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.
Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke@world.std.com
What I Do and Why I Do It: The Story of Energy (and Other) Events
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Index
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Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings.
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Monday, September 5
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7pm 2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: Science and Cooking: New Understanding, New Tools, New Foods
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Tuesday, September 6
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8am Boston TechBreakfast: September 2016
12:30pm U.S. Strategy Toward China and Japan
1pm Quantum Communication Networks: the Certifiable Road Ahead
5pm Why the Internet Matters
6pm GMOS: SCIENCE, SUSTAINABILITY, AND CONSUMER TRANSPARENCY
7pm Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids
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Wednesday, September 7
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2pm Building a Civic Engagement Toolkit for Election Officials
4pm Battling Blood in the Streets: How Can Neuroscience Promote Public Health and Support Public Policy to Prevent Community Violence?
4:10pm Anonymity, Pseudonymity, and Deliberation: Why Not Everything Should Be Connected
4:30pm Quo Vadis? The Failed Coup and the Future of Turkey
5pm New Vistas in Electrochemical Energy Storage
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Thursday, September 8
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9am - 2pm ThinkTank Anywhere (or in this case, on the Greenway)
10am Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Book Discussion with David Stroh
11:45am Five Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America's Greatest Economic Challenges
12pm New England Resilience & Transition Network Collective Inquiry on Local and Regional Food Systems: The “Omnivore’s Delight” Diet Challenge
12pm The Windhover Mystery:Why are American Kestrels declining across North America?
4pm Quantum Crystals, Quantum Computing and Quantum Cognition
4pm Workshop on the Sustainability of the World's Food and Farming Systems
4pm "Innovation" and "Engagement": Experiments with What Industry Buzzwords Can Mean in Practice
5pm ThinkTank Anywhere VIP Block Party
5:30pm Co-op Power Urban Community Shared Solar - Greater Boston Training
6pm Cambridge Climate Protection Action Committee
6pm Carl Hiaasen at the Brattle Theatre
6:30pm Sustainability Collaborative: Developing Innovation Ecosystems and Sustainable Technologies
7pm Organize Your Emotions, Optimize Your Life: Decode Your Emotional DNA--and Thrive
7pm Viking Economics: Life Lessons from the Nordic Countries - with George Lakey
7pm Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum: Mobilizing the Energy Revolution
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Friday, September 9
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12pm MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar - Daniel Rothenberg (MIT)
3pm Grand Challenges in Science for a Clean Energy Future
3pm Rape during Civil War
4pm Engineering Global Development: Using Emerging Markets Constraints to Drive the Innovation of Global Technologies
4pm MIT GFSA Demo Day 2016
7pm Meaning and Mindfulness without Religion
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Saturday, September 10
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8:30am - 5:30pm Conference on Emerging Technologies and Global Development
9am - 8pm 2016 Boston Festival of Indie Games
12pm - 2pm The fall 2016 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
4pm Cooking Demonstration and Tasting with Celebrity Chef Mark Olive
7:30pm The Pulitzer Centennial: An Evening with Wynton Marsalis
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Sunday, September 11
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9am - 4pm Massachusetts and the Carceral State Conference
10am - 4pm Session 2: Games for a New Climate (Red Cross Event)
10am - 9:30pm The Pulitzer Centennial
12pm Cambridge Carnival
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Monday, September 12
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8:30am - 10am Environmental Advocacy Roundtable
12pm Webinar: Building an AI Product to Improve High-Tech Sales
3pm Climate Ride Arrival Rally
4pm A Precinct Too Far: Distance to the Polling Place and Turnout Inequality
6pm The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State
7pm 2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: Energy, Temperature, Heat
7pm Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland
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Tuesday, September 13
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4:30pm The Art of Discovery
4:30pm Saudi Arabia's Sectarian Strategy at Home and Abroad
6pm Ingredients - film showing
6pm Artist Talk: Leo Villareal
6pm Boston New Technology September 2016 Startup Showcase #BNT69
6:30pm How Restorative Development Can Address Climate Change
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
Losing the News
Human(e) Power
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Monday, September 5
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2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: Science and Cooking: New Understanding, New Tools, New Foods
Monday, September 5
7 p.m.
Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Dave Arnold (@CookingIssues), Booker & Dax, and host of “Cooking Issues”
Harold McGee (@Harold_McGee), writer, “Curious Cook” and “On Food and Cooking”
The popular Science and Cooking lecture series returns this fall, offering members of the public the opportunity to embark on a culinary tour of four continents. The lecture series pairs Harvard professors with celebrated food experts and renowned chefs to showcase the science behind different culinary techniques. This year’s presenters will cover a wide range of topics, including beef made in a lab, the secrets of French cheese caves, and the delicious science of sweet desserts.
Now in its seventh year, the series is organized by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
The public lectures are based on the Harvard course “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” but do not replicate course content.
All talks will take place in the Harvard Science Center (1 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass., Hall C) and begin at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted
Each presentation will begin with a 15-minute lecture about the scientific topics from that week’s class by a faculty member from the Harvard course
Seating for all lectures is first come, first seated
If you have questions regarding the public lecture series, please contact science_cooking@seas.harvard.edu.
2016 Chef Lecture Dates
Monday, Sept. 5
“Science and Cooking: New Understanding, New Tools, New Foods”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Dave Arnold (@CookingIssues), Booker & Dax, and host of “Cooking Issues”
Harold McGee (@Harold_McGee), writer, “Curious Cook” and “On Food and Cooking”
Monday, Sept. 12
"Energy, Temperature, Heat"
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Spike Gjerde, (@spikegjerde), Woodberry Kitchen
Monday, Sept. 19
“The Science of Sugar”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Joanne Chang ’91, (@jbchang), Flour Bakery, author of “Flour” and “Flour Too”
Tuesday, Sept. 27
“Medical Technology Producing Hamburgers”
Science Center Lecture Hall B, 7 p.m.
Mark Post, (@MarkPost6), Professor of Physiology at Maastricht University, co-inventor of cell cultured beef
Monday, Oct. 3
“Diffusion and Gelation in Peruvian Cooking”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Virgilio Martinez, (@VirgilioCentral), Central
Malena Martinez, (@MMVCentral), Central
Monday, Oct. 17
“Heat Transfer”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Margarita Forés, (@MargaritaFores), Cibo Restaurants
Monday, Oct. 24
"Viscosity and Polymers"
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Bill Yosses, (@billyosses), former White House executive pastry chef, author of “Desserts for Dummies” and “The Perfect Finish”
Vayu Maini Rekdal, (@youngNYchefs), co-founder of the Young Chefs Program, Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University
Monday, Oct. 31
“Emulsions and Foams”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Angel Leon, (@chefdelmar), Restaurant Aponiente
Monday, Nov. 7
“Delicious Decomposition: Tales from the Cheese Caves of France”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Sister Noella Marcellino, Abbey of Regina Laudis, subject of PBS documentary “The Cheese Nun”
Monday, Nov. 21
Title TBA
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Nathan Myhrvold, (@ModernCuisine), former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, author of “Modernist Cuisine”
The Harvard College Course
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the AlÃcia Foundation developed the General Education science course, “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” which debuted in the fall of 2010. The course uses food and cooking to explicate fundamental principles in applied physics and engineering. (Watch a video about the course.)
While limited to currently enrolled Harvard undergraduates, the class, which brings together eminent Harvard researchers and world-class chefs, is available to others on-campus through the Harvard Extension School and online through the HarvardX platform (details below).
Instructors
Michael Brenner, Glover Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics and Professor of Physics; Harvard College Professor
Pia Sörensen, Preceptor in Science and Cooking
David Weitz, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics
Lab Design/Implementation
Pere Castells, Unitat UB-Bullipèdia
Science and Cooking at Harvard Extension School
A version of “Science and Cooking” will be offered for credit through the Harvard Extension School in Spring 2017. Registered students will have access to the expertise and support of Harvard teaching staff, and will participate in an on-campus weekend in our cooking lab.
An online version of the course is also available as a HarvardX course.
Editorial Comment: Notice that these presentations are available as a HarvardX course online. Harvard cooks the MOOCs, online courseware.
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Tuesday, September 6
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Boston TechBreakfast: September 2016
Tuesday, September 6
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD, Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Interact with your peers in a monthly morning breakfast meetup. At this monthly breakfast get-together techies, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs share learn from their peers through show and tell / show-case style presentations.
And yes, this is free! Thank our sponsors when you see them :)
Agenda for Boston TechBreakfast:
8:00 - 8:15 - Get yer Food & Coffee and chit-chat
8:15 - 8:20 - Introductions, Sponsors, Announcements
8:20 - ~9:30 - Showcases and Shout-Outs!
~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words Boston TechBreakfast Sponsors:
Note: This is a secured facility, so you will be asked to show ID and sign in when entering the building
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U.S. Strategy Toward China and Japan
WHEN Tue., Sep. 6, 2016, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
SPEAKER(S) Joseph Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard Kennedy School
Moderated by Susan Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and Director, WCFIA Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
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Quantum Communication Networks: the Certifiable Road Ahead
Tuesday, September 6
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin 119, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Stephanie Wehner, QuTech, Delft University of Technology
What precisely is a quantum communication network? While quantum communication is often associated solely with quantum cryptography, it can enable many other interesting applications. Here, we propose stages towards the development of a full blown quantum communication network - a quantum internet. Each stage of this development is distinguished by the successively larger type of applications that it supports, and we present tests to certify the successful attainment of each stage by implementations.
In the second part of this talk we then zoom in further into testing quantum communication and devices. The first is a procedure which we call capacity tomography which allows us to estimate the (single shot) capacity of a quantum communication channel. This procedure is easier than performing full tomography, and can deal with arbitrarily correlated errors and memory effects in the quantum devices. The second is to test the performance of local quantum network nodes, and also quantum computing devices. Concretely, we derive confidence bounds for the use of randomized benchmarking to characterize quantum gates which are several orders of magnitude better than previous estimates, enabling the procedure to be applied to many qubit systems.
Speaker: Stephanie Wehner is an Associate Professor at QuTech, Delft University of Technology. Her passion is the theory of quantum information in all its facets, and she has written numerous scientific articles in both physics and computer science. Stephanie is one the founders of QCRYPT, which has become the largest conference in quantum cryptography. From 2010 to 2014, her research group was located at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, where she was first Assistant and later Associate Professor. Previously, she was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology in the group of John Preskill. In a former life, she worked as a professional hacker in industry.
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Why the Internet Matters
Tuesday, September 6
5:00pm
Harvard Law, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East, Second Floor, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/99551#RSVP
Event will be live webcast live at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/99551
an interactive discussion with Prof. Jonathan Zittrain, Berkman Klein Center Faculty Chair
Learn more about the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University -- and its network of researchers, activists, faculty, students, technologists, entrepreneurs, artists, policy makers, lawyers, and more -- in an interactive conversation lead by Berkman Klein Center Faculty Chair Jonathan Zittrain. If you’re curious about connecting with our research, our community, or our events, or are just generally interested in digital technologies and their impact on society, please join us! The conversation will be immediately followed by a reception in the same room.
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GMOS: SCIENCE, SUSTAINABILITY, AND CONSUMER TRANSPARENCY
Tuesday, September 6
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Cambridge Innovation Center, 5th Floor, Venture Cafe, One Broadway, Cambridge
Cost: $8 - $12
The Boston Area Sustainability Group returns from its summer break on Tuesday September 6th with a topic sure to draw a diverse crowd and to inspire robust discussion. With the help of two exceptionally qualified guest experts, Gary Hirshberg and Tim Griffin, our community will explore the most recent research and consumer advocacy efforts related to genetically engineered (GE) crops and foods. As always, we welcome your open minds and thoughtful contributions to this conversation.
Recommended advance reading:
Just Label It! Website
NAS study Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects
GUEST SPEAKERS
Gary Hirshberg is Chairman of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer, and Managing Director of Stonyfield Europe, with organic brands in Ireland and France. Gary serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards including Applegate, Peak Organic Brewing, Late July, Quantum Design, Glenisk, the Danone Communities Fund and the Danone Livelihoods Fund. In 2011, President Obama appointed Gary to serve on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
He is Chairman and a founding Partner of “Just Label It!,” the national campaign to label genetically engineered foods, and is co-author of Label It Now – What You Need to Know About Genetically Engineered Foods. He is the author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World. Gary has received twelve honorary doctorates and numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership including a 2015 Champion for Children Award from Mount Sinai Hospital’s Children’s Environmental Health Center and a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the US EPA.
Timothy S. Griffin is an Associate Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. At Friedman, he directs the interdisciplinary graduate program, Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and teaches classes on U.S. agriculture, and agricultural science and policy. He is also involved in the Tufts Institute for the Environment, Water: Science Systems and Society (a cross-university graduate certificate program), and the Center for International Environmental Research and Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts.
His current research focuses on regional food system and climate change impacts on agriculture, and he supervises doctoral students conducting research on topics ranging from precision agriculture to food access. He served as an Advisor to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, focusing on Sustainability, and recently completed work as a member of the National Academy of Sciences study Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. Before coming to the Friedman School in 2008, he was Research Agronomist and Lead Scientist with the USDA-Agriculture Research Service in Orono, ME, from 2000 to 2008. From 1992 to 2000, he was the Extension Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the University of Maine, the first such position in the U.S. He graduated from Michigan State University (Ph.D) and the University of Nebraska (B.S. and M.S.).
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Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids
Tuesday, September 6
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author NICHOLSON BAKER for a discussion of his latest book, Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids.
About Substitute
In 2014, after a brief orientation course and a few fingerprinting sessions, Nicholson Baker became an on-call substitute teacher in a Maine public school district. He awoke to the dispatcher's five-forty a.m. phone call and headed to one of several nearby schools; when he got there, he did his best to follow lesson plans and help his students get something done. What emerges from Baker’s experience is a complex, often touching deconstruction of public schooling in America: children swamped with overdue assignments, overwhelmed by the marvels and distractions of social media and educational technology, and staff who weary themselves trying to teach in step with an often outmoded or overly ambitious standard curriculum.
In Baker’s hands, the inner life of the classroom is examined anew—mundane worksheets, recess time-outs, surprise nosebleeds, rebellions, griefs, jealousies, minor triumphs, daily lessons on everything from geology to metal tech to the Holocaust to kindergarten show-and-tell—as the author and his pupils struggle to find ways to get through the day. Baker is one of the most inventive and remarkable writers of our time, and Substitute, filled with humor, honesty, and empathy, may be his most impressive work of nonfiction yet.
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Wednesday, September 7
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Building a Civic Engagement Toolkit for Election Officials
WHEN Wednesday, Sep. 7, 2016, 2 – 3 p.m.
WHERE Webinar
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and The Center for Technology and Civic Life
SPEAKER(S) Gerri Kramer, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office, Florida
Whitney May, Center for Technology and Civic Life
Whitney Quesenbery, Center for Civic Design
MODERATOR
Hollie Russon Gilman, New America and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs
COST Free
DETAILS Local election officials are where the rubber meets the road in our electoral process. But there are so few resources focused on helping officials keep pace with technology and improve communication with voters.
The Election Toolkit from the Center for Technology and Civic Life is an online library of tech resources, including tools like a Twitter guide, a free app to measure voter wait times, tools for publishing real-time election results, and a collection of civic icons. All of the tools in the Toolkit are either free or low-cost and come paired with step-by-step instructions, making them usable by any election official, regardless of their budget or technical ability.
You are invited to this webinar to hear more about the Toolkit from some of the folks who helped create it. And while the tool instructions are written for election officials, we’ve heard from people who found the Toolkit valuable in other civic engagement work. All are welcome. Be sure to join the conversation on Twitter using #ElectionTools.
The Election Toolkit can be found here: electiontools.org
About the Election Toolkit: The Toolkit is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s News Challenge on Elections which funds breakthrough ideas to better inform voters and increase civic participation before, during and after elections. For more information, visit www.newschallenge.org.
It is created by the Center for Technology and Civic Life, in partnership with the Center for Civic Design, the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, the Inyo County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar, and the Suburban Cook County Clerk.
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Battling Blood in the Streets: How Can Neuroscience Promote Public Health and Support Public Policy to Prevent Community Violence?
Wednesday, September 7
4:00 PM
Harvard, Wasserstein Hall, Room 1010, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Far too many people across the country are left dead, injured, or traumatized by community violence. Communities can be safer when neuroscience, public health strategies, and collective advocacy are aligned in practice and policy. What are the best next steps to fostering a broad science-informed advocacy movement to effectively address community violence?
