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
ht16tp://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html
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Index - Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings. Keep scrolling, please.
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Monday, November 21
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11:45am McKinsey Energy and Sustainability presentation
12pm Genetically Engineered Foods & their Regulation: The Way Forward After Twenty Years of Adoption
12pm Inventing Atmospheric Science: Gordian Knots and the Quest for Prevision
12pm Book Talk: Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East
12pm Mexico's Energy Reform
12pm Talk in Arabic: Egyptian Clothes between Religious Ideology and Social Change
12:10pm Taking the fingerprints of global sea level rise
12:15pm Spaceship in the Desert: Energy, Climate Change and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi
4pm Views of Colombia Biodiversity from Afar and Within
4pm Kelman Seminar: The Role Dignity Must Play in Post-Election Healing
4pm Documentary Film Screening: AFTER THE LAST RIVER
7pm 2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: Nathan Myhrvold
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Tuesday, November 22
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12pm IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority): Important, but not for what they do
4:15pm xTalk with Steven Hall, Lori Breslow & Jeff Gore: Active Learning
4:30pm Starr Forum: The Struggle Against Terrorism: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
5pm theMOVE'S FINAL FAREWELL!
7pm Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World
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Monday, November 28
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12pm PAOC Colloquium - Jorge Sarmiento (Princeton)
12pm The Geopolitics of the New Energy Abundance
12:15pm The Promise and Peril of Human Rights Technology
2:30pm How Data and Technology Can Help Improve Government
2:30pm Market Structure with the Entry of Peer-to-Peer Platforms: The Case of Hotels and Airbnb
4pm Ocean One: A Robotic Avatar for Oceanic Discovery
5pm Premiere of Paradigm Shift
5:30pm MIT Technology Review at Google: How Is Tech Affecting Kids?
6pm A Conversation with Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, United States Surgeon General
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Tuesday, November 29
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Neurotech 2016
12pm The community interactome: How fungal species interactions shape soil biogeochemistry
12pm The Troubled Eye: The Moral Dilemmas of Reporting on War, Religion, and Social Justice
12:30pm The Future of Urban Innovations: Harvard GSD Students Present Their Ideas for Fukuoka
2pm xTalk: Why Old School is New School in Higher Education
4pm Investigating past climate using cave mineral formations
4pm The U.S. Digital Service: What We’ve Learned So Far
4pm Innovation Through Aggregation Forum
5pm Keeping the Ocean Safe for People and People Safe from the Ocean
5:30pm Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Studies Program: "Under the Wall: Infrastructure as Security and as Threat on the U.S.- Mexico Border”
5:30pm Reasoning to learn, learning to reason
6pm Boston Green Drinks - November Happy Hour
6pm Cybersecurity in FinTech
6:15pm Harvard Club Faculty Series: “Genetics for the Modern Man and Woman” T. Bernard Kinane, MD, Harvard Medical School
6:30pm The Oceans in a Warming World: How are the oceans changing and what role do they play in 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:
Listen to David Cay Johnston
Environmental Groups Never Planned for a Trump Win
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/16/1600140/-Environmental-Groups-Never-Planned-for-a-Trump-Win
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Monday, November 21
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McKinsey Energy and Sustainability presentation
Monday, November 21
11:45 am to 12:45 pm
MIT, Building E62-276, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Please join McKinsey & Company's Senior Partner Scott Nyquist for a discussion on climate change, recent progress in policy and technology, and implications for energy companies. Scott Nyquist is a Senior Partner in the Houston Office and a leader in the McKinsey Sustainability and Resource Productivity Network as well as a leader in the McKinsey's Energy Practice. Scott is also on the McKinsey Global Institute Council, which advises on MGI's research on global economic, business, and technology trends. McKinsey's Sustainability and Resource Productivity (SRP) network helps the world's leading institutions make sustainability and resource productivity a core driver of economic performance. SRP's mission is to be the best place to work for people with ambition to make a positive and lasting impact on both clients and environment.
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Genetically Engineered Foods & their Regulation: The Way Forward After Twenty Years of Adoption
Monday, November 21
12:00PM TO 1:00PM
Harvard, B015 WCC, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Gregory Jaffe, Director of the Project on Biotechnology for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), will discuss genetically engineered crops and animals, covering how they are created, their potential risks and benefits, how they are regulated, and more. He will describe how the CSPI is involved in this ever-growing national and international debate. The presentation will provide a unique evidence-based perspective on this controversial subject. Cohosted by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, The DOS Grant Fund, Harvard Health Law Society, and Harvard Food Law Society.
Contact Name: Christina Rice
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Inventing Atmospheric Science: Gordian Knots and the Quest for Prevision
Monday, November 21
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: James Fleming, Colby College
Atmospheric researchers have long attempted to untie the Gordian Knot of meteorology—that intractable and intertwined tangle of observational imprecision, theoretical uncertainties, and non-linear influences—that, if unraveled, would provide perfect prevision of the weather for ten days, of seasonal conditions for next year, and of climatic conditions for a decade, a century, a millennium, or longer. This presentation, based on Inventing Atmospheric Science (The M.I.T. Press, 2016), examines the work of three interconnected generations of scientists and the influence of three families of transformative technologies in the first six decades of the twentieth century, from the dawn of applied fluid dynamics to the emergence, by 1960, of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences.
About the Speaker
Jim Fleming is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Colby College, Maine. He earned a B.S. in astronomy from Pennsylvania State University, and M.S. in atmospheric science from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. He has written extensively on the history of weather, climate, technology, and the environment including social, cultural, and intellectual aspects. His books include Meteorology in America (Johns Hopkins, 1990), Historical Perspectives on Climate Change (Oxford, 1998), The Callendar Effect (AMS, 2007), Fixing the Sky (Columbia, 2010), and Inventing Atmospheric Science (MIT, 2016). He is series editor of Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology, a research associate of the Smithsonian Institution, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Jim is a resident of China, Maine (not Mainland China!) He enjoys fishing, good jazz, good BBQ, seeing students flourish, and building the community of historians of science and technology. "Everything is unprecedented if you don't study history."
PAOC Colloquium
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Book Talk: Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East
WHEN Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Fainsod Room, Littauer-324, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Middle East Initiative, CMES/WCFIA Middle East Seminar
SPEAKER(S) A seminar with Nader Hashemi, Director, Center for Middle East Studies and Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver and Danny Postel, Assistant Director, Middle East and North African Studies Program, Northwestern University on their new book Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East (Hurst Publishers, February 2017).
COST Free and open to the public
DETAILS As the Middle East descends ever deeper into violence and chaos, ‘sectarianism’ has become a catch-all explanation for the region’s troubles. The turmoil is attributed to ‘ancient sectarian differences,’ putatively primordial forces that make violent conflict intractable. In media and policy discussions, sectarianism has come to possess trans-historical causal power.
This book trenchantly challenges the lazy use of ‘sectarianism’ as a magic-bullet explanation for the region’s ills, focusing on how various conflicts in the Middle East have morphed from non-sectarian (or cross-sectarian) and nonviolent movements into sectarian wars. Through multiple case studies — including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait — this book maps the dynamics of sectarianisation, exploring not only how but also why it has taken hold. The contributors examine the constellation of forces — from those within societies to external factors such as the Saudi-Iranian rivalry — that drive the sectarianisation process and explore how the region’s politics can be de-sectarianised.
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Mexico's Energy Reform
Monday, November 21
12pm-1:30pm
Harvard, Belfer Building, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Lourdes Melgar, Robert Wilhelm Fellow, Center for International Studies, MIT, and former Deputy Secretary of Energy for Hydrocarbons, Mexico
Lunch will be provided.
Energy Policy Seminar Series
Contact Name: cepr@hks.harvard.edu
617-495-8693
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Talk in Arabic: Egyptian Clothes between Religious Ideology and Social Change
WHEN Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, 12 – 1:45 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CMES, Room 102, 38 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Center for Middle Eastern Studies
SPEAKER(S) Zeinab Taha, Associate Professor Arabic Linguistics, Department of Arabic Language (former Arabic Language Institute), The American University of Cairo
CONTACT INFO 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.
LINK http://cmes.fas.harvard.edu/event/egyptian-clothes-between-religious-ideology-and-social-change
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Taking the fingerprints of global sea level rise
Monday, November 21
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Jerry Mitrovica, Professor of Science
Jerry X. Mitrovica joined Harvard in 2009 as a Professor of Geophysics. His work focuses on the Earth's response to external and internal forcings that have time scales ranging from seconds to billions of years. He has written extensively on topics ranging from the connection of mantle convective flow to the geological record, the rotational stability of the Earth and other terrestrial planets, ice age geodynamics, and the geodetic and geophysical signatures of ice sheet melting in our progressively warming world. Sea-level change has served as the major theme of these studies, with particular emphasis on critical events in ice age climate and on the sea-level fingerprints of modern polar ice sheet collapse.
Mitrovica is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University. He is a former Director of the Earth Systems Evolution Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and J. Tuzo Wilson Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto, where he also received his Ph.D. degree. He is the recipient of the Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America, the W.S Jardetsky Medal from Columbia University, the A.E.H. Love Medal from the European Geosciences Union and the Rutherford Memorial Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. He is also a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, as well as a past Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
Contact Name: arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu
(617) 524-1718
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Spaceship in the Desert: Energy, Climate Change and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi
Monday, November 21
12:15PM TO 2:00PM
Harvard, 100F Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Gökçe Gunel, Columbia
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts@hks.harvard.edu by Wednesday at 5PM the week before.
The Harvard STS Circle is co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
STS Circle at Harvard
Contact Name: sts@hks.harvard.edu
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Views of Colombia Biodiversity from Afar and Within
Monday, November 21
4:00PM
Harvard, CGIS South (S-020), Belfer Case Study Room, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies hosts a conversation with Brian Farell, Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and Professor of Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Brigitte Baptiste, Director, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Colombia, on the tremendous biological and cultural richness of Colombia and its approach to natural resource management.
