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) EventsGeo
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Details of these events are available when you scroll past the index
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Index
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Monday, May 7
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12:10pm Understanding the Relationships between Stomatal Development, Leaf Function, and Environmental Response
12:45pm The Medical Response to Climate Change
1pm Misinformation & Missing Information: A Fix for Fake News
3pm Responsibility Sensitive Safety of Self-Driving Cars
3:15pm Final Doctoral Thesis Defense: Defects and charge-carrier lifetime in early-stage photovoltaic materials: relating experiment to theory
4:30pm Bridging Communities through the Arts
5:30pm Energy Matters: Theory, Society & Cyberspace
6pm Nine Irish Lives: The Fighters, Thinkers, & Artists Who Helped Build America
6:30pm COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: Let's Talk About The Climate
6:30pm Trust, but Verify: Using blockchain technology to derisk financial eluding in emerging markets
7pm Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto
7pm The Influence of Technology on our Moral Norms: Who Decides? What is Right? What is Wrong? How Do We Know?
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Tuesday, May 8
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8:30am The Trump Administration and the Health of the Public
8:30am Natural History Collections in the Anthropocene
10am Considering Socially Responsible Investing As Part Of Your Plan
12pm Renewable Energy Integration Opportunities in Chile
1pm Climate Gentrification: Rethinking Vulnerability and Resilience
2pm Final Doctoral Thesis Defense: The Uncommon Nature of Point Defects in Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells
3:30pm Imagining a World Without Disease – Moving from Disease Management to Strategies Aimed at Interception, Prevention and Cure
5pm Passive buildings on the rise: Case studies of multifamily residences that pass the test
5pm Harvard Institute for Applied Computational Science (IACS) Project Showcase
5:30pm Finding New Opportunities in the Circular Economy
6pm Nanotechnology Advances for Healthcare and Environment
6pm The MIT Forum: Whitfield Diffie ‘65
6pm Reimagining the Future of Work in the Enterprise
6pm Boston New Technology IoT and eCommerce Startup Showcase #BNT89 21+
6pm M.C. Escher: The Art of Perception
6:30pm Can We Save Our Democracy?
6:30pm Notes from CPAC 2018 - Conservatism going forward - GBTea Party Boston
7pm Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth—And How to Fix It
7pm Jewish Radical Feminism: Voices from the Women’s Liberation Movement
7pm Bazaar of Ideas: Preparing the World for Climate Change
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Wednesday, May 9
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8am What does the Cybercrime Landscape Look Like?
12pm MTL Seminar Series, DDS: "The Uncommon Nature of Point Defects in Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells”
1pm Grand Opening of Greentown Labs' Global Center for Cleantech Innovation
3pm xTalk with Prof David Pritchard Speaking on "10 Reasons to Replace Midterms with Weekly Online Quizzes”
4pm Biological Motion
4pm Deep reinforcement learning: Recent developments and some implications for psychology
5:30pm Humanitarian Happy Hour hosted by the MIT Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Working Group
6pm Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics
6pm authors@MIT: Meredith Broussard, Artificial Unintelligence
6pm The Public Conversation
6pm Design Night: Building for Good
6:30pm Bioverse Boston: 3D Bioprinting Meetup for Bio-Enthusiasts & Pioneers
7pm Is Capitalism Devouring Democracy?
7pm Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules in Work and in Life
7pm WGBH and NECIR ask: Is social media killing journalism?
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Thursday, May 10 - Friday, May 11
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Mozilla Global Sprint
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Thursday, May 10
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10am The Greentown Labs E-Capital Summit
12:15pm The Stalemate of Nuclear Waste Management and its Effect on the Fuel Cycle, Security, and Non-Proliferation Endeavors
5pm Humans Need Not Apply: Reflections on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
5pm Spirituality and Psychiatry: A Global Perspective
5pm Imperial Arrangements: South African Apartheid and the Force of Photography
5pm 2.007 Final Robot Competition
5:30pm Farm Share Fair 2018
6pm Vannevar Bush Lecture Series on Science and Technology Innovation: The 21st Century’s Technology Story: The Convergence of Biology and Engineering
6pm Reviving Investigative Journalism Meet & Greet!
6pm Mass Innovation Nights 110
6:30pm Sustainability Collaborative
6:30pm The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
6:30pm AN EVENING WITH ETHICAL STARTUPS
7pm Atlantic Salmon Lost at Sea
7:30pm The Order of Time
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Friday, May 11
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10:30am Physics of Cybersecurity: Sensors, Acoustics, Cuba
2:30pm InnovationWell: Towards Evidence-based Care for Human Health and the Environment
7pm The Known Citizen A History of Privacy in Modern America
8pm Great Clarinet Summit
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Saturday, May 12
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9:30am Praying with Creation, a Laudato Si' Retreat
12pm Somerville Porchfest
12pm Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival
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Sunday, May 13
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Lilac Sunday
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Monday, May 14
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12pm PAOC Colloquium: Marine ice sheet dynamics
12:30pm Cyber Alliance Speaker Series: Robot Lawyers: Automating Legal Compliance for Transferring Private Data
5:30pm E4Dev Biweekly speaker series
6pm US Foreign Policy in Asia
6:30pm Is Zero Waste possible?
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Tuesday, May 15
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7:30am Boston Sustainability Breakfast
9am Place and Race Matter: Building Communities of Opportunity for Children and Youth
1:30pm Experts Meeting: Humanitarian Drones
3pm xTalk with Peter Barendse & Kyle Keane on Activating Computational Thinking on MITx using Wolfram Technologies
5:30pm Prather Public Lecture: Jennifer Doudna on CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing: Biology, Technology and Ethics
6pm Vannevar Bush Lecture Series on Science and Technology Innovation: Richard Lester
6pm Urban Gardening: PLANTING FUNDAMENTALS
7pm The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do
7:30pm The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
Honeybee Democracy
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Monday, May 7
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Understanding the Relationships between Stomatal Development, Leaf Function, and Environmental Response
Monday, May 7
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Graham Dow, Research Assistant Professor, Boston University
Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
Watch live on the Arboretum’s YouTube channel if you are unable to attend in person. The streaming video is visible only when in progress.
Contact Name: arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu
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The Medical Response to Climate Change
Monday, May 7
12:45pm - 2:15pm
Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood, Avenue, Boston
Please join us for a panel discussion featuring Paul Farmer, Gina McCarthy, Aaron Bernstein, Mary Rice and Ashish Jha.
Registration is free, but required.
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Misinformation & Missing Information: A Fix for Fake News
Monday, May 7
1:00 pm
Northeastern, 177 Huntington Avenue , 11th floor, Boston
MARSHALL VAN ALSTYNE, Everett Lord Distinguished Scholar, Boston University Questrom School of Business
Despite its long history, the recent controversy around misinformation and "fake news" has shown it to be a remarkably challenging problem. This talk will explore the precise nature of why fake news is so intractable in an effort to construct a more successful solution. Working from examples, it will show that the source of harm is not what most people believe it to be. Five existing solutions do not independently address the reasons that the parties most able to address the problem are insufficiently motivated to do so. We then use mechanism design principles to remake the rules that platforms use to manage their intellectual property. This shift in focus and governance suggests a novel solution.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marshall Van Alstyne (@InfoEcon) is coauthor of the international bestseller Platform Revolution. He is one of the world's experts on network business models and is Everett Lord Distinguished Scholar at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. His research has received half a dozen academic awards and appeared in journals such as Science, Nature and Harvard Business Review. Interviews appear regularly across Bloomberg, The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. He studied computer science at Yale and information technology at MIT. He holds multiple patents; was among the first to measure the dollar value of social networks, and his theories of network businesses are taught worldwide. He is a husband and dad, who loves dogs, exercise, travel, and questions of governance.
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Responsibility Sensitive Safety of Self-Driving Cars
Monday, May 7
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
MIT, Building 32-G449 (Stata Center - Patil/Kiva Conference Room), 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Shai Shalev-Shwartz , Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mobileye
Abstract: In recent years, car makers and tech companies have been racing towards self driving cars. It seems that the main parameter in this race is who will have the first car on the road. The goal of the talk is to add to the equation two additional crucial parameters. The first is standardization of safety assurance --- what are the minimal requirements that every self-driving car must satisfy, and how can we verify these requirements. The second parameter is scalability --- engineering solutions that lead to unleashed costs will not scale to millions of cars, which will push interest in this field into a niche academic corner, and drive the entire field into a "winter of autonomous driving". In the first part of the talk I will show why statistical guarantees give a very weak safety and will propose instead a white-box, interpretable, mathematical model for safety assurance, which we call Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS). Time permitting, the second part of the talk will involve reinforcement learning techniques for scalable driving policy.
Joint work with Shaked Shammah and Amnon Shashua.
Bio: Shai Shalev-Shwartz is a VP Technology at Mobileye, a Senior Fellow at Intel, and a professor in the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prof. Shalev-Shwartz is the author of the book “Online Learning and Online Convex Optimization,” and a co-author of the book “Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms”. His research is around the theoretical foundations of machine learning as well as crafting theoretically justified optimization algorithms that make learning more efficient. He received several best paper awards, was listed in the Aminer top 100 most influential scholar list of 2016, and was listed at the 17'th place in The-Marker's top 100 most influential people in Israel, under the title “the brain behind artificial intelligence”, acknowledging his contributions to Mobileye's technology.
Contact: Marcia G. Davidson, 617-253-3049, marcia@csail.mit.edu
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Final Doctoral Thesis Defense: Defects and charge-carrier lifetime in early-stage photovoltaic materials: relating experiment to theory
Monday, May 7
3:15pm to 4:15pm
MIT, Building 6-104, Chipman Room, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge,
Mr. Jeremy Poindexter on his final DMSE doctoral thesis defense
Thesis Committee:
Professor Tonio Buonassisi (Thesis Advisor)
Professor Rafael Jaramillo (Thesis Reader)
Professor Lionel Kimerling
Professor Harry Tuller
*A draft copy of this thesis will be available for review in room 6-107.
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Bridging Communities through the Arts
Monday, May 7
4:30 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
BU School of Theology, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
There are many paths to pursuing peace among divided communities. In this workshop-style symposium, we will engage with artists who use their gifts to cross divides in areas of conflict.
Arts workshop with Deborah Nathan, Executive Director of Artsbridge, Inc. Engage in artistic exercises and dialogical techniques designed to attend productively to conflict and trauma from violence. Deborah will draw from her work bringing together teens from each side of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
Musical Workshop with Jewish Israeli recording artist Achinoam Nini (Noa), and Arab-Israeli singer, songwriter, and actress Mira Awad. Be part of a conversation with the two acclaimed performers who will share their journey of creative collaboration and peace activism through story and song.
The program will include an interactive text study session on pluralism facilitated by Rabbi Or Rose, Director of The Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership.
This event is FREE, but RSVPs are required.
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Energy Matters: Theory, Society & Cyberspace
Monday, May 7
5:30 PM
MIT, Building E18-304, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
(Dinner Served)
Nazli Choucri
Abstract
This talk is on looking back and looking forward with regards to the emerging research agenda on energy-in-context. The presentation combines relevant aspects of international relations and social science theory with propositions about future directions for theory, policy, and practice.
Speaker Bio
Nazli Choucri is Professor of Political Science. Her work is in the area of international relations, most notably on sources and consequences of international conflict and violence. Professor Choucri is the architect and Director of the Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD), a multi-lingual web-based knowledge networking system focusing on the multi-dimensionality of sustainability. As Principal Investigator of an MIT-Harvard multi-year project on Explorations in Cyber International Relations (ECIR), she directed a multi-disciplinary and multi-method research initiative, constructing a cyber-inclusive view of international relations (Cyber-IR System) – with theory, data, analyses, simulations – to anticipate and respond to cyber threats and challenges to national security and international stability. She served two terms as President of the Scientific Advisory Committee of UNESCO's Management of Social Transformation (MOST) Program.
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Nine Irish Lives: The Fighters, Thinkers, & Artists Who Helped Build America
Monday, May 7
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Boston
Screenwriter and author Mark Bailey and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalists Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan discuss their new book, Nine Irish Lives: The Fighters, Thinkers, & Artists Who Helped Build America. Dr. Robert Mauro, director of the Boston College Irish Institute and Global Leadership Institute, moderates.
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COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: Let's Talk About The Climate
Monday, May 7
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
PRX Podcast Garage, 267 Western Avenue, Allston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-conversation-lets-talk-about-the-climate-tickets-45253045076
How is Boston planning to protect itself from a changing climate?
Join us for a presentation and community conversation with Climate Ready Boston, hosted by Sustainability Consultant and Podcast Garage Member Julia Farber. We'll discuss what climate change means for Allston, Boston, and you! You'll also walk away with tips on how to communicate about climate science in your podcast. Come by to listen and make your voice heard on this important topic.
ABOUT CLIMATE READY BOSTON
Climate Ready Boston is the Mayor's ongoing initiative to help the City grow and prosper in the face of climate change. We are working to better understand current and future flood risks in our neighborhoods, and develop strategies that protect them. One of our goals is to connect with City residents who know and experience challenges in their communities. For more details on the plan, check out: http://www.greenovateboston.org/prepared_city
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Trust, but Verify: Using blockchain technology to derisk financial eluding in emerging markets
Monday, May 7
6:30-8:00pm
Aeronaut, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville
Mark Weber, MIT Digital Currency Initiative
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Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto
Monday, May 7
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes award-winning scientists ALAN STERN and DAVID GRINSPOON for a discussion of their new book, Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto.
About Chasing New Horizons
On July 14, 2015, something amazing happened. More than 3 billion miles from Earth, a small NASA spacecraft called New Horizons screamed past Pluto at more than 32,000 miles per hour, focusing its instruments on the long mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system, and then, just as quickly, continued on its journey out into the beyond.
Nothing like this has occurred in a generation―a raw exploration of new worlds unparalleled since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune―and nothing quite like it is planned to happen ever again. The photos that New Horizons sent back to Earth graced the front pages of newspapers on all 7 continents, and NASA’s website for the mission received more than 2 billion hits in the days surrounding the flyby. At a time when so many think that our most historic achievements are in the past, the most distant planetary exploration ever attempted not only succeeded in 2015 but made history and captured the world’s imagination.
How did this happen? Chasing New Horizons is the story of the men and women behind this amazing mission: of their decades-long commitment and persistence; of the political fights within and outside of NASA; of the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly the mission; and of the plans for New Horizons’ next encounter, 1 billion miles past Pluto in 2019. Told from the insider’s perspective of mission leader Dr. Alan Stern and others on New Horizons, Chasing New Horizons is a riveting story of scientific discovery, and of how much we humans can achieve when people focused on a dream work together toward their incredible goal.
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The Influence of Technology on our Moral Norms: Who Decides? What is Right? What is Wrong? How Do We Know?
Monday, May 7
7pm (doors @ 6)
Le Laboratoire, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge
Cost: $15/advance / $20 at door / students free
a Long Now Boston conversation with Loren J Samons II, Professor, Classical Studies at Boston University and Juan Enriquez, Futurist, Educator, Author, Venture Investor
Juan Enriquez, renowned futurist, best-selling author and venture investor will lead Long Now Boston in an interactive conversation on the structure and formation of moral norms and the profound influence technology exerts on those norms. Join the conversation and become part of the solution.
Audience participation will be a key part of this conversation.