This panel discussion will be followed by the Petrie-Flom Center's 2016 Open House.
Panelists
Michelle Bosquet Enlow, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School; Associate in Psychology, Boston Children's Hospital; Affiliated Faculty, Harvard University Center on the Developing Child
Shannon Cosgrove, MPH, Director of Health Policy, Cure Violence
Fatimah Loren Muhammad, Director, Trauma Advocacy Initiative, Equal Justice USA
Moderator: Charles Homer, MD, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
Part of the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience, a collaboration between the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School.
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Anonymity, Pseudonymity, and Deliberation: Why Not Everything Should Be Connected
WHEN Wednesday, Sep. 7, 2016, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 124 Mt Auburn Street Suite 200 North, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Research study, Social Sciences, Support/Social
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Alfred Moore, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
Ethan Zuckerman Director, MIT Center for Civic Media, and Associate Professor of Practice, MIT Media Lab
Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and HKS Academic Dean, Moderator
DETAILS
Kicking off our Making Democracy Work Seminar series, this talk explores anonymity, online institutional designs, and their effects on deliberation. University of Cambridge Postdoctoral Research Fellow Alfred Moore and colleagues built a data set of some 42 million comments made on the Huffington Post website between January 2013 and February 2015, as the site moved from a regime of easy anonymity, to registered pseudonyms, and finally to outsourcing their comments to Facebook. It turns out that real name environments may be worse for talking about politics online than many people expect.
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Quo Vadis? The Failed Coup and the Future of Turkey
WHEN Wed., Sep. 7, 2016, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS Knafel 262, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR CMES/WCFIA Seminar on Turkey in the Modern World
SPEAKER(S) Aykan Erdemir, Assistant Professor, Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Ankara, and Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, D.C.; Former Turkish MP 2011-2015
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO Liz Flanagan, elizabethflanagan@fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Unless otherwise noted in the event description, CMES events are open to the public (no registration required), and off the record. Please note that events may be filmed and photographed by CMES for record-keeping and for use on the CMES website and publications.
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New Vistas in Electrochemical Energy Storage
Wednesday, September 7
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Linda Nazar
Mitigating CO2 emissions and urban pollution rely upon advances in widespread integration of renewable, intermittent energy sources such as wind or solar and acceptance of plug-in hybrid electric. These technologies are dependent upon the development of their respective energy storage systems, yet it is widely acknowledged that traditional Lithium-ion batteries are approaching their limits.
This presentation will focus on the challenge to find better electrochemical energy storage systems that go "beyond Li-ion" batteries. Topics will encompass multivalent intercalation batteries and cells that operate on the basis of "chemical transformations," which represent exciting new technologies that could meet the needs for high energy density storage. Yet many barriers remain to realizing their full promise, especially for automotive applications. They require cleverly designed materials for the electrodes, different electrolyte strategies than those used for Li-ion batteries and advanced electrode architectures. If the hurdles can be overcome, then energy storage technology has a much better opportunity to change the way we manage energy.
In this seminar, Nazar will discuss the research in the Electrochemical Energy Research Centre lab at the University of Waterloo that is aimed at addressing the above challenges.
MITEI Seminar Series
Web site: http://energy.mit.edu/event/nazar/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact: MIT Energy Initiative
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Thursday, September 8
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ThinkTank Anywhere (or in this case, on the Greenway)
Thursday, September 8
9:00 AM to 2:00 PM (EDT)
Rose Kennedy Greenway - In front of the Boston Harbor Hotel, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thinktank-anywhere-or-in-this-case-on-the-greenway-tickets-27492761590
At IdeaPaint, we've been exploring what it means to truly collaborate with no boundaries. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere. So our latest innovation goes everywhere. And September 8th, it's going to the Greenway.
We'll be parked (literally) in front of the Boston Harbor Hotel from 9AM - 2PM. There will be free coffee from The Coffee Trike, fun games, and giveaways.
So take a coffee break, grab a marker and meet (and draw on) our writable camper - ThinkTank Mobile.
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Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Book Discussion with David Stroh
Thursday, September 8
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM (EDT)
NonProfit Center, 89 South Street, Boston
Cost: $10
David Stroh brings his extensive experience as an organizational and community consultant to answer two questions with attendees.
How does thinking systemically enable diverse stakeholders to collaborate more effectively in achieving breakthroughs around complex social problems and leveraging limited resources?
How can we harness the cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual dimensions of systems thinking to catalyze social change?
David illustrates his discussion using examples of how people have applied the principles and tools of systems thinking to achieve improvements in such areas as ending homelessness and increasing affordable housing; providing equitable access to resources including early childhood development, education, and healthcare; and reforming the criminal justice system.
By answering these core questions, the workshop will help foster an understanding of
Why non-obvious system forces thwart people’s best intentions
The differences between systems and conventional thinking
When to integrate systems thinking into a social change initiative
The benefits of using systems thinking as both an analytic and strategic planning tool
How to make systems thinking accessible to the larger community
About the Presenter
David Peter Stroh is an internationally recognized consultant, author, and speaker who works with organizations and communities across the nonprofit, private, and public sectors to develop social change initiatives that improve system-wide performance over time. His nonprofit clients have included the WK Kellogg Foundation, Open Society Institute, Omidyar Group, Funders Together to End Homelessness, and ProUnitas. His book Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Practical Guide for Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results (Chelsea Green, 2015) has been praised as "an essential - and long overdue - guide to applied systems thinking" that "shows you how to enlist others in the effort" by "masterfully weaving metaphor, story, and practical tools" using "down-to-earth language." The book will be available for purchase at the workshop.
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Five Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America's Greatest Economic Challenges
WHEN Thu., Sep. 8, 2016, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bell Hall (5th Floor Belfer Building, HKS), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government and the Malcolm Weiner Center for Social Policy
SPEAKER(S) James M. Stone, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Plymouth Rock; former Chairman and Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CONTACT INFO Please RSVP to mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu.
Lunch will be served.
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New England Resilience & Transition Network Collective Inquiry on Local and Regional Food Systems: The “Omnivore’s Delight” Diet Challenge
Thursday, September 8
12pm – 1pm
Webinar
Food Solutions New England (FSNE) has a vision: that New England produce half of its own food by 2060. It's called "50 by 60" for short. Currently only 12% of our food is grown regionally, so getting to 50% will take work at the systemic and policy levels.
But what will it look like at the individual level? In order to eat more of New England's bounty, our diets will shift to what FSNE calls the "Ominvore's Delight Diet."
The diet does look truly delightful (see details to the right), and members of the New England Resilience & Transition network want to try it out. They're going to do an experiment to find out: what's it like to eat the Omnivore's Delight diet for one week?
Please join the experiment! Join us on September 8 at noon to learn more, make plans, get inspired, and take the pledge to eat the Omnivore's Delight Diet for one week!
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The Windhover Mystery:Why are American Kestrels declining across North America?
Thursday, September 8
12pm - 1pm
Tufts, Rabb room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) has been described as the most widespread and abundant raptor in North America. Over the last few decades, its population numbers have been dropping across its extensive range. Many factors are likely responsible, but loss of habitat is frequently cited as a key driver of decline. Learn about efforts at Tufts to understand kestrel habitat and its role in population trends.
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Quantum Crystals, Quantum Computing and Quantum Cognition
Thursday, September 8
4:00 pm
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Refreshments @ 3:30 pm in 4-349 (Pappalardo Community Room)
Matthew Fisher, UC Santa Barbara
Quantum mechanics is down to earth - quite literally - since the electrons within the tiny crystals found in a handful of dirt manifest a dizzying world of quantum motion. Each crystal has its own unique choreography, with the electrons entangled in a myriad of quantum dances. Quantum entanglement also holds the promise of futuristic Quantum Computers - which might be comprised of electron and nuclear spins inside diamond, or of atoms confined in traps, or of small superconducting grains, among a plethora of suggested platforms. In this talk I will describe ongoing efforts to elucidate the mysteries of Quantum Crystals, to design and assemble Quantum Computers, before ruminating about “Quantum Cognition” - the proposal that our brains are capable of quantum processing.
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Workshop on the Sustainability of the World's Food and Farming Systems
WHEN Thu., Sep. 8, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard,CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S250, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
SPEAKER(S) Christopher Bosso, Professor of Public Policy at Northeastern University.
DETAILS “Why the Farm Bill is Now About Food Stamps”
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"Innovation" and "Engagement": Experiments with What Industry Buzzwords Can Mean in Practice
Thursday, September 8
5:00p–6:30p
MIT, Building 3-133, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
CMS/W alum Sam Ford (S.M., CMS, '07) has spent most of the last decade exploring points of connection and contention between the media and marketing industries and media studies. Starting last year, that work has taken him to Univision's Fusion Media Group (a portfolio of media companies which includes Fusion, Univision Digital, Univision Music, The Root, Flama, The Onion, A.V. Club, Clickhole, Starwipe, and El Rey), leading a team that has been building the conglomerate's approach to experimentation outside of the company's core day-to-day operations.
In this colloquium, Sam will be joined by his colleague Federico Rodriguez Tarditi to discuss what they have learned thus far from Fusion Media Group's experiments with exploring new ways of telling stories, new approaches to building relationships with key publics important to our portfolio, new ways of working internally, and new types of roles/positions in the company.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
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ThinkTank Anywhere VIP Block Party
Thursday, September 8
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
Dewey Square - Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston
At IdeaPaint, we've been exploring what it means to truly collaborate with no boundaries. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere. So our latest innovation goes everywhere. And September 8th, it's going to the Greenway.
We've partnered with the Rose Kennedy Greenway to bring you ThinkTank Anywhere as part of their summer Block Party series. The Boston Calling Block Parties take place at Dewey Square Park on Thursdays from 5-8pm. There will be live music, lawn games, beer/wine, and plenty of opportunity to interact with ThinkTank Mobile.
As our guest, you'll be given the VIP treatment with FREE access to our private, VIP space and drink tickets to use at the bar.
All you have to do is RSVP and show up.
*Note: the VIP entrance is located near the stage
Can't make it Thursday evening? Don't fret. We'll be set up from 9AM - 2PM on the Greenway in front of the Boston Harbor Hotel. Come by for a coffee break and meet ThinkTank Mobile.
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Co-op Power Urban Community Shared Solar - Greater Boston Training
Thursday, September 8
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
WeWork South Station, 745 Atlantic Avenue, Boston
Co-op Power's Direct-Ownership Community Solar Training is for energy leaders interested in gaining hands-on experience developing and owning a shared solar project in their community, realizing energy savings, and stimulating the clean energy economy in their region. After many policy changes in solar over the past year, the Community Solar team at Co-op Power has worked to stay ahead of the curve in developing shared solar models that will work for our members. This local-scale, direct ownership model is best suited to rural landscapes and can move forward in any Investor-Owned-Utilty area.
More details about the program are available here.
The training will be offered by Isaac Baker and Ben Underwood, the VPs Co-op Power's Community Solar program. The training will be held at our Boston office location and will focus on next steps communities in Greater Boston can do to bring community solar to their region.
The location is just across the street from South Station and should be highly accessible by public transit.
For more information, please contact Isaac at Isaac@cooppower.coop. Light refreshments will be available.
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Cambridge Climate Protection Action Committee
Thursday, September 8
6:00 pm
City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd floor community meeting room, Cambridge
The main topics of this meeting will be commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing and other committee business. The agenda for the meeting will be posted on the Community Development Department website at http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/climateandenergy/climatechangeplanning/climateprotectionactioncommittee
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Carl Hiaasen at the Brattle Theatre
Thursday, September 8
6:00 PM (EDT)
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
Cost: $5 - $28.75
$5 tickets on sale August 16 at 9am
Online pre-sales (ticket + book) on sale August 2
This event includes a book signing
Harvard Book Store welcomes CARL HIAASEN, bestselling author of Bad Monkey and Skinny Dip, for a reading from his latest novel, Razor Girl.
Learn more at http://www.harvard.com/event/carl_hiaasen1/
All pre-sales tickets include a copy of Razor Girl, admission into the event, and a $5 coupon for use in the bookstore. Pre-sales tickets (online only) are available for two weeks, after which a $5 ticket option will also go on sale. Books bundled with pre-sale tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand.
$5 tickets will also be available at Harvard Book Store and over the phone at 617-661-1515. Unless the event is sold out, any remaining tickets will be on sale at the door of the venue when doors open.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-returnable.
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Sustainability Collaborative: Developing Innovation Ecosystems and Sustainable Technologies
September 8
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Cambridge Innovation Center, Venture Cafe, 5th floor, 1 Broadway, Cambridge
Sustainability entrepreneurs vary in expertise and solutions, yet they all strive to make the world a better place. The real question is, which sustainability initiatives can be leveraged to harness opportunities for real, impactful action? Join this discussion as briefly describe a handful of projects, focusing on the types of stakeholders and sustainable outcomes to start a conversation around how to pursue meaningful solutions.
John Gravelin and Sierra Flanigan will be lead this conversation.
Website: http://www.vencaf.org/calendar
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Organize Your Emotions, Optimize Your Life: Decode Your Emotional DNA--and Thrive
WHEN Thu., Sep. 8, 2016, 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Coop, 1400 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Coop
SPEAKER(S) Margaret Moore and Edward Phillips, MD
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO Karen Porter
DETAILS From a top wellness coach and a Harvard Medical School professor, comes this revolutionary book that will show you how to identify and decode your nine most basic emotional needs—and coach yourself to a calmer, healthier, and happier life.
LINK www.thecoop.com
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Viking Economics: Life Lessons from the Nordic Countries - with George Lakey
Thursday, September 8
7pm
First Church UU, 6 Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain
The countries of Scandinavia - Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland - are often thought of as a promised land of equality and happiness. But we also often hear that the Nordic system is impossible to replicate elsewhere. The US is too big, or too individualistic, or too . . . something.
In *Viking Economics*, veteran organizer George Lakey dispels these myths. He explores the inner workings of the Nordic economies that boast the world’s happiest, most productive workers, and explains how, if we can enact some of the changes the Scandinavians fought for surprisingly recently, we, too, can embrace equality in our economic policy.
Join us at the JP Forum on Thursday, September 8 at 7pm to meet George and learn important lessons for the US context.
About George Lakey
George Lakey recently retired from Swarthmore College where he was Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues in Social Change and managed the Global Nonviolent Action Database research project (nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu <http://act.ips-dc.org/site/R?i=N-dL3KfLB24UcQu5qo2d_A>). Each of his nine published books has been about change and how to get it. He received the Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace Award, the Paul Robeson Social Justice Award, the Ashley Montague Conflict Resolution Award, was named the Peace Educator of the Year in 2010, and received the Giraffe Award for Sticking his Neck out for the Common Good.
Lakey is a Quaker, a gay man with four great-grandchildren, and plays Broadway tunes for sing-alongs. His first arrest was for a civil rights sit-in, he has served as an unarmed bodyguard for human rights defenders in Sri Lanka, and recently walked 200 miles to protest mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. He has founded a number of social change organizations including Training for Change and, most recently, Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT.org). Lakey is a columnist for WagingNonviolence.org where he often shares lessons learned from leading over 1500 social change workshops on five continents.
Check out this review of *Viking Economics* by Chuck Collins
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Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum: Mobilizing the Energy Revolution
Thursday, September 8
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist; 3 Church Street, Harvard Square
Professor Mara Prentiss, Author, Energy Revolution: The Physics and the Promise of Efficient Technology
How do we convert our entire energy supply to renewables? Mara Prentiss, author of Energy Revolution: The Physics and the Promise of Efficient Technology, tells us about the opportunities and choices that must be made. "Most people aren't aware of the enormous positive opportunities for change. I wrote this book to encourage people to embrace some of those changes...In this book, I have shown that it is quite technically and economically feasible to for the United States to generate 100 percent of its average total energy consumption by using only either wind or solar power. Allowing for a mix of wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower makes the transition even easier."
Mara Prentiss is Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University.