A world view of Colombia biodiversity as a sustainable, integrative natural resource for all. Colombia leads the world in the diversity of habitats and species it harbors. This unequalled natural resource can strengthen the economy, education and health of all Colombians through an integrative program that enables the work of scientists, educators and those who live closest to nature. Several countries have explored different aspects of such an approach to natural resource management with advances and mistakes that offer lessons. Taken together, the tremendous biological and cultural richness of Colombia forms the basis of a healthy and sustainable future.
Brian D. Farrell is the Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (as of July 2014), and Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator in Entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. He is an authority on coevolution between insects and plants and a specialist on the biology of beetles. He is the author of many dozens of scientific papers and book chapters on the evolution of ecological interactions between plants, beetles and other insects in the tropics and temperate zone. Professor Farrell also spearheads initiatives to repatriate digital information from scientific specimens of insects in museums to their tropical countries of origin. In 2011-2012, he was a Fulbright Scholar to the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Professor Farrell received a BA degree in Zoology and Botany from the University of Vermont and MS and PhD degrees from the University of Maryland.
Brigitte Baptiste was born in 1963, and is a biologist by training with studies in fresh water fish ecology at the Colombian amazon. Brigitte Baptiste holds an MA from UF Gainesville in Latin American studies, working with forest management by local communities in the high Andes. Linked for a long time to the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, where mostly thought Landscape Ecology, was appointed as Science Director of the Humboldt Research Institute for Biological Resources in 2009 and since 2011 is the Institute's General Director. Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, until January 2017.
Contact Name: Paola Ibarra
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Kelman Seminar: The Role Dignity Must Play in Post-Election Healing
WHEN Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS North, Bowie Vernon Room, K-262, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Boston area members of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Religions and the Practice of Peace at Harvard Divinity School
SPEAKER(S) Donna Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. She has been involved in numerous unofficial diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Northern Ireland, Cuba and elsewhere. She has developed the Dignity Model, a method of intervention that explores the role dignity plays in resolving conflict. She also consults in the corporate setting, health care and education, applying the Dignity framework to create a culture of dignity in the workplace. She has taught her method at Harvard, Columbia and Clark Universities. She is the author of the book, Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict, published by Yale University Press in 2011.
CONTACT INFO Donna Hicks, dhicks@wcfia.harvard.edu
Editorial Comment: Somehow seeing the word “dignity” here makes me think of Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor in “Singing in the Rain” doing their “Fit as a Fiddle and Ready for Love” number, punctuated with “Dignity, always dignity."
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Documentary Film Screening: AFTER THE LAST RIVER
Monday, November 21
4:00PM TO 6:00PM
Harvard, Room 518, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
Join Harvard GSD for a screening of the documentary film AFTER THE LAST RIVER, followed by a conversation with Director Victoria Lean and Producer Jade Blair. In the shadow of a De Beers mine, the remote community of Attawapiskat lurches from crisis to crisis, as their homeland transforms into a modern frontier. Filmed over five years, this feature length film follows the First Nation’s journey from relative obscurity and into the international spotlight.
Free and open to the public.
Contact Name: Genevieve Ennis Hume
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2016 Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series: Nathan Myhrvold
Monday, November 21
7 p.m.
Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Nathan Myhrvold, (@ModernCuisine), former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, author of “Modernist Cuisine”
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.
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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Tuesday, November 22
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IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority): Important, but not for what they do
Tuesday, November 22
12:00 pm
Harvard, Wasserstein Hall, Room 3019 (third floor), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/11/Bradner#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/11/Bradner at 12:00 pm.
The Obama Administration’s decision to allow ICANN to assume sole responsibility for the development of policy over the naming and numbering function of the Internet, and the proceeding transition process has been a dramatic affair. Scott Bradner, who was involved in the design, operation and use of data networks at Harvard University since the early days of the ARPANET and has served on a number of roles at the IETF, will be at the Berkman Klein Center on November 22 to provide a history of ICANN, IANA, and the transition process. Why were so many concerned that the transition meant the U.S. was giving the Internet to China and Russia? Come by and find out.
About Scott
Scott Bradner was involved in the design, operation and use of data networks at Harvard University since the early days of the ARPANET. He was involved in the design of the original Harvard data networks, the Longwood Medical Area network (LMAnet) and New England Academic and Research Network (NEARnet). He was founding chair of the technical committees of LMAnet, NEARnet and the Corporation for Research and Enterprise Network (CoREN).
Mr. Bradner served in a number of roles in the IETF. He was the co-director of the Operational Requirements Area (1993-1997), IPng Area (1993-1996), Transport Area (1997-2003) and Sub-IP Area (2001-2003). He was a member of the IESG (1993-2003) and was an elected trustee of the
Internet Society (1993-1999), where he was the VP for Standards from 1995 to 2003 and Secretary to the Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2016. Scott was also a member of the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA) as well as a trustee of the IETF Trust from 2012 to 2016.
Mr. Bradner retired from Harvard University in 2016 after 50 years working there in the areas of in computer programming, system management, networking, IT security and identity management. He still does some patent related consulting.
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xTalk with Steven Hall, Lori Breslow & Jeff Gore: Active Learning
Tuesday, November 22
4:15p–5:15p
MIT, Building 10-105, Bush Room, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
MIT professors Steven Hall, Lori Breslow & Jeff Gore will give a panel discussion on active learning and how they are implementing it in their teaching.
xTalks: Digital Discourses
The xTalks series provides a forum to facilitate awareness, deep understanding and transference of educational innovations at MIT and elsewhere. We hope to foster a community of educators, researchers, and technologists engaged in developing and supporting effective learning experiences through online learning environments and other digital technologies.
Web site: http://odl.mit.edu/news-and-events/events/lori-breslow-jeff-gore-steven-hall-active-learning
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): xTalks: Digital Discourses, Office of Digital Learning
For more information, contact: Molly Ruggles
617-324-9185
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Starr Forum: The Struggle Against Terrorism: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Tuesday, November 22
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building 66-110
Counter-terrorism discussion with Under Secretary of State Sarah Sewall
CIS Starr Forum
A public events series on pressing issues in international affairs, sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies.
Web site: http://cis.mit.edu/events/starr-forum-struggle-against-terrorism-lessons-learned-next-steps
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact:
617-253-8306
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theMOVE'S FINAL FAREWELL!
Tuesday, November 22
5p-11p
Flatbread Pizza in Davis Square, 45 Day Street, Somerville
FRIENDS -- It's been a beautiful ride.
Over the past 7 years, theMOVE hustled day and night to help reshape the way Boston eats. We engaged over 3000 local volunteers -- mostly urban youth of color -- on powerful farm workdays, to connect our communities with the labor and land that sustain us. We helped build the demand for local produce to help strengthen local farms. And we helped put food justice on the agendas of community organizations, local and national businesses, regional farms, government agencies, the state legislature, the governor, and residents across Boston. While we're far from giving up, we've found a new home for this work within the Urban Farming Institute; as of the end of this year theMOVE will officially disband. So, on what will undoubtedly be a bittersweet night, at a place that helped us launch and sustain it all, we invite you -- the beautiful community that built this work alongside us -- to come together to celebrate with us one last time.
On Tuesday 11/22, on the night before the Thanksgiving holiday begins, join the Urban Farming Institute and theMOVE out at for a night of responsibly-sourced and ridiculously-delicious pizza and bowling. Part of the proceeds from all pizza sales will go to the Urban Farming Institute to continue this powerful work of getting youth out onto local farms to learn about where our food comes from.
NO COST TO ENTER! The event is open to all, so please invite your famiily and friends. We will also have a silent auction!
While we'd prefer to see your beautiful faces, in case you can't make it to the event you can order pizza from Flatbread online here (tinyurl.com/flatbreadfundraiser) on the night of November 22nd and get it delivered to your home (no need to mention UFI or theMOVE -- we will get a portion of all pizza sales that night).
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Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World
Tuesday, November 22
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes STEVEN JOHNSON, the bestselling author of Where Good Ideas Come From, Future Perfect, and How We Got to Now, for a discussion of his latest book Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World.
About Wonderland
This lushly illustrated history of popular entertainment takes a long-zoom approach, contending that the pursuit of novelty and wonder is a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. Steven Johnson argues that, throughout history, the cutting edge of innovation lies wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused.
Johnson’s storytelling is just as delightful as the inventions he describes, full of surprising stops along the journey from simple concepts to complex modern systems. He introduces us to the colorful innovators of leisure: the explorers, proprietors, showmen, and artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, and magic shows.
Johnson compellingly argues that observers of technological and social trends should be looking for clues in novel amusements. You’ll find the future wherever people are having the most fun.
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Monday, November 28
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PAOC Colloquium - Jorge Sarmiento (Princeton)
Monday, November 28
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Dr. Jorge L. Sarmiento is the George J. Magee Professor of Geoscience and Geological Engineering, Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University. He obtained his PhD at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University in 1978, and then served as a post-doc at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory/NOAA in Princeton before joining the Princeton University faculty in 1980. He has published widely on the oceanic cycles of climatically important chemicals such as carbon dioxide, on the use of chemical tracers to study ocean circulation, and on the impact of climate change on ocean biogeochemistry. He has participated in the scientific planning and execution of many of the large-scale multi-institutional and international oceanographic biogeochemical and tracer programs of the last two decades. He was Director of Princeton's Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program from 1980 to 1990 and 2006 to 2015, and is Director of the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science. He is also serves as Director of the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM). He has served on the editorial board of multiple journals and as editor of Global Biogeochemical Cycles. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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The Geopolitics of the New Energy Abundance
Monday, November 28
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Lunch will be provided.
Energy Policy Seminar Series
Contact Name: cepr@hks.harvard.edu
617-495-8693
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The Promise and Peril of Human Rights Technology
Monday, November 28
12:15PM TO 2:00PM
Harvard, 100F Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Jay D. Aronson, Carnegie Mellon
STS Circle at Harvard
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts@hks.harvard.edu by Wednesday at 5PM the week before.