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Tuesday, May 8
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The Trump Administration and the Health of the Public
Tuesday, May 8
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
BU School of Public Health, Hiebert Lounge, 72 East Concord Street, Boston
The day will bring together public health scholars, journalists, thought leaders, and the wider public health community to discuss how we can view Trump-era policies and their impact on health more than a year into the new administration. The day is very much nonpartisan, and we do not approach this with any preordained answers. We hope that speakers will use the best available data to inform their presentation, or—recognizing that it is still too early for many definitive studies—to ground their comments in the state-of-the-science.
Cosponsored with Lancet Commission on Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era
#BUSPHSymposia. LIVE STREAMING AVAILABLE at www.bu.edu/sph/live
breakfast, 8 a.m., doors open, 7:30 a.m.
CONTACT EMAIL: eventsph@bu.edu
Services for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People Provided
Notes: This event will be recorded (videotaped, audiotaped, and/or photographed) and the recording may be reproduced and distributed on public-facing websites like YouTube and BUniverse. If you prefer not to appear in the recording, please sit in the area designated. If you have questions about where to sit, please speak to the videographer or photographer.
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13th Annual Plant Biology Initiative Symposium: Natural History Collections in the Anthropocene
Tuesday, May 8
8:30am - 5pm
Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
More information at https://pbi.oeb.harvard.edu/symposium
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Considering Socially Responsible Investing As Part Of Your Plan
Tuesday, May 8
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT
Lesley University Porter Campus, 1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 2-048, Cambridge
Your Dreams, Your Plans: Wealth Management
Thinking about retiring some day, or almost there? Would you like to reassure yourself that you're on the right path to achieve your goals? Together we'll look at the basics and then consider thoughtful strategies as next steps. The Living Well Network is pleased to present part one of this free wealth management series with professional speakers providing clear, concise information on financial topics that are relevant to older adults.
May 8th: Considering Socially Responsible Investing As Part Of Your Plan
Are your investments supporting companies you don’t approve of? Are social issues, or the environment, or corporate responsibility important to you? Find out how focusing on well- managed companies with sustainable business practices makes sense for both ethical and investment reasons. It is possible to invest with a conscience and not sacrifice return. With presenters Jill Menuck, Esq. of Holtzman & Menuck and Steven A. Dray, CFA, CFP of Zevin Asset Management
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Renewable Energy Integration Opportunities in Chile
Tuesday, May 8
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Chile was one of fewer than 15 countries worldwide that had solar and wind energy production levels above 10 percent in 2017. Rapidly integrating these renewable sources into the power system has created significant challenges and opportunities for regulators, system operators, and market entities.
This webinar will explain how both public and private entities can take advantage of the transition now under way in Chile’s power system. It will cover:
challenges and opportunities created in the operation of the power system;
elements driving the need for flexibility to support renewable energy integration in the power system; and
key regulatory and policy challenges to incentivize a more flexible power system in the future.
A Q&A will follow the presentation. We invite you to join us!
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Climate Gentrification: Rethinking Vulnerability and Resilience
Tuesday, May 8
1:00PM TO 2:00PM
Harvard Global Health Institute, 42 Church Street, Cambridge
Registration is free, but required.
The Harvard Global Health Institute invites you for an exciting seminar with Jesse Keenan from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Keenan will speak on, "Climate Gentrification: Rethinking Vulnerability and Resilience." This lecture covers recently published theoretical and empirical research defining a theory of "Climate Gentrification." Through this theory of economic behavior, the lecture seeks to unpack assumptions framing our understanding vulnerability and community resilience. With greater analytical discipline in resilience and adaptation, stakeholders can begin to identify the trade-offs that shape a variety of interventions and policies, including those relating to housing, transportation, and public health.
Contact Name: global_health@harvard.edu
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Final Doctoral Thesis Defense: The Uncommon Nature of Point Defects in Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells
Tuesday, May 8
2:00pm to 3:00pm
MIT, Building 6-104, Chipman, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Ms. Olivia Hentz on her final DMSE doctoral thesis defense
Thesis Committee:
Professor Silvija Gradečak (Thesis Advisor)
Professor Caroline Ross
Professor Carl Thompson
*A draft copy of this thesis will be available for review in room 6-107.
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Imagining a World Without Disease – Moving from Disease Management to Strategies Aimed at Interception, Prevention and Cure
Tuesday, May 8
3:30 PM – 7:45 PM EDT
AlixPartners, 200 Clarendon Street, 49th Floor, Boston
Imagine a paradigm shift from disease care to health care through novel approaches aimed at prevention, interception, and cure.
Advances in science and technology have brought us closer to a world in which we can look beyond treating the symptoms of disease to a more holistic health care model that leverages areas such as genomics, diagnostics, digital health technologies, and behavioral science to detect disease at the earliest stage possible and then stop, reverse or inhibit progression in an individual.
Through two interactive panel discussions, thought leaders from industry and academia will provide insights on how a variety of tools can be leveraged or combined to create potentially transformative solutions for patients. Panelists will highlight their ongoing efforts to prevent, intercept, and cure disease, including lung cancer, and present their vision for future opportunities. This program’s focus spans across all sectors of the healthcare and life sciences industries, including biotechnology, life sciences, medical devices, consumer healthcare, and digital health.
TOPICS ADDRESSED BY THE PANELS
How can we collaborate to prevent and intercept disease?
What tools do we need to prevent and intercept disease?
How can “Big Data” (including molecular data and imaging data) be leveraged to prevent and intercept disease?
How can digital health products be used to prevent and intercept disease?
What role can imaging play in diagnosing and intercepting disease?
How can we build a better understanding of the underpinnings of disease to develop approaches to prevent, intercept, and cure disease?
How can behavioral science contribute to efforts to prevent and intercept disease?
AGENDA:
3:30 PM: Check in and registration
4:00 PM: Welcome
4:15 PM: Panel Discussion - Interception: Collaborating to intercept disease
5:30 PM: Panel Discussion - Prevention: What tools do we need to prevent disease?
6:45 PM: Networking Reception
7:45 PM: Program End
SPEAKERS:
Panel Discussion: Interception – Collaborating to intercept disease
Cris De Luca | Global Director, Digital Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Bruce Rosengard, M.D., FRCS | Vice President, Johnson & Johnson Global External Innovation, Medical Devices
Ivan Salgo, M.D., M.S., MBA | Associate Chief Medical Officer; Monitoring, Analytics & Therapeutic Care - Business Group, Philips
Alex Waldron | Chief Commercial Officer, Pear Therapeutics, Inc.
[Moderator] Kristina Isakovich | Director, Alix Partners
Panel Discussion: Prevention – What tools do we need to prevent disease?
Stefanie Dhanda | Senior Director, Consumer Scientific Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Consumer
Manolis Kellis, Ph.D. | Professor of Computer Science, MIT and Head, MIT Computational Biology Group
Bernat Olle, Ph.D. | Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Biosciences, Inc.
Kevin Wildenhaus | Behavioral Science Leader, Johnson & Johnson World Without Disease Accelerator
[Moderator] Sarah Hogan | Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
If you have any questions relating to the event, please contact Samantha Lifson at slifson@its.jnj.com.
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Passive buildings on the rise: Case studies of multifamily residences that pass the test
Tuesday, May 8
5:00pm to 6:00pm
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
The past two years have seen an exponential increase in the number of passive houses and buildings meeting the stringent PHIUS+ 2015 Passive Building Standards, set forth by the Passive House Institute US. The first successful projects were single-family residences, followed by multifamily projects, and now the trend is moving toward commercial structures. Cities such as New York City already have incentives in place for residential passive buildings, and many other municipalities are considering implementation of incentives as a solution to meeting the goals set out in their climate action plans. This talk will look at completed case studies of low- and mid-rise multifamily passive projects across the country, all of which were built at 0-5% additional cost over a baseline determined by Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency volunteer program focused on energy efficiency. Successful construction techniques and lessons learned will be discussed.
Speaker Bio: Katrin Klingenberg is co-founder and executive director of the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). In 2003, Klingenberg designed and completed the first home to meet passive house standards in the United States. She has designed and consulted on numerous successful passive house and building projects across North America’s varied climate zones since. In addition to her executive role at PHIUS, she is the lead instructor for PHIUS Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC) training and directs its curriculum development. She also directs the technical and research programs of PHIUS and is a licensed architect in Germany. She frequently presents on the passive building topic nationally and internationally.
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Harvard Institute for Applied Computational Science (IACS) Project Showcase
Tuesday, May 8
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Harvard, Pierce Hall, Room 301, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Mingle with IACS faculty and friends while learning about the cutting edge research done by master's students in Harvard's Computational Science and Engineering program.
These are some of the projects students will present:
Deep learning, with its potential to revolutionize fields, raises concerns of model interpretability and reliability. How do we ensure that Google Brain's models are not fooled by adversarial examples?
How do we make use of machine learning algorithms to improve the effectiveness of algorithmically curated Spotify playlists and to analyze what audio features contribute to the popularity of playlists?
Working with Square Capital, can we find robust models for predicting business trends that also have qualitatively desirable properties?
How can we use machine learning methods to analyze the nematode life cycle from light microscopy images and movies for BASF Corporation?
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Finding New Opportunities in the Circular Economy
Tuesday, May 8
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
MIT, Building 32-124, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Cost: Non-members: $30; Livestream Non-members: $30; Members: $20; Livestream Members: $20; Students: $10; Livestream Students: $10; Student members: $5; Livestream Student Members: $5
“What if the goods of today become the resources of tomorrow?”
“Looking beyond the current take-make-dispose extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital.” Ellen McArthur Foundation
The circular economy is huge. Accenture estimates that the circular economy represents a $4.5 trillion opportunity, according to its 2015 Waste to Wealth study. Those companies that have not already embraced circular practices are facing pressure from shareholders and consumers to ensure that products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of their service life. For many companies this signifies a seismic shift -- a daunting but necessary -- business model transformation, replete with risks and opportunities.
Join us to learn:
Where are the opportunities in this transition, especially for start-ups?
What makes the circular economy supply chain different from traditional supply chains?
How do we design products that can be ‘made to be made again’?
What new technologies will be required?
What are key criteria investors look for?
How best to drive growth from a market or regulatory perspective?
Moderator: Kim Knickle, Manufacturing Lead, Blue Metal, an Insights Company
Speakers: Danielle Joseph, Investment Officer, The Closed Loop Fund
TBD, Jabil
Nicholas Tétreault , Senior Consultant, Sofies
Ned Bartlett, VP, Government Markets, Veolia, North America
For a quick look at the concept: https://youtu.be/zCRKvDyyHmI
Agenda
5:30 - 6:00pm - Registration and Networking
6:00 – 7:30pm – Panel Discussion with Audience Q&A
7:30 - 8:30pm - Networking
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Nanotechnology Advances for Healthcare and Environment
Tuesday, May 8
6:00 PM
MIT, Building 56-915, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Sameer Sonkusale, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Professor of Biomedical Engineering (adjunct); Director, Nano Lab, Tufts University
The answers to the grand challenges facing the society may lie in going small....really small. I will introduce nano-scale science and engineering where we can design and manipulate matter bottom-up with precision of less than one thousandth the thickness of human hair into life-size devices. While the promise of nanotechnology is endless, I will concern ourselves with democratizing this science for the public. I will address ways we can make such nano-enabled devices to sense our environment, food and health using low cost environmentally friendly techniques.
Prof. Sonkusale's teaching and research interests are in the area of flexible bioelectronics, biomedical micro- and nanodevices, lab-on-chip systems, nanoscale sensors, low power integrated circuits, analog to information converters, and active metamaterials for terahertz applications. His current research on "smart threads" to use engineered smart nano-infused threads for surgical sutures, wound dressings and wearable diagnsotics has been featured prominently by leading news organizations like the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Fast Company, Inc.com, National Public Radio (WBUR), IEEE Spectrum, The Telegraph (UK) to name a few.
The Science for the Public 2018 Science Lecture Series at MIT
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The MIT Forum: Whitfield Diffie '65
Tuesday, May 8
6:00pm to 9:00pm
MIT, Building E52, Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Join fellow MIT alumni and friends for a special MIT Forum event featuring Whitfield Diffie '65, cryptographer, internet pioneer, and scholar. Diffie, a consulting professor at The Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, won the 2015 A.M. Turing Award for "inventing and promulgating both asymmetric public-key cryptography, including its application to digital signatures, and a practical cryptographic key-exchange method."
Diffie's talk will be by a fireside chat with Wade Roush PhD '94, producer and host of Soonish, and audience Q&A. The event includes a reception with drinks and hors d'oeuvres.
MIT alumni and guests are welcome. Space is limited—register today.
About Whitfield Diffie '65
Whitfield Diffie is a former Vice President and Chief Security Officer of Sun Microsystems, where he became a Sun Fellow. As Chief Security Officer, Diffie was the chief exponent of Sun’s security vision and responsible for developing Sun’s strategy to achieve that vision.
Diffie received the 1996 ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award (with Leonard Adleman, Martin Hellman, Ralph Merkle, Ronald Rivest and Adi Shamir), and received the 2010 IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (with Martin Hellman and Ralph Merkle). He is a Marconi Fellow, a Fellow of the Computer History Museum, and received an honorary doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Diffie has authored more than 30 technical papers, and has testified several times to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the public policy aspects of cryptography.
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Reimagining the Future of Work in the Enterprise
Tuesday, May 8
6:00pm
Royal Sonesta Boston, 40 Edwin H Land Boulvard, Cambridge
The world of work as we know it is in a state of flux - automation, robotics and other digital innovations are altering the fundamental nature of work. These developments bring the promise of higher productivity, safety, convenience and overall increased efficiencies, but also raise questions about the larger impact of technology on jobs, skills, recruiting and dozens of other workplace fundamentals. Workers are challenging the conventional ideas of work and driving companies to adapt how they’re identifying and recruiting talent. Understanding these shifts will help business leaders, employees and policy makers prepare as best they can for what the future holds.
Discussion topics include:
Trends driving the changing nature of work
How to identify and source the best talent in a competitive market
Using recruiting technology to market to and track candidates
Optimizing for a bias-free recruiting process
How robotics and automation affect daily work
A shift towards remote, flexible, part-time, freelancing, and consulting
Measuring employee happiness and productivity via people analytics
The impact of onboarding, training, and communicating on your employees
How to maintain company culture while scaling
Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served.
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Boston New Technology IoT and eCommerce Startup Showcase #BNT89 21+
Tuesday, May 8
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
WeWork, 625 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://bit.ly/BNT89
Price: $15.00 /per person
Price increases to $30 during the last 48 hours. Refunds requested more than 24 hours in advance will be honored.
21+. Join Boston New Technology at WeWork on May 8th to:
See 7 innovative and exciting local IoT and eCommerce technology demos, presented by startup founders
Network with 200 attendees from the Boston-area startup/tech community
Get your free professional headshot photo from Kubica & Nguyen (non-intrusively watermarked)
Enjoy dinner with beer, other beverages & more
Each company presents an overview and demonstration of their product within 5 minutes and discusses questions with the audience.
Please click here to share/tweet this event: https://ctt.ec/pND1m
Please follow @BostonNewTech and support our presenters by posting on social media using our #BNT89 hashtag. We'll retweet you!
To save on tickets and enjoy exclusive benefits, purchase a BNT VIP Membership. Learn more: http://bit.ly/bNtvip
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M.C. Escher: The Art of Perception
Tuesday, May 8
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Abbey Room, Boston
Are you an M.C. Escher fan? Titillated by tessellations? Warmed by woodcuts?