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Friday, September 9
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MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar - Daniel Rothenberg (MIT)
Friday, September 9
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Daniel Rothenberg, MIT
About the Series
The MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) is an informal student-run weekly seminar series within PAOC. Seminar topics include all research concerning the atmosphere and climate, but also talks about e.g. societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars usually take place on Fridays from 12-1pm. The presentations are either given by an invited speaker or by a member of PAOC and can focus on new research or discussion of a paper of particular interest. 2016/2017 co-ordinators: Martin Wolf (mjwolf@mit.edu)
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Grand Challenges in Science for a Clean Energy Future
Friday, September 9
3:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Reception at 2:30pm
Speaker: Cherry Murray, Director, Officer of Science, Department of Energy
Dr. Cherry Murray was confirmed by the Senate December 10, 2015 and sworn in December 18, 2016 as the Director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science. Dr. Murray oversees research in the areas of advanced scientific computing, basic energy sciences, biological and environmental sciences, fusion energy sciences, high energy physics, and nuclear physics. She has responsibility not only for supporting scientific research, but also for the development, construction, and operation of unique, open-access scientific user facilities. The Office of Science manages 10 of the Department's 17 National Laboratories.
Hoyt C. Hottel Lectureship
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemical Engineering Department
For more information, contact: Melanie Kaufman
617-253-6500
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Rape during Civil War
Friday, September 9
3:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes DARA KAY COHEN, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, for a discussion of her book Rape during Civil War.
About Rape during Civil War
Rape is common during wartime, but even within the context of the same war, some armed groups perpetrate rape on a massive scale while others never do. In Rape during Civil War Dara Kay Cohen examines variation in the severity and perpetrators of rape using an original dataset of reported rape during all major civil wars from 1980 to 2012. Cohen also conducted extensive fieldwork, including interviews with perpetrators of wartime rape, in three postconflict counties, finding that rape was widespread in the civil wars of the Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste but was far less common during El Salvador's civil war.
Cohen argues that armed groups that recruit their fighters through the random abduction of strangers use rape—and especially gang rape—to create bonds of loyalty and trust between soldiers. The statistical evidence confirms that armed groups that recruit using abduction are more likely to perpetrate rape than are groups that use voluntary methods, even controlling for other confounding factors. Important findings from the fieldwork—across cases—include that rape, even when it occurs on a massive scale, rarely seems to be directly ordered. Instead, former fighters describe participating in rape as a violent socialization practice that served to cut ties with fighters’ past lives and to signal their commitment to their new groups. Results from the book lay the groundwork for the systematic analysis of an understudied form of civilian abuse. The book will also be useful to policymakers and organizations seeking to understand and to mitigate the horrors of wartime rape.
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Engineering Global Development: Using Emerging Markets Constraints to Drive the Innovation of Global Technologies
Friday, September 9
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 3-270, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
This presentation will demonstrate how the Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Lab at MIT characterizes the unique technical and socioeconomic constraints of emerging markets, then uses these insights with engineering science and product design to create high-performance, low-cost, globally-relevant technologies.
The talk will focus on GEAR Lab???s research to connect the mechanical design of prosthetic limbs to their biomechanical performance, to create passive, purely mechanical prostheses that can enhance the mobility of amputees in developing and developed countries.
We have created a novel method of characterizing prosthetic feet that allows the stiffness and geometry of the foot to be optimized to induce able-bodied kinematics of the leg when it is loaded during a step. In prosthetic knees, we have determined how joint torque must vary as a function of leg mass, and how the correct torque profiles can be replicated with simple, passive mechanical elements.
Two emerging research themes in GEAR Lab will also be highlighted: drip irrigation and desalination.
These projects demonstrate how rigorous engineering theory combined with insights on emerging market constraints can yield high-value solutions relevant to poor and rich countries alike.
Mechanical Engineering Lecture in Design
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MechE Seminar Series
For more information, contact: Tony Pulsone
617.253.2294
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MIT GFSA Demo Day 2016
Friday, September 9
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
MIT, Kresge Auditorium, Cambridge
The Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator is MIT’s premier student accelerator which concludes with a Demo Day in Cambridge, NYC and SF. The MIT GFSA Demo Day will showcase the most passionate and talented founders at MIT and their innovative, world-changing companies. From the dorm rooms to the labs, our unique teams are solving the toughest problems across many industries. Take a look at last year’s pitches here.
A networking reception with food and drinks will follow the pitches, where you can meet the founders and learn more about their companies and technologies.
Keynote Speaker: Dharmesh Shah, SM ’06, Co-founder and CTO of HubSpot
Dharmesh Shah, is a proven thought-leader for entrepreneurs developing disruptive, innovative technology. Notably, Dharmesh co-authored “Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs”; in addition, he founded and contributes to OnStartups.com—a top ranking startup blog and community with more than 500,000 members. In 2013, Dharmesh published HubSpot’s Culture Code, which has garnered over 2.5 million views on SlideShare.
Named an Inc. Founders 40 in 2016, Dharmesh is an active member of the Boston-area entrepreneurial community, an angel investor in over 60 startups, and a frequent speaker on startups and inbound marketing. Dharmesh holds a BS in Computer Science from UAB and an MS in the Management of Technology from MIT.
If you can't make it to see the teams at MIT:
Livestream the event! Link to be provided closer to Demo Day
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Meaning and Mindfulness without Religion
Friday, September 9
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
featuring KATHERINE OZMENT and RICK HELLER discussing their books Grace Without God:
The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age and Secular Meditation:
32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy—A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard
Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet welcome former senior editor at National Geographic KATHERINE OZMENT and journalist RICK HELLER for a discussion of their books Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age and Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy—A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard. Together they will discuss the many ways secular Americans can find connection—to self and others—through enhanced awareness and the creation of community outside traditional religious structures.
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Saturday, September 10
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Conference on Emerging Technologies and Global Development
Saturday, September 10
8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Harvard, Starr Auditorium, Belfer 200, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
RSVP requested to STG Project Coordinator, Katherine_gordon@hks.harvard.edu
Economic transformation, meeting human needs, and protecting the environment have emerged as global grand challenges. One way to address these challenges is to harness the world’s abundant scientific, technological, and engineering knowledge to meet specific human needs. While some of the technologies offer solutions to global challenges, they also threaten to disrupt incumbent industries and social organization. Technological anxiety and outright opposition to disruptive technologies, however, may undermine such efforts.
The aim of this conference is to map emerging technologies that could address global grand challenges, review their disruptive characteristics, identify potential sources of social concern, and outline business models and public policies on how to address the social concerns. The conference builds on the findings of the newly published book, Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies (Oxford University Press, 2016).
The conference will address emerging technologies in fields such as data analytics, geographic information, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and health. It will incorporate demonstrations from entrepreneurs who are using innovative technologies to address these challenges.
AGENDA
8:45-9:15
Opening Remarks
Prof. Calestous Juma
9:15-10:15
Keynote, Cycles of Innovation and Discovery
Prof. Venky Narayanamurti
10:15-10:45
Coffee break
10:45-11:45
Machine Learning and Global Agriculture: The Case of Gro Intelligence
Ms. Sara Menker, CEO of Grow Intelligence
12:00 – 1:30
Lunch break (on your own in Harvard Square)
1:30-2:30
Innovation Hubs in Africa
Joao Resende-Santos
2:30-3:30
Digital Innovation and Global Health: The Case of EyeNetra
Derek Hatchett, Vitor Pamplona, and Patricia Harris
3:30-4:00
Coffee break
4:00-5:00
Civilian Drones for Development
Christoph Nedopil and Kiran Pookote
5:00-5:30
Closing remarks, Innovation and Its Enemies
Prof. Calestous Juma
Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
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2016 Boston Festival of Indie Games
Saturday, September 10
9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
MIT, Johnson Athletic Center, 120 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Cost: $0 - $15
The Boston Festival of Indie Games celebrates independent game development in New England and neighboring regions. Our goal is to create an inclusive environment for everybody who enjoys and appreciates games in any shape or form. The festival seeks to support and showcase the efforts of independent game developers, as well as youth programs focused on game development and related fields.
We encourage attendees of our annual festival to participate and play games in different formats: video games, location-based games, tabletop games and more! The games featured at the annual festival are innovative and refreshing, demonstrating both the budding and the established talent of game makers in the American northeast.
The Boston Festival of Indie Games is a registered non-profit with the State of Massachusetts, dedicated to fostering the next generation of game developers. Through youth and small-business outreach initiatives culminating in the yearly festival, the Boston Festival of Indie Games strives to strengthen the game development industry of New England.
Tickets are on sale from July 1 to September 10. Single badges are $15, groups of 4 are $50, and kids under 12 are free.
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The fall 2016 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
Saturday September 10
NOON to 2 pm
Rain date—in case of DOWNPOUR—is Sunday Sep. 11, 12-2
Fayette Park, (near the corner of Broadway and Fayette Street), Cambridge
Bring anything you’d like to share. Elegant packaging not required, but please do write down the names of plants. We expect to have perennials, biennial seedlings, seeds, indoor plants, catalogs, pots, and lots of "whatever." Feel free to just come, chat with neighbors, talk gardening.
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Cooking Demonstration and Tasting with Celebrity Chef Mark Olive
WHEN Sat., Sep. 10, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Co-sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and the Harvard Art Museums.
COST $10
TICKET WEB LINK https://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=19
TICKET INFO Advance registration required. Visit the registration link and indicate whether you would like a standard or vegetarian tasting.
DETAILS Mark Olive is Australia’s most renowned Indigenous chef. He has been cooking for more than 30 years, and his charismatic style and creative approach to food have earned him an esteemed reputation and a large following in Australia and around the world.
Olive is also a host of cooking, lifestyle, and travel shows, and his series, The Outback Café, is seen in living rooms across the globe. He has a passion for fusing native and Indigenous Australian ingredients with contemporary cooking techniques to create a dynamic and unique gastronomic philosophy.
To celebrate the Harvard Art Museums’ special exhibition Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia, on view until September 18, 2016, Olive will offer a cooking demonstration and tasting featuring Indigenous Australian ingredients.
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The Pulitzer Centennial: An Evening with Wynton Marsalis
WHEN Saturday, Sep. 10, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Concerts, Humanities, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis on trumpet with
Walter Blanding, saxophone; James Chirillo, guitar; Carlos Henriquez, bass; Ali Jackson, drums; and Dan Nimmer, piano. Also hear from Harvard University President Drew Faust and Nieman Foundation curator Ann Marie Lipinski.
DIRECTED BY American Repertory Theater
COST Free
TICKET WEB LINK http://nieman.harvard.edu/sites/the-pulitzer-centennial/tickets/
TICKET INFO Tickets will be available through the Harvard Box Office (www.boxoffice.harvard.edu) starting Sept. 7 at noon
CONTACT INFO Nieman Foundation: (617) 495-2237
DETAILS To kick off a two-day centennial celebration of the Pulitzer Prizes, internationally acclaimed musician Wynton Marsalis reflects on the theme “Power: Accountability and Abuse” during an evening of music and discussion. Marsalis is an composer, bandleader, and educator. He made history in 1997, when his oratorio “Blood on the Fields” became the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He has recorded more than 80 jazz and classical recordings, which have won him nine Grammy awards and sold over 7 million copies worldwide. He serves as the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and director of Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School in New York City.
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Sunday, September 11
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Massachusetts and the Carceral State Conference
Sunday, September 11
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (EDT)
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
On Sunday, September 11, 2016, join criminal justice activists from across Massachusetts for a day of skill and strategy building to invigorate the movement to replace state’s criminal justice system with community justice. Whether you’re already active or are looking to get involved, this day is for you! It’s free and open to all. There will be opportunities to learn about the great work that is being done for justice reform in Massachusetts and to improve your skills and understanding of the movement.
Sunday’s conference will run from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA. There will be workshops, panels, networking opportunities and activist art. Lunch is provided. Workshop presenters include the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Young Abolitionists, National Alliance on Mental Health -- and many more!
This event is being organized by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, the Coalition for Effective Public Safety, the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition and the National Lawyers Guild – Massachusetts Chapter. Harvard Law School is easily accessible by public transportation: the Harvard Square stop on the Red Line or the following bus lines: 1, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 86, 96. Metered street parking is also available. For questions, please contact Rachel Corey, 617-807-0111, director@cjpc.org
To ensure your spot in the workshops being offered, sign up here (read below for descriptions of workshops).
Schedule for the day:
9-9:45am: Welcome (Milstein B)
9:40am-9:55am: Poetry by Mass LEAP (Milstein B)
10am-10:50am: Workshop slot (Various rooms)
11am-11:50pm: Workshop slot (Various rooms)
12pm-12:50pm: Workshop slot (Various rooms)
1-2:30pm: Lunch and panel (Milstein B)
2:30-2:45pm: Poetry by Mass LEAP (Milstein B)
2:50pm-3:45pm: Affinity groups (Milstein A, B, C)
Workshop Schedule: Register here.
10am-10:50am slot:
Lobbying 101: Interactive workshop explaining the MA legislative process, and presenting key ideas/talking points on criminal justice issues, and have workshop participants role play legislative meetings and report back on the effectiveness of their lobbying efforts. Presented by Sana Fadel, Deputy Director at Citizens for Juvenile Justice and Lizz Matos, staff attorney at Prisoners Legal Services. Room 2012.
Twitter 101: Learn how to use Twitter for social activism. For beginners. Presented by Jean Trounstine and Jasmine Gomez. Room 2004.
Diversity, Inclusion & Mental Health: An interactive workshop that provides an introduction to the major principles of diversity & inclusion that will raise sensitivity and awareness of participants while allowing opportunity to discuss the role implicit bias, discrimination, mental health stigma and race plays on diverse groups and community engagement followed by a 15 minute Q&A session. Presented by Dr. Matthieu Bermingham, Diversity Committee Chair & Florette Willis, Diversity Director of Outreach & Inclusion from NAMI Massachusetts State Office. Room Milstein A.
11am-11:50am slot:
Legal Observer Training: Training activists to become Legal Observers (TM) to help preserve the rights of activists and other demonstrators engaging in political demonstrations and protests for progressive causes. Legal Observers are part of a legal defense team provided pro bono by the National Lawyers Guild to support activists engaged in the struggle for social and economic justice. Presented by lawyers Jeff Feuer and kt crossman for the National Lawyers Guild. Room 2012.
#ByeAnita: Learn about the strategies and tactics that made the #ByeAnita campaign in Cook County, Illinois successful in unseating DA Anita Alvarez. Presented by Veronica Mooris-Moore of Fearless Leading by the Youth. Room 2009.
How To Use The Media and Make Sure You Don't Get Used: A presentation of the Massachusetts and national media landscape. You'll learn how to work the system to get in the most outlets possible, how to form relationships, and which outlets are related to which. Presented by Chris Faraone of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and Howard Manly of the Bay State Banner. Room 2004.
Healing, Reconciliation, and Accountability Outside the Criminal Justice System: The Intergenerational Justice Program (IJP) supports families of murder victims and families of people incarcerated for murder as they navigate the criminal justice system from arrest through re-entry. IJP fills a major gap in the field with our explicit focus on family engagement and community involvement to address the impact of homicide on both sides. Re-entry programs tend to have a narrow focus on the individual (often younger, often for non-violent offenses) while IJP expands the resources available to people who have been convicted of violent crimes and their families. The focus of IJP is to ensure that all families have what they need to live in peace after a homicide. This workshop will describe our model for healing, reconciliation, and accountability and how we provide practical support for families on both sides. Facilitators will discuss the dangers of dividing communities into "victim" and "offender" and other institutional barriers the criminal justice system has imposed on families seeking justice and healing. Facilitators will also address the impact of racism and poverty on our communities that results in disparate numbers of poor people of color becoming both offenders and victims, often part of the same families and from the same neighborhoods. Families and communities of color need more support, resources, and community-led processes rather than the typical systemic response to violence: more police, swifter prosecution, and longer prison sentences. Facilitators will be from the partners of IJP: The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, SPAN Inc, and VISIONS Inc. Milstein A. This workshop runs for 2 hours, so it will start in the 11am timeslot, and go through the 12 o'clock time slot until 12:50pm.
12pm-12:50pm timeslot:
Independent Journalism and Public Records Requests: Jamie Folk and Johnathan Cohn discuss their investigations of the Boston 2024 organization and the Annie Dookhan case and how they went about them. Learn how to make your own media and public records requests. Room 2012.
Abolition now!: An introduction to the concept of prison abolition, including a history of police from slavery to mass incarceration. Presented by Young Abolitionists. Room 2009.
Healing, Reconciliation, and Accountability Outside the Criminal Justice System cont.
To ensure you have a spot in each of the workshops you want to attend, sign up here.
