after.
In the mid-2000s, journalists and businesspeople heralded “Web 2.0” technologies such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook as signs of a new participatory era that would democratize journalism, entertainment, and politics. By the decade’s end, this idealism had been replaced by a gold-rush mentality focusing on status and promotion. While the rhetoric of Web 2.0 as democratic and revolutionary persists, I will contend that a primary use of social media is to boost user status and popularity, maintaining hierarchy rather than diminishing it. This talk focuses on three status-seeking techniques that emerged with social media: micro-celebrity, self-branding, and life-streaming. I examine interactions between social media and social life in the San Francisco “tech scene” to show that Web 2.0 has become a key aspect of social hierarchy in technologically mediated communities.
About Alice
Alice Marwick is a postdoctoral researcher in social media at Microsoft Research New England and a research affiliate at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. Her work looks at online identity and consumer culture through lenses of privacy, surveillance, consumption, and celebrity. Alice has a PhD from the Department of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, a MA from the University of Washington and a BA from Wellesley College. She has published in New Media and Society, Convergence, First Monday, Critical Studies in Media Communication and Information, Communication & Society. Marwick is a frequent presenter at academic and industry conferences and has appeared in The New York Times, The American Prospect, The Guardian, BusinessWeek and Wired Magazine. Her dissertation, "Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity and Self-Branding in Web 2.0" is available at her blog, http://www.tiara.org/blog.
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Tusday, March 29
3:00pm - 4:15pm Belfer Center Directors' Seminar
Belfer Center Library (L369) Harvard Kennedy School 79 JFK St Cambridge, MA
"How and Why Cancun Trumped Copenhagen." Professor Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School.
POSITIVE RSVP ONLINE ONLY:http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/stavins.html
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The Military and the Media: Two Perspectives — Iraq and Pakistan
WHEN Tue., Mar. 29, 2011, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Room N-262.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
SPEAKER(S) Wajahat Khan, Joan Shorenstein Fellow on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, and Emma Sky, fellow at the Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
CONTACT INFO Donna Hicks: dhicks@wcfia.harvard.edu
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 29
4:00pm - 6:00pm Speaking Out and Speaking Up: The Critical Role of Scientists in Shaping Sound Public Policy
http://goo.gl/XuXNJ
Dudley House, Harvard University Cambridge, MA
Workshop and Discussion - Sean Meyer and Jean Sideris, Union of Concerned Scientists
with featured Guest - Professor James McCarthy. Food and drink will be served.
RSVP requested at http://goo.gl/XuXNJ
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The Harvard GSD Symposia on Architecture / The Eclipse of Beauty: Taste
WHEN Tue., Mar. 29, 2011, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
WHERE Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Evan Douglis, Evan Douglis Studio, dean, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; George Teyssot, professor, Laval University, School of Architecture, Quebec City
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Brooke King: events@gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE
What has happened to architectural beauty? It used to be the fundamental value of architectural theory and practice, the touchstone of every conceivable achievement for a discipline that considered itself primarily as an art. Today, the word is seldom pronounced by theorists and professionals, at least in public. Even critics and historians tend to avoid the loaded term.
What has happened to architectural beauty? Its eclipse is all the more surprising given that architectural aesthetics is everywhere. The architectural star-system is to a large extent based on signature forms that herald the originality of their authors. The so-called "Guggenheim effect" has fundamentally to do with the visual seduction exerted by Frank Gehry's project on a large public, from connoisseurs to simple passers-by. It has paved the way for all sorts of prestigious architectural commissions, often linked to the cultural sector, museums, libraries, opera houses requiring visually striking answers that can be appreciated by a broad audience. Usually entrusted to a relatively small cohort of elite architects, these commissions nevertheless contribute to define the tone of contemporary architectural debate. Even if the term beauty is rarely invoked to characterize their power of seduction, the aesthetic dimension plays a determining role.
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/index.cgi
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Egypt: The Revolution and Its Repercussions
WHEN Wed., Mar. 30, 2011, 2 – 4 p.m.