Join the Associates of the Boston Public Library on Tuesday, May 8th to learn more about M.C. Escher and his works, with Museum of Fine Arts curator, Roni Baer. The Associates recently funded the digitization of 90 Escher prints owned by the Boston Public Library, four of which are currently on display in the MFA’s exhibition, M.C. Escher: Infinite Dimension.
A wine and cheese reception will begin at 6:00 PM in the Abbey Room, Boston Public Library Copley Square, followed by the lecture at 6:30 PM. Seating is first come, first serve.
In this talk, Ronni Baer, Elfers Senior Curator of European Painting at the MFA, will introduce the exhibition M.C. Escher: Infinite Dimensions, on view at the museum until May 28. Considering Escher’s choice and mastery of printmaking techniques, she will trace the development of the artist’s work, from his self-portraits, landscapes, and still lifes grounded in Dutch pictorial tradition; through his obsession with tessellations, or interlocking forms; to his experiments with optical illusions and perceptual games.
M.C. Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch printmaker whose preferred techniques were woodcut, wood engraving, and linoleum cut. Escher was fascinated with geometry and symmetry, and how those abstract design elements could be incorporated into his representations of the physical world, or world from within his mind. He explored how to represent people, animals, and objects rising from the flat page and then returning, as well as how to represent the endlessness of infinity. As a result, Escher’s work has been recognized both in the art world and in the scientific community.
Ronni Baer received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. Before coming to the MFA in 2000 as senior curator of European painting, she taught art history at the undergraduate and graduate levels and worked in curatorial departments at major museums in New York and Atlanta. She was curator of a monographic exhibition devoted to the paintings of Rembrandt’s first pupil, Gerrit Dou, that was shown at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, and the Mauritshuis in The Hague. She has published widely in the fields of Dutch, Flemish, and Spanish art and in the history of collecting. In Boston, Ronni has spearheaded numerous acquisitions and gallery installations, including the recent promised gift to the MFA of 113 Dutch and Flemish paintings, and was curator of, among other exhibitions: The Poetry of Everyday Life (2002); Rembrandt's Journey (with Cliff Ackley) (2004); El Greco to Velázquez (2008); and Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer (2016). For her work in furthering knowledge and the appreciation of art and culture, Ronni was knighted by King Juan Carlos of Spain in 2008 and by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in 2017. Her most recent project is M.C. Escher: Infinite Dimensions, the subject of tonight’s lecture, currently on view in the Rabb Gallery at the MFA until May 28.
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Can We Save Our Democracy?
Tuesday, May 8
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Columbia Point, Boston
A conversation with the authors of How Democracies Die
Many Americans have been troubled by recent political rhetoric about rigged elections and locking up political rivals, including Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, who have studied the demise of other democracies around the world, and their research has become increasingly relevant to the United States, as outlined in their book, How Democracies Die.
Levitsky and Ziblatt will visit the Institute for a discussion of what lessons can be gleaned from other nations, and share a roadmap for how we can save our democracy.
A book signing will follow. Two ticket options are available, including general admission (free) and general admission + book. Additional copies of the book will be available for sale at the Institute's gift shop.
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Notes from CPAC 2018 - Conservatism going forward - GBTea Party Boston
Tuesday, May 8
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Lir Irish Pub & Restaurant, 903 Boylston Street, Boston
Patrick (and others) are attending CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference 2018. This is put on yearly by the American Conservative Union (ACU) and is considered the largest gathering of conservative political activists in the country. We will discuss CPAC, and how things are going in the run up to the midterm elections in 2018. The budget process, which has disappointed many, will continue to evolve and we will be discussing its nuances. PLUS - We will be discussing the most meaningful races in Massachusetts in 2018. All the Massachusetts Constitutional officers are up for re-election (Governor, AG, SoS, etc). And Elizabeth Warren is up for re-election, and faces a number of Republican opponents.
Traditional Boston Meeting notes: We will again have a social hour at 6:30 pm and have the meeting begin at 7:30 pm.
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Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth—And How to Fix It
Tuesday, May 8
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Harvard Book Store and Mass Humanities welcome award-winning international economist DAMBISA MOYO—author of Winner Take All and Dead Aid—for a discussion of her latest book, Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth and How to Fix It.
About Edge of Chaos
Around the world, people who are angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds—from aging populations to scarce resources to unsustainable debt burdens. Hobbled by short-term thinking and ideological dogma, democracies risk falling prey to nationalism and protectionism that will deliver declining living standards.
In Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century.
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Jewish Radical Feminism: Voices from the Women’s Liberation Movement
Tuesday May 8
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline
Fifty years after the start of the women’s liberation movement, a book that at last illuminates the profound impact Jewishness and second-wave feminism had on each other.
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Bazaar of Ideas: Preparing the World for Climate Change
Tuesday, May 8
7:00pm to 10:00pm
MIT, Building 13, Lobby 13 (First floor lobby), 105 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
Terrascope students showcase their appropriate-technology designs for adapting to the impacts of climate change.
Free and open to the public. Refreshments to be served. Event is open and freeform; join us for as much or little as you like.
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Wednesday, May 9
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What does the Cybercrime Landscape Look Like?
Wednesday, May 9
8:00 AM – 9:45 AM EDT
University of Massachusetts Club, 1 Beacon Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-does-the-cybercrime-landscape-look-like-tickets-44854500017
HUB International New England and PURE Insurance invite you to an exclusive cyber seminar:
What does the Cybercrime Landscape Look Like? How can you Safeguard Your Successful Families?
Panel Discussion:
Joe Levy, Rubica, Chief Revenue Officer - What cybercrimes are occurring? What security measures should you and your clients be taking?Michael Taylor, PURE Insurance, Chief Claims Officer – What claims trends are happening in this space? How are criminals targeting high net-worth individuals and families?
Susan Ogrodnik-Smith, Hub International New England, Chief Sales Officer / Personal Insurance - What insurance coverages and services are available to assist you and your clients? What is the relative cost?
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MTL Seminar Series, DDS: "The Uncommon Nature of Point Defects in Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells"
Wednesday, May 9
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 34-401B, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Olivia Hentz, MIT
Developing novel materials for renewable energy production will be critical to combatting climate change. Perovskite materials show promise for next-generation solar cells, but are limited by instabilities related to point defect migration. In this talk, we explore the detrimental effects of point defects in perovskite materials and how understanding point defects is a key step towards commercial perovskite solar cells.
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Grand Opening of Greentown Labs' Global Center for Cleantech Innovation
Wednesday, May 9
1:00-8:00pm
444 Somerville Avenue, Somerville
Cost: $54.84
Greentown Labs moved into its new Global Center for Cleantech Innovation in late 2017, enabling the community to grow to more than 70 member companies! The 60,000 sq. ft., 100-year-old retrofitted building has expanded the incubator into a 3-facility campus which provides its members with prototyping lab space, a wet lab, a machine shop, office space for more than 450 entrepreneurs, a 500-person event space, and a variety of flexible membership options including a new ecosystem coworking space.
Our community has settled in, acclimated to the new facility, and welcomed many new members which means now its time to celebrate!
Please join us on May 9 to explore our Global Center, meet our growing startup community, hear from impressive keynote speakers including Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, and see how the space not only "talks the cleantech talk" but "walks" it too.
We "walk the cleantech walk" by incorporating many of Greentown Labs member and sponsor technologies into the facility! Some of these technologies include Saint-Gobain's decoustic materials and SageGlass windows, Ivys Energy Solutions' hydrogen refueling station, Crowd Comfort's Human Sensor Network(C), and more! We'll reveal more technology installations at the Grand Opening.
The celebration will begin with Greentown Labs' annual DEMO Day which is a showcase of cutting-edge technology and innovation from across the cleantech and energy sectors. DEMO Day brings together entrepreneurs, investors, strategic partners, and VIPs from around the world to view and discuss solutions to our global environmental challenges.
We hope you'll join us and help make this official opening one for the books!
Event Program:
1:00-3:00 — DEMO Day Lab Showcase
3:30-4:30 — Grand Opening Programming + Ribbon Cutting
Speaking Program featuring:
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone
Greentown Labs CEO, Dr. Emily Reichert
Senior leaders from Shell, Saint-Gobain, and BASF, and
"Popcorn pitches" from 10 of Greentown Labs member companies!
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xTalk with Prof David Pritchard Speaking on "10 Reasons to Replace Midterms with Weekly Online Quizzes"
Wednesday, May 9
3:00pm to 4:00pm
MIT, Building 66-168, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
MIT professor David Pritchard – developer of MasteringPhysics.com, MOOC runner, and discipline-based education researcher – will begin this xTalk presenting research evidence showing that weekly quizzes, or even biweekly quizzes, are strongly preferred over standard midterms for pedagogical reasons:
Better student learning – effect size about 1 sigma
Students will study (not just do homework) every week
Less homework copying
Students give more positive evaluations of assessment
Frequent quizzing solidifies learning better than reviewing
Secondly, Pritchard will show strong preliminary evidence that online quizzes:
Are fairer due to reduced random error in testing
Predict final exam scores on MIT style hand-graded problems better than quizzes consisting of MIT style hand-graded problems.
Provide separate measurements of conceptual and long problem ability of students (and show that these are separate abilities)
Provide immediate feedback to teacher
Are a consistent year to year evaluation of student knowledge to evaluate teaching and reforms
Given the numerous advantages of implementing weekly online quizzes, it behooves us to think carefully about smoothing the way to adopting this at MIT. This will involve an audience discussion:
Student objections to any change whatsoever
Do we have to allow access to the problems and answers after the quiz – thereby jeopardizing test security against fraternity bibles, etc.? Or can we argue that right/wrong feedback and immediate feedback generates better learning in real time?
What to do with large courses with spaced multiple-sections?
Professor David E. Pritchard is a principal investigator in the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Group and works on Basic Atomic Physics in the Research Laboratory of Electronics. He is also a teacher. During the past few years he has developed a computer-based tutorial for elementary mechanics called Cybertutor, which has been used successfully in versions of 8.01: Physics.
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Biological Motion
WHEN Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Janina Wellmann, 2017–2018 Maury Green Fellow, Radcliffe Institute; Historian, Leuphana University of Luneburg (Germany)
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS During her fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute, Janina Wellmann is completing a book on biological motion, presenting a comprehensive history of concepts, images, and ways of moving in biology from the 18th century to today. The book examines motion in the living world not as a simple given, but as a quality in relation to how we produce the knowledge about motion in a specific historical and cultural setting. Studying concepts and visualizations of motion in history, then, reveals changing notions of what it means to be alive, past and present.
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Deep reinforcement learning: Recent developments and some implications for psychology
Wednesday, May 9
4:00pm to 5:00pm
Harvard, William James Hall - Room 1, Basement Auditorium, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
Matthew M. Botvinick, MD, PhD, Director of Neuroscience Research, Google DeepMind, London, UK
Honorary Professor, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London
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Humanitarian Happy Hour hosted by the MIT Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Working Group
Wednesday, May 9
5:30 PM
Brick and Mortar (Central Square), 567 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Free food will be provided!
Come out to network with students and faculty working in humanitarian affairs across Harvard, MIT, BU, and Tufts.
When: May 9th 5:30 PM
Where:
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Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics
Wednesday, May 9
6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
Cost: $5 - $23.75 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store and Mass Humanities welcome Harvard professor and Pulitzer Prize–winning author STEPHEN GREENBLATT for a discussion of his latest book, Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics.
About Tyrant
As an aging, tenacious Elizabeth I clung to power, a talented playwright probed the social causes, the psychological roots, and the twisted consequences of tyranny. In exploring the psyche (and psychoses) of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, Coriolanus, and the societies they rule over, Stephen Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the catastrophic consequences of its execution.
Cherished institutions seem fragile, political classes are in disarray, economic misery fuels populist anger, people knowingly accept being lied to, partisan rancor dominates, spectacular indecency rules―these aspects of a society in crisis fascinated Shakespeare and shaped some of his most memorable plays. With uncanny insight, he shone a spotlight on the infantile psychology and unquenchable narcissistic appetites of demagogues―and the cynicism and opportunism of the various enablers and hangers-on who surround them―and imagined how they might be stopped. As Greenblatt shows, Shakespeare’s work, in this as in so many other ways, remains vitally relevant today.
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authors@MIT: Meredith Broussard, Artificial Unintelligence
Wednesday, May 9
6:00pm
The MIT Press Bookstore, Building N50, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Join us as we welcome Meredith Broussard to the MIT Press Bookstore to discuss and sign copies of Artificial Unintelligence. This event is free. Books will be on sale at the event for 20% off, or you can purchase an event ticket that includes a discounted book.
About Artificial Unintelligence
In Artificial Unintelligence, Meredith Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so eager to do everything digitally—hiring, driving, paying bills, even choosing romantic partners—that we have stopped demanding that our technology actually work.
Broussard, a software developer and journalist, reminds us that there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology. With this book, she offers a guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology—and issues a warning that we should never assume that computers always get things right. If we understand the limits of what we can do with technology, Broussard tells us, we can make better choices about what we should do with it to make the world better for everyone.
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The Public Conversation
Wednesday, May 9
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston
Join Boston Public Library President David Leonard in conversation with Robert Kuttner, author of Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism? and Lisa Lynch, Provost at Brandeis University.
Is economic populism really in the best interests of common citizens? In Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism? Robert Kuttner explains how the political embrace of predatory global capitalism, by the mainstream right and the center-left, has benefited elites at the expense of ordinary citizens—and how this in turn has resulted in a massive backlash and a shift toward authoritarianism - from Poland to Turkey, Venezuela to the Philippines, with alarming gains even in Scandinavia, in addition to recent shifts in US policy
Robert Kuttner, cofounder and coeditor of The American Prospect, is a former columnist for BusinessWeek, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe and author of eleven books. He holds the Meyer and Ida Kirstein Chair at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and lives in Boston.
Lisa Lynch is provost of Brandeis University. Previously, she served as interim president of Brandeis, dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and held faculty positions at Tufts, MIT, and OSU. Lynch has been the chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor; chair of the board of directors of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank; and president of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. Lynch has published on the impact of technology on the workplace, the determinants of youth unemployment, and the school-to-work transition.
This is Boston Public Library’s first installment of “The Public Conversation,” a series where BPL President David Leonard is in conversation with academics, writers, and intellectuals to discuss events and issues of the national collective conscience. The series is sponsored by Bank of America.
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Design Night: Building for Good
Wednesday, May 9
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDT
Autodesk BUILD Space, 23 Dry Dock Avenue, Boston
Cost: $20 – $25
Redefining Resilient Infrastructure
Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters are what many call the “new normal." There's a critical need to respond to potential disasters with creativity and life-saving design solutions. Instead of waiting for disaster to strike, experts can proactively rethink infrastructure design and ensure communities are prepared to thrive in a more resilient future. We’re excited to partner with Autodesk Foundation’s grantee Build Change on Design Night to explore how their design and engineering acumen is saving lives.
Join us at Autodesk’s Boston Design Night to experience more!
Hear from Dr. Elizabeth Hausler, Founder & CEO of Build Change.
Enjoy craft beers and inspired cocktails!
Compete in a resilient building challenge!
Groove to a live DJ!
And much more!