The Harvard STS Circle is co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Contact Name: sts@hks.harvard.edu
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How Data and Technology Can Help Improve Government
Monday, November 28
2:30pm
Harvard, Data Privacy Lab, CGIS Knafel K354, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
This will be a brainstorming session on the ways data and technology can improve local government. The session begins with a presentation by Susan Crawford. Her recent book The Responsive City highlights the promising intersection of government and data through vivid case studies featuring municipal pioneers and big data success stories from Boston, Chicago, New York, and more. She explores topics including:
Building trust in the public sector and fostering a sustained, collective voice among communities
Using data-smart governance to preempt and predict problems while improving quality of life
Creating efficiencies and saving taxpayer money with digital tools
Spearheading these new approaches to government with innovative leadership
Holly St. Clair will respond and provide a few words about her thoughts and vision for the State of Massachusetts.
Then, the remainder of the session will be spent brainstorming ideas for how data and technology can help improve government. What are some low-hanging opportunities?
Speakers: Susan Crawford is a professor at Harvard Law School and a co-director of the Berkman Center. She is the author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, co-author of The Responsive City: Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance, and a contributor to Medium.com’s Backchannel. She served as Special Assistant to the President for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (2009) and co-led the FCC transition team between the Bush and Obama administrations. She also served as a member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Advisory Council on Technology and Innovation and is now a member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Broadband Task Force. Ms. Crawford was formerly a (Visiting) Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard’s Kennedy School, a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, and a Professor at the University of Michigan Law School (2008-2010). As an academic, she teaches Internet law and communications law. She was a member of the board of directors of ICANN from 2005-2008 and is the founder of OneWebDay, a global Earth Day for the internet that takes place each Sept. 22. One of Politico’s 50 Thinkers, Doers and Visionaries Transforming Politics in 2015; one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology (2009); IP3 Awardee (2010); one of Prospect Magazine’s Top Ten Brains of the Digital Future (2011); and one of TIME Magazine’s Tech 40: The Most Influential Minds in Tech (2013). Ms. Crawford received her B.A. and J.D. from Yale University.
Holly St. Clair is the Director of Enterprise Level Data Management overseeing the Commonwealth of Massachusett's activities in data management, data analysis, research, and public access to data. Ms. St. Clair has pioneered the use of advanced decision support tools in Metropolitan Boston, managing a variety of projects that use scenarios modeling, community indicators, and innovative meeting formats to engage stakeholders in dialogue about policy choices. She has a excellent track record in public sector innovation and is recognized by Planetizen as one of the Leading Thinkers and Innovators in the field of Urban Planning and Technology.
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Market Structure with the Entry of Peer-to-Peer Platforms: The Case of Hotels and Airbnb
Monday, November 28
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E52-432, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Chiara Farronato (Harvard)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IO Workshop
For more information, contact: economics calendar
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Ocean One: A Robotic Avatar for Oceanic Discovery
Monday, November 28
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Refreshments: 3:45 PM
MIT, Building 32-G449, Patil Conference Room, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Oussama Khatib , Computer Science Department, Stanford University
Abstract: The promise of oceanic discovery has intrigued scientists and explorers, whether to study underwater ecology and climate change, or to uncover natural resources and historic secrets buried deep at archaeological sites. This quest to explore the oceans requires skilled human access, yet much of it is inaccessible to human divers as nearly nine-tenths of the ocean floor is at one kilometer or deeper. Accessing these depths is imperative since factors such as pollution and deep-sea trawling threaten ecology and archaeological sites. These needs demand a system that deploys human-level expertise at the depths but remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are inadequate for the task - a robotic avatar could go where humans can not, and yet embody human intelligence and intentions through immersive interfaces. To meet the challenge of accessing oceanic depths, Stanford University, working with KAUST’s Red Sea Research Center and MEKA Robotics, developed Ocean One, a bimanual force-controlled humanoid robot that affords immediate and intuitive haptic interaction in oceanic environments. Teaming with the French Ministry of Culture’s Underwater Archaeology Research Department, Stanford deployed Ocean One in an expedition in the Mediterranean to Louis XIV’s flagship Lune, lying at ninety-one meters depth off the coast of Toulon. Following extensive testing at Stanford University, Ocean One was flown to France in the spring of 2016 for its maiden deployment, where it became the first robot avatar to embody a human’s presence at the seabed.
Bio: Oussama Khatib received his PhD from Sup’Aero, Toulouse, France, in 1980. He is Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. His research focuses on methodologies and technologies in human-centered robotics including humanoid control architectures, human motion synthesis, interactive dynamic simulation, haptics, and human-friendly robot design. He is a Fellow of IEEE. He is Co-Editor of the Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) series and the Springer Handbook of Robotics, which received the PROSE Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences & Mathematics. Professor Khatib is the President of the International Foundation of Robotics Research (IFRR). He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the IEEE RAS Pioneer Award in Robotics and Automation, the IEEE RAS George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation, the IEEE RAS Distinguished Service Award, and the Japan Robot Association (JARA) Award in Research and Development.
Contact: Lauralyn M. Smith, 617-253-0145, lauralyn@mit.edu
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Premiere of Paradigm Shift
Monday, November 28
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EST)
Harvard, Boylston Hall, Fong Auditorium, 1299 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
What would happen if Higher Institutions in our country, would be able to lead our Nation into the Mexico we desire to become?
We are pleased to invite you to the US premier of the documentary film ¨Paradigm Shift,¨ which is a visual record of an Applied Leadership Program in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency that took place all across Mexico from September 2014 to June 2015, where by training candidates in technology, social responsibility, business and leadership, in collaboration with The Center for Health and Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and support from the Ministry of Energy in Mexico (SENER), InTrust Global Investments was able to train 300 promising professors from Mexico´s public universities to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in their communities.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/170381691
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MIT Technology Review at Google: How Is Tech Affecting Kids?
Monday, November 28
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (EST)
Google Cambridge, 355 Main Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge
Google pairs up with Kara Miller, journalist and radio host (http://blogs.wgbh.org/innovation-hub/2015/1/1/about-innovation-hub/#about_kara) and MIT Technology Review to bring you an exciting thought-leadership series in the heart of Kendall Square.
You're invited to join us in Google's unique Cambridge location to explore a wide range of themes from income inequality to new research on obesity. Come early for the networking reception, stay late to meet the panelists and network some more.
We'll look at how technology affects the brains, habits, and outlook of young people. How should parents and teachers think about and moderate the use of technology? And, is this an issue that should be considered on a policy level, beyond individual homes and schools?
Panelists: Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab
Michael Rich, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children's Hospital, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Steven Schlozman, M.D., Associate Director, The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, Mass General Hospital, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Course Director, MIT-HMS Program in Health, Sciences, and Technology
*This event is free of charge, but space is limited, so reserve your space today!
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A Conversation with Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, United States Surgeon General
WHEN Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, JFK Jr. Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Institute of Politics
JFK Jr. Forum
SPEAKER(S) The Seymour E. and Ruth B. Harris Lecture by Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, United States Surgeon General
Amitabh Chandra (Moderator), Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Director of Health Policy Research, Harvard Kennedy School
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Tuesday, November 29
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Neurotech 2016
Tuesday November 29
9 am - 5 pm
Reception: 5 pm - 6 pm
MIT, Building 46-3002 Singleton Auditorium, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
The Neurotech 2016 symposium presents eight talks by neurotechnology pioneers whose cutting-edge innovations are changing the face of neurobiological research from molecules to cognition.
Questions: Contact Denise MacPhail at dharring@mit.edu
Registration is required and space is limited.
Speakers:
Canan Dagdeviren, MIT
Erik Jorgensen, University of Utah
Sridevi Sarma, Johns Hopkins
Erika Sasaki, CIEA Japan
Stephen Smith, Allen Institute
Alice Ting, Stanford
Van Wedeen, Harvard/MGH
Chris Xu, Cornell
Symposium schedule to be posted soon.
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The community interactome: How fungal species interactions shape soil biogeochemistry
Tuesday, November 29
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Harvard, HUH Seminar Room, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Jennifer Talbot, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Boston University
Editorial Comment: Having read Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase (https://www.crcpress.com/Geotherapy-Innovative-Methods-of-Soil-Fertility-Restoration-Carbon-Sequestration/Goreau-Larson-Campe/p/book/9781466595392) I am convinced that soil chemistry and biology are essential tools in managing and possibly reversing climate change.
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The Troubled Eye: The Moral Dilemmas of Reporting on War, Religion, and Social Justice
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Conference Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Religion
SPONSOR Center for the Study of World Religions
CONTACT CSWR: 617.495.4476
DETAILS This presentation by Eliza Griswold, a Berggruen Fellow at Harvard this year, is the third in a CSWR series on Religion and the Media, organized by Professors Diane Moore and Frank Clooney, CSWR director.
It will be streamed live on the HDS Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HarvardDivinitySchool/
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The Future of Urban Innovations: Harvard GSD Students Present Their Ideas for Fukuoka
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 29, 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) Toshiko Mori, Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design; and Principal, Toshiko Mori Architect.
Joanne K. Cheung, Master of Architecture candidate, Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD)
Scarlet Ziwei Song, Master of Architecture candidate, Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD)
Jenny Zhan, Master of Architecture candidate, Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD)
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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xTalk: Why Old School is New School in Higher Education
Tuesday, November 29
2:00p–3:00p
MIT, Building10-105, (Bush Room), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Brandon Busteed
Extensive Gallup studies over the past couple of years have measured things that have never been measured before in education, including the largest representative study of college graduates and their long-term career and life outcomes. Surprising findings will re-shape our thinking about what elements of the higher education experience and curriculum are most important for the long-term success of graduates.