WHERE Center for Middle Eastern Studies
38 Kirkland Street, Room 102
Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Middle East Forum
SPEAKER(S) Kirk J. Beattie, professor of political science and international relations, Simmons College, Boston
CONTACT INFO Sara Roy: sroy@fas.harvard.edu
LINK http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/2419
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Wednesday, March 30
4:00pm - 6:00pm
Speaking Out and Speaking Up: The Critical Role of Scientists in Shaping Sound Public Policy
Dudley House, Harvard University Cambridge, MA
Workshop and Discussion - Sean Meyer and Jean Sideris, Union of Concerned Scientists
with featured Guest - Professor James McCarthy. Food and drink will be served.
RSVP requested at http://goo.gl/XuXNJ
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Wednesday, March 30
"Weather and Death in India: Mechanisms and Implications of Climate Change."
Michael Greenstone, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
4:10 p.m. L-382 Harvard Kennedy School 79 JFK St
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/events-calendar/seminar-in-enviro......
Contact Name: Jason Chapman jason_chapman@harvard.edu
--------------------------------------------
Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
WHEN Wed., Mar. 30, 2011, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE 13 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138
TYPE OF EVENT Discussion, Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
BUILDING/ROOM Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME Amber Haskins
CONTACT EMAIL askwith_forums@gse.harvard.edu
CONTACT PHONE 617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED No
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education
NOTE
Speaker: Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.
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Restoring an Urban Watershed: Ecology, Equity, and Design New Directions in EcoPlanning Annual Lecture
WHEN Wed., Mar. 30, 2011, 6 p.m.
WHERE Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Museum of Natural History
SPEAKER(S) Anne Whiston Spirn, award-winning author, photographer, and professor of landscape architecture and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NOTE
The Mill Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia once epitomized the failures of 20th-century urban policies and development, resulting in an economically depressed, racially-segregated community plagued with vacant land, subsiding ground, and flooded basements on the buried floodplain of the creek. Anne Whiston Spirn, lauded by the Boston Globe as an "urban visionary" will focus on the story of Mill Creek's restoration as a model for uniting science, design, and community engagement to address social and environmental problems. Spirn will stress how "landscape literacy" is just as critical to those solutions as verbal literacy was to the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
LINK http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php
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The Harvard Food Law Society and the Harvard Health Law and Policy Clinic Present
Gary Taubes
Why We Get Fat: Adiposity 101 and the Alternative Hypothesis of Obesity
Wednesday March 30
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Pound 101, Harvard Law School
Sign up at http://garytaubes.eventbrite.com
Space is Limited
In his New York Times best seller, Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes argued that our diet’s overemphasis on certain kinds of carbohydrates—not fats and not simply excess calories—has led directly to the obesity epidemic we face today. The result of thorough research, keen insight, and unassailable common sense, Good Calories, Bad Calories immediately stirred controversy and acclaim among academics, journalists, and writers alike. Michael Pollan heralded it as “a vitally important book, destined to change the way we think about food.”
In his lecture “Why We Get Fat: Adiposity 101 and the Alternative Hypothesis of Obesity,” Taubes explains why he believes the nutritional science of the last century has been misguided and damaging, particularly the “calories-in, calories-out” model of why we get fat, and reveals the good science that has been ignored.
For more information visit foodsoc.org or email Nate Rosenberg at nrosenberg at jd11.law.harvard.edu.
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PON Film Series Presents: Budrus
WHEN Wed., Mar. 30, 2011, 7:15 – 10 p.m.
WHERE Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Ethics, Film, Religion, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S) Ronit Avni, Producer of Budrus
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO jmayer@law.harvard.edu
NOTE
Join us for the Program on Negotiation Film Series presentation of "Budrus," followed by a discussion with the film's producer, Ronit Avni. Admission is free. Pizza and drinks will be served.
Ayed Morrar, an unlikely community organizer, unites Palestinians from all political factions and Israelis to save his village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Victory seems improbable until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines.