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Bioverse Boston: 3D Bioprinting Meetup for Bio-Enthusiasts & Pioneers
Wednesday, May 9
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
121, 50 Milk Street, Boston
Bioverse Boston, is a meetup which focuses on educating individuals about 3D Bioprinting and bringing members of the Boston 3D Bioprinting community together! 3D Bioprinting is a highly interdisciplinary field, involving engineers, researchers, developers, physicians, mathematicians, and people passionate about reshaping the medical industry. If you fit this description, this meetup is for you, and we encourage you to join us!
Bioverse Boston is hosted by CELLINK in collaboration with Fab@CIC. CELLINK is the world's first bioink company which specializes in biocompatible bioinks and 3D bioprinters, passionate about revolutionizing the future of medicine through innovative technology. Fab@CIC is a creative space where people can connect, learn, and collaborate over a cup of coffee and a 3D printer; not just a digital fabrication cafe, but a hub for the local design and maker community that connects to a global business network.
Attendees need only bring an enthusiasm to learn more about the world of 3D Bioprinting (and a 21+ ID if planning to consume free alcoholic beverages!) Looking forward to seeing you all there.
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Is Capitalism Devouring Democracy?
Wednesday, May 9
7pm
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Join us on Wednesday May 9 to hear Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, fierce EU critic, and Professor of Economics at the University of Athens as he considers the need for a radically new way of thinking about the economy, finance and capitalism.
More information at http://www.cambridgeforum.org
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Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules in Work and in Life
Wednesday, May 9
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Harvard Book Store welcomes award-winning researcher and Harvard Business School professor FRANCESCA GINO for a discussion of her latest book, Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life.
About Rebel Talent
Rebels have a bad reputation. We think of them as troublemakers, outcasts, contrarians: those colleagues, friends, and family members who complicate seemingly straightforward decisions, create chaos, and disagree when everyone else is in agreement. But in truth, rebels are also those among us who change the world for the better with their unconventional outlooks. Instead of clinging to what is safe and familiar, and falling back on routines and tradition, rebels defy the status quo. They are masters of innovation and reinvention, and they have a lot to teach us.
Francesca Gino, a behavioral scientist and professor at Harvard Business School, has spent more than a decade studying rebels at organizations around the world, from high-end boutiques in Italy’s fashion capital to the World’s Best Restaurant, to a thriving fast food chain, to an award-winning computer animation studio. In her work, she has identified leaders and employees who exemplify “rebel talent,” and whose examples we can all learn to embrace.
Gino argues that the future belongs to the rebel—and that there’s a rebel in each of us. We live in turbulent times, when competition is fierce, reputations are easily tarnished on social media, and the world is more divided than ever before. In this cutthroat environment, cultivating rebel talent is what allows businesses to evolve and to prosper. And rebellion has an added benefit beyond the workplace: it leads to a more vital, engaged, and fulfilling life.
Whether you want to inspire others to action, build a business, or build more meaningful relationships, Rebel Talent will show you how to succeed—by breaking all the rules.
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WGBH and NECIR ask: Is social media killing journalism?
Wednesday, May 9
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT)
WGBH, 1 Guest Street, Boston
Join WGBH and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting for this timely panel asking “Is social media killing journalism?” This panel features experts representing diverse viewpoints. Light reception to follow.
Social media channels—such as Facebook, Twitter and Google—are making it easier for reporters to seek out diverse voices and reach out to new audiences outside their local markets. But while social media has been instrumental in driving traffic to news organizations, political interest groups have also used it to manipulate news coverage and public opinion in a way that has had an impact on the US political process.
Paul Singer, Investigations Editor for New England Center for Investigative Reporting and WGBH
Shira Center, Assistant News Editor (editor, state and city politics), The Boston Globe
Lauren Dezenski, Editor, Massachusetts Playbook, Politico
Laura Colarusso, Moderator, Digital Managing Editor, WGBH
Tickets are free with a suggested donation of $10 or more.
WGBH and the nonprofit New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) at Boston University partner to investigate stories that expose injustice and hold the powerful accountable. Working from WGBH's newsroom, NECIR reporters produce stories for radio, television, print and online that garner awards and spur changes in the law, policy and behavior.
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Thursday, May 10 - Friday, May 11
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Mozilla Global Sprint
Thursday, May 10 - Friday, May 11
Mozilla’s Global Sprint is a fun, two-day collaborative hackathon. A diverse network of educators, engineers, artists, scientists, and many others come together in person and online to build projects for a healthy Internet.
As part of a global movement to make the Internet better, safer, and healthier, educators are creating games that explore online privacy and digital citizenship. Scientists are sharing data online to speed the discovery of new medical treatments. Coders are building smartphone apps to prevent gender-based violence. All this (and much more) is happening in the open—so anyone can watch this work evolve, build on shared knowledge, and pitch in to help out.
At the Global Sprint, you can join us… no matter your skill level or background.
We’ll gather to work on over 100 projects to support a healthy Internet. Bring your design or writing skills, expertise in coding, teaching, QA testing, game design, and more. We’ll use basic online tools like chat, video conferencing, collaborative editing software, and code/content sharing platforms to work and learn together. Collaborate with partners in the same room—or on the other side of the world.
You can sprint as a Participant, Project Lead, or Site Host.
Sprinting for a Healthy Internet
In 2018 we’re sprinting on projects that support our five key Internet Health Issues:
WEB LITERACY: Projects that teach individuals skills to shape — and not simply consume — the web.
OPENNESS: Projects that keep the web transparent and understandable, allow anyone to invent online without asking permission, and encourage thoughtful sharing and reuse of data, code, and ideas.
PRIVACY & SECURITY: Projects that illuminate what happens to our personal data online, and how to make the Internet safer for all.
DIGITAL INCLUSION: Projects that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to access the Internet, and can use it to improve their lives and societies.
DECENTRALIZATION: Projects that protect and secure an Internet controlled by many, so that no one actor can own it or control it or switch it off.
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Thursday, May 10
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The Greentown Labs E-Capital Summit
Thursday, May 10
10:00 AM to 7:30 PM (EDT)
444 Somerville Ave., Somerville
The Greentown Labs E-Capital Summit, co-created with EarthX, will convene mission-driven investors to provide information about how they can continue—or begin—to have a positive impact on profit, people, and planet through investment into cleantech startups. This invite-only event will feature a variety of success stories, lessons learned, organizations at the forefront of impact investing, and a curated group of startups from the Greentown Labs community who will share how their innovations are impacting our clean energy future.
Event Program:
10:00am — Breakfast + Mingling
10:30am — Welcoming Remarks from Greentown Labs and EarthX
Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs
Trammell Crow, Founder, EarthX
11:00am — Impact 2.0 Presentation and TED-style Talks about How to be an Investor in the Cleantech Space
Liqian Ma, Managing Director, Cambridge Associates
Adam Rein, Food & Agriculture Investing
Julianne Zimmerman, Investing in Female and Diverse Funders
Mike Phillips, Digital and Retail Energy Innovation
Pieter Wolters, Strategies for Corporate Innovation
12:00pm — Lunch + Investing for Impact: A Case Study of Success
Matthew Nordan, Co-founder and Investment Committee Chairman, PRIME Coalition
Joe Zhou, Quidnet Energy
1:15pm — Panel: Leading Efforts by Foundations and Angel Investors
Moderated by Mitch Tyson, Co-Founder & Chair, Northeast Clean Energy Council; Principal, Tyson Associates
Gail Greenwald, Clean Energy Venture Group, Launchpad Angel Group
Johanna Wolfson, Principal, PRIME Impact Fund
David Buzby, Private Investor, Various Impact Investments
Temple Fennell, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Clean Energy Venture Fund
2:15pm — Afternoon Break + Transition Time
2:45pm — Startup Pitches by Sector
5:30pm — Closing Remarks + Networking Reception
7:30pm — Event Concludes
Pitching Startups:
Energy, Water, and Agriculture: OffGridBox, PV Pure, C16 Biosciences, Electrona Robotics, Promethean Power Systems, Exact-Lux
Digital Energy and Automation: TagUp, Palmos, Carbontec Worldwide, MultiSensor Scientific, Embr Labs, Trace Matters
Energy Storage and New Energy: Eden GeoPower, Pecos Wind Power, Dynamo Micropower, Halo Energy,Green Gas, Heila Technologies
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The Stalemate of Nuclear Waste Management and its Effect on the Fuel Cycle, Security, and Non-Proliferation Endeavors
WHEN Thursday, May 10, 2018, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, One Brattle Square #350, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR International Security Program
SPEAKER(S) Katlyn Turner, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch@harvard.edu
DETAILS An International Security Program Brown Bag Seminar. Coffee & Tea Provided.
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Humans Need Not Apply: Reflections on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
Thursday, May 10
5:00pm
MIT, Building 32-123; Stata Center; 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speakers: Thomas Kochan, George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management, MIT Sloan
Andrew McAfee, Co-Founder, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Elisabeth B. Reynolds, Executive Director, MIT Industrial Performance Center; lecturer on Innovation and Economic Development; Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Join us for a substantive and lively program on AI and the future of work.
Moderating the program will be Professor Lucas Stanczyk of Harvard University. Professor Stanczyk works on topics at the intersection of political philosophy and political economy. His book manuscript develops a theory of justice in production. His other research and teaching is focused on ethical problems in global energy policy, and the ethics of growing inequality. He has been assistant professor of political science and affiliated faculty of philosophy at MIT. In 2017 he joined the philosophy department at Harvard.
Dr. McAfee is a well-known scientist who studies how technological progress relates to business and society and he is the co-founder of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. He speaks frequently on the topic of AI and society. Here is a sample TED Talk. He is also the recent co-author, along with MIT economist Erik Brynjolfsson, of Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing our Digital Future.
Professor Thomas Kochan, an esteemed economist, is the George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management, a Professor of Work and Employment Research and the Co-Director of the MIT Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is the co-author (along with Lee Dyer) of Shaping the Future of Work: A Handbook for Action and a New Social Contract. Here is a video of a recent talk Professor Kochan gave at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
Dr. Elisabeth B Reynolds works on issues related to systems of innovation, regional economic development and industrial competitiveness. She has focused in particular on the theory and practice of cluster development and regional innovation systems and advises several organizations in this area. Her current research focuses on the pathways that U.S. entrepreneurial firms take in scaling production-related technologies, as well as advanced manufacturing, including the globalization of the biomanufacturing industry.
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Spirituality and Psychiatry: A Global Perspective
WHEN Thursday, May 10, 2018, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, TMEC 209 Mini Amphitheater, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Health Sciences, Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Initiative on Health, Religion, and Spirituality
SPEAKER(S) Alexander Moreira-Almeida, M.D., Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, as well as the Founder and Director of the Research Center in Spirituality and Health at Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) School of Medicine, Brazil. He is also the Chair of the Sections on Spirituality of the World Psychiatric Association and the Brazilian Psychiatric Association.
COST Free
DETAILS This talk will present a brief overview of the impact of spirituality on mental health and its implications for psychiatric practice. It will also discuss the recently-released World Psychiatric Association (WPA)’s Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry, which calls for psychiatrists to acknowledge the role of religion/spirituality within the full ecology of patient experience and to incorporate patients’ religion/ spirituality into treatment plans as appropriate.
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Imperial Arrangements: South African Apartheid and the Force of Photography
Thursday, May 10
5:00pm to 6:30pm
MIT, Building 56-114, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
This talk by Kimberly Juanita Brown will consider the prominence of graphic photographic images during the decades of apartheid in South Africa. Specifically, she is interested in an archive of indifference that permeates the era and orchestrates the viewer’s relationship to black subjectivity. For the talk she will focus on US news media coverage of apartheid in the last year of its existence, and the images that anchored viewers’ interpretation of the event.
Kimberly Juanita Brown is Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Assistant Professor for 2017-2018, hosted by MIT Literature ant MIT Women’s & Gender Studies. She is an Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies at Mount Holyoke College and author of The Repeating Body: Slavery’s Visual Resonance in the Contemporary.
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2.007 Final Robot Competition
Thursday, May 10
5:00pm to 10:30pm
MIT Johnson Ice Rink (W34), Cambridge
Join us for our annual 2.007 robot competition with this year's Willy Wonka-inspired theme, Calculated Imagination. Using only the kit of tools and materials provided, students have been challenged to build a robot that can grab the Golden Ticket, lift Oompa-Loompas, and collect golden eggs!
Schedule of Events
5:00pm - 6:00pm: Engineering Petting Zoo
Students and sponsors display their projects and products. Refreshments Provided. Learn more
6:30pm - 10:30pm: 2.007 Final Robot Competition
Students in class 2.007 compete in a Willy Wonka themed final robot competition.
Can't attend in person? Tune into Facebook Live where we will be live-streaming the 2.007 Final Robot competition starting at 6:30pm EDT.
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Farm Share Fair 2018
Thursday, May 10
5:30-8:30 pm
The Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.farmsharefair.com
Do you love local, fresh food? Maybe you’ve been thinking about joining a CSA – a Farm Share? A Farm Share program allows you to receive a fabulous box of great stuff every week direct from a Massachusetts farm. Join us at THE ARMORY on MAY 10th and meet the fantastic farmers and home delivery companies from across this state, which bring local produce to the Boston area. Compare and learn about all the various options: veggies, fruit, flowers, meat, fish eggs, dairy, and specialty products. Over 40 vendors will be at the fair, including some wonderful sustainable food product companies and service providers. Spend your food dollars on locally grown, and sign up at the Farm Share Fair!
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Vannevar Bush Lecture Series on Science and Technology Innovation: The 21st Century’s Technology Story: The Convergence of Biology and Engineering
Thursday, May 10
6:00pm to 7:00pm
MIT, Building E51-395, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Susan Hockfield
Topic Summary
With an anticipated world population of over 9.5 billion by 2050, we face an unprecedented challenge to sustainably provide sufficient food, water, energy and healthcare. Convergence, the merging of previously distinct disciplines, has emerged as a powerful model with untold potential to drive a new cycle of innovation-based economic growth. Bringing together insights and discoveries from the life, engineering, computation and physical sciences holds the promise of accelerating discovery and the development of new technologies to meet the 21st century’s needs. MIT has been a world leader in promoting Convergence approaches in education and research, paving the way to the discoveries and technologies that will transform our world
About the Speaker
Susan Hockfield served from 2004 to 2012 as the sixteenth president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first life scientist and first woman in that role. She is now President Emerita, Professor of Neuroscience and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. As president, Hockfield strengthened the foundations of MIT’s finances and campus planning while advancing Institute-wide programs in sustainable energy and the convergence of the life, physical and engineering sciences. She helped shape national policy for energy and next-generation manufacturing, appointed by President Obama in 2011 to co-chair the steering committee of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership and by serving as a member of a Congressional Commission evaluating the Department of Energy laboratories in 2015. As a biologist, she pioneered the use of monoclonal antibody technology in brain research, identifying proteins through which neural activity early in life affect brain development. She discovered a gene implicated in the spread of cancer in the brain, providing a link between her research and human health. Prior to MIT, she was the William Edward Gilbert Professor of Neurobiology, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1998-2002), and Provost (2003-2004) at Yale University. She studied at the University of Rochester and Georgetown University and carried out research at the NIH and UCSF before joining the faculty at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and then Yale. She has published extensively, in scientific and public media. She is chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and currently serves as a director of General Electric, Partners HealthCare System, and the Council on Foreign Relations, is a life member of the MIT Corporation, a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a board member of the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School. She has received many academic and civic awards, as well as numerous honorary degrees from national and international universities.