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Session 2: Games for a New Climate (Red Cross Event)
Sunday, September 11, 2016
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Northeastern University Library Room SL 138A, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston
Playtest serious games. Eat tasty food.
Join us for a limited engagement at Northeastern's Snell Library. We will be playtesting a suite of climate games for the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. You do NOT need to attend Session 1 to attend this session.
Check in at the front desk and ask for the Red Cross Climate Playtest in room SL 138A.
Catered lunch will be served. +1s are welcome!
If you can't attend the entire day, that's OK.
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The Pulitzer Centennial
WHEN Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016, 10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Concerts, Humanities, Music, Poetry/Prose, Special Events, Theater
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Two dozen Pulitzer Prize winners including jazz legend Wynton Marsalis; investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Sacha Pfeiffer; LBJ biographer Robert Caro; filmmaker Laura Poitras; author Junot DÃaz; poet Yusef Komunyakaa; and playwright Lynn Nottage. Also hear from Harvard’s own Pulitzer winners Annette Gordon-Reed, Caroline Elkins and Fredrik Logevall and many other prominent leaders in journalism and the arts. We’ll also screen an interview recorded for the occasion with “Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
DIRECTED BY American Repertory Theater
COST Free
TICKET WEB LINK http://nieman.harvard.edu/sites/the-pulitzer-centennial/tickets/
TICKET INFO Tickets will be available through the Harvard Box Office (www.boxoffice.harvard.edu) starting Sept. 7 at noon
CONTACT INFO Nieman Foundation: (617) 495-2237
DETAILS The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard is hosting a special event on September 10-11 to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes. Two dozen Pulitzer winners -- journalists, composers, authors, poets and playwrights -- will gather for performances, conversations and storytelling around the theme “Power: Accountability and Abuse.” We’ll start the weekend with a performance and discussion with music legend Wynton Marsalis and end with a performance of “On the Transmigration of Souls,” a musical reflection on 9/11 performed on the 15th anniversary of the attacks. Composed by John Adams, the piece will be conducted by Federico Cortese of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra with Voices Boston and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
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Cambridge Carnival
Sunday, September 11
12-7 pm
Kendall Square, Cambridge
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Monday, September 12
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Environmental Advocacy Roundtable
Monday, September 12
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM (EDT)
50 Milk Streetm EDISON room on the 16th Floor, Boston
The purpose of the Environmental Advocacy Roundtable is to bring together the many diverse groups advocating for awareness, education, legislation, and regulation to maximize the positive environmental impact of the built environment in Massachusetts. The roundtable allows organizations to set goals, plan, and network towards this purpose.
The discussion will be lead by the Advocacy Committee of the USGBCMA and AIA of Massachusetts. We’re looking forward to another robust roundtable like the one we had in May.
Please, feel free to share this event link with others in your organizations. Also, please, send along your thoughts for the agenda to Kate Bubriski.
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PAOC Colloquium - Peter Huybers (Harvard)
Monday, September 12
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-923, (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Peter Huybers, Harvard
The PAOC Colloquium is a weekly interdisciplinary seminar series that brings together the whole PAOC community. Seminar topics include all research concerning the physics, chemistry, and biology of the atmospheres, oceans and climate, but also talks about e.g. societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars take place on Monday from 12-1pm. Lunch is provided after the seminars to encourage students and post-docs to meet with the speaker. Besides the seminar and lunch, individual meetings with professors, post-docs, and students are arranged.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Christine Chen
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Webinar: Building an AI Product to Improve High-Tech Sales
Monday, September 12
12:00p–1:00p
Speaker: Bryan Pirtle, SDM Fellow; Co-Founder and CTO, Nova.ai
Abstract: Today, almost every industry is being disrupted by the emergence of intelligent software. While software was once used simply to improve efficiency and workflow, now more and more businesses are demanding that software help them make smarter, more data-driven decisions. Perhaps surprisingly, this is even true in sales, especially in the high-technology sector. Modern technology sales teams demand software that offers a competitive edge in an increasingly complex and globalized world.
In this webinar, SDM fellow Bryan Pirtle, chief technology officer of Nova.ai, a sales technology startup, will:
1) provide an overview of the current technology sales ecosystem;
2) explain how his team successfully built an artificial intelligence (AI) product for the contemporary technology sales organization; and
3) explore how the trend toward smarter software and AI products is changing the way people buy and sell.
A Q&A will follow the presentation. We invite you to join us!
MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series
Sponsored by the System Design & Management(SDM) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series 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 engineering, management, and socio-political components of complex challenges. Recordings and slides from prior SDM webinars can be accessed here.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to all
Tickets: Pre-registration recommended. See url above
Sponsor(s): MIT System Design & Management
For more information, contact: Lois Slavin
Editorial Comment: I for one welcome our new robotic sales overlords.
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Climate Ride Arrival Rally
Monday, September 12
3pm
Boston Common, Boston
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A Precinct Too Far: Distance to the Polling Place and Turnout Inequality
Monday, September 12
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E52-164, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Enrico Cantoni (MIT)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Public Finance/Labor Workshop
For more information, contact:
economics calenda
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The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State
Monday, September 12
6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge,
Cost: $5 - $29.75 (book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Looming Tower LAWRENCE WRIGHT for a discussion of his latest book, The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State.
About The Terror Years
With The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright became generally acknowledged as one of our major journalists writing on terrorism in the Middle East. Here, in ten powerful pieces first published in The New Yorker, he recalls the path that terror in the Middle East has taken, from the rise of al-Qaeda in the 1990s to the recent beheadings of reporters and aid workers by ISIS.
The Terror Years draws on several articles he wrote while researching The Looming Tower, as well as many that he’s written since, following where and how al-Qaeda and its core cultlike beliefs have morphed and spread. They include a portrait of the “man behind bin Laden,” Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the tumultuous Egypt he helped spawn; an indelible impression of Saudi Arabia, a kingdom of silence under the control of the religious police; the Syrian film industry, at the time compliant at the edges but already exuding a feeling of the barely masked fury that erupted into civil war; the 2006–11 Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, a study in the disparate value of human lives. Other chapters examine al-Qaeda as it forms a master plan for its future, experiences a rebellion from within the organization, and spins off a growing web of worldwide terror. The American response is covered in profiles of two FBI agents and the head of the intelligence community. The book ends with a devastating piece about the capture and slaying by ISIS of four American journalists and aid workers, and our government’s failed response.
On the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, The Terror Years is at once a unifying recollection of the roots of contemporary Middle Eastern terrorism, a study of how it has grown and metastasized, and, in the scary and moving epilogue, a cautionary tale of where terrorism might take us yet.
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2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: Energy, Temperature, Heat
Monday, September 12
7 p.m.
Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Spike Gjerde, (@spikegjerde), Woodberry Kitchen
The popular Science and Cooking lecture series returns this fall, offering members of the public the opportunity to embark on a culinary tour of four continents. The lecture series pairs Harvard professors with celebrated food experts and renowned chefs to showcase the science behind different culinary techniques. This year’s presenters will cover a wide range of topics, including beef made in a lab, the secrets of French cheese caves, and the delicious science of sweet desserts.
Now in its seventh year, the series is organized by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
The public lectures are based on the Harvard course “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” but do not replicate course content.
All talks will take place in the Harvard Science Center (1 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass., Hall C) and begin at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted
Each presentation will begin with a 15-minute lecture about the scientific topics from that week’s class by a faculty member from the Harvard course
Seating for all lectures is first come, first seated
If you have questions regarding the public lecture series, please contact science_cooking@seas.harvard.edu.
2016 Chef Lecture Dates
Monday, Sept. 12
"Energy, Temperature, Heat"
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Spike Gjerde, (@spikegjerde), Woodberry Kitchen
Monday, Sept. 19
“The Science of Sugar”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Joanne Chang ’91, (@jbchang), Flour Bakery, author of “Flour” and “Flour Too”
Tuesday, Sept. 27
“Medical Technology Producing Hamburgers”
Science Center Lecture Hall B, 7 p.m.
Mark Post, (@MarkPost6), Professor of Physiology at Maastricht University, co-inventor of cell cultured beef
Monday, Oct. 3
“Diffusion and Gelation in Peruvian Cooking”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Virgilio Martinez, (@VirgilioCentral), Central
Malena Martinez, (@MMVCentral), Central
Monday, Oct. 17
“Heat Transfer”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Margarita Forés, (@MargaritaFores), Cibo Restaurants
Monday, Oct. 24
"Viscosity and Polymers"
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Bill Yosses, (@billyosses), former White House executive pastry chef, author of “Desserts for Dummies” and “The Perfect Finish”
Vayu Maini Rekdal, (@youngNYchefs), co-founder of the Young Chefs Program, Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University
Monday, Oct. 31
“Emulsions and Foams”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Angel Leon, (@chefdelmar), Restaurant Aponiente
Monday, Nov. 7
“Delicious Decomposition: Tales from the Cheese Caves of France”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Sister Noella Marcellino, Abbey of Regina Laudis, subject of PBS documentary “The Cheese Nun”
Monday, Nov. 21
Title TBA
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Nathan Myhrvold, (@ModernCuisine), former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, author of “Modernist Cuisine”
The Harvard College Course
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the AlÃcia Foundation developed the General Education science course, “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” which debuted in the fall of 2010. The course uses food and cooking to explicate fundamental principles in applied physics and engineering. (Watch a video about the course.)
While limited to currently enrolled Harvard undergraduates, the class, which brings together eminent Harvard researchers and world-class chefs, is available to others on-campus through the Harvard Extension School and online through the HarvardX platform (details below).
Instructors
Michael Brenner, Glover Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics and Professor of Physics; Harvard College Professor
Pia Sörensen, Preceptor in Science and Cooking
David Weitz, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics
Lab Design/Implementation
Pere Castells, Unitat UB-Bullipèdia
Science and Cooking at Harvard Extension School
A version of “Science and Cooking” will be offered for credit through the Harvard Extension School in Spring 2017. Registered students will have access to the expertise and support of Harvard teaching staff, and will participate in an on-campus weekend in our cooking lab.
An online version of the course is also available as a HarvardX course.
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Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland
Monday, September 12
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Harvard Book Store welcomes bestselling author of Earth: The Sequel MIRIAM HORN for a discussion of her latest book, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland—the story of a huge, largely hidden, and entirely unexpected conservation movement in America.
About Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman
Many of the men and women doing today’s most consequential environmental work—restoring America’s grasslands, wildlife, soil, rivers, wetlands, and oceans—would not call themselves environmentalists; they would be too uneasy with the connotations of that word. What drives them is their deep love of the land: the iconic terrain where explorers and cowboys, pioneers and riverboat captains forged the American identity. They feel a moral responsibility to preserve this heritage and natural wealth, to ensure that their families and communities will continue to thrive.
Unfolding as a journey down the Mississippi River, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman tells the stories of five representatives of this stewardship movement: a Montana rancher, a Kansas farmer, a Mississippi riverman, a Louisiana shrimper, and a Gulf fisherman. In exploring their work and family histories and the essential geographies they protect, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman challenges pervasive and powerful myths about American and environmental values.
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Tuesday, September 13
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The Art of Discovery
WHEN Tuesday, September 13, 4:30 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, Byerly Hall, 8 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Exhibitions, Humanities
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS Opening Reception: , Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, Byerly Hall, 8 Garden Street, Radcliffe Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138
From September 14–October 29, the exhibition will be open Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
At the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, art is integrated with other forms of study and deeply embedded in its programming. Each year, fellows pursue individual projects in a community dedicated to inquiry across the arts, sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The Art of Discovery introduces viewers to the bold work of members of our 2016–2017 fellowship class, which transcends the fault lines of standard academic disciplines to explore complex topics and reveal new insights about their own fields of study.
The event is open to the public and provides a chance to see the new exhibition and meet the participating fellows, including:
Amahl Bishara, Anthropology
Alexei Borodin, Mathematics and Applied Sciences
Chris Bowler, Biology
Tania Bruguera, Visual Arts
A.K. Burns, Visual Arts
Gidon Eshel, Earth and Planetary Sciences
Alyssa A. Goodman, Physics
Lamia Joreige, Visual Arts
Kathleen Ossip, Poetry
Dimitrios Psaltis, Astronomy
Adam Tanaka, Urban Planning
Conevery Bolton Valencius, History
Hala Zreiqat, Material Science
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Saudi Arabia's Sectarian Strategy at Home and Abroad
Tuesday, September 13
4:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building E51-315, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Prof. David Commins
Sectarian enmity toward Shiism is a constant in Saudi history. It goes back to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's attack on all forms of idolatry. Today's anti-Shiite discourse blends classic Wahhabi doctrine with contemporary political concepts in ways that cast Shiism as a threat to national unity. The new discourse developed in the 1980s in response to the Iranian revolution and Shiite activism at home. Since then, Al Saud have alternately mobilized and curtailed anti-Shiite narratives according to political calculations. Presently, Saudi Arabia's sectarian strategy draws on latent Sunni prejudice against Shiism to achieve two goals: To defeat Iran's ambitions in the Gulf and the Levant, and to suppress internal dissent. There is nothing remarkable about a state seeking to maximize its international security and domestic stability. Riyadh's mobilization of xenophobic theology, however, creates strains with the United States, carries the risk of blowback from wars in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria that is reminiscent of the 1980s Afghan jihad, and may jeopardize plans for internal structural reform.
David Commins is professor of History at Dickinson College.
Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar
The Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar is organized under the auspices of the MIT Center for International Studies, which conducts research on contemporary international issues and provides an opportunity for faculty and students to share perspectives and exchange views. Each year the Bustani Seminar invites scholars, journalists, consultants, and other experts from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to MIT to present recent research findings on contemporary politics, society and culture, and economic and technological development in the Middle East.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cis/bustani/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Radius/T&C, Center for International Studies
For more information, contact: Dain Goding
617-252-1888
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Ingredients
Tuesday, September 13
6pm
Brookline Interactive Group theater, 46 Tappan Street, Brookline
(Third Floor of BHS' Unified Arts Building)
Cost: $5
This film explores the shortcomings of America's industrialized food system against the rising local food movement.
2016 Summer Film Series: The Real Cost of Food
Another tantalizing selection of engaging films and local food snacks
Learn more and reserve your ticket at http://www.bountifulbrookline.org/p/programs.html
Questions?
Contact us at bountifulbrookline@gmail.com
See you at the movies!
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Artist Talk: Leo Villareal
Tuesday, September 13
6:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building E-15, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Leo Villareal
Join us for a talk given by Leo Villareal in Bartos theatre followed by a reception in the lobby of the building E52.
6:00 PM Talk by Leo Villareal in Bartos Theatre E15
7:00 PM Dedication of Light Matrix (MIT) and Reception in lobby of E52
MITs Public Art Collection reaches across the Institute and may be enjoyed by MIT students and visitors alike. Outstanding examples of work by Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, and other major artists grace the MIT campus for all to view. Leos work is the latest in a long line of outstanding commissions of public art at MIT and we hope you can join for this talk with Leo.
Leo Villareals work is focused on stripping systems down to their essence to better understand the underlying structures and rules that govern how they work. He is interested in lowest common denominators such as pixels or the zeros and ones in binary code. His most well known works include the Bay Lights on the San Francisco Bay Bridge and his work in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
The talk and reception are free and open to the public but registration is required.
Web site: https://listart.mit.edu/events-programs/artist-talk-leo-villareal-his-new-work-light-matrix-mit
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): List Visual Arts Center
For more information, contact: Mark Linga
617-253-4680
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Boston New Technology September 2016 Startup Showcase #BNT69
Tuesday, September 13
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Foley Hoag, 155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston
Free event! Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community!
Foley Hoag is in the Seaport West building (entrance on B Street). Please bring identification and check in at our desk in the lobby. Then, take an elevator to the 13th floor. Enter the glass doors and walk down the hall to your right.
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How Restorative Development Can Address Climate Change
Tuesday, September 13
6:30 PM
Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington St, Belmont MA
William Moomaw, Ph.D. is a former professor emeritus of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (he retired in 2014). Dr. Moomaw was founding director of both the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) and Tufts Climate Initiative, and co-founder for the Global Development and Environment Institute.
Dr. Moomaw was a lead author for a number of United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, and was a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the IPCC. He serves on the boards of major organizations, such as The Climate Group, the Consensus Building Institute, and the Center for Ecological Technologies. He is also on the board of Soil4Climate.