LINK http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/budrus/
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The Arctic: An Area of Conflict and Cooperation
WHEN Thu., Mar. 31, 2011, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge St., Bowie-Vernon Room (K262)
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on Transatlantic Relations of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; co-sponsored by the Boston Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany
SPEAKER(S) Helga Haftendorn, professor emeritus, Free University of Berlin
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Ann Townes: atownes@wcfia.harvard.edu
NOTE
Helga Haftendorn is one of the most distinguished German scholars in international relations. She has been a frequent visiting scholar in the United States, received numerous awards and served, inter alia, as president of the International Studies Association. Haftendorn has published widely on transatlantic relations, European affairs, and problems of strategy and arms control.
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Thursday, March 31
4:00pm - 6:00pm The Greening of America's Schools
Land Lecture Hall, Belfer Building (HKS) 79 JFK St Cambridge, MA
“Intersections of Environmental and Education Policy.” The HKS EdPIC proudly presents Peter Bahouth (President of US Climate Action Network, and former Executive Director of Greenpeace), Rachel Gutter (Director of Center for Green Schools), and Jean Wallace (CEO of Green Woods Charter School of Philadelphia, PA)
http://green.harvard.edu/node/1381
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JFK Jr. Forum: 2011 Corliss Lamont Lecture by the Hon. Bill Richardson
WHEN Thu., Mar. 31, 2011, 6 p.m.
WHERE JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK St., Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Institute of Politics
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) BILL RICHARDSON: Institute of Politics Visiting Fellow, governor of New Mexico (2003-2011), United States secretary of energy (1998-2001), United States ambassador to the United Nations (1997-1998)
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Tufts
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Monday, March 28
12:30pm Tufts Energy and Climate Policy Research Seminar
Crowe Room (Goddard 310), The Fletcher School Tufts University Medford, MA
"Decarbonization in US Energy: Trends, Drivers and Challenges." Kathleen Araújo, Doctoral Research Fellow, The Fletcher School and Doctoral Candidate, MIT.
Contact Name: Jacqueline Deelstra Jacqueline.Deelstra@tufts.edu
----------------
Northeastern
----------------
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
114 Dana Research Center
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
“Graphene-based Materials, Energy, and Sustainability”
RODNEY S. RUOFF, PhD
Professor, Cockrell Family Regents Chair, The University of Texas at Austin
ABSTRACT
Graphene-based materials hold promise due to their exceptional electronic and thermal transport, mechanical properties, high specific surface area, and that they can act as an atom thick layer, barrier, or membrane. Our micromechanical exfoliation approaches [1,2] conceived of in 1998 yielded multilayer graphene and one paper particularly clearly delineated how monolayer graphene could be obtained [1]. Two main research areas of our group are: (i) Growth of large area graphene on metal substrates, material characterization and properties, and use in various devices, and (ii)the generation, study, and use of colloids consisting of graphene-based platelets dispersed in liquids, and powders derived from such colloids. These two areas will be described in this lecture. A history of experimental work on graphene (from discovery in 1969 to now) is provided at: http://bucky-central.me.utexas.edu/RuoffsPDFs/Ruoff%20Graphene%20December%202010.
Other topics will include the potential for graphene-based (and other carbon-based) materials in ‘energy systems’ (for energy generation, transmission, and storage), and sustainability.
Professor Rod Ruoff joined The University of Texas at Austin as a Cockrell Family Regents endowed chair in September, 2007. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from the University of Illinois-Urbana in 1988, and was a Fulbright Fellow in 1988-89 at the Max Planck Institute fuer Stroemungsforschung in Goettingen, Germany. Prior to joining UT-Austin, he was the John Evans Professor of Nanoengineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University and director of NU’s Biologically Inspired Materials Institute from 2002-2007. He has co-authored 250 peer-reviewed publications devoted to chemistry, physics, materials science, mechanics, engineering, and biomedical science, is co-founder of Graphene Energy, Inc. and the founder of Graphene Materials, LLC. and Nanode, Inc. Dr. Ruoff is on the editorial board of IEEE-Nano; Composites, Science, and Technology; Carbon; Journal of Nanoengineering and Nanosystems; and is a Managing Editor and Editorial Board Member of NANO. He was a Distinguished Chair Visiting Professor at Sungkyukwan University’s Advanced Institute of NanoTechnology (SAINT) for several years.