Executive Director of Education and Workforce Development at Gallup, Brandon Busteed is also an educational entrepreneur, speaker, writer and university trustee. Brandon integrates Gallup's research to measure the educational outcomes that matter most, connect education to jobs and job creation, and promote a paradigm shift from knowledge mastery to emotional engagement in education.
xTalks: Digital Discourses
The xTalks series provides a forum to facilitate awareness, deep understanding and transference of educational innovations at MIT and elsewhere. We hope to foster a community of educators, researchers, and technologists engaged in developing and supporting effective learning experiences through online learning environments and other digital technologies.
Web site: http://odl.mit.edu/news-and-events/events/brandon-busteed-why-old-school-new-school-higher-education
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Office of Digital Learning, xTalks: Digital Discourses
For more information, contact: Molly Ruggles
617-324-9185
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Investigating past climate using cave mineral formations
Tuesday, November 29
4:00 - 5:00pm
BU, CAS 132, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Speaker: Corrine Wong, Boston College
Studying past climate provides context for understanding modern climate variability and provides insights into how future climate might respond to warming global temperatures. Reconstructing climate from geologic archives, such as ice cores and tree rings, extends climate records beyond periods for which there are instrumental measurements and historical observations. Cave mineral deposits, speleothems, serve as a powerful archive of terrestrial climate to complement climate information gleaned from polar, marine, and short-lived archives.
Bio: Climate change is one of society's most pressing challenges. Understanding how on-going climate change will impact our water resources requires an intimate understanding of the natural and anthropogenic processes that influence water availability and water quality. Furthermore, it is important to characterize the natural variability in these processes in the past and present. Members of Dr. Wong's research group address such questions as "What climate processes govern past variability in the hydroclimate of the Americas?' and "What are the dominant sources and processes dictating urban water compositions?" To read more about specific projects, please visit our Research page.
BU’s Seminar Series on Climate Change
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The U.S. Digital Service: What We’ve Learned So Far
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sever 113, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Information Technology, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Digital HKS
SPEAKER(S) Haley Van Dyck, Deputy Administrator of the USDS
Matthew Weaver, Rogue Leader, Defense Digital Services
Mollie Ruskin, Founding Designer at USDS
Moderated by David Eaves, HKS Lecturer in Public Policy (moderator)
Nick Sinai, HKS Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Former U.S. Deputy CTO (moderator)
COST Free and open to the public
DETAILS This session will look at the U.S. Digital Services (USDS) work and how it has attempted to modernize government. Born in the rescue effort of healthcare.gov, the USDS has been working to modernize immigration, improve the veteran experience, and create better tools for students. This session will be a frank discussion about lessons learned both from successes and failures, future challenges for improving services in the U.S. and what the transition might mean.
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Innovation Through Aggregation Forum
Tuesday November 29
4:00 PM to 7:30 PM EST
MIT Samberg Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Join us as we review the A Better City-facilitated Joint Solar Power Purchase Agreement--the largest renewable-energy project ever to be constructed in the U.S. through an alliance of diverse buyers, the recent joint power power purchase agreement involving MIT, Boston Medical Center, and Friends of Post Office Square to enable a solar PV farm in North Carolina.
Contact: Miriam Posner, A Better City
617-502-6257
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Keeping the Ocean Safe for People and People Safe from the Ocean
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, 5 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Captain Claudia C. Gelzer, Commander of Sector Boston and Commander of the Port, U.S. Coast Guard
Lee Titus, Chief of Response, Sector Boston, U.S. Coast Guard
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS The Coast Guard is a multi-mission maritime agency with broad authority over any and all operations along the Massachusetts coast and in Boston Harbor. From finding and rescuing boaters in distress to responding to and overseeing clean-up of oil and chemical spills in our pristine waters, this fifth branch of the Armed Forces has its work cut out in the 21st century. This talk with review how the Coast Guard seeks to strike the balance between maritime safety, security, and environmental protection amidst changing climate conditions, all while facilitating the powerful economic engine of maritime commerce.
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Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Studies Program: "Under the Wall: Infrastructure as Security and as Threat on the U.S.- Mexico Border”
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS South, S-250, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies
SPEAKER(S) Speaker: Ieva Jusionyte, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Harvard University
Ieva Jusionyte is assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies at Harvard University. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Anthropology from Brandeis University and a B.A. in Political Science from Vilnius University. Between 2012 and 2016 Jusionyte was assistant professor of anthropology and Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, where she coordinated the Crime, Law, and Governance in the Americas program. As a social anthropologist of Latin America, Jusionyte focuses on the ethnographic study of security, crime, statecraft and the media. Her first book, Savage Frontier: Making News and Security on the Argentine Border (University of California Press 2015; www.savagefrontierbook.com) is based on ethnographic research conducted in the border area between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay between 2008 and 2014.
Moderator: Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism, Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard Graduate School of Design.
CONTACT INFO Rachel Murray-Crawford (rachelmurray@fas.harvard.edu)
DETAILS Politics of security on the U.S.-Mexico border have expanded from traditional concerns with drug trafficking and unauthorized migration to a paradigm of “all threats and hazards,” which includes wildland fires, floods, and toxic spills that can spread downwind, downhill, and downstream from Sonora to Arizona. Based on ethnographic research with emergency responders – firefighters and paramedics – in northern Mexico and southern U.S., the talk will examine the violent entanglement between statecraft, law, and topography, and trace its injurious effects on those who inhabit or trespass the militarized desert terrain of urban borderlands.
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Reasoning to learn, learning to reason
Tuesday, November 29
5:30pm
Harvard, BioLabs 1080, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Silvia Bunge, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology & Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute,Director, Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley
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Boston Green Drinks - November Happy Hour
Tuesday, November 29
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
Scholars, 25 School Street, Boston
We took an October break and will continue the conversation in November!
Join the conversation with sustainability professionals and hobbyists. Enjoy a drink and build your connection with our green community!
Boston Green Drinks builds a community of sustainably-minded Bostonians, provides a forum for exchange of sustainability career resources, and serves as a central point of information about emerging green issues. We support the exchange of ideas and resources about sustainable energy, environment, food, health, education.
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Cybersecurity in FinTech
Tuesday, November 29
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST
swissnex Boston, Consulate of Switzerland, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
Cost: $10 – $20
Securing the internet is now a worldwide priority – and financial institutions, who are among the most vulnerable to such attacks, are at the forefront of determining what steps must be taken to minimize this inevitable risk.
But how can the FinTech industry design regulations without impeding innovation? Does the entrepreneurial mindset to “get to the market fast,” undermine security issues? Is blockchain the next line of defense in the quest for cybersecurity?
A panel made up of Swiss and American FinTech and cybersecurity experts will discuss the underpinnings of these challenges in digital finance. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A session and networking reception.
Cybersecurity in FinTech is the fifth event in the Future of Money series.
Event Agenda
6:00 PM Doors open
6:20 PM Introduction and welcome address
6:30 PM Panel discussion followed by Q&A session
8:00 PM Networking reception w/ buffet
Moderator Stuart Madnick / Director of (IC)3 at MIT
Dr. Madnick has been actively involved in cybersecurity research since at least 1979, when he co-authored the book "Computer Security." Currently, he heads MIT's Interdisciplinary Consortium for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity — aka (IC)3. Dr. Madnick holds a Ph.D. in computer science from MIT and has been an MIT faculty member since 1972. He served as the head of MIT's Information Technologies Group in the Sloan School of Management for more than 20 years.
Panelists Shira Kaplan / Founder and CEO of Cyverse AG
Shira is the Founder and CEO of Cyverse AG, a Zurich-based cyber-security firm which delivers state-of-the-art cyber-security solutions to global and local corporations. Shira’s technological training dates back to her service in the Elite Technology Unit of the Israeli Intelligence, where she was an Intelligence and Cyber-Security Analyst. Shira is an alumna of Harvard University and she holds an MBA from University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Spiros Margaris / World’s No.1 fintech influencer and founder of Margaris Advisory
The founder of the advisory boutique MARGARIS ADVISORY ranks as the world’s No. 1 Fintech Influencer by Onalytica (July 2016). He maintains a holistic view of the fintech industry. Spiros is a senior advisor and investor at DSER.de (a B2B German fintech company with a client portfolio volume of over EUR 40 billion), Kapilendo.com (the only full-service funding marketplace in Germany) and moneymeets.com (the leading German 'Fintech Supermarket').
Leo Taddeo / Chief Security Officer for Cryptzone
Leo Taddeo is the Chief Security Officer for Cryptzone. Former Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations/Cyber Division of the FBI’s New York Office, he is responsible for analyzing the cybersecurity market to help shape Cryptzone’s vision for security solutions. Taddeo provides deep domain insight into the techniques, tactics and procedures used by cybercriminals, to help Cryptzone continue to develop disruptive solutions that enable customers to defend against advanced threats and breaches.
John Van Blaricum / VP of Global Marketing for Kudelski Security
John Van Blaricum is Vice President of Global Marketing for Kudelski Security, a global cybersecurity solutions provider with operations in Cheseaux, Switzerland, and major cities across the United States. He leads teams responsible for cybersecurity solution marketing and technology partnerships, and was instrumental in launching the company’s broader cybersecurity strategy in the United States. John has more than 20 years of high tech marketing and business experience, working internationally for public and private software, service and solutions companies.
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Harvard Club Faculty Series: “Genetics for the Modern Man and Woman” T. Bernard Kinane, MD, Harvard Medical School
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, 6:15 – 7:45 p.m.
WHERE The Harvard Club of Boston, 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Lecture, Research study, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Harvard Club of Boston
SPEAKER(S) T. Bernard Kinane, M.D., Harvard Medical School; Associate Chief for Education, Massachusetts General Hospital
COST Complimentary with registration
CONTACT INFO Matt Hegarty
DETAILS An international expert on the genetic basis and cutting-edge treatment of disease, T. Bernard Kinane is a native of Tipperary, Ireland. He graduated from University College Dublin and served as a post-doc fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital before joining the Harvard Medical School faculty. Now chief of pediatric pulmonary and director of the pediatric sleep program, his research focuses more broadly on the basic cause of interstitial lung disease and asthma. Deeply committed to the education of Harvard medical students, trainees, patients and the general public through formal education and social media, Dr. Kinane serves on the admissions committee of the Medical School and has been honored by its faculty and students with numerous teaching awards for his devotion and innovation.