This lecture series, which includes eminent researchers and innovators from a wide variety of fields across MIT, will showcase the numerous forms that innovation takes and the pathways it can take from ideation to implementation.
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Reviving Investigative Journalism Meet & Greet!
Thursday, May 10
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
WeWork - Mass Ave, 625 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Before we dive into live investigations, we thought it would be good to have a meet and greet first to get to know each other.
Here, we will casually hang out with free pizza and beer and talk about our passions, the purpose of the group, and what everyone is interested in investigating.
Can't wait to meet all of you!
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Mass Innovation Nights 110
Thursday, May 10
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Draper, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge
THURSDAY, May 10th we are back at Draper's Sembler Office for Startup Engagement, in their new super cool location. 10 robots, AI and wearable products will be showcased at MIN #110! Sembler is Draper's way to foster the development of technology entrepreneurs by leveraging their extensive resources and 80+ years of expertise in solving the world's toughest engineering problems.
Check out the new PRODUCTS and
VOTE for your favorites - click on the words VOTE HERE (found on this page http://mass.innovationnights.com/events/mass-innovation-nights-110 to the immediate left) and once on the product voting page, click LOVE IT (only four times)!
RSVP to attend the event on THURSDAY, May 10th (free to attend and open to all)
See who else is planning on attending (click the ATTENDEES tab)
Help spread the word - blog, tweet (using the #MIN110 hashtag), like and post!
Support local innovation -- network and have fun at the same time!
Don't miss it -- THURSDAY, May 10th 6 pm - 8:30 pm for Mass Innovation Nights #110!
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Sustainability Collaborative
Thursday, May 10
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
RSVP to sierra@coalesce.earth
The Sustainability Collaborative was spurred as an outgrowth of the Sustainability unConference and aims to provide an ongoing platform for collaboration, connections, and solutions generation. Rotating sustainability advocates are given the chance to facilitate group discussion around central sustainability themes ranging from hunger alleviation to impact investing. The goal is to raise awareness within the innovation community while strengthening the social impact ecosystem.
Hosted monthly as part of The Venture Café Foundation’s Café Night at Kendall gathering.
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The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
Thursday, May 10
6:30 PM (Doors at 6:00)
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed author and journalist SIMON WINCHESTER for a discussion of his latest book, The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World.
Please Note
Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. Seating and elevator access to the Lecture Hall (located on level L2) will begin at 6pm. A 70-car underground parking garage with access from Broadway is available when the library is open.
About The Perfectionists
The revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement—precision—in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.
The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools—machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras—and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider.
Simon Winchester takes us back to origins of the Industrial Age, to England where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today’s cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia.
As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?
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AN EVENING WITH ETHICAL STARTUPS
Thursday, May 10
6:30 – 8:30 pm EDT
GA Boston, 125 Summer Street 13th Floor, Boston
Ricky Ashenfelter, Co-Founder & CEO, Spoiler Alert
Veera Anantha, Founder, COO, The Learning Corp
Alejandra Carrero, Founder, Futurewear
About This Event
Boston is booming with startups, but there's always talk of social good in business.
Join us for an evening including a variety of ethical startups making a difference in their industries. Learn from experts about what it takes to make a social good idea into a full blooming business - without compromise. If you're looking for inspiration or to see what the future of social good enterprise looks like, this is the place to be.
By signing up for this event, you’re giving our partners and sponsors for this event permission to contact you about upcoming events and promotions.
About the Speakers
Ricky Ashenfelter, Co-Founder & CEO, Spoiler Alert
Ricky Ashenfelter is the Co-Founder & CEO of Spoiler Alert, a Boston-based technology company helping food businesses manage unsold inventory.
Spoiler Alert offers a business intelligence solution that allows food distributors, manufacturers and retailers to get a better handle on their food recovery and waste diversion efforts, as well as a controlled, private marketplace that facilitates real-time food donations, discounted sales, or organics recycling. Born out of MIT in 2015, Spoiler Alert raised $2.5M in funding from Acre Ventures (VC arm of the Campbell Soup Co.) in 2016 and is the leading food waste solutions provider for Sysco Corporation and HelloFresh.
Prior to Spoiler Alert, Ricky was a Senior Consultant in Deloitte’s Sustainability practice, where he led energy and supply chain analyses for major food, retail, and CPG companies, including Walmart, US Foods, WhiteWave, and Darden Restaurants. He is a frequent speaker on food waste solutions in the U.S. and is seen as a thought leader around the role that emerging technologies can play in recovering value from unsold inventory and organics.
Ricky holds a bachelor's degree in Finance and Environmental Studies from Georgetown University, earned his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017. Prior to joining Deloitte, Ricky was a Senior Associate at ClearCarbon Inc. (acquired by Deloitte in 2010) and worked with the U.S. EPA’s Climate Protection Partnerships Division.
Veera Anantha, Founder, COO, The Learning Corp
Hands-on technology executive and business leader with a passion to change the world using technology and big data. Dr. Veera Anantha held executive positions at Fortune 100 companies; and successfully founded, led & grown technology startups resulting in significant exits (to Apple, Motorola, Digital Health Corp).
He is currently Founder & COO of The Learning Corp (recently acquired by Digital Health Corp). Their award winning mobile product, Constant Therapy, uses advanced data analytics to help people recover their brain function after a stroke, brain injury or other neurological disorders. They have quickly grown into a high impact digital health company serving tens of thousands of patients and clinicians globally.
In his previous work, he created & led technology products with significant impact including: the wireless technology used around the world to design and manage complex wireless networks such as during the Olympics (Wireless Valley, acquired by Motorola); and the world’s fastest Digital Signal Processor (Intrinsity, acquired by Apple).
He is a Charter Member of TiE Boston, mentor at Insight Health Data Science, and love to help fellow entrepreneurs think through the process of starting and building tech / digital health companies. His interests & expertise include: digital health, mobile & cloud-based technologies, big data, wireless sensors to create a more connected world, and technologies to make health-care significantly more efficient.
For more information about his company, please go to https://www.constanttherapy.com/.
Alejandra Carrero, Founder, Futurewear
“The fashion industry is the second largest contributor to pollution in the world,” says Alejandra Carrero, CEO of Futurewear.
The majority of everyday shoppers are unaware of the damaging industry practices that are far too commonplace: many clothing factories dump chemicals into nearby rivers, the industry uses large amounts of fossil fuels to transport raw materials often to factories, and our “fast fashion” culture encourages the use of cheap petroleum-based materials. Keep in mind, clothing is of course ubiquitous and so all of this is happening on a massive scale.
Carrero worked inside the system, and it was this inside exposure that inspired her to seek change. While working in the industry, Carrero visited a Chinese textile factory and was horrified to see exhausted female workers and young children roaming around. Following this experience, she became motivated to shop from more conscious clothing brands; However, as her search for conscious clothing developed, Carrero came to realize one simple truth: eco-friendly fashion choices are not easy to find.
Thus, Futurewear was born.
Founded in June of 2015, Futurewear is an online platform that promotes sustainable and ethical fashion brands. Carrero offers packages to conscious clothing brands, which include marketing services such as sales postings, social media promotions, email marketing to consumers, and spotlight blog posts. Since its beta launch on September 8, 2016, more than 10,000 followers and consumers have utilized Futurewear! In 2018, Futurewear offers millennials stylish and ethical apparel among all e-commerce clothing retailers, by providing industry experts curating our products with one-stop-shop.
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Atlantic Salmon Lost at Sea
Thursday, May 10
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Simons IMAX Theatre New England Aquarium< Museum Wharf Boston
Introduction by the film’s producer, Deirdre Brennan, followed by a question-and-answer session with Jonathan Carr, Vice President of Research and Environment, Atlantic Salmon Federation
Narrated by Irish actor and films director Gabriel Byrne, Lost at Sea takes the viewer on an epic journey through the oceanic kingdom of the Atlantic salmon–king of fish–in an attempt to unravel the mystery of their life at sea. Populations of salmon are plummeting to critical levels, even going extinct in some southern rivers. Despite conservation efforts worldwide, populations continue to fall. The cause is mortality at sea.
For the first time, scientists, using the latest DNA technology, are able to track the salmon from the rivers, through the estuaries, and into the vast North Atlantic Ocean and back again, in hopes of finding an answer before it is too late.
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The Order of Time
Thursday, May 10
7:30 PM (Doors at 6:30)
Alley Cambridge, 10 Ware Street, Cambridge
Cost: $5 - $22.00 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes renowned theoretical physicist CARLO ROVELLI—author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Reality Is Not What It Seems—for a discussion of his latest book, The Order of Time.
About The Order of Time
Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to "flow"? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike.
For most readers, this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it remains. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where at the most fundamental level time disappears. He explains how the theory of quantum gravity attempts to understand and give meaning to the resulting extreme landscape of this timeless world. Weaving together ideas from philosophy, science, and literature, he suggests that our perception of the flow of time depends on our perspective, better understood starting from the structure of our brain and emotions than from the physical universe.
Already a bestseller in Italy, and written with the poetic vitality that made Seven Brief Lessons on Physics so appealing, The Order of Time offers a profoundly intelligent, culturally rich, novel appreciation of the mysteries of time.
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Friday, May 11
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Physics of Cybersecurity: Sensors, Acoustics, Cuba
Friday, May 11
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
MIT, Building E32-G882, Hewlett, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Kevin Fu, University of Michigan
Abstract: Medical devices, autonomous vehicles, and the Internet of Things depend on the integrity and availability of trustworthy data from sensors to make safety-critical, automated decisions. How can such cyberphysical systems remain secure against an adversary using intentional interference to fool sensors? Physics-based cybersecurity risks can bubble up into operating systems as bizarre, undefined behavior. Transduction attacks using audible acoustic, ultrasonic, and radio interference can manipulate sensors found in devices ranging from fitbits to hard drives to implantable medical devices with implications to file system integrity and human safety. Defenders can fight back with physics and more trustworthy software APIs. I’ll wrap up by explaining how ultrasonic exfiltration could have caused the symptoms experienced by diplomats harmed in Cuba.
Biography: Kevin Fu enjoys early-stage, interdisciplinary research where there are still many par-baked problems to define and solve. Kevin was recognized as an IEEE Fellow, Sloan Research Fellow, and MIT Technology Review TR35 Innovator of the Year. He serves as chair of the CCC Cybersecurity Task Force. His students received some best paper awards. Kevin earned a certificate of artisanal bread making from the French Culinary Institute.
Contact: Deborah Goodwin, 617.324.7303, dlehto@csail.mit.edu
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InnovationWell: Towards Evidence-based Care for Human Health and the Environment
Friday, May 11
2:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, Cambridge
Event Program
2:30 p.m. Warm up with coffee and chocolate cake
3:00 p.m. Perspectives to spice our conversations
Leading evidence-based collaboration to transparently, objectively and dispassionately compare the performance and predictive abilities of new and old technologies, Katya Tsaioun, Director, Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Evidence-based approaches to Environmental Risk Assessment, Kris Thayer, Director, Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), US Environmental Protection Agency
Supporting community initiatives with data and trust, Barry Hardy, CEO, Douglas Connect
3:45 p.m. Knowledge Café
Discussion in small groups, with a rotation of tables every 20 minutes.
4:45 p.m. Insight Sharing
The sum is always greater than the parts! Let’s share and combine experience and ideas!
5:15 p.m. Tearing Down The Wall
Networking with refreshments including Boston beer, eco-friendly snacks, and Swiss cheese
Please also register on our website so we can gather some more details about you before the event: http://www.innovationwell.net/events/2018-boston
We look forward to connecting with you soon!
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The Known Citizen A History of Privacy in Modern America
Friday, May 11
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Harvard Coop, 1400 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Every day, Americans make decisions about their privacy: what to share and when, how much to expose and to whom. Securing the boundary between one’s private affairs and public identity has become a central task of citizenship. How did privacy come to loom so large in American life? Sarah Igo tracks this elusive social value across the twentieth century, as individuals questioned how they would, and should, be known by their own society.
Privacy was not always a matter of public import. But beginning in the late nineteenth century, as corporate industry, social institutions, and the federal government swelled, increasing numbers of citizens believed their privacy to be endangered. Popular journalism and communication technologies, welfare bureaucracies and police tactics, market research and workplace testing, scientific inquiry and computer data banks, tell-all memoirs and social media all propelled privacy to the foreground of U.S. culture. Jurists and philosophers but also ordinary people weighed the perils, the possibilities, and the promise of being known. In the process, they redrew the borders of contemporary selfhood and citizenship.
Sarah E. Igo is Associate Professor of History and Director of American Studies at Vanderbilt University.
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Great Clarinet Summit
Friday, May 11
8:00pm to 10:00pm
MIT, Building W16: Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cost: MIT student/faculty/staff $5 at the door, $15 for general admission, and free for participants in the clarinet play-along piece
This unique event features renowned clarinetists Anat Cohen, Don Byron, Evan Ziporyn, Billy Novick, and Eran Egozy along with the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble and MIT Wind Ensemble led by Music Director Frederick Harris, Jr. The exciting and eclectic program will include Byron’s Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble, music for jazz and chamber ensembles featuring the clarinet, a special world premiere featuring all guest soloists and a community play-along piece for attending clarinetists of all ages!*
*If you are a clarinetist and interested in the community play-along piece, please email clarinet_summit@mit.edu.
This event is part of MIT Sounding.
The 2017–18 season of the innovative annual performance series MIT Soundingcontinues to blur the boundaries between contemporary and world music. Curated by Evan Ziporyn, faculty director of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), this season of MIT Sounding integrates the avant-garde sounds of ancient instruments and traditional practices with cutting-edge composition and technology to present various visions of a new, evolving music that defies genre.
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Saturday, May 12
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Praying with Creation, a Laudato Si' Retreat
Saturday May 12
9:30 am-4:30 pm
Sacred Heart Parish Center, Lexington
The Psalms tell us "The heavens proclaim the glory of God!" How might our faith inspire intimacy and care for our Earth and all its inhabitants, as Pope Francis asks in Laudato Si'? This retreat will include prayer, guided contemplative practices, interactive exercises, reflection, and an opportunity to walk in the Great Meadows.
Join us as we explore this journey of ecological conversion for our spirits, and the planet.
Presenter: Christina Leaño, Associate Director, Global Catholic Climate Movement and inspirational meditation teacher and retreat guide. See more at christinaleano.net
For details and registration go to: https://tinyurl.com/retreat-LS
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Somerville Porchfest
Saturday, May 12
12pm - 6pm
Somerville
More information at https://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/
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Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival
Saturday, May 12
12pm - 4pm
Brookline High School Quad , 115 Greenough Street, Brookline
Rain Location: Schluntz Gym
Suggested Donation: $5/students, $10-20 families
All proceeds support the BHS Japan Exchange Program Scholarship Fund and promotion of the arts
More information at http://www.brooklinecherryblossom.com/schedule.html
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Sunday, May 13
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Lilac Sunday
Sunday, May 13
Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain
More information at https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/lilac-sunday/
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Monday, May 14
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PAOC Colloquium: Marine ice sheet dynamics
Monday, May 14
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Brent Minchew (MIT)
Marine ice sheets are continental-scale masses of glacier ice that rest on beds that lie below sea level. Because ice floats, this configuration is susceptible to a buoyancy-driven instability, known as the marine ice sheet instability, that can lead to rapid discharge of grounded ice to the ocean and high rates of sea level rise. This potential for collapse makes the West Antarctic Ice Sheet—the only extant marine ice sheet—the largest source of uncertainty in future sea level rise and a key player in abrupt changes in past sea level. Constraining the past and forecasting the future behavior of marine ice sheets is challenging because of the complex rheology of glacier ice and interactions between the ice sheets, oceans, atmosphere, and the solid earth. These factors help drive rich dynamical behavior that has only recently been brought into greater focus through improved observations and an increasingly sophisticated understanding of glacier mechanics. In this talk, I will give a broad introduction to marine ice sheet dynamics followed by a more focused discussion on the mechanics of lateral shear margins and ice-shelf buttressing, two of the most important resistances to ice flow that have the potential to reshape our understanding of marine ice sheet behavior and sea level rise.