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The Sociology Department at Northeastern University is hosting our 2nd annual globalization symposium on March 31, with a focus on global commodity chains, neoliberalism, and human rights. The evening session, in particular, will explore issues related to politics and activism surrounding global commodities such as coffee, coca cola, drugs, arms, as well as clothing and apparel.
What: Global Commodities, Chained and Unchained- 2nd Annual Conference on Globalization at Northeastern University
When: March 31, 2011
Panel 1- 2:45 to 4:30pm (Global Commodity Chains- a Critical Approach)
Panel 2- 6:00 to 8:00pm (Global Commodity Chains and Human Rights)
Where: Northeastern University, 20 West Village F
For more Information, see: http://globalcommodities2011.blogspot.com/
Conference Description:
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University is pleased to host its 2nd annual conference on globalization. We are excited to bring together a group of prominent scholars to discuss their recent research on global commodity chains and to critically assess the political and cultural implications of neoliberal globalization.
Presenters at the evening session, including Carolyn Nordstrom (Notre Dame University), Robert Ross (Clark University), Edward Fischer (Vanderbilt University) and Robert Foster, will discuss the interconnections between commodity chains and human rights and the potential paths of resistance available to populations marginalized within the current neoliberal order.
Presenters at the afternoon session, including Catherine Dolan (Oxford University), Andrew Schrank (University of New Mexico), Robert Foster (University of Rochester) and Damla Isik (Western Connecticut State College), will draw on their ethnographic field work to discuss critical approaches to global commodity chain research and theory.
This event is free and open to the public. The Department of Sociology-Anthropology at Northeastern hopes you can join us for what promises to be an exciting, politically inspirational, and intellectually rich encounter. For more information on the conference, including times and location, please visit our blog at http://globalcommodities2011.blogspot.com.
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Babson
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Babson Energy and Environmental Conference
Entrepreneurship for a Sustainable Future
Register Now at http://beec2011conference.eventbrite.com/
Register now to attend the 5th Annual Babson Energy and Environmental Conference on March 31st, 2011 at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
This year’s theme is “Entrepreneurship for a Sustainable Future”, and we will explore how innovation and entrepreneurship will play a pivotal role in shaping the new green economy in the years to come. We will hear severalexciting keynotes from high profile entrepreneurs:
• Dr. Bart Riley, Co-Founder, A123 Systems (NASDAQ: AONE)
• Sheeraz Haji, CEO, Cleantech Group
• Nancy Floyd, Founder & Managing Director, Nth Power
• Kathy Brown, Senior Vice President – Public Policy Development and Corporate Responsibility, Verizon
Other featured speakers
• Leonard Schlesinger, President, Babson College
• Mark Donohue, Clean Technology Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Babson College
• Peter Rothstein, President, New England Clean Energy Council
• Cynthia Curtis, Chief Sustainability Officer, CA Technologies
• Rob Pratt, Chairman & CEO, GreenerU
• Clint Wilder, Senior Editor, Clean Edge & Author, The Clean Tech Revolution
• Chuck McDermott, General Partner, Rockport Capital
• Jeramy Lemieux, Head of Climate Savers, Diversey, Inc.
• Greg Dixon, SVP of Marketing, EnerNOC
• Kathy Loftus, Global Leader for Sustainability Engineering, Maintenance & Energy Management, Whole Foods
• Michael Bakas, Senior Vice President – Renewable Energy, Ameresco
• Robert Gough, Founder, Port Meadow Tech
• Bob Reese, President/ Co-Founder, Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery
• Jonathan Nash, Director of Business Development, NewStream
• Patrick Cloney, Executive Director, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
• David O’Connor, Senior Vice President for Energy and Clean Technology, ML Strategies, LLC
• Kim Stevenson, Manager of New Technologies, CT Clean Energy Fund
And Many More!