Dr. Moomaw discusses the concept and strategy of restorative development. Here's a quote from a Tufts Fletcher Forum article: "Restorative development seeks to restore degraded systems. Restorative development has the potential to address some of the gravest of climate risks and adaptation priorities: increased droughts, floods, and extreme events, as well as their associated impacts on different sectors. By increasing the resilience of natural systems, these socio-ecological systems may be able to better manage extreme events associated with climate change."
Dr. Moomaw has worked for decades on legislation in energy, forestry, and ozone layer protection. He was an early innovator in cross-disciplinary training of students to address global environment issues and climate change. His many research contributions included quantitative indicators of environment and development, negotiation strategies for environmental agreements, water and climate change, and technology and policy implications for climate change.
William Moomaw was an author for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment on Nitrogen and serves on the Integrated Nitrogen Committee of the EPA Science Advisory board. He was the first director of the Climate, Energy and Pollution program at the World Resources Institute, and directed the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College where he held an endowed chair in chemistry.
Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, September 14
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Hardware for Deep Learning
Wednesday, September 14
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 34-401, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: William Dally, Stanford University
Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have come to dominate application areas including speech recognition, image understanding, and natural language processing. Most of the technology of DNNs was developed by 1990. However, they were not widely applied until after 2010 when large data sets and powerful GPUs for training became available. These networks place heavy demands on computing hardware for both training and inference. GPUs are ideally suited to training DNNs because of their high floating-point efficiency and memory bandwidth. Efficient communication is essential to scale training across multiple GPUs. For inference, hardware accelerators can offer advantages particularly on sparse and compressed networks. This talk will examine the current state of the art in hardware for deep learning.
MTL Seminar Series
MTL seminar speakers for the series are selected on the basis of their knowledge and competence in the areas of microelectronics research, manufacturing, or policy. This series is held during the academic year on Wednesdays at noon. The seminars are open to the public. Lunch is served at 11:30am
Web site: https://www-mtl.mit.edu/mtlseminar/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact: Shereece Beckford
253-0086
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Blockstack: A Global Naming and Storage System Secured by Blockchains
Wednesday, September 14
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
MIT, Building 32-G882, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Muneeb Ali , Princeton/Blockstack
Abstract: Blockchains like Bitcoin and Namecoin and their respective P2P networks have seen significant adoption in the past few years and show promise as naming systems with no trusted parties. Users can register human meaningful names and securely associate data with them, and only the owner of the particular private keys that registered them can write or update the name-value pair. In theory, many decentralized systems can be built using these blockchain networks, such as new, decentralized versions of DNS and PKI. As the technology is relatively new and evolving rapidly, however, little production data or experience is available to guide design tradeoffs. In this paper, we describe our experiences operating a large deployment of a decentralized PKI service built on top of the Namecoin blockchain. We present various challenges pertaining to network reliability, throughput, and security that we needed to overcome while registering and updating over 33,000 entries and 200,000 transactions on the Namecoin blockchain. Further, we discuss how our experience informed the design of a new blockchain-based naming and storage system called Blockstack. We detail why we switched from the Namecoin network to the Bitcoin network for the new system, and present operational lessons from this migration. Blockstack is released as open source software and currently powers a production PKI system for 55,000 users.
Bio: Muneeb Ali is co-founder and CTO of Blockstack Labs, a Y Combinator and Union Square Ventures backed startup focusing on blockchain technologies. Muneeb is also a final-year PhD candidate at Princeton University, where he has worked in the Systems and Networks group and at PlanetLab. He helped start a new course at Princeton on “How to be a CTO” and gives guest lectures on cloud computing at Princeton. Muneeb has been awarded a J. William Fulbright Fellowship and has served as the Program Co-Chair of ACM NSDR.
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Safe Decision Making Under Uncertainty
Wednesday, September 14
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
MIT, Building 32-D507, Conference Room G575, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Ashish Kapoor , MSR
Abstract: Machine Learning is one of the key component that enables systems that operate under uncertainty. For example, robotic systems might employ sensors together with a machine learned system to identify obstacles. However, such data driven system are far from perfect and can result in failure cases that can jeopardize safety. In this talk we will explore a framework that aims to preserve safety invariants despite the uncertainties in the environment arising due to incomplete information. We will first describe a method to reason about safe plans and control strategies despite perceiving the world through noisy sensors and machine learning systems. At the heart of our approach is the new Probabilistic Signal Temporal Logic (PrSTL), an expressive language to define stochastic properties, and enforce probabilistic guarantees on them. Next, we will consider extensions of these ideas to a sequential decision making framework that considers the trade-off in risk and reward in a near-optimal manner. We will demonstrate our approach by deriving safe plans and controls for quadrotors and autonomous vehicles in dynamic environments.
Bio: Ashish Kapoor is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research, Redmond. Currently, his research focuses on Aerial Informatics and Robotics with an emphasis on building intelligent and autonomous flying agents that are safe and enable applications that can positively influence our society. The research builds upon cutting edge research in machine intelligence, robotics and human-centered computation in order to enable an entire fleet of flying robots that range from micro-UAVs to commercial jetliners. Various applications scenarios include Weather Sensing, Monitoring for Precision Agriculture, Safe Cyber-Physical Systems etc. Ashish received his PhD from MIT Media Laboratory in 2006. He also holds FAA Commercial Pilot certificate (SEL), FAA Flight Instructor certificate (Airplane Single Engine and Instrument Airplane) and is an avid amateur aircraft builder.
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Book talk with Stein Ringen, author of The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century
WHEN Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2016, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 124 Mt Auburn Street, Suite 200 North, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Research study, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-sponsored by the Harvard University Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
SPEAKER(S) Stein Ringen, author of The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century
Moderated by Tony Saich.
DETAILS Please join us for a book talk with Stein Ringen, author of The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century, and moderated by Tony Saich.
LINK http://ash.harvard.edu/event/book-talk-stein-ringen-author-perfect-dictatorship-china-21st-century
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Federal Coal Program Reform, the Clean Power Plan, and the Interaction of Upstream and Downstream Climate Policies
WHEN Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2016, 4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Room Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy, Harvard Environmental Economics Program
SPEAKER(S) James Stock, Harvard University
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Back to Square One: The Three Dilemmas of the Turkish and Kurdish Question and Turkey’s New Makeover
WHEN Wed., Sep. 14, 2016, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS Knafel 262, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR CMES/WCFIA Seminar on Turkey in the Modern World
SPEAKER(S) Murat Somer, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Koç University
CONTACT INFO Liz Flanagan, elizabethflanagan@fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Unless otherwise noted in the event description, CMES events are open to the public (no registration required), and off the record. Please note that events may be filmed and photographed by CMES for record-keeping and for use on the CMES website and publications.
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The Environment Forum at the Mahindra Center: Terry Tempest Williams, "The Hour of Land: Our National Parks As Breathing Spaces"
WHEN Wed., Sep. 14, 2016, 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Tsai Auditorium S010, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Environmental Sciences, Ethics, Health Sciences, Humanities, Lecture, Poetry/Prose, Science, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Terry Tempest Williams is the author of The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, and Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place; an activist who recently purchased BLM leases in Utah; and Provostial Scholar, Dartmouth College. Introductions by Homi Bhabha and Robin Kelsey (Harvard University).
CONTACT INFO humcentr@fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS The Environment Forum at the Mahindra Center is convened by Robin Kelsey (Dean of Arts and Humanities, Harvard University) and Ian Jared Miller (Professor of History, Harvard University).
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/hour-land-our-national-parks-breathing-spaces
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Mass Innovation Nights #90
Wednesday, September 14
6pm-8:30pm
Autodesk, 23 Drydock Avenue, Boston
We are back for our fourth time at Autodesk AND this time in their super cool BUILD space at their new Seaport District location! 11 innovative products will be showcased in this space dedicated for digital fabrication. When? Wednesday, September 14th at 6pm.
Check out the new PRODUCTS and VOTE for your favorites - click on the words VOTE HERE (http://mass.innovationnights.com/events/mass-innovation-nights-90) and once on the product voting page, click LOVE IT (only four times)!
RSVP to attend the event on Wednesday, September 14th (free to attend and open to all)
See who else is planning on attending (click the ATTENDEES tab)
Help spread the word - blog, tweet (using the #MIN90 hashtag), like and post!
Support local innovation -- network and have fun at the same time!
Don't miss it —
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Old North Speaker Series: Jared Hardesty - Beyond Slavery and Freedom: New Perspectives on the Lives of Enslaved Bostonians
Wednesday, September 14
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
Old North Church, 193 Salem Street, Boston
Discussing his new book, Unfreedom: Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston, Jared Ross Hardesty takes us inside the lives and worlds of enslaved Bostonians in the 18th century. In doing so, this lecture will reconstruct an 18th century Atlantic world of unfreedom that stretched from Europe to Africa to America. Boston’s slaves lived in this place that was characterized by many different forms of dependence and oppression, including Indian slavery, indentured servitude, and apprenticeship. In this hierarchical and inherently unfree world, enslaved Bostonians were more concerned with their everyday treatment and honor than with emancipation, as they pushed for autonomy, protected their families and communities, and demanded a place in society. By reassessing the lives of Boston’s slave population as part of a social order structured by ties of dependence, Hardesty not only demonstrates how African slaves were able to decode their new homeland and shape the terms of their enslavement, but also tells the story of how marginalized peoples engrained themselves in the very fabric of colonial American society.
The book is of particular interest to Old North as Hardesty describes the black congregation of Old North, both free and enslaved, in some detail. Hardesty also describes the role of slave owners, including Old North’s chocolatier, Captain Newark Jackson, the namesake for Captain Jackson's Historic Chocolate Shop. Please join us for this lecture followed by a book signing and reception.
Are you an academic, graduate student, or educator? Extend your experience by participating in a small, intensive seminar led by Professor Hardesty on Thursday, September 15. Separate registration and attendance at this lecture required. This program is offered in partnership with the Royall House & Slave Quarters.
Jared Ross Hardesty is an Assistant Professor of History at Western Washington University. A native of Ohio, Hardesty graduated from Ohio Northern University in 2008 and received his PhD from Boston College in 2014. His work has been published in a number of different venues, including scholarly journals and online where he is a blogger for the African American Intellectual History Society (aaihs.org). He is the author of Unfreedom: Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston, published by New York University Press as part of the Early American Places initiative in 2016. He lives in Bellingham, WA with his wife Dana and dog Georgia.
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Thursday, September 15
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BOSTON’S CLIMATE VULNERABILITIES AND SOLUTIONS SYMPOSIUM
Thursday, September 15
7:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, The Beehive/Morris Auditorium, 600 Atlantic Avenue,, First Floor, Boston
RSVP at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ecv18ossd0a022e1&llr=i7ljcybab
A Better City and the Green Ribbon Commission are hosting a solution-oriented Symposium and Expo on climate preparedness. The Symposium will mark a shift from planning to action in the citywide Climate Ready Boston initiative and will focus on technologies, policies and actions to prepare the City’s buildings, businesses and districts for the future.
The Symposium will:
Inform the business community about the Climate Ready Boston climate projections and vulnerability assessment results for Greater Boston
Introduce a series of site and district-level resiliency technologies applicable to Boston’s commercial real estate sector and built environment community through a panel and vendor expo
Host a panel session on steps to enable the implementation of solutions to projected climate challenges
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Civic Media: Education and Service Learning
Thursday, September 15
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM (EDT)
Harvard Graduate School Of Education, 13 Appian Way Gutman Conference Center Room 1 (Basement of Gutman Library), Cambridge
Join Boston Civic Media faculty for it's first quarterly event of the 2017 academic school year to discuss civics education with a focus on service learning centers. We will follow our traditional lightning talk format followed by a deeper dive into how to best leverage service learning centers for social impact.
A special thank you to Helen Haste (P.I., New Civics Early Career Scholars’ Program), Meira Levinson (Professor of Education, HGSE), Brent Maher (Doctoral Candidate, HGSE), and Carrie James (Research Director, Project Zero) for hosting at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Lunch will be provided.
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Lighting Up Africa: Reaching low income customers with prepaid electricity
Thursday, September 15
Tufts, Rabb room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Kelsey Jack
Electrification rates are generally low in Sub-Saharan Africa. Expanding access is often seen as key to economic growth. However, with new electricity connections come new challenges. If unable to pay, customers face disconnection, the utility loses revenue, and the service provision model is undermined. A possible solution to this problem is prepaid metering, in which customers buy electricity upfront and use it until the prepaid amount is consumed. The effect of prepaid metering on electricity consumption and the costs and benefits to the electric utility will shape the way that electricity access expands in the coming decades.
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Venture Caf̩e in Session: Robotics
Thursday, September 15
3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cambridge Innovation Center, Venture Cafe (5th floor)m 1 Broadway, Cambridge
A weekly program offered by The Venture Caf̩e Foundation. Venture Caf̩e opens its doors to the entrepreneurial, innovation, and creative communities around Greater Boston every Thursday.
Mix and mingle with fellow entrepreneurs, find serendipitous connections, get advice and feedback during office hours, and attend entrepreneurship- and innovation-focused events.
Caf̩e-goers are expected to participate in a manner consistent with the Caf̩e’s Credo. For a complete description of this Thursday’s events, please see our calendar.
To support The Venture Caf̩e Foundation’s mission and to act as a community hub, Venture Caf̩e reserves the right to dis-invite any individual that its management feels, in their sole judgment, detracts from achieving its mission.
Venture Cafe Foundation
Website: http://vencaf.org/
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Topics in Ecology and Evolution: Microbial Communities
Thursday, September 15, 2016
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 48-316, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: J. T. Lennon, Dept. of Biology, Indiana University
Environmental Sciences Seminar Series
Hosted by: Otto Cordero (ottox@mit.edu)
Serguei Saavedra (sersaa@mit.edu)
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0.00
Sponsor(s): Parsons Lab, Civil and Environmental Engineering
For more information, contact: Denise Mulcahy
6172588685
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Building with artificial atoms: The design of multifunctional nanomaterials and devices through nanocrystal self-assembly
Thursday, September 15
4pm
MIT, Building 6-104, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Prof. Christopher B. Murray, Richard Perry University Professor, Departments of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
Materials Science and Engineering Seminar Series
The Center for Materials Science and Engineering, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Materials Processing Center welcome a wide variety of outside speakers to deliver lectures to the MIT community.
Materials Science & Engineering Seminar
Web site: web.mit.edu/cmse
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Tickets: n/a
Sponsor(s): Materials@MIT, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Materials Science & Engineering, Materials Processing Center
For more information, contact: Gina Franzetta
617.253.6850
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IBM Watson Analytics LIVE!
Thursday, September 15
4pm - 6pm
Harpoon Brewery, 306 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://www-01.ibm.com/events/wwe/grp/grp004.nsf/v17_agenda?openform&seminar=8Q3MUEES&locale=en_US
Introducing IBM® Watson™ Analytics Professional Edition.
IBM Watson Analytics is a revolutionary smart data discovery service on the cloud that helps business people quickly discover patterns and meanings in their data—all on their own.
Please join us at Watson Analytics LIVE!, an event running in a city near you. Watson Analytics LIVE! introduces the concept of smart data discovery and how it will enhance the way you work. Watson Analytics capabilities such as guided exploration, automated pattern and data visualization, and effortless dashboard creation enable business users to do more than simply consume analytics.
See a live demonstration of Watson Analytics and spend time networking with your peers and experts.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Agenda
Time Description
4:00 pm - 4:15 pm Welcome and Introduction
4:15pm - 5:00 pm Interactive Demonstration of the Power of Watson Analytics
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Networking, refreshments, tasting and tour
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BRAIN POWER
Thursday, September 15
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM (EDT)
Raytheon Amphitheater, Northeastern University, 120 Forsyth Street, Boston
President Aoun welcomes alumna and neuroscientist Beth Stevens, a 2016 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient whose research into the brain's circuitry is revolutionizing the way we think about diseases like Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.
This event will be broadcast live on Facebook
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Knowledge's Allure: Surveillance and Uncertainty
Thursday, September 15
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building 3-133, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
The present age is one of growing faith in machinic knowledge. From state surveillance to self-tracking technologies, we find lofty promises about the power of "raw" data, sensing machines and algorithmic decision-making. But new claims to knowledge invariably entail a redistribution of uncertainty, of those in the know and those left ignorant, of proofs "good enough" and "negligible" risks. Today, the U.S. government struggles to "prove" the efficacy of its own surveillance programs. The calculability of terrorist threat becomes profoundly indeterminable, exemplified by the figure of the "lone wolf". Meanwhile, the self-tracking industry promises unerringly objective self-knowledge through machines that know you better than you know yourself. The present struggles with "big" data and surveillance are not just a question of privacy and security, but how promises of knowledge and its bounty enact a redistribution of authority, credibility and responsibility. In short, it is a question of how human individuals become the ingredient for the production of truths and judgments about them by things other than themselves.