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The Oceans in a Warming World: How are the oceans changing and what role do they play in climate change?
Tuesday, November 29
6:30pm to 7:30pm
New England Aquarium: Ocean Center, Harborside Learning Lab, 1 Aquarium Wharf, Boston
Speaker: John Marshall, MIT, EAPS
Due to its enormous heat capacity and ability to move heat around the globe, the ocean plays an out-sized role in climate and climate change. The ocean is at the center of contemporary questions such as: Why have global-mean surface temperatures not warmed in the last decade, despite CO2 continuing to rise in the atmosphere?; Why is the Arctic losing sea-ice but not the Antarctic?; Will ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream change?; How much might sea-level rise this century? In this lecture we will touch on some of these questions and review how scientists observe patterns of warming propagating down in to the ocean's interior, how the ocean is responding to that warming and what we think the future holds and why.
About the Speaker
John Marshall is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Oceanography in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. He conducts research in climate science and the general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, which he studies through the development of mathematical and numerical models of key physical and bio-geochemical processes.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Holli Flaherty
(617)973-0295
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, November 30
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Meet NEST: Energy Innovation of the Future
Wednesday, November 30
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST
swissnex Boston, Consulate of Switzerland, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
Join us for a presentation on NEST, given by Peter Richner, Deputy Director of Empa, Head of Department Civil and Mechanical Engineering. We'll provide light breakfast during this AM event.
NEST is a living lab fostering the acceleration of innovation in the building sector. In this modular research and innovation building of Empa and Eawag, new technologies, materials and systems are tested, researched, honed and validated in realistic conditions. The close cooperation with partners from research, industry and the public sector helps launch innovative building and energy technologies on the market faster.
Program
9:00 AM: Doors open, light breakfast
9:30 AM: Opening remarks by Dr. Felix Moesner, Consul and CEO of swissnex
9:35 AM: Presentation by Peter Richner, followed by Q&A and Coffee
11:00 AM: Doors Close
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Stability and Internal Flow Variability of Ice Sheets
Wednesday, November 30
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Alexander Robel, MIT
SLS is a student-run weekly seminar series. Topics include climate, geophysical fluid dynamics, biogeochemistry, paleo-ceanography/climatology and physical oceanography.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Brian Green
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Captives: How Stolen People Changed the World
Wednesday, November 30
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Harvard, Tozzer 203, 21 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Catherine Cameron (University of Colorado Boulder)
Captives were remarkably common in ancient times. Societies of all levels of complexity took captives, most commonly women and children. Archaeologists largely overlook captives as social actors, yet captives almost certainly transformed many of the societies they unwillingly joined. Captives were important sources of social and economic power for their captors, even in small-scale societies. Using cross-cultural comparison and analogy I will explore the substantial impacts captives had on captor society. I emphasize that the presence of captives should disabuse archaeologists of ever imagining that small-scale societies were “egalitarian” and suggest ways we can investigate links between captives and power.
Harvard Archaeology Seminar Series
http://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/event/catherine-cameron-captives-how-stolen-people-changed-world
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Coercion and Politics: Citizen Support for Political Actors with Violent Pasts
Wednesday, November 30
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Sarah Daly (Notre Dame)
SSP Wednesday Seminar Series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact: Elina Hamilton
617-253-7529
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The Public Economy in Crisis
Wednesday, November 30
12:00 PM – 1:45 PM EST
Tufts, The Fletcher School, Cabot 702, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
Development And Environment Institute for a panel discussion about the public economy.
The event will feature short talks from Neva Goodwin, GDAE Co-Director, Jenny Nguyen, University of Greenwich and June Sekera, GDAE Research Fellow, with James K. Galbraith, University of Texas, offering a longer featured presentation.
Lunch will be served at noon and the speakers will begin at 12:30.
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Chinese Climate Policy
Wednesday, November 30
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm
Tufts, Mugar 200, 419 Boston Avenue, Medford
Dr. Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at the Fletcher School.
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Competing Air Quality and Water Conservation Co-Benefits from Power Sector Decarbonization
Wednesday, November 30
3:30PM TO 4:45PM
Harvard, 100F Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Peng Wei, Fellow at the Environment and Natural Resources Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, HKS.
Co-sponsored by the China Project, SEAS, and the Environment and Natural Resources Program, HKS.
China Project Seminar Series
Contact Name: Tiffany Chan
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New Eyes on the Early Universe
WHEN Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Robert A. Simcoe, 2016-2017 Fellow, Radcliffe Institute; Associate Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS In this talk, Simcoe explores when and where the first stars in the universe were formed. Simcoe is currently studying the strength and spatial variation of intergalactic oxygen and carbon at early epochs. His work in correlating the locations of early galaxies with heavy elements in the nearby intergalactic medium is leading to some of the first direct physical characterizations of the cycle of the galaxy formation, supernova feedback, and chemical enrichment during the peak era of star formation over cosmic time.
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The Air Pollution Impacts of the United States' Natural Gas Transition
Wednesday, November 30
4:00PM TO 5:30PM
harvard, HUCE Seminar Room 440, 26 Oxford Street, 4th Floor, Cambridge
HUCE hosts a special seminar with Jennifer Burney, Assistant Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego.
Jennifer Burney is an environmental scientist whose research focuses on simultaneously achieving global food security and mitigating climate change. She designs, implements and evaluates technologies for poverty alleviation and agricultural adaptation, and studies the links between “energy poverty” — the lack of access to modern energy services — and food or nutrition security, the mechanisms by which energy services can help alleviate poverty, the environmental impacts of food production and consumption, and climate impacts on agriculture. Much of her current research focuses on the developing world, and she is particularly interested in the science, technology and policy of short-lived climate pollutants, or SLCPs, and the role that mitigation of these compounds can play in meeting both climate and food security objectives. She is a research affiliate at UC San Diego’s Policy Design and Evaluation Laboratory, a fellow at the Center on Food Security & the Environment at Stanford University and member of the National Geographic Explorers family.
Contact Name: Laura Hanrahan
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Anchored in the Past: Persistent Price Effects of Obsolete Vineyard Ratings in France.
Wednesday, November 30
4:15PM TO 5:30PM
Harvard, Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Olivier Gergaud, KEDGE Business School; Andrew Plantinga, University of California, Santa Barbara; and Aurelie Ringeval-Deluze, Universite de Reims Champagne-Adrenne
Environmental Economics and Policy Seminar
Contact Name: Jason Chapman
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Susannah Catalan: "Brain on Fire: A Journalist in Search of the Self”
Wednesday, November 30
4:30 PM – 7:00 PM EST
Northeastern University, 909 Renaissance Park, 1135 Tremont Street, Boston
12th Annual Peter Burton Hanson Lecture: Susannah Cahalan: “Brain on Fire: A Journalist in Search of the Self”
Susannah Cahalan is The New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, which chronicles her struggle with a rare autoimmune disease of the brain. Her award-winning work has appeared in the New York Times, Psychology Today, Scientific American, Elle, and Biological Psychiatry. She currently works as the New York Post's books editor and is working on a new book Committed, out 2018.
The annual Peter Burton Hanson Memorial Lectures are named in the honor and the memory of English alumnus Peter Burton Hanson (CSSH '91), who perished along with his wife, Sue Kim, and young daughter, Christine Lee, aboard United Airlines 175, on September 11, 2001. Peter’s life and values are remembered through these events. The Department of English is deeply grateful to Peter’s parents, Lee and Eunice Hanson, for their generosity in endowing the Peter Burton Hanson Lecture.
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Transforming Our Food System
Wednesday, November 30
5:30PM TO 7:00PM
Harvard, Milstein East, Wasserstein Hall, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Food Law and Policy Clinic of Harvard Law School cordially invite you to a panel discussion about a national food policy. Learn about the ways a national food strategy could make sure every American has access to healthy, affordable food that is fair to workers, good for the environment, and improves farmers' livelihoods.
The panel will be moderated by Kat Taylor and speakers will include:
Mark Bittman, UCS fellow, former New York Times food writer
Ricardo Salvador, program director, UCS Food & Environment Program
Emily Broad Leib, director, Food Law and Policy Clinic, Harvard Law School
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Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet
Wednesday, November 30
6:00PM
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
The Harvard Museum of Natural History presents Megan Epler Wood, Director, International Sustainable Tourism Initiative, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, who will discuss her new book, Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet. Epler Wood will explore how the growth of the global tourism economy over the next 20 years will affect vital natural and social treasures worldwide. She will present visualizations of the impact of unmanaged growth and present far-reaching thoughts on the type of reforms required to lower tourism’s impacts and protect the health of local populations, ecosystems, cultures, and monuments worldwide. Presented in collaboration with the Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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BSA Committee on the Environment: Construction and Demolition Materials Best Management Practices
Wednesday, November 30
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston
Price: This meeting is free and open to all
Join RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts for a conversation about how to increase reuse and recycling of construction and demolition (C&D) materials. RecyclingWorks would like to hear from architects, contractors, and other building professionals to help develop best management practices for diverting this waste from disposal.
We invite you to attend a meeting of the Boston Society of Architect’s Committee on the Environment on this subject. Topics for discussion include:
Reuse: Connecting with salvage outlets to capture reusable materials.
Source Separation: What materials make sense to separate on-site and at what scale of project?
C&D Processing: Best practices for capturing high-value materials at comingled facilities
Please attend to share your experience with these or other issues related to diverting construction and demolition materials from disposal.
This meeting is open to both members of the Boston Society of Architects as well as others involved in the construction industry (contractors, C&D haulers and processors, salvage outlets, building officials, etc.)