Our engaging panel sessions will focus on several main topics:
• Innovations in Cleantech and Renewable Energy
• Sustainable Business Practices
• Financing Strategies
• New Energy Policy & Implications
• Responsible Consumption and Disposal of Food, Water & Waste
Our Entrepreneurs Showcase will give a glimpse of some of the newest innovators in the industry. Further, you will have the opportunity to listen to panelists from Enernoc, WholeFoods, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, CA Technologies, Diversy and many more. Our goal is to show that sustainable business practices are not at odds with creating profit and growing a company.
The world needs more entrepreneurs and leaders focused on preserving the earth’s resources while building a more sustainable future. We hope that you will join us for this exciting event, and be inspired to become part of the next wave of change!
For additional information, please contact Jatin Ahuja (jahuja1@babson.edu), Adam Ostaszewski (aostaszewski1@babson.edu) and Joel Robbins (jrobbins1@babson.edu)
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Lesley
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Digital Media and Popular Uprisings
March 31, 2011
6-8 p.m.
Lesley University
University Hall Amphitheater, 1815 Mass. Ave., 2nd Flr.
Cambridge, MA 02140
Google Map: http://bit.ly/edM4fz
The importance of digital media in building the recent wave of popular uprisings in the Middle East has been widely heralded in the global press. But how are social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and digital communication devices like texters, cell phones and PDAs really being used on the ground to help organize millions of people towards a common goal - democracy. And is it true that these movements for democracy in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and beyond are completely spontaneous and being organized on the fly with the help of modern technology? Or is there more to the story?
Lesley University and Open Media Boston have invited three experts on digital media and grassroots organizing to speak to these and related issues. Each brings a unique perspective to the discussion.
Ethan Zuckerman is co-founder of the citizen media network Global Voices and senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Jillian York is a writer and freedom of expression activist who studies Internet controls and online activism, with a focus on the Arab world. She is a project coordinator at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Suren Moodliar is a coordinator of Massachusetts Global Action and an organizer of the Majority Agenda Project. He is deeply interested in networks and social change.
The panel will be chaired by Jason Pramas, Editor/Publisher of Open Media Boston, www.openmediaboston.org, and introduced by a representative of Lesley University.
Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. There will be light refreshments served in the Atrium just outside the Amphitheater. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, or press inquiries, please email info@openmediaboston.org.
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Other
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E+ Green Building Announcement & Discussion
Monday, March 28, 2011
from 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM (ET)
Waterfront Square at Atlantic Wharf
290 Congress Street
Boston MA
Register at http://bostongreenbuilding.eventbrite.com/
Please join Mayor Thomas M. Menino for the announcement of the Mayor’s E+ Green Building Demonstration Program
A 1 to 4 Family Green RFP for Designer / Builder Teams
and a talk on Future Friendly Green Homes for Boston; meeting tomorrow’s needs today
by Paul Eldrenkamp, Byggmeister, Inc.
Discussion and light refreshments to follow
The Mayor's E+ Green Building Program is an initative of the Department of Neighborhood Development, the Office of Environment and Energy Services and the BRA
contact: John.dalzell.bra@cityofboston.gov
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Somerville Climate Action and Representative Denise Provost Film Series Present
The Economics of Happiness (www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org)
Monday, March 28, 2011 - 6:30pm - 9:00pm
followed by a discussion with Julie Matthaei, Economics Professor at Wellesley College
and Joe Grafton of Somerville Local First
Tufts University Barnum Hall, Rm. 008
163 Packard Ave, Medford (side entrance on Packard Ave)
Come see this powerful new film by by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick & John Page
Co-sponsored by:
Boston Area Solidarity Economy Network, Mass. Coalition for Healthy Communities (masschc.org), The Somerville Community Growing Center (theGrowingCenter.org), Somerville Local First (SomervilleLocalFirst.org), Greater Boston Slow Money
Featuring voices from six continents, including:
Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Zac Goldsmith, Michael Shuman, Samdhong Rinpoche, Andrew Simms, Richard Heinberg, Chris Johnstone, Juliet Schor, Clive Hamilton, Keibo Oiwa, Rob Hopkins
See http://campusmaps.tufts.edu/medford/ for directions. Please bike or usepublic transportation (http://publicsafety.tufts.edu/adminsvc/?pid=6).