About the Speaker
Brent Minchew is a geophysicist working to understand the interactions between climate, the cryosphere, and the solid Earth. He uses a combination of geodetic observations—primarily interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)—and physical models to study dynamical systems and their various responses to environmental forcing.
The bulk of Minchew’s research focuses on the dynamics of extant glaciers, with an emphasis on the mechanics of glacier beds, ice-ocean interactions, and ice rheology. By modulating ice flow and directly influencing glacier erosion rates, these factors play critical roles in glacier and ice sheet evolution, the dynamic response of glaciers to climate change, and the impact of glaciers on landform evolution and the global carbon cycle over human to geological timescales.
Minchew’s preferred approach to understanding complex systems is to focus on short-timescale (hourly to sub-decadal) variations in the dynamics of large-scale systems in response to known forcings. Examples of this work include spatiotemporal observations and models of the dynamic response of glaciers to surface meltwater flux, ocean tidal forcing, and ice shelf thinning.
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Cyber Alliance Speaker Series: Robot Lawyers: Automating Legal Compliance for Transferring Private Data
Monday, May 14
12:30 pm- 2:00 pm
BU School of Law (Room 203), 765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Stephen Chong, Harvard
Join the Cyber Alliance for a talk featuring Stephen Chong, Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University. In this talk, Prof. Stephen Chong and Harvard Berkman Center's Alexandra Wood will present work-in-progress on expert system support to automate data deposit and release decisions within a repository, and generate custom license agreements for data transfers.
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E4Dev Biweekly speaker series
Monday, May 14
5:30 pm
MIT, Building E19-319, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
Nick Haggerty, MIT Economics Department
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US Foreign Policy in Asia
Monday, May 14
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Dorchester
Wellesley professor of Asian studies and political science Katharine H.S. Moon and senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Sheila A. Smith discuss US foreign policy issues in Asia with Ambassador (Ret.) Nicholas Burns, Harvard professor of diplomacy and international relations.
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Is Zero Waste possible?
Monday, May 14
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Beacon Hill Friends House, 8 Chestnut Street, Boston
What is Zero Waste? Is it possible?
Come learn about zero waste as a necessary framework for social justice, climate change resilience, and economic prosperity. Three zero waste experts - Kate Bailey of Ecocycle, Ahmina Maxey of the Global Alliance of Incineration Alternatives (GAIA), and Kirstie Pecci of the Conservation Law Foundation - will share their experience working on the front lines of zero waste implementations and ask questions about possible zero waste solution implementations locally, nationally, and internationally.
This event is co-sponsored by Beacon Hill Friends House and Zero Waste Boston coalition.
Zero Waste Boston coalition is an alliance of advocacy organizations that support Zero Waste policies as a tool to improve public health and minimize climate impacts while creating good, green jobs and business ownership opportunities for Boston residents. The coalition is not affiliated with the City of Boston.
Beacon Hill Friends House is a center for Quaker education and witness, the home of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting, and a residential intentional community inspired by Quaker principles.
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Tuesday, May 15
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Boston Sustainability Breakfast
Tuesday, May 15
7:30 AM – 9:00 AM EDT
Pret A Manger, 101 Arch Street, Boston
Join us every month for Net Impact Boston's informal breakfast meetup of sustainability professionals for networking, discussion, and moral support. It's important to remind ourselves that we are not the only ones out there in the business world trying to do good! Feel free to drop by any time between 7:30 and 9:00 am.
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Place and Race Matter: Building Communities of Opportunity for Children and Youth
WHEN Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 9 – 10:30 a.m.
WHERE Harvard, Askwith Hall, Longfellow, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Education Redesign Lab
Harvard Graduate School of Education
SPEAKER(S) Angela Glover Blackwell
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.eventbrite.com/e/place-and-race-matter-building-communities-of-opportunity-for-children-tickets-45022368115
DESCRIPTION Please join the Education Redesign Lab for a talk by Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO and Founder of PolicyLink. Blackwell will discuss the importance of creating community-based systems of support that incorporate the full range of services and opportunities needed for children to grow up healthy, well-educated, and ready for success in adulthood. This event is the keynote for the Lab's 5th By All Means convening.
About By All Means
The By All Means initiative is addressing the iron law correlation between socioeconomic status and education outcomes by partnering with visionary mayors and superintendents from across the country. Each city has created a Children’s Cabinet — a cross-sector team made up of mayors, superintendents, health and human services directors, and community and civic leaders — to embark on a redesign process that is focused on creating integrated systems of opportunity and support from early childhood through to higher education.
About the Education Redesign Lab
The Education Redesign Lab, headed by Professor Paul Reville, is working to build a silo-breaking 21st century engine for education to restore social mobility and ensure that all kids can reach their full potential.
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Experts Meeting: Humanitarian Drones
Tuesday, May 15
1:30 pm to 5:00 pm
swissnex Boston, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
A discussion of pivotal issues facing the international humanitarian community with respect to the deployment of drones in disaster situations.
swissnex Boston, WeRobotics, and MIT Solve present Experts Meeting addressing pivotal issues facing the international humanitarian community with respect to the deployment of drones in disaster situations.
The development of protocols and guidelines to inform the safe, responsible and effective use of drones in disaster zones started in earnest in 2014 through the work of the Humanitarian UAV Network. The Experts Meeting will review the latest developments around the Code of Conduct and specific guidelines, particularly those on conflict sensitivity and the draft guidelines around the use of humanitarian cargo drones. A key goal of the Experts Meeting will be to address the implementation challenges of said Code of Conduct and formulate corresponding strategies for implementation contexts, including the encouragement of formal institutional endorsements.
Next, we’ll focus on Aerial Artificial Intelligence in order to take stock of the very latest developments, opportunities and challenges in the application of AI, machine learning and computer vision to automatically analyze aerial imagery with respect to features of direct interest to the international aid and development community. The Experts Meeting will seek to identify synergies in existing and planned research as well as projects to formulate a common roadmap in the development of AI solutions for aerial imagery.
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xTalk with Peter Barendse & Kyle Keane on Activating Computational Thinking on MITx using Wolfram Technologies
Tuesday, May 15
3:00pm to 4:00pm
MIT, Building 3-333, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
This xTalk will present a high-level overview from two MIT lecturers in DMSE about their newly-developed framework that combines MITx and Wolfram technologies to let faculty and instructors add creative and contextual computational educational components into their online and residential classes.
Offering a bird’s eye view of what is possible with current technical limits, this talk is not about teaching students to code traditional topics in computing like low-level sorting algorithms (although the framework supports this), but instead, it will aim to broaden the conversation around computing in education to accommodate the importance of learning to think computationally within the context of (and without distracting from) the core subject matter.
A wide range of working examples of functioning MITx components that have been deployed using the framework will be presented, including details about how to find more information and instructions to adapt the framework for different subjects. Examples such as:
A component where students upload data they collected from measurements on a field trip; the uploaded data is then automatically graded within some tolerance.
An app that lets students record and annotate images that they submit for credit; the images are then automatically compiled and deployed onto an interactive map.
A framework that auto-grades code submitted in response to open-ended coding and visualization challenges; students then get their solutions to the problems.
This talk will summarize what is currently possible when combining the delivery power of MITx with the creative power of Wolfram Language, including components such Mathematica and other related tools and modules, with the ultimate hope that this will spark further interest and exploration among faculty and instructors.
Dr. Kyle Keane has been a Lecturer in DMSE since 2015. His main charge has been to infuse contextual computational instruction throughout the core undergraduate curriculum. Before joining MIT, Kyle worked for three years as a programmer at Wolfram Research (Makers of Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha). discipline.
Dr. Peter Barendse is a Visiting Lecturer focused on helping to bring contextual computing into the freshmen year at MIT. He teaches a Freshmen Advising Seminar called “Code your GIRs!” and is working to bring weekly coding assignments into 8.02. Before joining MIT, Peter was a Lead Developer at Wolfram|Alpha focusing on the automated step-by-step math solution generator.
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Prather Public Lecture: Jennifer Doudna on CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing: Biology, Technology and Ethics
WHEN Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Health Sciences, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology & Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
SPEAKER(S) Jennifer Doudna, UC Berkeley, HHMI
DETAILS CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing: Biology, Technology and Ethics
Gene editing with CRISPR technology is transforming biology. Understanding the underlying chemical mechanisms of RNA-guided DNA and RNA cleavage provides a foundation for both conceptual advances and technology development. I will discuss how bacterial CRISPR adaptive immune systems inspire creation of powerful genome editing tools, enabling advances in both fundamental biology and applications in medicine. I will also discuss the ethical challenges of some of these applications.
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Vannevar Bush Lecture Series on Science and Technology Innovation: Richard Lester
Tuesday, May 15
6:00pm to 7:00pm
MIT, Building 54-100, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
This lecture series, which includes eminent researchers and innovators from a wide variety of fields across MIT, will showcase the numerous forms that innovation takes and the pathways it can take from ideation to implementation.
Topic Summary
Innovation happens at a variety of scales and with the involvement of innumerable parties. Prof. Lester will discuss how systems of innovation are built, how they compare with another, and how they can be harnessed to tackle the energy issues that face us today.
About the Speaker
Richard Lester is the Japan Steel Industry Professor and Associate Provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he oversees the international activities of the Institute. From 2009 to 2015 he served as head of MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, leading the Department successfully through a period of rapid rebuilding and strategic renewal. His research is concerned with innovation strategy and management, with a frequent focus on the energy and manufacturing sectors. He is widely known for his work on local, regional, and national systems of innovation, and he has led major studies of national and regional competitiveness and innovation performance commissioned by governments and industry groups around the world. He is the founding director and faculty chair of the MIT Industrial Performance Center.
Professor Lester is also well known for his teaching and research on nuclear technology innovation, management and control. He has been a long-time advocate of advanced nuclear reactor and fuel cycle technologies to improve the safety and economic performance of nuclear power, and his studies in the field of nuclear waste management helped provide the foundation for new institutional and technological strategies to deal with this longstanding problem. His latest book, Unlocking Energy Innovation: How America Can Build a Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Energy System (written with David Hart), outlines a strategy for mobilizing America’s innovation resources in support of a decades-long transition to an affordable and reliable low-carbon global energy system.
Professor Lester obtained his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College and earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT. He has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1979. He is an advisor to governments, corporations, foundations and non-profit groups, and he serves as chair of the National Academies’ Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy.
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Urban Gardening: PLANTING FUNDAMENTALS
Tuesday, May 15
6pm to 7:30pm
Cambridge public library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
Part of series sponsored by Cambridge Conservation Commission, with lecturers from New England Wildflower Society. Other sessions this summer, all at the library: Rain gardens, 6/30,10:30; Lawn alternatives, 7/28,10:30; native plants book talk, 8/18, 10:30. Much more info: http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/
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The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do
Tuesday, May 15
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
This event is free; no tickets are required.
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed writer, speaker, and scholar EDWARD TENNER for a discussion of his latest book, The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do.
About The Efficiency Paradox
Algorithms, multitasking, the sharing economy, life hacks: our culture can't get enough of efficiency. One of the great promises of the Internet and big data revolutions is the idea that we can improve the processes and routines of our work and personal lives to get more done in less time than we ever have before. There is no doubt that we're performing at higher levels and moving at unprecedented speed, but what if we're headed in the wrong direction?
Melding the long-term history of technology with the latest headlines and findings of computer science and social science, The Efficiency Paradox questions our ingrained assumptions about efficiency, persuasively showing how relying on the algorithms of digital platforms can in fact lead to wasted efforts, missed opportunities, and above all an inability to break out of established patterns. Edward Tenner offers a smarter way of thinking about efficiency, revealing what we and our institutions, when equipped with an astute combination of artificial intelligence and trained intuition, can learn from the random and unexpected.
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The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year
Tuesday, May 15
7:30 PM (Doors at 6:30)
Alley Cambridge, 10 Ware Street, Cambridge,
Cost: $5 - $28.75 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes AMY SISKIND—spokesperson, writer, and president and co-founder of The New Agenda—for a discussion of her new book The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year. She will be joined in conversation by historian and Boston College professor HEATHER COX RICHARDSON.
About The List
In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's election as president, Amy Siskind, a former Wall Street executive and the founder of The New Agenda, began compiling a list of actions taken by the Trump regime that pose a threat to our democratic norms. Under the headline “Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember,” Siskind's “Weekly List” began as a project she shared with friends, but it soon went viral and now has more than half a million viewers every week.
Compiled in one volume for the first time, The List is a first-draft history and a comprehensive account of Donald Trump's first year. Beginning with Trump's acceptance of white supremacists the week after the election and concluding a year later, we watch as Trump and his regime chip away at the rights and protections of marginalized communities, women, and us all—via Twitter storms, unchecked executive action, and shifting rules and standards. The List chronicles not only the scandals that made headlines but also the myriad unprecedented acts that otherwise fall through the cracks.
For everyone hoping to #resistTrump, The List is a must-have guide to what we've lost as a country in the wake of Trump's election.
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, May 16
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Prather Scientific Lecture: Jennifer Doudna on he CRISPR-Cas Toolbox for Genome Editing
WHEN Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Hall B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology & Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
SPEAKER(S) Jennifer Doudna, UC Berkeley, HHMI
DETAILS The CRISPR-Cas Toolbox for Genome Editing
Genome editing with CRISPR technology is transforming biology. CRISPR-Cas9, an RNA-guided enzyme with remarkable abilities to recognize and cleave DNA, operates by mechanisms that both explain its biological function and provide insights into technology development. I will discuss research into this amazing family of proteins: where they came from, how they work and how Cas9-based technologies are revolutionizing research, biomedicine and agriculture.
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Crypto Crumple Zones: Enabling Limited Access Without Mass Surveillance
Wednesday, May 16
12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
BU, School of Law (Room 203), 765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Mayank Varia, Research Scientist and Co-Director of BU's Center for Reliable Information Systems and Cyber Security, will be giving a talk about data privacy and surveillance as part of the ongoing Cyber Alliance speaker series. Please RSVP to tgabs@bu.edu.