About our speaker:
This conversation about construction and demolition waste will be facilitated by Emily Fabel, Green Business Program Lead for the Center for EcoTechnology. Emily administers two waste reduction programs funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection: RecyclingWorks in MA (for businesses and institutions) and THE GREEN TEAM (for K-12 schools). Emily has a Masters of Architecture from the University of Minnesota and entered the waste management field through hauling trash, food waste, and recyclables by bicycle for Pedal People Cooperative in Northampton.
For those who qualify, 1.5 LU/HSWs are available.
To learn more about the Committee on the Environment, visit architects.org/committees/committee-environment-cote.
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DIGITAL SECURITY 101
Wednesday, November 30
6-9pm
Sprout, 339R Summer Street, Somerville
Mass surveillance of the public, targeted surveillance of minorities, corporate surveillance of consumers? It seems like there is a lot to be afraid of these days, with every move we make being tracked and documented for future reference. It's clear that our digital communications are simply not secure unless we go out of our way to defend our human right to privacy.
One way to become strong is to arm ourselves with information and skills. Despite the scary state of the world, there are things we can do to empower ourselves from the surveillance machine: We can embrace cryptography and defend our right to free speech. And what better setting to do that in than to meet other people over a slice of pizza who want to discuss such issues and take action into our own hands?
A CryptoParty (aka Encryption Potluck Night) is a space to hang out and teach each other practical tools of digital security, such as how to set up email encryption on your computer and how to browse the web anonymously. Don't know much about computers? Don't worry! We will use accessible language and help you along every step of the way. Bring your questions. Bringing a computer isn't mandatory to participate. There is lots more conversation to be had as well. We welcome experts and other curious people who want to have detailed, technical conversations about cryptography, computer science, and technology. A goal of the CryptoParty is that people
leave with actively implemented encryption tools on their devices to go start using in the real world.
Schedule:
Here are a few topics we'd like to cover this month (we were inspired by Noisebridge
Around 6:30 we will start introductions, where everyone can say what they're interested in learning / what they're available to teach / what topics you want to discuss (cuz there's a lot to say about crypto!)
Threat identification
Choosing good passwords and using password managers (+ two-factor authentication)
Disk encryption for your devices
Using https and installing HTTPS Everywhere
Using Tor
Using secure Skype/phone/text replacements
Smart phone security
Potluck snacks/BYOB. Kids welcome to join.
If you want to prepare before coming, you can find some encryption how-to guides here: https://www.cryptopartyatx.org/?page=1&os=win&js=auto-yes
Also check out EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense Guide: https://ssd.eff.org/
We are always seeking ?Crypto Angels? who would like to share their knowledge and lead small workshops on specific topics. If you're interested in helping out at future events, come on by and meet us!
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Six Ice Ages in One Billion Years, Climate Change, and Boston’s Earthquake Problem
Wednesday, November 30
7:00–8:30pm
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building
Cost: $0 - $5
James Lawford Anderson,, PhD, Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University
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Starr Forum: Security, Privacy, & the Internet
Wednesday, November 30
7:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building E15-070, Media Lab Bartos Auditorium, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Joel Brenner, Deborah Hurley, Kenneth Oye, Daniel Weitzner
Panel discussion on privacy and the internet
Discussion will consider government agencies and trade-offs across security-civil liberties; firms like Google and Facebook and trade-offs across functionality/utility of information enabled features and privacy; as well as some hacker related discussion.
CIS Starr Forum
A public events series on pressing issues in international affairs, sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative
For more information, contact:
617-253-8306
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A conversation about national food strategy
Wednesday, November 30
8 pm
Harvard, Wasserstein Hall, 2nd Floor, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Join the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) for an in-depth conversation with Mark Bittman, Ricardo Salvador, and FLPC’s Emily Broad Leib on the creation and implementation of a national food strategy. Kat Taylor, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Beneficial State Bank, and Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, will serve as moderator for the evening.
Americans are concerned about our food system and its impacts on human and environmental health, equity, and economic development. There has been growing demand for national leadership around our food system. The Union of Concerned Scientists and The Food Law and Policy Clinic of Harvard Law School are making food a national policy priority. Learn about the ways a national food strategy could make sure every American has access to healthy, affordable food that is fair to food workers, good for the environment, and improves farmers’ livelihoods.
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Thursday, December 1
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HIV & Opioids - Crisis in Indiana, Boston, and Beyond
WHEN Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, 8 – 9:30 a.m.
WHERE Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Kresge G2, 677 Huntington Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences, Health Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard T. H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative
SPEAKER(S) Dr. John T. Brooks, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Indiana HIV/HCV Outbreak: Implications for Prevention
Dr. Lisa J. Messersmith, Boston Medical Center
From Global to Local: Understanding and Addressing the Behavioral and Structural Vulnerability to HIV among People Who Inject Drugs in Ghana
Dr. Alexander Y. Walley, Boston University School of Public Health
Applying Lessons Learned from HIV to the Overdose Crisis in Massachusetts
Moderated by Dr. Roger Shapiro, Harvard AIDS Initiative
CONTACT INFO Martha Henry
617-432-6106
DETAILS WORLD AIDS DAY
Coffee & Breakfast Provided
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Ecological and Social Factors Affecting Sex Differences in Wild Chimpanzees
Thursday, December 1
12pm - 1pm
Tufts, Rabb room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Zarin Machanda
Wild chimpanzees exhibit striking sex differences in their social relationships and behavior. Male chimpanzees have strong social bonds with one another and engage in more aggressive and cooperative behavior compared to female chimpanzees. Many of these differences can be linked to differences in how the sexes interact with their environment. This talk will examine how these sex differences are shaped by both ecological and social factors in our closest living relative.
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Catalyzing Efficiency: Market-Rate Owners
Thursday, December 1
2 PM ET
Presenters: IMT and WegoWise
Increasing the energy efficiency of America’s multifamily buildings could save building owners and operators, residents, governments, energy efficiency service providers, and financiers billions of dollars annually. Recognizing this, a new report from the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), “Catalyzing Efficiency: Unlocking Energy Information and Value in Apartment Buildings,” presents actions that federal and local governments and energy efficiency implementers can now take to help these stakeholders better analyze and use building performance data to create significant savings.
This webinar is one of a series of four examining the findings and recommendations of IMT's "Catalyzing Efficiency" report. Other webinars will take place on:
December 8, 2 PM ET
Catalyzing Efficiency: Affordable Multifamily Owners
Presenters: IMT and Bright Power
December 15, 2 PM ET
Catalyzing Efficiency: Lenders and Investors
Presenters: IMT and Community Preservation Corporation
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Biomechanics of Cancer Cells
Thursday, December 1
3pm
Tufts, Anderson 112, Nelson Auditorium, 200 College Avenue, Medford
Roger Kamm, MIT
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Dynamics of phenotypic and genomic evolution in a long-term experiment with E. coli
Thursday, December 1
4:00pm to 5:00pm
Harvard, Biological Labs Main Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Richard Lenski, Michigan State University
Abstract: Evolution is an on-going process, one that can be studied experimentally in organisms with rapid generations. We have watched 12 populations of Escherichia coli evolve in a simple environment for over 28 years and 65,000 generations. The aims of this experiment are to characterize the tempo and mode of evolution, and to examine the repeatability of the phenotypic and genomic changes. We have quantified the dynamics of adaptation by natural selection, documented many cases of parallel evolution, observed changes in the underlying mutation rate, and seen the appearance of a new metabolic function that transcends the usual definition of E. coli as a species. We have sequenced hundreds of complete genomes to find the mutations in time-series of samples from the populations. These genomic data provide insights into the dynamic coupling of phenotypic and genotypic evolution during periods of optimization and innovation.
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American Amnesia: Forgetting What Made Us Prosper
WHEN Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, 4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Jacob S. Hacker, Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science, Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET INFO Registration required at https://radcliffe-nenmf.formstack.com/forms/radcliffeinstitute_lecture_hacker
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS In this lecture, Hacker will discuss the importance of an effective public sector to America’s health, wealth, and well-being and explore why so many of our economic and political leaders seem to have forgotten this practice. He will explain these concepts in the context of recent political events, the history 2016 election, and changing ideas about government itself. Register online and join us.
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Black + Twitter: A Cultural Informatics Approach
Thursday, December 1
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building 3-133, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
Chris Sacca, activist investor, recently argued that Black Twitter IS Twitter. For example, African American usage of the service often dominates user metrics in the United States, despite their minority demographic numbers as computer users. This talk by Andre Brock unpacks Black Twitter use from two perspectives: analysis of the interface and associated practice alongside discourse analysis of Twitter's utility and audience. Using examples of Black Twitter practice, Brock offers that Twitter's feature set and ubiquity map closely onto Black discursive identity. Thus, Twitter's outsized function as mechanism for cultural critique and political activism can be understood as the awakening of Black digital practice and an abridging of a digital divide.
Andre Brock is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan. Brock is one of the preeminent scholars of Black cyberculture. His work bridges Science and Technology Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis, showing how the communicative affordances of online media align with those of Black communication practices. Through December 2016, he is a Visiting Researcher with the Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
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EnergyBar!
Thursday, December 1
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
EnergyBar is Greentown Labs' monthly networking event devoted to helping people in clean technology meet and discuss innovations in energy technology. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and ‘friends of cleantech,’ are invited to attend, meet colleagues, and expand our growing regional clean technology community.
Our attendees typically span a variety of disciplines within energy, efficiency, and renewables. In general, if you're looking for a job in cleantech or energy, trying to expand your network, or perhaps thinking about starting your own energy-related company this is the event for you. Expect to have conversations about issues facing advanced and renewable energy technologies and ways to solve our most pressing energy problems.
Light appetizers and drinks will be served starting at 5:30 pm. Suggested dress is shop floor casual. Parking is incredibly limited at Greentown Labs and we encourage attendees to consider taking advantage of public transportation.
Hope to see you there!
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Smart Water—Smart Cities: A Cleantech Event
Thursday, December 1
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
MasCEC, 3rd Floor, Located in the Eastern Bank Building, 63 Franklin Street, Boston
Cost: $0 - $30
Pre-registration is required: Free for members, students and sponsors; $30 for non-members
Can Smart Water Technologies Quench the Thirst of our Modern Cities?