Download the flyer here:
next.masschc.net/sites/default/files/EconOfHappinessFlyer.pdf
RSVP to the Facebook event here: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193114760721533
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Monday March 28, 7 pm
Lucy Parsons Center, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston.
Directions: http://lucyparsons.org/directions.php
Brian Tokar and Maggie Zhou of the activist network Climate SOS will discuss the global climate crisis, its implications for worldwide struggles for justice, and the emergence of the climate justice movement.
Brian Tokar is a long-time activist and author, and current director of the Institute for Social Ecology based in Plainfield, Vermont. He is the author of the recently published books,
Toward Climate Justice: Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and Social Change (http://www.akpress.org/2010/items/towardclimatejustice), and Agriculture and Food in Crisis: Conflict, Resistance, and Renewal (http://www.monthlyreview.org/books/agriculturefood.php). His other books include The Green Alternative, and Earth for Sale.
Maggie Zhou is a molecular and computational biologist now turned full-time, volunteer climate and environmental campaigner and amateur climate scientist. She is with Climate SOS (a member of the international network Climate Justice Now!), Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, and the US Green party. She has been working on building the climate justice movement, exposing false climate solutions and market fundamentalism, as well as exposing militarism and the current imperial world order at the root of failure in climate policy and climate negotiations.
Please pass around. All are welcome to attend. Refreshments served.
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Nerd Nite
Monday March 28, 2011 — 8pm
at the Middlesex, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge In Central Square
$5
The lineup:
Talk 1: “The Sexy Social Science of NBA Basketball: Insights into Economics, Sociology, and Psychology from Professional Hoops”
by Adam Waytz
Talk 2: Title TBA
By Matt Boch
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
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Forum on new state climate action plan
Cambridge residents can hear about the new, far-reaching Massachusetts clean energy and climate plan at a community meeting on
Tuesday, March 29, 7:00-8:30 PM
Cambridge Senior Center
David Cash, Undersecretary for Policy at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, will present the plan. State Rep. Will Brownsberger and Eugenia Gibbons of the Environmental League of Massachusetts will comment, and everyone will be able to ask questions and share ideas about how to help implement the plan and ensure that the state reaches its goal of 25% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels statewide by 2020. The event is cosponsored by the City and local and state environmental groups.
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Ford Hall Forum
“Haiti and Aid Effectiveness”
with Ronald Bernard (Heller School of Social and Policy Management at Brandeis) and Gregory Adams (Oxfam America); moderator William Dorcena (Ford Hall Forum Board member)
Thursday, March 31, 6:30-8 pm
Main Function Room, Suffolk University Law School
Ronald Bernard, Haitian aid recipient and graduate student at The Heller School for Social and Policy Management at Brandeis University, and Gregory Adams, Aid Effectiveness Director at Oxfam America, join moderator William Dorcena, Ford Hall Forum board member and co-founder of The Boston Haitian Reporter, to give voice to the troubled recovery after Haiti’s devastating earthquake. Bernard reviews demonstrated drawbacks in U.S. aid delivery to Haiti while Adams presents how the experience in Haitihas revolutionized international relief organizations. From the spread of cholera to difficulties in texting donations, the glacial pace of observable healing in Haiti prompts the question of whether our nation sincerely intends to help.
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April 1st: Common Security Clubs showing Inside Job
You know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me. The big banks and lax regulators sure did fool us once, to the tune of billions of dollars and a worldwide economic meltdown. And unless things change, they?re on track to fool us again.
Don't let them get away with it. Organize a "We Won?t Be Fooled Again" party! Rent or buy the movie "Inside Job" and watch it with a few friends or neighbors on Friday, April 1. List your party here on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190850457618079) and we'll send one randomly selected party a free copy of the DVD.
Use this discussion guide (http://commonsecurityclub.org/2010/03/22/don%E2%80%99t-get-fooled-again-inside-job-discussion-questions/) to talk about it the film ? and to talk about what steps you can take to increase your own economic security. For the full Teacher's Guide to the film, visit http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/
If you're part of a Common Security Club, you're learning about the causes of the meltdown and exploring a new type of economic security that?s not based on Wall Street's "phantom wealth," but on the real wealth generated by you and your community. Sign Up at commonsecurityclub.org to hear news from the Common Security Club movement.