Sun-ha Hong is a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities at CMS/W @ MIT, and has a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. His writing examines the collective fantasies invested in technology, media and communication.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
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Make It Real: a manufacturing panel discussion
Thursday, September 15
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT)
WeWork Fort Point, 51 Melcher Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/make-it-real-a-manufacturing-panel-discussion-tickets-27198587708
Local entrepreneurs gather to discuss what it takes to build a product company
Boston is home to some incredible designers, manufacturers, and makers of all stripes. How do great product ideas get designed, built and brought to market? To find out, we’ve invited a diverse panel of entrepreneurs to discuss how to go from idea, to company, to product on the shelf. The panel will be moderated by startup consultant and media personality Scott Mullen. Panelists - including Josh Resnikoff, founder of Cuppow and Kathryn Carlson, founder of BucaBoot - will discuss their own experiences across a broad range of topics, including:
Prototyping – Importance and Resources
Manufacturing in the USA – Costs and Opportunities
Manufacturing overseas – Advantages and Pitfalls
Managing a supply chain – Sourcing Materials, Finding a Factory, and Getting It Made
Bringing Product To Market – Timelines, Design Changes, and Quality Control
Protecting Intellectual Property – Costs, Considerations, and Strategies
Presented By Fort Point Legal PC and WeWork
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TCN Upstart: Robotics with Joe Jones, Pioneer in Creating Practical Robots with IRobot, Harvest Automation and Franklin Robotics
Thursday September 15t
6:30 – 7:30pm
Venture Cafe, One Broadway, Cambridge
TCN UpStart Roundtables are monthly gatherings at the Venture Cafe that bring together Boston-area early-stage startups and seasoned entrepreneurs. This free series with The Capital Network, Venture Cafe, and Silicon Valley Bank is a great opportunity for you to ask burning questions about starting a company and meet other like-minded entrepreneurs in a casual cafe setting.
Joe Jones
Joe’s passion is to create practical robots. Robots that interest him are machines that do work people want done at a price people are willing to pay. A pioneer in the field, Joe was IRobot’s 1st full-time hire back in 1992, as their Senior Roboticist and is the co-inventor of the Roomba Vacumming Robot. After 14 years at IRobot Joe went on to co-found Harvest Automation, a company focused on creating mobile robots for industrial productivity in agriculture. Joe’s current venture is Franklin Robotics, a mobile robot used for gardening by consumers themselves.
“An area of acute need where practical robots could provide great benefit is agriculture. To feed the growing world population, food production must be expanded quickly and substantially. At Harvest Automation we adopted a top-down approach to the problem—there I worked to create robots for commercial agriculture.” At my new venture, Franklin Robotics, we follow a bottom-up strategy developing robots for gardening. In a few years we will, hopefully, meet in the middle.”
Pete Macdonald
Pete is the Relationship Manager the Emerging Technology Practice at Silicon Valley Bank.
Pete has over 20 years of experience working with startups and works primarily with early stage Technology and Life Science companies. Pete moderates The Capital Network’s Upstart program which is a series of fireside chats with entrepreneurs held at the Venture Cafe (CIC Cambridge) once a month.
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Science by the Pint: Genetically Modified Organisms: A Plant’s Perspective
Thursday, September 15
6:30-8:30pm
Aeronaut Brewery, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville
Jing-Ke Weng & Chip Celenza
Dr. Jing-Ke Weng is a member of the Whitehead Institute and an Assistant Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Weng lab has broad interests in understanding the 450 million year old origin and evolution of plant metabolism at enzyme, pathway, and systems levels, as well as how plants exploit discrete small molecules to interact with their surrounding biotic and abiotic environments. Their work in plant metabolic evolution impacts a fundamental question in biology – how do complex traits evolve in a Darwinian fashion? In addition, they actively seek opportunities to utilize plants as a unique model system to study human diseases, including metabolic syndromes and protein-misfolding diseases. In the long run, Jing-Ke also aims at elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the “matrix effect” known from many traditional herbal remedies used for thousands of years. This basic scientific research motivated by curiosity will be key to address the societal challenges of tomorrow.
Dr. Chip Celenza is an Associate Professor of Biology at Boston University and director of BU’s Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The Celenza lab uses genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry to better understand how plants defend themselves against microbes and insects. While plants in general are quite capable of defending themselves against herbivores and pathogens, resistance can evolve in the attacker and thus present a threat to a particular plant species. Thus understanding how plant species evolve different mechanisms for defending themselves is of importance for sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change and an increasing population. As models for studying plant defense compound synthesis, the Celenza lab uses Arabidopsis thaliana and the related oilseed mustard Camelina sativa. In these species the amino acid tryptophan is used as a precursor for both anti-herbivory compounds and antimicrobial compounds. While both species make similar defense compounds, regulation of their biosynthesis in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses differs between the two species. Understanding the differences and similarities in the regulation of these defense compounds is of central interest to the Celenza laboratory and this understanding will give insight into how defense regulatory networks evolve in plants.
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Science Royale: An Innovators Event
Thursday, September 15
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT)
Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston
Cost: $0 - $50
Join The Innovators, the young professionals group of the Museum of Science, as we kick off the fall season with a 007- inspired evening of socializing and science on our picturesque Washburn Pavilion looking out onto the Charles River
How do experts use probability to hit the jackpot or the science of risk on the roulette wheel? What’s the actual difference between shaken and stirred? You can find out all of this (and more!) while meeting new friends and supporters of the Museum.
Sign Up now! Last year’s fall kick-off event completely sold out!
This event is free for Innovators. $50 for each adult (21+). Tickets include dinner and complimentary parking. Business or cocktail attire; Bond-themed flair encouraged.
Questions? Contact rsvp@mos.org or 617-589-0185
The Innovators are the Museum’s community of philanthropic young professionals who enjoy a year-long program of exclusive social and networking activities with their peers, geared toward fresh technology, innovative science, and more.
For more information visit mos.org/innovators or e-mail innovators@mos.org.
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Friday, September 16
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Disasters and Development in South Asia
WHEN Fri., Sep. 16, 2016, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Kresge G1, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Chan Office of the Dean and Harvard Chan Students for Nepal with support from the Office of the President, Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) See link for full list of speakers
DETAILS Over a year after Nepal’s earthquake, this conference brings together practitioners, policy-makers, academics, students, and experts in disaster response to examine the importance of risk mitigation, and to discuss the role of development partners, aid accountability and the role of the media in disaster response.
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Environmental and Energy Applications of Graphene Oxide Nanoarchitectures
Friday, September 16
12:00am to 1:00am
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G115, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Chad Vecitis, Harvard University
Here, we present two methods to control the interlayer spacing of ultrathin graphene oxide (GO) laminates on the nm-scale and discuss their potential environmental and energy applications. The first method involves ultrasound GO morphology control then vacuum filtration followed by UV or HI chemical reduction to control GO laminate nanochannel dimensions on the Angstrom-scale. The nanochannel dimension determines GO laminate permeability and selectivity, which makes it a versatile membrane material. The second method involves Langmuir-Blodgett deposition and a novel 2D phase analysis technique to control GO laminate wrinkle height between 1-20 nm. GO wrinkles act as a spacer preventing face-to-face aggregation, which improves the specific capacitance of 3D electrodes.
Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar
Contact: Jill Larson
Email: jlarson@seas.harvard.edu
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MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar - Karin van der Wiel (GFDL)
Friday, September 16
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Karin van der Wiel, GFDL
The MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) is an informal student-run weekly seminar series within PAOC. Seminar topics include all research concerning the atmosphere and climate, but also talks about e.g. societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars usually take place on Fridays from 12-1pm. The presentations are either given by an invited speaker or by a member of PAOC and can focus on new research or discussion of a paper of particular interest.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Martin Wolf
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The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery
Friday, September 16
3:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes Associate Professor of History at the University of Connecticut MICKI MCELYA for a discussion of her book The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery.
About The Politics of Mourning
Arlington National Cemetery is America’s most sacred shrine, a destination for four million visitors who each year tour its grounds and honor those buried there. For many, Arlington’s symbolic importance places it beyond politics. Yet as Micki McElya shows, no site in the United States plays a more political role in shaping national identity.
Arlington commemorates sacrifices made in the nation’s wars and armed conflicts. Yet it has always been a place of struggle over the boundaries of citizenship and the meaning of honor and love of country. A plantation built by slave labor overlooking Washington, D.C., Arlington was occupied by Union forces early in the Civil War. A portion was designated a federal cemetery in 1864. A camp for the formerly enslaved, Freedman’s Village, had already been established there in 1863, and remained for three decades.
The cemetery was seen primarily as a memorial to the white Civil War dead until its most famous monument was erected in 1921: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, symbolizing universal military sacrifice through the interment of a single World War I Unknown. As a century of wars abroad secured Arlington’s centrality in the American imagination and more Unknowns joined the first at the tomb, inclusion within its gates became a prerequisite for broader claims to national belonging. In revealing how Arlington encompasses the most inspiring and the most shameful aspects of American history, McElya enriches the story of this landscape, demonstrating that remembering the past and reckoning with it must go hand in hand.
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Advocating for Science FoR/AFS/MIT-GSC 2016 Symposium
Friday, September 16 at 4:00 PM - Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 6:00 PM (EDT)
MIT, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Cost: $0 -$15
The Future of Research, Academics for the Future of Science (AFS) and the MIT Graduate Student Council (GSC) are announcing the “Advocating for Science” Symposium and Workshop which will take place at MIT, Boston, September 16-17, 2016. The purpose of the meeting is to give an opportunity to those with a passion for advocating for science to develop their advocacy skills, meet like-minded young scientists and develop focused efforts together to effect positive change.
The Advocating for Science Symposium begins on Friday 9/16 at 4pm. with a panel discussion, a keynote address featuring former congressman and AAAS CEO Rush Holt and a reception and networking event. The session will discuss ongoing advocacy efforts to promote systemic changes within the scientific enterprise and how it is funded. On Saturday 17th September 9am – 6pm, we will build on this with the Advocating for Science Workshop: an intense "boot camp" for a focused group of participants who want to gain practical skills in advocacy. The program will progress through the many aspects of effectively advocating for change: from leading, and inspiring a group of likeminded individuals to collecting and using effective data, creating an overall message and communicating that message to the appropriate audiences. Spaces are limited for the workshop and accordingly we ask that all participants attend the entire day, along with the Friday Symposium.
Confirmed Speakers:
Advocating for Science Symposium - Friday 9/16 4pm
Keynote Address: Rush Holt, Former Congressman & CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Panel Discussion:
Adam Fagen, Director Early Career Scientist Segment, AAAS
Kate Stoll, Senior Policy Advisor at MIT Washington Office
Benjamin Corb, Director of Public Affairs, ASBMB
and more…
Advocating for Science Workshop - Saturday 9/17 9am
Workshops include:
How to Communicate your Message - David Cameron, Director of Media Communications, Harvard University
Developing a Broader Communications Strategy - Ray Howell, Howell Communications
How to Collect Data Effectively - Philip Brenner, University of Massachusetts Boston
Effective Visual Communication - Christine Oslowski, Biotechnology Communications Specialist at AsisChem Inc. and Freelance Social Media Content Specialist.
Location & Schedule
Friday, September 16, 2016
4 PM Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ground floor of 50 Vassar St., Cambridge, MA
4PM- 8PM Advocating for Science Symposium
7 PM- Keynote Address: Rush Holt, former Congressman and CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Reception and Networking Event: 8:30 PM – Meadhall, 4 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA
Saturday, September 17, 2016
9 AM - 6PM Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ground floor of Stata Center, 32 Vassar St., Cambridge, MA
9 AM- Breakfast and Registration
9:30- 6pm Advocating for Science Workshop
Note: meals are included with registration –
Should cost of this event prevent your attendance, please contact: sarah.mazzilli@gmail.com
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Architecture Lecture: Reporting (Back) from the Front
Friday, September 16
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building 7-429, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Faculty Alexander D'Hooghe, Anton Garcia-Abril and Debora Mesa, Rania Ghosn, John Ochsendorf, Gediminas and Nomeda Urbonas present their projects for the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, Reporting from the Front, curated by Alejandro Aravena.
MIT Architecture Lecture Series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, School of Architecture and Planning
For more information, contact: Irina Chernyakova
617-253-4416
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Saturday, September 17
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National Drive Electric Week Event
Saturday, September 17
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Larz Anderson Auto Museum, 15 Newton Street, Brookline
See the sign up: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=778
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Green Building Bike Tour
Saturday, September 17
10:30 AM to 1:30 PM (EDT)
East Boston Greenway, Maverick T Station 220 Sumner Street, East Boston
Cost: $0 – $25
Join us for another year of green buildings by bike tour. This tour is a unique opportunity to hear insights into recent sustainable building and development projects in our back yard.
This year we are taking the tour through the East Boston Greenway. We are joined by Alison Richardson, Principal at Brown, Richardson & Rowe, Inc., and prime designer of the East Boston Greenway. Alison will walk (and ride!) us through the highs and lows of transforming the underserved community of East Boston into a vibrant and healthy green corridor.
We will meet at the Maverick T Station at 10:30AM. Our tour will include the following stops, ending with a celebratory meal at KO Pies
Our stops will include:
1. Maverick T Station, Blue Line
2. Piers Park
3. Bremen Street Park
4. East Boston Public Library
5. Wood Island Park (Frederick Law Olmstead historic park)
6. Constitution Beach
7. Belle Aisle Marsh
Bring your helmet for safety, bike lock for when you go in the buildings and good vibes for this fun event. Sign up now while there is still room and cycle on!
Alison Richardson, Principal, Brown, Richardson + Rowe, Inc. Landscape Architects + Planners
Special thanks to Women in Design for helping promote the event
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Pirates Rally for Your Freedom!
September 17, 12pm – September 18, 6pm
Boston Common
This is an important event for civil liberties, and for winding down the war on drugs. It’s also really festive, and a great opportunity for outreach.
We’re looking for a few volunteers to help staff our table. If you can swing by for a few hours, please “Register Now”, let us know who you are, and when you can help out:
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Living in the Future: Where Science Fiction Meets Science Reality
Saturday, September 17
6:00p–8:00p
MIT Museum, Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
How do today's technologies reflect what we've seen on the big screen? Sit back, grab some pizza and popcorn, and hear from scientists and inventors about how close we are to realizing Hollywood's hopes for the future! Learn about the real life technology that may or may not take us back to the future.
Open to: the general public
Cost: $10
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact: Jennifer Novotney
617-253-5927
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Sunday, September 18
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SWAPFEST
Sunday, September 18
9:00a–2:00p
MIT, N4, Albany Garage and Lots, Albany Street between Massachusetts Avenue and Main Street, Cambridge
MIT's monthly Hi Tech, Computer, Electronics and Ham Radio Fleamarket.
Buy Sell or Swap all things nerdly.
Held the third Sunday of each month April thru October.
Rain or Shine covered space is available for all sellers.
In the Albany St Garage and adjacent lot.
On Albany St between Mass Ave and Main St, Cambridge.
$6 Buyers admission from 9AM to 2PM.
$4 with MIT/ Harvard Student ID
Free for MIT and Harvard Undergraduates with current ID
Web site: www.swapfest.us
Open to: the general public
Cost: $6
This event occurs on the 3rd Sunday of every month through October 16, 2016.
Sponsor(s): MIT Radio Society, Electronic Research Society, MIT, UHF Repeater Assn. W1XM, MIT
For more information, contact: Mitchell Berger
617-253-3776
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7th Annual Boston Local Food Festival
Sunday, September 18
11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, 70 Rowes Wharf, Boston
Join local farmers, restaurants and food trucks, and chefs for New England's largest one-day farmer's market! Get ready for some fun, health and fitness activities and live, local music. Support the hard work of your local farmers for this one-day event!