“If water is the essential ingredient of life, then water supply is the essential ingredient of civilization” David Sedlak, Water 4.0
It is estimated that it will cost the US $384 billion to upgrade the US water infrastructure! And this number is likely to increase given the stressors from increasing population, climate change and water pollution. As a result, many cities are looking to new technologies to help them address the need for, and to efficiently produce fresh, clean water for its residents.
Cities face many pressing issues regarding their water infrastructure. The most critical water issues relate to improving the fundamental components of our urban water systems:
Identifying the location of the underground pipes and mapping them (these were laid so long ago cities do not know where they are!)
Instrumenting the pipes so they and the water they carry (and leak) can be tracked and analyzed.
Upgrading the aging infrastructure: ‘U.S. water infrastructure breaks once each minute – about 540,000 times per year!
Optimizing energy and water use. Cities spend a considerable amount of money on the energy required to power the systems and pumps that make up our water infrastructure – some spend up to 30% of their energy costs just on providing water to the residents.
Advances in sensor technologies, data analytics and strategic collaborative planning will help cities to supply to the needed amount of revenue producing clean water at reasonable rates.
Join us to learn:
Why have these issues not been solved before?
How can 3-D technologies, big data and IoT help cities optimize their energy and water use?
What are the greatest challenges to making ‘Smart Water—Smart Cities’ a reality?
How can we as entrepreneurs and as a part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem help cities with these complex and sometimes impenetrable issues?
SPEAKERS
Moderator
Galen Nelson, Director of Innovation, MassCEC
Panelists
Ruthbea Yesner Clarke, Research Director, Smart City Strategies, IDC
David Reckhow, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UMass Amherst; Director of the Water Innovation Network for Sustainable Small Systems (WINSSS)
Marcus Quigley, Founder and CEO, Opti RC
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War Stories: Inside Campaign 2016
WHEN Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, 6:15 – 8:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, JFK Jr. Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Institute of Politics, CNN
SPEAKER(S) CNN State of the Union with Jake Tapper
Kellyanne Conway, Campaign Manager, Trump-Pence
Robby Mook, Campaign Manager, Clinton-Kaine
TICKET WEB LINK http://iop.harvard.edu/lottery/war-stories-inside-campaign-2016
TICKET INFO Event is ticketed- enter the lottery before 11/27/16 at midnight
CONTACT INFO JFK Jr. Forum Office
617-495-1380
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Neuroeconomics: Where Economics, Management, and Cognitive Neuroscience Intersect
Thursday, December 1
6:30pm
Aeronaut Brewery, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville
Drazen Prelec
More information at http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/science-by-the-pint/
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Friday, December 2 - Saturday, December 3
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Agritecture Collaborative Design Workshop
Friday, December 2 - Saturday, December 3
Cost: $10- $75
Agritecture.com has launched a series of interdisciplinary workshops focused on collaborative design and innovation in urban agriculture and vertical farming. These workshops match architects, growers, entrepreneurs, engineers, marketers, designers, planners and sustainability managers together along with a shared mission: develop a viable “agritecture” concept for a local, urban setting that demonstrates creativity, sustainability, and feasibility. Professional and student participants will benefit from a crash course in controlled environment agriculture (e.g. hydroponics, aquaponics), vertical farming, economics of urban agriculture, as well as mentorship throughout the workshop.
The workshop wraps up Saturday afternoon with each team presenting their concept to a panel of judges who selects a winner. This workshop is strictly limited to 30 participants, who will be divided into three teams. We do our best to balance the teams to include a professional from each discipline. Check out this short video to get an idea of what Agritecture workshops are all about. The Boston workshop will be co-organized by Captus Group and Blue Planet Consulting and will be hosted by Grove Labs in their space at Greentown Labs in Somerville, MA.
Can’t make the workshop? Then please be invited to join us beginning a 4:00pm, December 3rd at Greentown Labs. There will be tours, networking, speakers as well as team presentations and judging. Hear James Miner of Sasaki Associates talk about the important role of food in the design of our cities.
To register for the workshop, purchase a presentation-only ticket or learn more, go here. Students get free entry. Email henry@agritecture.com from your student email to get your free ticket.
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Saturday, December 3
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The Next Four Years: Building Our Movements in Dangerous Times
Saturday,December 3
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Simmons College, Paresky Conference Center, 300 the Fenway
Featured Speakers Bob Wing Social and racial justice organizer; Founder of Color Lines and War Times; Co-author of "Organizing on Shifting Terrain";
Mariama White-Hammond Pastor, Bethel A.M.E. Bethel Church, Jamaica Plain;
convener, Massachusetts Moral Revival
Paul Robeson Ford Pastor, Union Baptist Church, Cambridge Mike Connolly Attorney; State Representative-Elect; endorsed by Our Revolution; Joseph Gerson Peace and
Disarmament Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee. Bernie Sanders'
campaign ignited a widespread hope that our corrupted democracy, where
money and power rule, could be taken back and transformed into?
Find out more http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=82&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmasspeaceaction.org%2Fevent%2Fthe-next-four-years%2F
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Travels Through Two Ice Ages
Saturday, December 3
1:00PM TO 3:00PM
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain
Walk through the Arnold Arboretum with James Lawford Anderson, Boston University, as he explains the geology of two ice ages and shows evidence of these in the rocks and landforms in the landscape. Participants must be able to walk approximately 3 miles, both on and off trails.
Fee: $10 member, $30 nonmember. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.
Contact Name: arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu
(617) 524-1718
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Sunday, December 4
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Intellectual Snob Meetup: Global Warming: Boston/ Cambridge Local
Sunday, December 4
5:00 PM
John Harvard's Brew House, 33 Dunster Street, Cambridge
I'll be wearing a big black hat.
The past 14 months have been the warmest in recorded history.
I hosted a "fall colors" walking event in mid October but many of the leaves hadn't begun to "turn" yet. (Cold would trigger that). There is an explosion of the rabbit population in the Cambridge/ greater Boston area. A few days ago I saw a flock of seven turkeys grazing a lawn near Central Square, Cambridge.
Christmases are very rarely "white" anymore near here.
The entire railway systems designed around Jamaica Pond, Spy Pond, and Fresh Pond "Ice Fields" in the nineteen hundreds were created around the incredibly lucrative market of "Ice Harvesting". Layers of ice many feet thick existed and there were shacks built on the ice and then there was a group of people who literally made these ice sections into territory. This ice was shipped all around the world. Obviously this was before refrigeration... it was kept fresh using hay and could last intact a year. Years later, there were ice deliveries. http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/innovation/Ice.html
Obviously anyone who walks around these ponds will see there is no safely walkable ice anymore in the wintertime.
I lived in Geneva NY in the year around 1970 and we used to DRIVE on the ice then... I mean me and my dad. (well, he was a bit nuts). So this global warming is rapid, that was relatively recent.
I don't remember wearing a winter jacket or even needing boots last winter. Slush maybe... and then there was the global warming storm we all remember from two years ago... and as a result of all the workdays off, the baby boom nine months later...
The ice harvesters had a railway bed part of which is now the Minuteman Trail.
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Newton Dialogue on Drones
Sunday, December 4
7:30PM
Eliot Church of Newton, 474 Centre Street, (Corner of Centre and Church Streets), Newton
Newton Dialogues will present a program of information and response to our government's drone assassination program with a talk by Christopher Aaron, a former drone program analyst for the C.I.A., excerpts from the film "Drone", followed by discussion. Our speaker is a former counter-terrorism officer for the CIA and Department of Defense droneprogram. He deployed twice to Afghanistan and Iraq from 2006 - 2009, serving as an intelligence analyst and liaison between the military and the intelligence community in Washington, DC. He resigned in 2009 due to ethical objections to the conduct of the wars.
Find out more at
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Monday, December 5
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How should regulators incorporate claims of value that are exogenous to the actual supply & delivery of electricity?
Monday, December 5
12pm-1:30pm
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Travis Kavulla, Commissioner, Montana Public Service Commission, and President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (Nov. 2015-Nov. 2016)
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Street Tree Stories: On the Politics of Nature in the City
Monday, December 5
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard, HUCE Seminar Room (440), MCZ, 29 Oxford Street, 4th Floor, Cambridge
with Sonja Duempelmann (GSD)
Environmental History Working Group
Contact Name: Laura Martin
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Outcrossing and fecundity in Pennsylvania Sedge: implications for ecological restoration
Monday, December 5
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Daniel Buonaiuto, Wolkovich Lab
Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
Contact Name: arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu
(617) 524-1718
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Will Ad Blocking Break the Internet?
Monday, December 5
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E52-432, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Benjamin Shiller (Brandeis University)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IO Workshop
For more information, contact: economics calendar
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Economic Conditions and Mortality: Evidence from 200 Years of Data
WHEN Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, HCPDS, 9 Bow Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
SPEAKER(S) David Cutler, PhD, Harvard College professor and Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Harvard University,
CONTACT INFO Nicole Goguen ngoguen@hsph.harvard.edu
DETAILS David Cutler, Ph.D., Harvard College professor and Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, will present on economic conditions and mortality. Using data covering over 100 birth-cohorts in 32 countries, the short- and long-term effects of economic conditions on mortality are examined. Air pollution and alcohol consumption increase during booms, and small (but not large) booms were found to increase contemporary mortality. Yet booms from birth to age 25, particularly those during adolescence, were found to lower adult mortality. Booms in adolescence raise adult incomes and improve social relations and mental health, suggesting these mechanisms dominate in the long run.