More information at http://www.bu.edu/law/faculty-and-staff/colloquia-workshops/intellectual-property-speaker-series/
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The genome of the Last Common Ancestor: il catalogo è questo
Wednesday, May 16
4:00pm to 5:30pm
Harvard, Haller Hall, Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Professor Antonio Lazcano (National Autonomous University of Mexico)
Abstract: Two decades ago Fox and Woese demonstrated that the evolutionary comparison of 16/18S rRNA led to a trifucated unrooted tree that demonstrated that all living forms groups all living forms in one of three major phylogenetic lineages derived from a common ancestor. Bioinformatic analysis of completely sequenced cellular genomes from these three major kingdoms have been used to define the set of the most most conserved protein-encoding sequences to characterize the gene complement of of last common ancestor, or LUCA. Universal gene-based phylogenies ultimately reach a single universal ancestor, but it is now generally accepted that the term LUCA actually refers to an ancestral population. Attempts to reconstruct the LUCA gene complement are statistical approximations of biological past hindered by ancient horizontal gene transfer events, paralogous duplications and polyphyletic gene losses, as well as by biases in genome databases and methodological artifacts. A significant percentage of the highly conserved genes that may have been part of LUCA’s genome are sequences involved in the synthesis, degradation, and binding of RNA, including transcription and translation. Although the gene complement of LUCA includes sequences that may have originated in different epochs, the extraordinary conservation of RNA-related sequences supports the hypothesis that the last common ancestor was an evolutionary outcome of an earlier evolutionary stage during which RNA molecules and ribonucleotides played more conspicuous roles in genetic and metabolic processes.
Origins of Life Initiative / Microbial Sciences Initiative Joint Seminar
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MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2018
Wednesday, May 16
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, 400 Technology Square, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/event/mit-technology-reviews-10-breakthrough-technologies-2018/
Cost: $25 Members; $45 Non-Members: $10 Students; $5 Student Members
(In-Auditorium or Live Stream)
Which of today’s emerging technologies have a chance of solving a big problem and opening up new opportunities?
Join us as David Rotman, Editor, MIT Technology Review Magazine, walks us through their picks for the ’10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2018′ which includes dueling neural networks, artificial embryos and AI in the cloud.
3-D Metal Printing
Breakthrough > Now printers can make metal objects quickly and cheaply.
Artificial Embryos
Breakthrough > Without using eggs or sperm cells, researchers have made embryo-like structures from stem cells alone, providing a whole new route to creating life.
Sensing City
Breakthrough > A Toronto neighborhood aims to be the first place to successfully integrate cutting-edge urban design with state-of-the-art digital technology.
AI for Everybody
Breakthrough > Cloud-based AI is making the technology cheaper and easier to use.
Dueling Neural Networks
Breakthrough > Two AI systems can spar with each other to create ultra-realistic original images or sounds, something machines have never been able to do before.
Babel-Fish Earbuds
Breakthrough > Near-real-time translation now works for a large number of languages and is easy to use.
Zero-Carbon Natural Gas
Breakthrough > A power plant efficiently and cheaply captures carbon released by burning natural gas, avoiding greenhouse-gas emissions.
Perfect Online Privacy
Breakthrough > Computer scientists are perfecting a cryptographic tool for proving something without revealing the information underlying the proof.
Genetic Fortune Telling
Breakthrough > Scientists can now use your genome to predict your chances of getting heart disease or breast cancer, and even your IQ.
Materials' Quantum Leap
Breakthrough > IBM has simulated the electronic structure of a small molecule, using a seven-qubit quantum computer.
Event Schedule
Registration & Networking: 5:30 PM
Program: 6:00 PM
Cocktails & Light Refreshments: 6:45 -8:00 PM
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Climate Fixes? Look to Nature! A benefit party, auction, beer-tasting, fundraiser and fun! for Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
Wednesday, May 16
6-9 p.m.
Dorchester Brewing Company, 1250 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
Cost: $10 - $250
A collaboration with our partners Greater Boston Trout Unlimited, Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition, Neponset Watershed Association and The Dorchester Brewing Company
Joys of cold water and cold beer (you get to drink)!
Excitement of a bargain auction!
Brilliant speakers!
The noble company of fish spirits and their humans!
Great chatty people to chat with!
Land management miracles with casts of thousands!
Most worthy non-profits you will be thrilled to support!
This event is about trout and cold-water fishing, and the impacts of climate. Can we save the trout? Can we rescue the climate?
The headwaters of the Neponset River contain small isolated populations of cold-water-loving brook trout that have been hanging on for their dear lives for centuries. What can we learn from our local partners about what we might do to help bring back these isolated populations?
One of the most important ways to save trout and rivers and their wonderful biodiverse habitats is to reverse global warming through eco-restoration. And the health of the trout and the rivers and the watershed habitats is one critical path to cooling the biosphere, stopping floods and droughts, and addressing the climate.
Speakers
Beth Lambert, Executive Director of the Mass Division of Ecological Restoration, will tell of their efforts to restore habitat and increase bioldiversity and trout fishing in local waterways. Dr. Ben Letcher, of the USGS Conte Fish Labs in Turners Falls, will explain what brook trout need in the face of changes in the climate. Chris Hirsch, Ecologist with the Neponset River Watershed Association, will tell us about efforts to restore habitat on the Neponset River and about the trout that live there. Finally, Jim Laurie and Adam Sacks of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate will relate the dramatic positive effects that eco-restoration can have on repairing habitats and reversing the mounting disasters of global warming.
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The Mechanical Side of Artificial Intelligence
Wednesday, May 16
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Le Laboratoire Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-mechanical-side-of-artificial-intelligence-tickets-45700890594
with Robert Wood
Artificial Intelligence typically focuses on perception, learning, and control methods to enable autonomous robots to make and act on decisions in real environments. On the contrary, our research is focused on the design, mechanics, materials, and manufacturing of novel robot platforms that make the perception, control, or action easier or more robust for natural, unstructured, and often unpredictable environments. Key principles in this pursuit include bioinspired designs, smart materials for novel sensors and actuators, and the development of multi-scale, multi-material manufacturing methods. This talk will illustrate this philosophy by highlighting the creation of two unique classes of robots: soft-bodied autonomous robots and highly agile aerial and terrestrial robotic insects.
Robert Wood is the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a founding core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and a National Geographic Explorer. Prof. Wood completed his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the winner of multiple awards for his work including the DARPA Young Faculty Award, NSF Career Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, Air Force Young Investigator Award, Technology Review's TR35, and multiple best paper awards. In 2010 Wood received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Obama for his work in microrobotics. In 2012 he was selected for the Alan T. Waterman award, the National Science Foundation's most prestigious early career award. In 2014 he was named one of National Geographic's "Emerging Explorers". Wood's group is also dedicated to STEM education by using novel robots to motivate young students to pursue careers in science and engineering.
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Future of Listening: Data and Music
Wednesday, 16 May
6:30 – 8:30 pm EDT
GA Boston, 125 Summer Street 13th Floor, Boston
Everyday, we enjoy innovation in music through personalised playlists, streaming and live videos accessible at the tap of a screen, and it has all been driven by an unlikely friend - data.
Join us as we explore the intersection of big data with the music industry in a race to the future of musical entertainment. We’ll be featuring speakers from the music industry who have mastered the art of using data and technology to deliver an exciting and unique experience of music en masse.
We'll learn more about:
The science behind data-driven music services
The challenge posed by big data to the traditional music industry
How data is empowering artists as well as listeners
Where data is taking the future of music
By signing up for this event, you’re giving our partners and sponsors for this event permission to contact you about upcoming events and promotions.
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How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
Wednesday, May 16
7:00 PM (Doors at 6:30)
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cost: $5 - $28.75 (book included) - On Sale Now
Harvard Book Store welcomes renowned writer MICHAEL POLLAN—author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food—for a discussion of his latest book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. He will be joined in conversation by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist RON SUSKIND.
About How to Change Your Mind
When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction, and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into the experience of various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s when a handful of psychedelic evangelists catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research.
A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both struggle and beauty, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.
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From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia
Wednesday, May 16
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenud, Cambridge
This event is free; no tickets are required.
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed Russian scholar and Stanford professor MICHAEL MCFAUL for a discussion of his latest book, From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia.
About From Cold War to Hot Peace
In 2008, when Michael McFaul was asked to leave his perch at Stanford and join an unlikely presidential campaign, he had no idea that he would find himself at the beating heart of one of today’s most contentious and consequential international relationships. As President Barack Obama’s adviser on Russian affairs, McFaul helped craft the United States’ policy known as “reset” that fostered new and unprecedented collaboration between the two countries. And then, as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, he had a front-row seat when this fleeting, hopeful moment crumbled with Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency. This riveting inside account combines history and memoir to tell the full story of U.S.-Russia relations from the fall of the Soviet Union to the new rise of the hostile, paranoid Russian president. From the first days of McFaul’s ambassadorship, the Kremlin actively sought to discredit and undermine him, hassling him with tactics that included dispatching protesters to his front gates, slandering him on state media, and tightly surveilling him, his staff, and his family.
From Cold War to Hot Peace is an essential account of the most consequential global confrontation of our time.
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Into the Raging Sea
Wednesday May 16
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline
A richly reported account of the worst American shipping disaster in thirty-five years that takes us into the heart of an age-old industry, casting new light on the hardworking men and women who paid the ultimate price in the name of profit.
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Better Internet for All: The Public Internet Option presented by the ACLU
WHEN Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE MIT Stata Center (Room 32-123), 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Information Technology, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Upgrade Cambridge and the ACLU of Massachusetts
SPEAKER(S) Jay Stanley, ACLU
Kade Crockford, ACLU of Massachusetts
Christopher Schmidt, Upgrade Cambridge
COST Free
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.eventbrite.com/e/better-internet-for-all-the-public-internet-option-from-the-aclu-registration-45504605500
CONTACT INFO https://upgradecambridge.org/contact/
DETAILS Join Jay Stanley in a discussion on The Public Internet Option, an ACLU report detailing how local governments can provide network neutrality, privacy, and access for all.
Jay is a senior policy analyst at the ACLU and the principal author of the Public Internet Option report, which details how public-owned networks can help protect crucial freedoms while ensuring affordable, reliable service. With FCC rollbacks of net neutrality and privacy regulations, growing incumbent telecom monopoly power, and a growing digital divide, it is more important than ever to ensure a better internet for all, and the most effective way to do so is through municipal broadband.
In Cambridge, our digital access comes almost exclusively from a single monopoly incumbent provider. Municipal broadband could provide an alternative to the monopoly provider. We could use a citywide network to correct our digital equity problems in the city, while protecting net neutrality and consumer privacy for those who used it.
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Much Ado About Mumps: Using Genomics to Track Virus Outbreaks in Massachusetts & Beyond
Wednesday, May 16
7pm - 9pm
Harvard, Pfizer Hall, Mallinckrodt Chemistry Labs, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
More information at http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/seminar-series/
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Resistance Mic! at Oberon
WHEN Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 8 – 10 p.m.
WHERE Oberon, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Comedy, Concerts, Humanities, Law, Music, Poetry/Prose, Special Events, Support/Social, Theater
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Pangyrus Literary Mag,
SPEAKER(S) Ethan Gilsdorf is a nerd who writes a lot. He wrote the travel memoir investigation Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, which was named a Must-Read Book by the Massachusetts Book Awards. His work has also been cited in the anthology Best American Essays 2016. His articles, commentaries, essays and film and book reviews, and poems have appeared in the New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Salon, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Esquire, National Geographic, and Boston Globe. Gilsdorf is the cofounder of GrubStreet’s Young Adult Writers Program (YAWP) and serves on GrubStreet's board. Read more at ethangilsdorf.com.
E. Dolores Johnson’s writing on race has appeared or is forthcoming in The Buffalo News, the Writers of Color Anthology, Narratively and Lunch Ticket. Her multigenerational memoir in progress about mixed race life takes the reader on the journey of the browning of America and changing attitudes about race-mixing. She is looking for a publisher. Johnson completed the Memoir Incubator program at Grub Street and studied creative writing at Harvard’s Nieman Foundation. She has been awarded residencies at Djerassi, Blue Mountain Center, Ragdale, and the VCCA. She has consulted on diversity for think tanks, universities, major corporations and nonprofits. Johnson holds a Harvard MBA and a Howard University BA. Follow her on twitter@ elladolo and FB at Dolores Johnson.
Timothy Patrick McCarthy (@DrTPM) is an award-winning scholar, educator, and activist who teaches at Harvard University, where he is Core Faculty and Director of Culture Change and Social Justice Initiatives at the Kennedy School's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. He is author or editor of five books from the New Press, including Stonewall's Children: Living Queer History in the Age of Liberation, Loss, and Love, forthcoming in 2019. He is the host and director of the "A.R.T. of Human Rights" series. Find him at www.hks.harvard.edu…
Robert Pinsky is a poet, essayist, translator, teacher, and speaker. His first two terms as United States Poet Laureate were marked by such visible dynamism—and such national enthusiasm in response—that the Library of Congress appointed him to an unprecedented third term. Throughout his career, Pinsky has been dedicated to identifying and invigorating poetry’s place in the world. Known worldwide, Pinsky’s work has earned him the PEN/Voelcker Award, the William Carlos Williams Prize, the Lenore Marshall Prize, Italy’s Premio Capri, the Korean Manhae Award, and the Harold Washington Award from the City of Chicago, among other accolades.
Stan Strickland is a vocalist, saxophonist, and flutist. He is the leader of the Stan Strickland & Ascension and the Stan Strickland Trio, and has performed with the Boston Pops, Take Six, Herbie Mann, Marlena Shaw, Pharaoh Sanders, Danilo Perez, and Yusef Lateef. He is a professor at the Berklee College of Music.
Shuchi Saraswat's photographs and prose have appeared or are forthcoming in Ecotone, Tin House online, Women’s Review of Books, and Quick Fiction. Her essay "The Journey Home" received a special mention in Pushcart XLII 2018 and will be anthologized in Trespass: Ecotone Essayists Beyond the Boundaries of Place, Identity, and Feminism, published by Lookout Books in Fall 2018. Excerpts of her novel have won her the Gulliver Travel Research Grant from The Speculative Literature Foundation and fellowships and scholarships to Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Writers Omi at Ledig House, The Writers' Room of Boston, Tin House Summer Writers' Workshop and Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She is Curator of The Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith, an independent bookstore in Boston, and is the Advocacy Coordinator at GrubStreet.
The True Colors Troupe (part of Theatre Offensive) is a theater program for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning youth and their straight allies, ages 14-22. All Troupe plays are written and produced by youth with the guidance of experienced teaching artists and activists.
Artistic Noise exists to bring the freedom and power of artistic practice to young people who are incarcerated, on probation, or otherwise involved in the justice system. Through visual arts and entrepreneurship programs in Massachusetts and New York, our participants give voice to their experiences, build community through collaborative projects, and learn valuable life and job skills. Artistic Noise creates safe spaces where court-involved youth can be seen, heard and supported on their path to adulthood. We believe the practice of making art offers opportunities for young people and communities to transform.
COST $5-25
TICKET WEB LINK https://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/resistance-mic
DETAILS The 2016 election inspired a broad-based Resistance not seen in the United States in decades. People from all walks of life have been protesting, marching, mobilizing, and organizing in an effort to take back our country and create a more compassionate and just world. Artists are vital to this work. This fall, the American Repertory Theater and Carr Center for Human Rights Policy – in collaboration with Pangyrus and other literary and arts initiatives – are launching a new series of intimate performances on the theme of “Resistance.” Each of these five evenings will feature a diverse group of artist-activists telling powerful stories and performing politically engaged works that read, move, sing, and speak truth to power in these troubled times.
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Thursday, May 17
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Environment-Sustainability Lunch Seminar: Genetically Engineered Solutions to Environmental Nitrogen Paradoxes
Thursday, May 17
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 34-401 A, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Andrew Babbin, EAPS
Andrew Babbin is a marine biogeochemist, working on the nitrogen cycle, and especially on the processes that return fixed nitrogen in the ocean back to nitrogen gas. Bioavailable inorganic nitrogen limits the fertility of many environmental systems, from local lakes and rivers to coastal bays to much of the global ocean. Denitrification is a multi-step microbial pathway by which environmental bacteria naturally consume inorganic nitrogen. Learn more about this research seed grant topic.