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TEDxHarvardCollege: Incite Insight
WHEN Sunday, Sep. 18, 2016, 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR TEDxHarvardCollege
COST Full Price: $50.00; Students: $25.00, Harvard Students: $20.00 (8/29-9/4 Harvard Student discount = $15)
TICKET WEB LINK http://www.boxoffice.harvard.edu
TICKET INFO The Harvard Box Office 617-496-2222
DETAILS "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them" - Albert Einstein
Humanity's pursuit of progress has been boxed in by the same modes of thought that we once used to propel it. What we need to spur revolutionary breakthroughs is a new mode of thinkingÑshattering new perspectives that break down old boundaries of thought.
We believe that innovation is the life-force of this era of change, and we want to spark creativity in the entrepreneurs, inventors, and political minds that will shake up tomorrow's reality. In TEDxHarvardCollege's 2016 Conference, you will have the opportunity to listen to internationally-acclaimed professors, speakers, and thought leaders on how current topics can be turned, reconsidered, and seen from an angle to Incite Insight.
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Amazing Biochar: How to Use It, How to Make It - with Hugh McLaughlin
Sunday, September 18
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
1 Fayette Park, Cambridge
Potluck and Discussion - Co-Sponsored by Green Cambridge
Potluck starts at 6, with a brief introduction to the biochar stove ("pyrolyzer") at 6:15; presentation and discussion start at 7.
There has been much buzz about biochar lately, and this Meetup will provide an overview and answer many common questions. How does biochar work? How can you use it in your garden? How can it help address global warming?
Biochar is a product of natural fires, and has a history going back thousands of years in human cultures (the "terra praeta" of the Amazon and elsewhere). Soils with biochar retain more water, increase soil life, and dramatically enhance the growth of many plants, including crops. The positive effects of just a few applications may last for years.
During this Meetup we'll make some biochar in the backyard and learn how to apply it. Everyone will get a sample and larger quantities will be available for sale.
Our speaker, Hugh McLaughlin, holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is an expert in biochar and activated carbon and is a leader in the rapidly developing field of biochar, the precursor to all activated carbon products, with many years of experience in development and implementation of new processing technologies on a commercial scale. He has presented at national conferences on biochar and has published extensively on the biochar's measurable physical properties. He is currently the Chief Technology Office at NextChar in Amherst, Massachusetts.
We're a small non-profit so a $10 donation is requested, but no one will be turned away based on ability to pay.
If you have questions please post to this Meetup, or call Helen at 617-547-1326.
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Monday, September 19
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Evidence for Action: Changing Public Priorities in India
Monday, September 19
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Rukmini Banerji
Dr. Rukmini Banerji is CEO of Pratham, one of India's largest NGOs working in education, and has emerged as a leading international voice on primary and secondary education. Pratham began in 1994 and has reached millions of children and youth through their education and vocational programs. Dr. Banerji's leadership on the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) has garnered international recognition for its innovative model to measure child learning outcomes which has transformed education policy in India and around the world. She also serves as a member of India's Central Advisory Board of Education. Dr. Banerji was a Rhodes Scholar and completed her PhD at the University of Chicago.
D2P2: Data, Decisions & Public Policy
The D2P2 Lectures feature leading academics and other experts who share knowledge derived from modern applied economics research to demonstrate how it can inform better public policy decision-making. Speakers will discuss their groundbreaking research and practice, and how it can be applied to improve people???s lives.
Web site: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/d2p2
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Economics Department
For more information, contact: Taylor Sweazey
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2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: The Science of Sugar
Monday, September 19
7 p.m.
Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Joanne Chang ’91, (@jbchang), Flour Bakery, author of “Flour” and “Flour Too”
The popular Science and Cooking lecture series returns this fall, offering members of the public the opportunity to embark on a culinary tour of four continents. The lecture series pairs Harvard professors with celebrated food experts and renowned chefs to showcase the science behind different culinary techniques. This year’s presenters will cover a wide range of topics, including beef made in a lab, the secrets of French cheese caves, and the delicious science of sweet desserts.
Now in its seventh year, the series is organized by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
The public lectures are based on the Harvard course “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” but do not replicate course content.
All talks will take place in the Harvard Science Center (1 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass., Hall C) and begin at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted
Each presentation will begin with a 15-minute lecture about the scientific topics from that week’s class by a faculty member from the Harvard course
Seating for all lectures is first come, first seated
If you have questions regarding the public lecture series, please contact science_cooking@seas.harvard.edu.
2016 Chef Lecture Dates
Monday, Sept. 19
“The Science of Sugar”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Joanne Chang ’91, (@jbchang), Flour Bakery, author of “Flour” and “Flour Too”
Tuesday, Sept. 27
“Medical Technology Producing Hamburgers”
Science Center Lecture Hall B, 7 p.m.
Mark Post, (@MarkPost6), Professor of Physiology at Maastricht University, co-inventor of cell cultured beef
Monday, Oct. 3
“Diffusion and Gelation in Peruvian Cooking”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Virgilio Martinez, (@VirgilioCentral), Central
Malena Martinez, (@MMVCentral), Central
Monday, Oct. 17
“Heat Transfer”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Margarita Forés, (@MargaritaFores), Cibo Restaurants
Monday, Oct. 24
"Viscosity and Polymers"
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Bill Yosses, (@billyosses), former White House executive pastry chef, author of “Desserts for Dummies” and “The Perfect Finish”
Vayu Maini Rekdal, (@youngNYchefs), co-founder of the Young Chefs Program, Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University
Monday, Oct. 31
“Emulsions and Foams”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Angel Leon, (@chefdelmar), Restaurant Aponiente
Monday, Nov. 7
“Delicious Decomposition: Tales from the Cheese Caves of France”
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Sister Noella Marcellino, Abbey of Regina Laudis, subject of PBS documentary “The Cheese Nun”
Monday, Nov. 21
Title TBA
Science Center Lecture Hall C, 7 p.m.
Nathan Myhrvold, (@ModernCuisine), former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, author of “Modernist Cuisine”
The Harvard College Course
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the AlÃcia Foundation developed the General Education science course, “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” which debuted in the fall of 2010. The course uses food and cooking to explicate fundamental principles in applied physics and engineering. (Watch a video about the course.)
While limited to currently enrolled Harvard undergraduates, the class, which brings together eminent Harvard researchers and world-class chefs, is available to others on-campus through the Harvard Extension School and online through the HarvardX platform (details below).
Instructors
Michael Brenner, Glover Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics and Professor of Physics; Harvard College Professor
Pia Sörensen, Preceptor in Science and Cooking
David Weitz, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics
Lab Design/Implementation
Pere Castells, Unitat UB-Bullipèdia
Science and Cooking at Harvard Extension School
A version of “Science and Cooking” will be offered for credit through the Harvard Extension School in Spring 2017. Registered students will have access to the expertise and support of Harvard teaching staff, and will participate in an on-campus weekend in our cooking lab.
An online version of the course is also available as a HarvardX course.
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A Truck Full of Money: One Man’s Quest to Recover from Great Success
Monday, September 19
7:00 PM (Doors at 6:30)
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cost: $5 - $28.75 (book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes Pulitzer Prize winner TRACY KIDDER, author of The Soul of a New Machine and Mountains Beyond Mountains, and entrepreneur PAUL ENGLISH for a discussion of Kidder's latest book, A Truck Full of Money: One Man’s Quest to Recover from Great Success, the inspiring story of Kayak.com and Lola founder Paul English.
About A Truck Full of Money
Tracy Kidder, the “master of the nonfiction narrative” (The Baltimore Sun) and author of the bestselling classic The Soul of a New Machine, now tells the story of Paul English, a kinetic and unconventional inventor and entrepreneur, who as a boy rebelled against authority. Growing up in working-class Boston, English discovers a medium for his talents the first time he sees a computer. As a young man, despite suffering from what would eventually be diagnosed as bipolar disorder, he begins his pilgrim’s journey through the ups and downs in the brave new world of computers. Relating to the Internet as if it’s an extension of his own mind, he discovers that he has a talent for conceiving innovative enterprises and building teams that can develop them, becoming “a Pied Piper” of geeks. His innovative management style, success, and innate sense of fair play inspire intense loyalty. Early on, one colleague observes: “Someday this boy’s going to get hit by a truck full of money, and I’m going to be standing beside him.” Yet when English does indeed make a fortune, when the travel website Kayak is sold for almost two billion dollars—the first thing he thinks about is how to give the money away: “What else would you do with it?” The second thing he thinks is, What’s next?
With the power of a consummate storyteller, Tracy Kidder casts a fresh, critical, and often humorous eye on the way new ideas and new money are reshaping our culture and the world. A Truck Full of Money is a mesmerizing portrait of an irresistibly endearing man who is indefatigable, original, and as unpredictable as America itself.
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Water — and Climate — Solutions in Plain Sight
Monday, September 19
7:00–8:30pm
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain
RSVP at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.
Cost: $0 - $5 nonmember
Judith D. Schwartz, MA, MSJ, Journalist and Author
Judith Schwartz, who has looked deeply into the challenges and solutions around Earth’s soil in her 2013 book, Cows Save the Planet, has since turned her sights towards water. In this talk and discussion, she will focus on reframing our global environmental challenges in a way that illuminates potential solutions. For once we broaden our perspective to include how water moves across the landscape and through the atmosphere, we'll find many opportunities to restore ecological cycles, even entire ecosystems. Judith will offer examples from around the world that she's encountered in her reporting for her newest book, Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World.
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Tuesday, September 20
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Mechanotherapeutics: From Drugs to Wearables, Wyss Institute's 7th Annual Symposium
WHEN Tue., Sep. 20, 2016, 8:15 a.m. – 6:15 p.m.
WHERE Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
SPEAKER(S)
Georg Duda, Ph.D., Julius Wolff Institut, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Philip Gottlieb, Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo
Simon Hoerstrup, Ph.D., Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Zurich
Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., Wyss Institute, Harvard University
Helene Langevin, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital
David J. Mooney, Ph.D., Wyss Institute, Harvard University
Dennis Orgill, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital
David Paydarfar, M.D., Wyss Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Clinton T. Rubin, Ph.D., Stony Brook University
Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Ph.D., Columbia University
Conor Walsh, Ph.D., Wyss Institute, Harvard University
Valerie M. Weaver, Ph.D., Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, University of California, San Francisco
COST This event is free, however registration is required.
CONTACT INFO info@wyss.harvard.edu
617-432-7038
DETAILS
The Wyss Institute's 7th annual international symposium will focus on advances in the field of Mechanobiology that have resulted in the development of new types of pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems, engineered tissues, and wearable therapeutic devices that leverage physical forces or target mechanical signaling pathways as a core part of their mechanism of action. Organized by Wyss Institute Core Faculty members Dave Mooney and Don Ingber, the day will include a number of distinguished speakers who will provide examples of how mechanics is being harnessed in ways that can transform the future of medicine.
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NECEC Energy Storage Forum 2016
Tuesday, September 20
8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard Seaport West, Boston
Join NECEC and Foley Hoag’s Energy and Cleantech practice for a not-to-be-missed discussion with energy storage experts in policy, deployment and investment who have their finger on the pulse of the energy storage market.
The Energy Storage Forum will take place in Boston and New York with a live video stream connecting panelists and guests from both locations. Register here
Event Contact
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New England Resilience & Transition Network Collective Inquiry on Local and Regional Food Systems: The Role of Sustainable Seafood
Thursday, September 20
12pm – 1pm
Webinar
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Brown Bag: Issues in Curating the Open Web at Scale - with Gary Price
Tuesday, September 20
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building E25-401, 45 Carleton Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Gary Price
Much of the web remains invisible: resources are undescribed, unindexed or simply buried -- as many people rarely look past the first page of Google searches or are unavailable from traditional library resources.
At the same time many traditional library databases pay little attention to quality content from credible sources accessible on the open web.
How do we build collections of quality open-web resources (i.e. documents, specialty databases, and multimedia) and make them accessible to individuals and user groups when and where they need it?
This talk reflects on the emerging tools for systematic programmatic curation; the legal challenges to open-web curation; long term access issues, and the historical challenges to building sustainable communities of curation.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Libraries
For more information, contact: Kelly Hopkins
6172533044
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Thinking Fast Makes Changing Slow: Human Thought Processes Interfere with Achieving Diversity
Tuesday, September 20
Noon–1:00 p.m.
BU, Instructional Building, Hiebert Lounge, 72 East Concord Street, Boston
Speaker
Lydia Villa-Komaroff
Board Member, Cytonome/ST, LLC; Board Member, American Type Culture Collection (ATCC); Board Member, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC)
Live-Streaming Available During Event at http://www.bu.edu/sph/news-events/signature-events/sph-live/
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Modern Environmental Politics: big data, behavioral science, and getting environmentalists to vote
Tuesday, September 20
4:15p–6:00p
MIT, Building 4-270, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Nathaniel Stinnett
Big data has completely revolutionized how modern political campaigns target and communicate with voters. Simultaneously, a new generation of behavioral scientists has completely changed our understanding of why and how people decide to vote. These changes present a large number of counter-intuitive and exciting discoveries and they also suggest both good and bad news for the environmental movement. Join Nathaniel Stinnett for a discussion of how modern political campaigns work and how that impacts environmental policy at the local, state, and federal level.
Nathaniel Stinnett is the Founder & CEO of the Environmental Voter Project, a non-partisan nonprofit that uses big data analytics and behavioral science to identify non-voting environmentalists and then get them to vote. Recently dubbed “The Voting Guru” by Grist, Stinnett was named one of the 50 environmental visionaries that you’ll be talking about in 2016. He has over a decade of experience as a senior advisor, campaign manager, and trainer for US Senate, Congressional, and mayoral campaigns as well as issue-advocacy nonprofits. Formerly an attorney at the international law firm of DLA Piper, Stinnett holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He lives in Boston, MA with his wife and daughter.
The Environmental Voter Project: http://www.environmentalvoter.org
ESI Lecture Series in Environment and Sustainability
Web site: https://environmentalsolutions.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Environmental Solutions Initiative
For more information, contact: Hannah Loomis
617-715-4048
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"Brexit Means Brexit": But What Does Brexit Mean for the UK and the EU?
WHEN Tue., Sep. 20, 2016, 4:15 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Hoffman Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR EU Law and Government
SPEAKER(S) Jeff Kenner
DETAILS The United Kingdom's vote for Brexit on June 23, 2016 was an unprecedented rejection of the European integration process by an EU Member State. But what exactly does Brexit mean? Professor Kenner will examine the process of Britain's withdrawal from the perspective of the UK and the EU 27. The talk will explore various options for a negotiated settlement open to both the UK and the EU. Is it possible for the UK to have access to the EU's Single Market with some control over people's freedom of movement? If so, can this objective be achieved without Brexit and would that be desirable? If not, what alternative models for future relations are most suitable for the UK and the EU 27?
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Immigration, Democracy, and Discrimination in Small Town America
Tuesday, September 20
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Justin Steil, Assistant Professor of Law and Urban Planning, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Inter-University Committee on International Migration
For more information, contact: Phiona Lovett
253-3848
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The Power of Network: A Lecture by Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang
WHEN Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2016, 5 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Haarvard, Sanders Theare, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Conferences, Information Technology, Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Korea Society
SPEAKER(S) Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang
DETAILS Dr. Hwang is a renowned entrepreneur and engineer, and currently he is the President of KT Corporation which is the largest telephone company in South Korea. He is also well-known for Hwang’s Law, which refuted Moore’s Law by re-predicting the rate of advance in semiconductor in early 2000s. He already gave several invited lectures at different schools in Harvard; in particular, when he had a speech at Burden Auditorium in Harvard Business School in 2005 as the President of the Semiconductor Division at Samsung Electronics, more than 800 students were attended and the speech was featured in the Harvard Crimson (www.thecrimson.com…).
In the lecture, Dr. Hwang will be speaking regarding his experiences as an entrepreneur and his views on the future developments in the telecommunications industry. We believe his speech will be inspiring and helpful not only for students in business and engineering but also for the entire Harvard society.
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Putting the 2016 Election Into Perspective: A Conversation with Bob Schieffer, Ann Compton and Nicco Mele
Tuesday, September 20
6:00 p.m.
Harvard, JFK Jr. Forum, Littauer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
A conversation on the state of the 2016 presidential campaign and its coverage in the media, with Bob Schieffer, Ann Compton and Nicco Mele (moderator). Co-Sponsored by the Institute of Politics.