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TiE-Boston Deep Dive: Carbon Capture Use and Storage
Monday, December 5
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
MIT, Building 66-110, 35 Ames Street, Cambridge
Cost: $0 - $20
Speakers:
Moderator
Vivek Soni, Managing Partner, Boston Cleantech Partners
Phil Duffy, President and Executive Director Woods Hole Research Center
Howard Herzog, Senior Research Engineer, MIT Energy Initiative
More information at http://boston.tie.org/event/carboncaptureuseandstorage/
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The Well Tempered City: Climate Change, Health, Poverty and Our Urban Future
Monday, December 5
6pm - 9pm
Harvard, Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Rotunda Room, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston
Steve Curwood, Host, NPR’s Living on Earth
Dr. Jack Spengler, Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment
Jonathan Rose, Author, The Well Tempered City
Student winner of Courtyard Design Contest
Limited seats, registration required.
Sustainability For Health Leadership Series: Climate Change, Health, Poverty and Our Urban Future
The environments in which we live are changing fast. To keep people healthy and alive, we must prevent diseases caused by turbulent weather, pollution, and increasingly crowded cities.
Hear from a panel of experts including Jonathan Rose, Jack Spengler, and moderated by Steve Curwood, and learn about our new Master of Public Health in Sustainability and the Global Environment.
This speaker series will celebrate the Center for Health and the Global Environment’s 20th year, and introduce you to pressing issues students will explore in the Sustainability, Health, and the Global Environment program at the Harvard School of Public Health. In this program students will learn the latest research techniques, and have opportunities to connect with leading edge thinkers in global businesses and governments who are focused on the connection between people, their health, and their surroundings. We are accepting applications beginning Fall 2016.
Join us to learn from leading global health experts, and talk with faculty members actively working to solve some of the greatest public health challenges facing us today. To learn about other topics in the series visit http://www.chgeharvard.org/events.
Reception following lecture.
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Tuesday, December 6
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Boston TechBreakfast: December 2016
Tuesday, December 6
8:00 am – 11:00 am
Microsoft NERD, Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
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Effect of particle Morphology – in particular Liquid-liquid phase separation - on the absorption cross section of aerosol particles containing black carbon
Friday, December 2
12:00PM TO 1:00PM
Harvard, 100F Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
with Ulrich Krieger, ETH Zurich
While it is well known that absorption by light absorbing black carbon (BC) increases when the carbon is internally mixed with other material (e.g. Bond et al. 2013), the magnitude of this enhancement is still under debate (e.g. Cappa et al., 2013). Understanding the large variability of measured absorption enhancement in the field relies on an appropriate representation of carbon morphology and mixing with other materials (Scarnato et al., 2013). Here we investigate how liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) influences the absorption cross section of particles containing black carbon aggregates. Recently, we showed that black carbon (BC) preferentially segregates into the organic phase upon LLPS in micron size particles (Brunamonti et al. 2015), resulting in an “inverted core-shell structure”, in which a transparent aqueous core is surrounded by a BC-containing absorbing shell. In the Brunamonti et al. study, the radiative effect for accumulation size particles was estimated assuming the BC-absorption to be volume mixed within the shell. We will compare this with a more realistic treatment of the black carbon as fractal aggregate and also study configurations in which the black carbon is only partially embedded in the organic liquid phase.
Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar
Contact Name: Adam Birdsall
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xTalk: The Future of Undergraduate Education - Pathways and Possibilities
Tuesday, December 6
3:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building 56-114, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Francesca Purcell & Eliza Berg
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences is in the midst of a three-year project entitled The Future of Undergraduate Education to examine the state of post-secondary education in the U.S., and to provide ideas for how to ensure that individual Americans receive the education needed to thrive in the twenty-first century.
The Commission's first publication, A Primer on the College Student Journey, is a comprehensive and data-rich portrait of American postsecondary education --incorporating quantitative and qualitative studies that examine student trends into, through, and out of college. This talk will highlight this and other aspects of the Commission's work and also solicit feedback from the audience on their perspectives on the future of college and its possibilities.
Francesca Purcell is Director of the Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education and Program Officer, Education Policy. Eliza Berg is Program Coordinator, Education Policy.
xTalks: Digital Discourses
The xTalks series provides a forum to facilitate awareness, deep understanding and transference of educational innovations at MIT and elsewhere. We hope to foster a community of educators, researchers, and technologists engaged in developing and supporting effective learning experiences through online learning environments and other digital technologies.
Web site: The Future of Undergraduate Education: Pathways and Possibilities
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Office of Digital Learning, xTalks: Digital Discourses
For more information, contact: Molly Ruggles
617-324-9185
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Talking about climate change through video
Tuesday, December 6
4:00 - 5:00pm
BU, CAS 132, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Speaker: Alex Griswold, Research Associate and Multimedia Producer, Harvard University Center for the Environment
While the scientific facts are undisputed, in the public arena, climate change has become extremely polarized and politicized when it doesn’t have to be. Part of the reason is the way climate change information is communicated, without regard to the impact of underlying messages and values that frame the discussion. Examples of videos that push the wrong buttons abound. Presenting solutions, being aware of audience preconceptions, and understanding the values the audience brings to the discussion are alternative ways to move the needle toward a solution. While there is no one formula for talking about climate change using the medium of video, I will discuss different approaches and show examples that attempt to point a way toward a more inclusive understanding of this critical topic.
Bio: Alex Griswold is a documentary producer with over 30 years experience focused on science and social issues. For two decades, he was part of the science education team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), where he contributed to the development of “A Private Universe” – a short ground-breaking film showing how even the most touted education can fail to address serious misconceptions in basic scientific concepts. He was producer or executive producer of over 100 science education video projects. Griswold is currently a research associate and multimedia
producer at the Harvard University Center for the Environment working on projects to improve environmental science education for the Harvard Center for the Environment and on a new, multimedia exhibit on climate change for the Harvard University Museums of Science and Culture.
BU’s Seminar Series on Climate Change
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Joint MKI/EAPS Colloquium: "The Fastest Road to Finding Life Beyond Earth"
Tuesday, December 6
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 37-252, 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Jonathan Lunine, Director, Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Brandon Milardo
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How Blockchain Technology Can Create a new Music Ecosystem
Tuesday, December 6
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
$20 Members; $45 Non-members: free for students
Big Changes Coming to Music Economics
We have seen technology fundamentally disrupt the music industry, and, for the musician, this hasn't always been good news. Think Napster, which helped promote music piracy, and streaming services that redefined the business model in ways that have not always been helpful to Artists. What if technology were applied to the mission of helping musicians and other creative performers and IP owners move towards an economic model that enables them to achieve a new potential for financial health?
What's needed is new, holistic thinking about a music ecosystem that identifies music rights owners and simplifies how they might be compensated, particularly in an environment that might offer only micropayments for each particular performance. Very promising initial efforts to apply new technology to this problem have begun, and if successful and adopted, may result in sustainable models for artists, entrepreneurs, and music businesses. To achieve this vision, everyone involved will need to be …. involved.
Join us on Tuesday evening , December 6 and learn from leading proponents of new music rights and distribution models. Where are we trying to get to, and how can technology take us there? We'll learn about - and see an example of - how blockchain technology can be used by the music industry to protect music creators and performers. And, we'll close out the evening with another demonstration - an art form we all love - LIVE MUSIC. Come learn and rock out.
Speakers
Dan Harple, Founder and CEO, Context Labs
Panos Panay, Founding Managing Director, Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship
Benji Rogers, Co-Founder, dotBLOCKCHAINmusic
Event Schedule
5:30 - 6:00 pm Registration, Networking & Light Snacks
6:00 - 7:00 pm Intros and Q&A with the panel
7:00 - 7:30 pm Blockchain and music rights demo
7:30 - 8:00pm Live music
8:00 - 9:00 More Networking in the R&D Pub, 4th Floor of the MIT Stata Center
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Smart Manufacturing TechMeeting
Tuesday, December 6
5:30PM – 8:30PM
CIC Boston, 50 Milk Street, 1st floor, Anchor space behind Render Coffee, Boston
Cost: $10 – $20
Foster business relationships between startups, corporations and VCs in the field of Smart Manufacturing. Bring visibility to the best of French-American technology and Innovation.
AGENDA
05.30pm: Registration
06.00pm: Introduction Open Innovation Club
06.10pm: Panel of corporations and research labs on Smart Manufacturing
06.40pm: 5+ Startups Pitches (3-min pitch and 1 min Q&A)
07.15pm: Networking Cocktail
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Boston SCORE Workshop: How to Be the Best Businesses FOR the World: The B Corp Movement
Tuesday December 6
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST
Boston Public Library / Kirstein Business Library, 700 Boylston Street, Commonwealth Salon, Boston
You may have heard the terms or found a Certified B Corp logo on a package. Or had a friend tell you that Patagonia or Ben & Jerry's are B Corps. Perhaps heard the "using business as a force for good" tagline. The movement is growing, but not yet a household name.
If you're a business owner or leader, does becoming a B Corp make sense for you? What are the benefits, challenges, and requirements of being part of the movement?
During this interactive workshops, we'll talk about the nuts and bolts of becoming a B Corp, the difference between B Corp and Benefit Corporation, and dive into the assessment used to certify B Corps. We'll wrap up with plenty of time for questions and answers with members of Boston-based B Corps.
This workshop is co-sponsored by the Boston Chapter of SCORE and the Kirstein Business Library at the Boston Public Library, and presented by Drew Bonfiglio. Drew is the co-founder of Emzingo, a social enterprise and certified B Corp focused on creating the next generation of responsible leaders. He and his colleagues work with businesses, universities, individuals, and professional organizations to design and deliver experiences that instill the mindset of responsible leadership, drive employee engagement, promote social innovation and environmental awareness, and create a culture of collaboration.
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Opportunity
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“Economic Democracy: The Cooperative Alternative”, is going live on 29 November, hosted by edX.
The link is https://www.edx.org/course/economic-democracy-cooperative-edinburghx-coopsx and the hashtag is #COOPsx . The course is a collaboration between Edinburgh University, St. Andrews University and the James Hutton Institute.
Once the course starts on 29th November, it’ll run as an open, free, self-paced course, with automated quizzes and community forums, monitored by the academic team and their teaching assistants.
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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.
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