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Prather Scientific Lecture: Jennifer Doudna on DNA integration and detection by CRISPR-Cas RNA-guided proteins
WHEN Wednesday, May 17, 2018, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Hall B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology & Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
SPEAKER(S) Jennifer Doudna, UC Berkeley, HHMI
DETAILS The CRISPR-Cas Toolbox for Genome Editing
Genome editing with CRISPR technology is transforming biology. CRISPR-Cas9, an RNA-guided enzyme with remarkable abilities to recognize and cleave DNA, operates by mechanisms that both explain its biological function and provide insights into technology development. I will discuss research into this amazing family of proteins: where they came from, how they work and how Cas9-based technologies are revolutionizing research, biomedicine and agriculture.
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Public Funding for Cleantech Startups
Thursday, May 17
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Online (Webinar)
More information at http://www.masscec.com/events/public-funding-cleantech-startups
Though VC and private equity invesment in cleantech have increased in recent years for late-stage companies, private sources of funding for early-stage companies remain difficult to come by. To bridge this funding gap, cleantech startups should consider public sources of investment. Public non-dilutive capital at the state level represents a growing source of funding for entrepreneurs. This webinar will explore existing grant programs at the federal and state levels, as well as other public sources such as universities.
Event Contact: kherb@nececinstitute.org
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Open Space: The Global Effort for Open Access to Environmental Satellite Data
Thursday, May 17
1:30pm — 3:00pm
MIT Media Lab, E15 - Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Mariel Borowitz
Understanding and addressing environmental challenges, including climate change, requires access to accurate data from many sources. In some cases, government agencies that operate Earth-observing satellites have been leaders in this regard - making their data freely available to all users. In fact, some of the earliest references to "open data" can be traced back to early government satellite projects. However, many governments continue to restrict access to their unclassified Earth-observing satellite data, and even those that now make their data freely available did not always do so. Open Data: The Global Effort for Open Access to Environmental Satellite Data examines how government agencies developed data sharing policies for their Earth observation satellites and how these data sharing policies changed over time.
Mariel Borowitz is an Assistant Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech. Her research deals with international space policy issues, primarily international cooperation in Earth-observing satellites, and satellite data sharing policies. She also looks at international trends in commercial remote sensing and civil-military interactions in remote sensing technology and data. Her research interests extend to human space exploration strategy and developments in space security and space situational awareness. Dr. Borowitz earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy at the University of Maryland and a Masters degree in International Science and Technology Policy from the George Washington University. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also earned a minor in Applied International Studies. Dr. Borowitz is currently on detail at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC through Fall 2018.
Event Contact: Andrea Porras
(617) 253-1631
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Seal Studies: What Aquarium Scientists Are Learning About Disease, Physiology, and Population Dynamics to Help Protect Seals
Thursday, May 17
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Simons IMAX Theatre New England Aquarium, Museum Wharf, Boston
Pinnipeds are a diverse group of marine mammals that engender curiosity and fascination. The New England Aquarium has been working with, studying, and rescuing seals for years. This evening’s lecture gives you a closer look at the work being done to better understand the seals here at the Aquarium as well as their wild counterparts.
Patty Schilling, Marine Mammal Supervisor, New England Aquarium, has been a marine mammal trainer at New England Aquarium for thirteen years. She provides care, training, and enrichment for the Aquarium’s collection of marine mammals, including the northern fur seals. As part of her job, she has also had the opportunity to participate in NOAA Fisheries’ biennial northern fur seal population counts in St Paul Island, Alaska. Patty will share information about these experiences including the current population status of the northern fur seal
Katherine Graham, M.S., Assistant Scientist, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, is developing methods to study the complex reproductive physiology of northern fur seals using non-invasive fecal hormone analysis. This collaborative project aims to better understand reproductive patterns of seals in aquariums, including those at the Aquarium, with potential future application of these techniques to study wild populations of northern fur seals.
The Aquarium’s Rescue and Rehabilitation Department is responsible for responding to reports of live and dead marine mammals from Salem, MA, south through Plymouth, MA. Katie Pugliares-Bonner, M.S., Senior Biologist – Necropsy Specialist, New England Aquarium Marine Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Department, will speak about her investigations into and the discovery of novel and emerging disease conditions found during necropsies (animal autopsies) of local stranded pinnipeds as well as the collective efforts of the rescue team.
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought
Thursday, May 17
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes JIM HOLT—bestselling author of Why Does the World Exist?—for a discussion of his latest book, When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought.
About When Einstein Walked with Gödel
Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot. Holt offers a painless and playful introduction to many of our most beautiful but least understood ideas, from Einsteinian relativity to string theory, and also invites us to consider why the greatest logician of the twentieth century believed the U.S. Constitution contained a terrible contradiction―and whether the universe truly has a future.
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Von Neumann and the Origin of Life
Thursday, May 17
7:00pm to 9:00pm
MIT, Building 32-G449, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Hyman Hartman
We will outline a historical solution to the Origin of Life based on the Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code and the Origin and Evolution of Metabolism mediated by replicating Iron -Rich Clays. This is a historical reconstruction.
Biological research is in crisis, and in Alan Turing's work there is much to guide us. The most interesting connection with biology, in my view, is in Turing's most important paper: 'On computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem', published in 1936, when Turing was just 24. Computable numbers are defined as those whose decimals are calculable by finite means. Turing introduced what became known as the Turing machine to formalize the Origin of the digital computer.
Von Neumann's Kinematic Self Replicating Machines: Turing's ideas were carried further in the 1940s by mathematician and engineer John von Neumann, who conceived of a 'constructor' machine capable of assembling another according to a description. A universal constructor with its own description would build a machine like itself. To complete the task, the universal constructor needs to copy its description and insert the copy into the offspring machine. Von Neumann noted that if the copying machine made errors, these 'mutations' would provide inheritable changes in the progeny.
Sidney Brenner: Nature 482,461(23 February 2012)
The Body of the Talk: 1) Cellular Automata according to Von Neumann and Ulam. 2) Probabilistic Cellular Automata 3) Ising Model 4) Spin glasses 5) Computers and the Brain according to Von Neumann 6) Evolution and Machine Learning the Valient way
In summary: Life began as a spin Glass and evolved into the Universal Turing Machine/ Von Neumann constructor
Hyman Hartman was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He received his B.Sc with honors In Biochemistry from McGill University (1957) and his PhD in Biochemistry from Columbia University (1964). He began his studies on the Origin of Life by publishing two pioneering papers in 1974 on the Evolution of the Genetic Code and the Origin and Evolution of Metabolism. These papers were based on the Clay theory for the Origin of Life. He edited a book with Graham Cairns-Smith entitled Clay Minerals and the Origin of Life.(1987). He was on the Grant Board for NASA Exobiology Division and he was a co-editor with Jim Lawless and Phil Morrison on the book Search for the Universal Ancestors published by NASA. He and Temple Smith (Boston University) have been studying the Bioinformatics of the Ribosomal Proteins and the Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases. These studies have allowed them to
reconstruct the Origin and Evolution of the Translational Apparatus and the Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code. He is also active with a group in the University of Kentucky and McGill University studying the De Novo synthesis of Clay as catalyzed by Amino acids and Dicarboxylic acids.
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Friday, May 18 - Sunday, May 20
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Nurse Hackathon 2018: Hacking the Opioid Crisis
Friday, May 18, 2018 - 6:00pm to Sunday, May 20, 2018 - 6:00pm
Northeastern University, Egan Research Center, Raytheon Ampitheater, 120 Forsyth Street, Boston
Cost: $25 – $129
The Nurse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program of Northeastern University is excited to announce their partnership with StartupHealth and NEUSHA for the second annual Nurse Hackathon as a part of Startup Weekend.
On Friday from noon to 4pm, expert panelists will present on the latest research, digital health, policies and procedures related to the growing opioid epidemic in advance of this outstanding three-day event.
The Hackathon itself kicks off at 6:00pm on Friday, May 18th and concludes on Sunday May 20th at 6:00pm.
Innovate
Brainstorm, Conceptualize, Ideate!
Create
Create a prototype out of your concept!
Network
Work your way through the innovation process with the help of our network of mentors!
Go
Pitch your innovation to a panel of judges!
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Friday, May 18
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Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe
Friday, May 18
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
This event is free; no tickets are required.
Harvard Book Store welcomes Eastern Europe historian and Harvard professor SERHII PLOKHY for a discussion of his latest book, Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe. He will be joined in conversation by ALEXANDRA VACROUX, the Executive Director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University.
About Chernobyl
On the morning of April 26, 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine. Dozens died of radiation poisoning, fallout contaminated half the continent, and thousands fell ill.
In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy draws on new sources to tell the dramatic stories of the firefighters, scientists, and soldiers who heroically extinguished the nuclear inferno. He lays bare the flaws of the Soviet nuclear industry, tracing the disaster to the authoritarian character of Communist party rule, the regime's control of scientific information, and its emphasis on economic development over all else.
Today, the risk of another Chernobyl looms in the mismanagement of nuclear power in the developing world. A moving and definitive account, Chernobyl is also an urgent call to action.
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Saturday, May 19
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Franklin Park Kite & Bike Festival
Saturday, May 19
11:00am to 4:00pm
Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain
In 1969, the first Franklin Park Kite Festival was held, and became an annual tradition for decades to come. In 2010, the Franklin Park Coalition brought back the event, reimagined as the Kite & Bike Festival. Held every year on the Saturday after Mother’s Day, the festival brings out more than 1,000 people to fly kites, ride bikes, learn to ride a bike, and picnic. With food trucks, kids’ bikes to “rent” for free, affordable kites for sale, bike mechanics on site, and the beautiful scenery of Franklin Park, this event is not to be missed!
One neighborhood resident describes the Kite & Bike Festival as “my favorite day ever in the twenty years I’ve lived in Boston!”
Boston Bikes brings kids’ bicycles for children to “rent” for free, and Bikes Not Bombs has bike mechanics on site.
Come celebrate our own “opening day.”
More information at https://www.franklinparkcoalition.org/featured-events/kite-bike-festival/
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IGNITE: A conference for creative community builders
Sunday, May 20
12:00-6:00 pm
Lesley University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://mirandashearth.com/ignite
Cost: $65, general admission
$45, early bird and students
Gather to learn how and why communities are formed in contemporary society. Our speakers span the disciplines and include experts in community art, yoga, civics engagement, and performance art.
Early bird ticket prices now extended through May 10! Buy them now to save $20 on your ticket: http://mirandashearth.com/ignite
Featured speakers include:
Betty Francisco, Latina Circle
Daniel Callahan, MassQ
Matt McArthur, The Record Co
Mike Massey, 33 Degree Yoga
Rachel Panitch, Andria Nicodemou, Thread Ensemble
Matthew Reese & Kate Mikell, Porter Square Books
Sara Stackhouse, Boston Conservatory
and more!
Learn more at http://mirandashearth.com/ignite
Share your excitement at #ignitethehearth!
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Monday, May 21
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VRHealth presents Virtual treatment and exercise rooms
Monday, May 21
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
MIT 5th floor Conference room, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
We get inspiration and find beauty in Art. Let's find out the brain mechanisms of it.
SCHEDULE:
6:00pm - Doors open, demos begin, snacks are served.
6:50pm -Announcements and Community information
7:00 - Erran Orr from VRHealth talk begins
8:30pm - 8:30 - 9:45 Demofest!!
9:45 - After party at the Glasshouse
VRHealth creates "Virtual Treatment & Exercise Rooms" by developing breakthrough medical and wellness applications using Virtual Reality (VR) to deliver an enhanced experience and real-time data analytics, for use in clinics and at home, where users can analyze and quantify performance through a digital experience. VRHealth is the first certified virtual reality medical company in the world and all its medical products are FDA authorized.
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Tuesday, May 22
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The Changing Energy Landscape in Massachusetts – Annual Banquet
Tuesday, May 22
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Holiday Inn Boston - Brookline, 1200 Beacon Street, Brookling
Cost: $35 per person or $270 per table of eight. $10 per student
*A small convenience fee will apply to online ticket transactions
Come and join us for an evening of fun and networking!!!
The Changing Energy Landscape in Massachusetts
Speaker: Judith Judson, Commissioner, Massachusetts – Department of Energy Resources
Featuring: Buffet style dinner, cash bar and live music by “Jazz in the Air”
Checks are also acceptable. Please make the check payable to IEEE PES Boston Chapter and mail it to:
IEEE PES Boston
c/o Martin
50 Church Street
Westwood, MA 02090
Registration Closing Date and Time: 3PM on Friday, May 18, 2018
Visit IEEE PES Boston Chapter’s website for details! http://www.ieeepesboston.org/
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To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment
Tuesday, May 22
6:30 PM (Doors at 6:00)
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
This event is free; no tickets are required.
Harvard Book Store welcomes constitutional scholar and Harvard professor LAURENCE TRIBE and attorney, publisher, and author JOSHUA MATZ for a discussion of their latest co-authored book, To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment.
Please Note
Seating is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. Seating and elevator access to the Lecture Hall (located on level L2) will begin at 6pm. A 70-car underground parking garage with access from Broadway is available when the library is open.
About To End a Presidency
To End a Presidency addresses one of today's most urgent questions: when and whether to impeach a president. Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz provide an authoritative guide to impeachment's past and a bold argument about its proper role today. In an era of expansive presidential power and intense partisanship, we must rethink impeachment for the twenty-first century.
Of impeachments, one Constitutional Convention delegate declared, "A good magistrate will not fear them. A bad one will be kept in fear of them." To End a Presidency is an essential book for all Americans seeking to understand how this crucial but fearsome power should be exercised.
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A Short Border Handbook: A Journey Through the Immigrant’s Labyrinth
Tuesday May 22
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline
Gazmend Kapllani in conversation with Laura Tavares
An exhilarating and darkly comical exploration of migration and borders from an Albanian who grew up in Hoxha’s madhouse, longing to cross to Greece, only to find another seam of absurdities and disappointments on his eventual arrival.
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Opportunity
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Announcing Destination 2040: The next long-range transportation plan for the Boston region
How would you improve the Boston region’s transportation system? That’s the question at the heart of the MPO’s preparations for Destination 2040, which the MPO expects to adopt in the spring of 2019.
Every four years, the MPO identifies the system’s strengths and weaknesses; forecasts changes in population, employment, and land use; and creates a plan to address existing and future mobility needs. The resulting long-range transportation plan (LRTP) allocates funding for major projects in the Boston region and guides the MPO’s funding of capital investment programs and studies.
Use the new Destination 2040 website at http://ctps.org/lrtp-dev to explore the state of the system; learn how the MPO will identify needs, revisit its vision and goals, and prioritize its investments; and share your own interests, concerns, and ideas.
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Resource
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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. 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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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
Solar map of Cambridge, MA
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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 - 41 (up from 27 in 2016) and counting: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zGHnt9r2pQx8.kfw9evrHsKjA&hl=en
Solidarity Network Economy: https://ussolidarityeconomy.wordpress.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://calendar.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://mitenergyclub.org/
Harvard Events: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/
Harvard Environment: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
Sustainability at Harvard: http://green.harvard.edu/events
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/
Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/
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 11 AM on Sundays, as Energy (and Other) Events is sent out Sunday afternoons.
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