Bob Schieffer is the current Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow. He has been a reporter for more than half a century and was a part of CBS News for 46 years. He is one of the few reporters in Washington to have covered all four of the major beats: the Pentagon, the White House, Congress and the State Department. Schieffer anchored the Saturday edition of the “CBS Evening News” for 23 years, became the network’s chief Washington correspondent in 1982 and was named the anchor and moderator of “Face the Nation” in 1991. Within these roles he has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon and moderated three presidential debates. Throughout his career Schieffer has written four books, won numerous awards and covered every presidential race and nominating convention since 1972.
Ann Compton is a visiting fellow at the Institute of Politics for the Fall 2016 semester. She was the first woman assigned by a television network to cover the White House and her longevity and impact have been considered unmatched over the span of her 41 years on the air for ABC News. After retiring from daily coverage in 2014, Ann was brought back to cover the 2016 political conventions for ABC. Ann’s career at ABC News spanned 7 presidents and 10 presidential campaigns for the network. She was assigned to the White House in 1974, as the Watergate scandal came to an end. She reported for all ABC News broadcasts and online from the lawn of the White House, from Capitol Hill, from the campaign trail, and from around the globe traveling with Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies. Her retirement was announced by President Barack Obama who called on her at a West Wing news conference saying, “Ann Compton, everybody here knows, is not only the consummate professional but is also just a pleasure to get to know.”
Nicco Mele (moderator) is the Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. He took over leadership of the Center in 2016 after serving as Senior Vice President and Deputy Publisher of the Los Angeles Times and as the Wallis Annenberg Chair in Journalism at the University of Southern California. He is the author of The End of Big: How The Internet Makes David the New Goliath and co-founder of EchoDitto (now Echo & Co.), a leading internet strategy and consulting firm. Mele also is a board member of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and a Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.
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Morphogenesis of Flux Structure: The New Field of Structural Design
Tuesday, September 20
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building 7-429, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Mutsuro Sasaki: The Edward and Mary Allen Lecture in Structural Design
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, Building Technology Program
For more information, contact: Irina Chernyakova
617-253-4416
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CaféSci Boston presents "The Learning Caféteria," a 4-part series of science cafés inspired by NOVA's School of the Future.
Tuesday, September 20
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT) -
Le Laboratorie Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge
Airing September 14th during PBS “Spotlight Education” week, School of the Future is a 2-hour documentary that will introduce viewers to the science of learning—a complex and interdisciplinary new field that encompasses neuroscience, physiology, and the psychology of children.
The show examines how, in a new age of information, rapid innovation, and globalization, can we prepare our children to compete. Once the envy of the world, American schools are now in trouble. Test scores show our kids lag far behind their peers from other industrialized countries, and as the divide between rich and poor grows wider, the goal of getting all kids ready for college and the workforce gets harder by the day. How can the latest research help us fix education in America? Can the science of learning — including new insights from neuroscientists, psychologists, and educators — reveal how kids’ brains work and tell us which techniques are most likely to engage and inspire growing minds? What role should technology play in the classroom? Teachers, students, parents, and scientists take center stage as NOVA explores a new vision for the School of the Future.
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Nancy Hill, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
September 20, 2016
Professor Hill is a developmental psychologist and her research identifies the unique and interactive ways in which race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status influence parenting beliefs, practices and child outcomes, especially among African American, Latino, and Euro-American children. Her research has identified the ways in which similar parenting practices may have different meanings for and impacts on children’'s mental health and development based on cultural, community, and economic contexts.
Dr. Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital
October 18, 2016
Charles A. Nelson III, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience and Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and holds the Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research at Boston Children’s Hospital. His research interests center on a variety of problems in developmental cognitive neuroscience, including: typical and atypical memory development; the development of social perception; developmental trajectories to autism; and the effects of early adversity on brain and behavioral development.
Dr. Gigi Luk, Associate Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
November 15, 2016
Gigi Luk's research on the cognitive consequences of bilingualism extends across the lifespan. These cognitive consequences include literacy acquisition in children and executive functions in young and older adults. The main research finding is that bilingualism, as a language experience, results in some cognitive advantages and linguistic limitations at different developmental stages. She investigates bilingual consequences using both behavioral and neuroimaging techniques. In addition to investigating the science of bilingualism, Dr. Luk has examined how to harness scientific findings on bilingualism to improve educational experience for children from diverse language backgrounds.
Dr. Luba Falk Feigenberg, Research Director, Making Caring Common
December 20, 2016
Luba Falk Feigenberg, EdD, is the Research Director for Making Caring Common. Luba has nearly two decades of experience working in a variety of non-profit and educational settings, including schools, early childhood education, after school programs, the juvenile justice system, and community mental health. At the core of her work is a focus on children’s social-emotional development, school-community partnerships, and effective schools and services for children. She regularly consults with schools, school districts, and mental health organizations about how to build a culture of continuous quality improvement, sustainable systems for student support services, and strategies to best promote children’s social-emotional development.
Directions to Le Laboratoire Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street
Public Transit: Red line to Kendall Square, walk straight down 3rd Street, turn right onto Athenaeum Street, and left onto East Kendall
Parking: There is a parking deck - the 650 East Kendall Street Garage - accessible by Linskey Way. If you purchase food or drink from Le Lab, your parking ticket can be validated for discounted rates.
Le Laboratoire, is a unique art and design center that invites visitors to explore the experiments and wonders of innovators of all kinds discovering at frontiers of science.
"School of the Future" is part of American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, a public media initiative made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major funding for "School of the Future" is also provided by Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.
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Opportunity
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Dear Friends of Harvard Square & of the historic Harvard Square 'Out-of-Town-News' Kiosk:
Please add your John or Jane Hancock to this online petition and forward it to
friends and neighbors, and share it on facebook and the like. Thanks! cheers* James
Online Landmark Designation Petition:
Boston Globe Article (Front Page, Business Section), 8/26/16:
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The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tuft University is pleased to accept applications to its Online Graduate Certificate Program in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems.
This program, in its third year, is ideal for professionals engaged in a variety of food-related businesses and organizations, as well as others interested in implementing sustainable practices for their organizations, partners, and communities.
Because the program is 100% online, students can live and work anywhere in the world and study with the Friedman School’s renowned faculty, while earning graduate credit from Tufts University.
Course offerings and descriptions are below (courses may be completed individually or as a part of the graduate certificate program):
NUTC 261: Sustainability on the Farm (fall semester, begins September 6, 2016)
Agriculture is the single largest user of land and water and, thus, has broad environmental impacts. Gains in yield productivity over the last five decades have met increasing demands without increasing agricultural area in the U.S., but environmental, economic and social costs have been considerable. In this first course of the series, the farm level primary costs and benefits will be analyzed, along with a profile of current conventional and alternative approaches to food production in the U.S. Students will examine the policy response to environmental and conservation concerns, focusing on the balance between meeting increased demand while mitigating environmental and social costs.
NUTC 262: Sustainable Food Systems and Markets (spring semester)
The food sector, one of the largest components of the U.S. economy, includes transforming raw agricultural products and moving them to retail points of contact. Although highly integrated and increasingly global, the food system does not provide equal access to all consumers and significant food losses occur at all stages of the supply chain. In this course, students will analyze causes of the market failure to provide equal access; explore solutions to minimize losses within the food system; and evaluate alternative supply chains, including values-based, direct to consumer, and food hubs.
NUTC 263: Sustainability and the Food Consumer (summer semester)
Every day, we make numerous choices about what to eat - and what not to eat. How do consumers and households make these choices, and how can the environments in which we make these choices be shaped to enhance sustainability without sacrificing our health or enjoyment of food? In this course we draw upon insights from economics, psychology, marketing, and nutrition to explore topics such as current food consumption patterns, determinants of food choice, the role of food labeling and market-based initiatives in enhancing sustainability, and the impact of regulation and "nudges" on consumer behavior around food.
To learn more:
Visit our website: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/certificates
View the SAFS Program 1-page Information Sheet: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/documents-forms/SAFOneSheetFINAL.pdf
Register for our August 8th Virtual Open House: http://bit.ly/gradcerts-virtualopenhouse
Read about some of our Graduate Certificate students: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/news/work-learn-live-online-programs
Connect with the Program Director: nutritioncertificates@tufts.edu
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Last fall, Solve (solve.mit.edu/) convened technologists, philanthropists, business leaders, policymakers, and change agents like you from around the world to examine and address problems where technology, business innovation, and smart policy can be leveraged to bring about real and lasting change.
The Solve program is organized around four “pillars”: Fuel, Learn, Cure, and Make. This year’s program poses three “challenges” within those pillars. Of particular note to the sustainability community are the Fuel challenges:
Fuel:
Carbon price
How can new technologies (including digital currencies like Bitcoin) be used to put a price on emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases?
Negative carbon emissions
How do we remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a way that is scalable, economical, and ethical?
What can you do right now?
The program is actively seeking proposals for these Fuel challenges. We encourage you to log in to the Solve CoLab platform (http://solvecolab.mit.edu) to propose solutions. A distinguished panel of judges will select semifinalists, who will present their solutions at the Solve at HUBweek event, September 27 and 28, 2016. Registration for the Solve at HUBweek events is now open at www.hubweek.org.
Thank you for your continued support of the Solve program. Together, we can bring about real and lasting solutions to the world’s most challenging problems.
Editorial Comment: I’ve alerted my contacts in the Geotherapy movement for enhanced soil carbon sequestration about this opportunity. May they pick up on it.
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Discounted Solar for Somerville
As part of the State’s Solarize Mass program, local volunteers and the City of Somerville recently launched the Solarize Somerville campaign to make it easier and cheaper for residents and small businesses to install solar panels.
The program, which is offering information and guidance, free site consultations, and solar panel discounts through November, has set an ambitious goal to inspire at least 200 property owners to sign up for solar —and each of those private solar installations will also benefit the community directly. For every 400 kW in signed private contracts through the program, the program’s solar vendor SolarFlair will donate a system of up to 5 kW for a public or community purpose. All are invited to the program kickoff at a Meet the Installer event on Tuesday, July 26 at 6-7:30 p.m., 167 Holland St. Additional events on topics such as solar basics, financing, and solar for multifamily homes will be announced.
Unique to the program is its neighbor-to-neighbor approach: trained resident volunteers and a designated volunteer Solar Coach are available essentially as mentors. They can, for example, walk anyone through the process, provide general loan program and tax incentive information, and share their own solar experiences. The campaign’s webpage and blog offers useful information, tips, and a link to websites where you can estimate the solar potential of your home and roughly calculate how much solar could save you on your energy bills at www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize.
Somerville is one of the most urban communities ever to participate in Solarize Mass, which makes the neighbor-to-neighbor approach especially helpful due to some of the unique challenges here such as multi-family houses with more than one owner. Winter Hill resident Mary Mangan, the program’s volunteer Solar Coach, went through that process and is ready to share helpful tips.
"I'm excited to work with our eager volunteers to help our neighbors understand the benefits of solar power. As a co-owner of a two-family home with solar, I can also offer some insights about how that process went for us," said Mangan.
Also key to the program is the selection of a designated vendor, which allows the program to offer reduced cost installation through bulk purchasing. Through a competitive process, SolarFlair, based in Ashland, MA, was selected. They were also the selected installer for the communities of Arlington, Hopkinton, Mendon, Brookline, Carlisle-Chelmsford, Newton, and Quincy.
"We're excited to be the selected installer for Solarize Somerville, and look forward to speaking with any home or business owners that are interested in reducing their electric bills while also making a great investment," said Matt Arner, the owner and President of SolarFlair.
Quick facts:
Solar systems can be purchased outright (with a payback of about 4-5 years). The Mass Solar Loan program offers rates of 3.25% or less.
Or, for no money down owners can choose a power purchase agreement (PPA), where the system is owned and maintained by a third party, and residents buy back the electricity at a discounted price.
More on-site renewable energy is critical to reducing carbon emissions. It also saves money for residents.
Tax incentives for solar installations include:
Federal Tax Credit: A 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is available for qualified residential and commercial projects
Massachusetts Personal Income Tax Credit: The lesser of 15% of the total cost of the solar electric system or $1,000, for qualified clean energy projects
Five-year Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS): Business owners can depreciate solar electric systems over a five-year schedule
For more information or to sign up for a free site consultation:
Visit the Solarize Somerville webpage at www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize for
Helpful information and FAQs
To contact a volunteer or Solar Coach Mary Mangan to discuss solar options and incentives
To set up an appointment for a free site consultation directly with SolarFlair
To find out about events
To volunteer for Solarize Somerville
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Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!
Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.
For more information checkout.
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
Solar map of Cambridge, MA
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Hey Cambridge residents!
Did you know the City of Cambridge is trying to win the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize? It was created to develop a cleaner and more efficient energy future. Energy efficiency and conservation are the best ways to save energy and minimize environmental impact. In that effort, Cambridge is hoping all residents will get a no-cost energy assessment in order to make their homes more efficient and comfortable. Let us know you're interested here: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/sign-up-for-an-assessment
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
Again, let us know you're interested here: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/sign-up-for-an-assessment and someone will be in contact with you shortly to give you personally tailored contact information on how you can get your no-cost home energy assessment. Renters are also eligible!
Any action to save energy in the home will help Cambridge win this competition while protecting the environment. For additional ideas on how to save energy, please see the Cambridge Energy Alliance website at http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/interactivehome
Please share with your Cambridge friends and family and ask them to get a free energy assessment!
Want to be more involved? Become a neighborhood Block Captain! Block Captains help their community members sign up for and complete no-cost home energy assessments through the MassSave program. Our team will give you the tools and guidance needed to recruit neighbors to get an assessment and improve the efficiency of their homes. Participation is welcome at whatever level you are able to commit to.
If you are interested in becoming a Block Captain, please fill out the form at http://tinyurl.com/blockcaptainsurvey and someone from the Cambridge Energy Alliance will be in contact with you shortly. If you know someone who might be interested, please let them know about this opportunity!
Questions? Contact jnahigian@cambridgema.gov
Cambridge Energy Alliance
@cambenergy
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Sunny Cambridge has just launched! Sunny Cambridge is the city-wide initiative that makes it easy for all types of residents to get solar power for their homes. Cambridge has lined up local solar installers through the EnergySage Solar Marketplace, which helps you request, receive, and compare solar quotes 100% online with support available every step of the way.
The City of Cambridge is working on many levels to reduce energy use and GHG emissions to make the city more sustainable. As a semifinalist in the nationwide competition for the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize, Cambridge Energy Alliance is encouraging residents to take actions to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Get involved by signing up for a no-cost home energy assessment at the Cambridge Energy Alliance home page (www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org/winit)
and going solar at http://www.sunnycambridge.org
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha@sbnboston.org
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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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The Boston Network for International Development (BNID) maintains a website (BNID.org) that serves as a clearing-house for information on organizations, events, and jobs related to international development in the Boston area. BNID has played an important auxiliary role in fostering international development activities in the Boston area, as witnessed by the expanding content of the site and a significant growth in the number of users.
The website contains:
A calendar of Boston area events and volunteer opportunities related to International Development - http://www.bnid.org/events
A jobs board that includes both internships and full time positions related to International Development that is updated daily - http://www.bnid.org/jobs
A directory and descriptions of more than 250 Boston-area organizations - http://www.bnid.org/organizations
Also, please sign up for our weekly newsletter (we promise only one email per week) to get the most up-to-date information on new job and internship opportunities -www.bnid.org/sign-up
The website is completely free for students and our goal is to help connect students who are interested in international development with many of the worthwhile organizations in the area.
Please feel free to email our organization at info@bnid.org if you have any questions!
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Boston Maker Spaces - 27 and counting: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zGHnt9r2pQx8.kfw9evrHsKjA&hl=en
BASEN / Boston Solidarity Network Economy: http://ba-sen.tumblr.com
Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston: http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at over 50 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://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
MIT Events: http://events.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://mitenergyclub.org/calendar
Harvard Events: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/
Harvard Environment: http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
Sustainability at Harvard: http://green.harvard.edu/events
Mass Climate Action: http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/
Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/
Microsoft NERD Center: http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/
Startup and Entrepreneurial Events: http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/
Cambridge Civic Journal: http://www.rwinters.com
Cambridge Happenings: http://cambridgehappenings.org
Cambridge Community Calendar: https://www.cctvcambridge.org/calendar
If you have an event you would like to see here, the submission deadline is 12 PM on Sundays, as Energy (and Other) Events is sent out Sunday afternoons.u
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