If you're in Washington DC on April 1, attend an "Inside Job" public screening and discussion moderated by Chuck Collins at the Festival Center. For details, visit http://www.ipsdc.org/events/economic_meltdown_lets_not_get_fooled_again
Wall Street fooled us once ? don?t let them do it again. Get informed and get moving to increase your independence from their phantom wealth traps.
Onward,
Sarah Byrnes
Common Security Clubs Organizer
http://commonsecurityclub.org
About the movie: Inside Job won this year's Academy Award for best documentary. It is a comprehensive analysis exposing the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and
journalists, the documentary traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and
academia.
Places to rent the movie: Try your local library. Other places: Amazon, Netflix, Barnes & Noble
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Weatherization Barnraising reset for April 3rd! 1230 to 5 pm
The Seventh Day Adventist group had to reschedule the event. They, and we, apologize. But this gives you all more time to sign up for the event. This is a building that had a heating bill in February of over $1,500. This is a great site where we can make a huge difference. The site is a home where over 20 members of the congregation want to learn how to steward the planet. Help out one of
the only all-vegetarian churches. We'll teach how to install programmable thermostats, use less water, reduce drafts and fix old replacement windows inexpensively. There will be music and food afterward.
Sign up here.
The Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) is a Cambridge-based co-op bringing neighbors together to weatherize our homes and take the energy future into our own hands.
http://www.heetma.com/
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Upcoming
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Smart Building Workshop – High performance homes, Stretch Energy Code, MA Base Code
Tuesday, April 5, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, Cambridge City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Second Floor Meeting Room
In this workshop you will learn how to build homes that are durable, healthy, comfortable, energy efficient, less costly to operate, are compliant with base and stretch energy codes, and discuss how to cost effectively go beyond the codes. The workshop is free for building code officials and $25 for other attendees, but please register with the Center for EcoTechnology at https://www.123signup.com/servlet/SignUp?PG=1533104182300&P=153310400. Co-sponsored by the MA Department of Energy Resources, Center for EcoTechnology, Conservation Services Group, and the City of Cambridge.
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Urban Agriculture, the City, and Perceptions of Public Space
Rachel Eden Black, assistant professor and coordinator, Gastronomy Program, Boston University
Free Admission
Wednesday, April 6, 6 p.m.
Register at http://www.bu.edu/foodandwine/register/index.html
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BASEA Forum:
Thursday, April 14th
Solar Decathlon -- Europe 2010 Overview and DC 2011 Massachusetts Preview
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Tufts Energy Conference
April 15
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"Best Practices for Local Sustainability"
April 15, 2011 | Holiday Inn | Marlborough, MA
Full Conference Details at www.MaSustainableCommunities.com
Early registration till March 15 at $60, $75 after March 15
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/408475762/efbnen
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"Secret of the Dawn" - film screening, followed by a panel discussion about female genital mutilation (FGM) and efforts to stop it in Mali,
Saturday, April 16, 2011, 4:00-6:30 p.m. at Emerson Hall, Harvard U., 25 Quincy Street, Cambridge.
This documentary shows current attitudes of people in Mali toward FGM, and Malians struggling to end it, including Healthy Tomorrow's sister group, Sini Sanuman. Dancer and health educator Wyoma
will perform a dance of hope for a future without FGM. We will end with a music video that is shown on Malian TV, featuring 17 actual ex-excisers. This event is co-sponsored by Healthy Tomorrow and the Harvard Extension International Relations Club. For more info, call (617) 776-6524.
Feel free to call with any questions.
Susan McLucas, director, Healthy Tomorrow, (617) 776-6524, SusanBMcL@gmail.com
Editorial Comment: Susan McLucas is another old friend who has been working in the US and Mali for many years on the issue of female genital mutilation.
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Resource
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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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, contact jmatthaei@wellesley.edu
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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://sustainability.mit.edu/
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://pechakuchaboston.org/blog/
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
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