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, July 2
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4pm CBMM Special Seminar: Transformative Generative Models
6:30pm Science Diplomacy from the Arctic to our World
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Tuesday, July 3
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8am Invisible Light! Can the Treatment of Depression Be Beyond What is Seen?
12pm "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Communal Reading of Frederick Douglass’ Speech
5pm Play Labs 2018 Open House
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Monday, July 9
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12pm Curriculum Design Workshop
6pm E Pluribus: Opening Reception
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Tuesday, July 10
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5:30pm Slash & Burn: How Two Houghton Manuscripts Survived a Violent Past
6:30pm Cinema: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Dr. Asaf Marco
7pm The Art of Resistance: Painting by Candlelight in Mao's China
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
Geometry Links - June 30, 2018
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Monday, July 2
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CBMM Special Seminar: Transformative Generative Models
Monday, July 2
4:00pm - 5:00pm
MIT, Building 46-3002, Singleton Auditorium, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker(s): Prof. Lior Wolf, Tel Aviv University and Facebook AI Research
Abstract: Generative models are constantly improving, thanks to recent contributions in adversarial training, unsupervised learning, and autoregressive models. In this talk, I will describe new generative models in computer vision, voice synthesis, and music.
In music – I will describe the first music translation method to produce convincing results (https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.07848)
In voice synthesis – I will discuss the current state of multi-speaker text to speech (https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.06984)
This seminar will live stream at the time of the event.
More information at http://bcs.mit.edu/news-events/events/cbmm-special-seminar-transformative-generative-models
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Science Diplomacy from the Arctic to our World
Monday, July 2
6:30pm
The Burren, 247 Elm Street, Somerville
Paul A. Berkman
More information at http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/science-by-the-pint/
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Tuesday, July 3
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Invisible Light! Can the Treatment of Depression Be Beyond What is Seen?
Tuesday, July 3
Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am (followed by Coffee Hour)
Bornstein Family Amphitheater, BWH, 45 Francis Street, Boston
Presenter: Paolo Cassano, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Director of Photobiomodulation, Depression Clinical and Research Program, Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital
Transcranial photobiomodulation (t-PBM) with invisible near-infrared radiation (NIR) has emerged as a potential antidepressant treatment in both animal models and human studies. t-PBM consists of delivering NIR ─or red light─ to the scalp of the patient, which penetrates the skull and modulates function of the adjacent cortical areas of the brain. t-PBM with red light and/or NIR appears to increase brain metabolism (by activating the cytochrome C oxidase in the mitochondria), to increase neuroplasticity, and to modulate endogenous opioids, while decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress. t-PBM penetrates deeply into the cerebral cortex, modulates cortical excitability and improves cerebral perfusion and oxygenation. Studies have suggested that it can significantly improve cognition in healthy subjects, and in subjects with traumatic brain injury. The safety of t-PBM has been studied in a sample of acute 1,410 stroke patients, with no significant differences in rates of adverse events between t-PBM and sham exposure. Uncontrolled studies suggest an antidepressant effect of t-PBM in subjects suffering from major depressive disorder. A case on the use of t-PBM for the treatment of major depressive disorder will be presented, with discussion of evidence from a recent clinical trial.
Biography: Dr. Paolo Cassano is assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of photobiomodulation at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Depression and Clinical Research Program and at the MGH Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders.
Dr. Cassano received both his MD in medicine and surgery, and his PhD in clinical neuro-psychopharmacology from the University of Pisa in Italy. He pursued post-doctoral studies in mood and anxiety disorders with the MGH Depression and Clinical Research Program (DCRP) and graduated from the MGH-McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program in 2009.
Dr. Cassano’s research has focused on developing new treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) and better characterizing response to treatment by examining comorbid conditions, cultural factors and trauma. During his PhD studies in Italy, he co-led several research projects focusing on the use of two anti-Parkinson drugs for the treatment of resistant-depression. After coming to the United States he joined the DCRP at MGH, where he continued to study mood disorders, comorbidity and resistance to treatment as a co-investigator in STAR*D ─ the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression ─ trial.
Since 2014, Dr. Cassano has held a dual appointment at the MGH Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders (CATSD) and DCRP. At the DCRP and at the CATSD, he has severed as principal investigators and co-investigators on multiple studies on Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Social Anxiety Disorder.
Since 2009, he has served as principal investigator on several studies on transcranial photobiomodulation for MDD, GAD and in healthy subjects, including a Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (2012 NARSAD YI) Award and a Dupont Warren/Livingston Fellowship from Harvard Medical School. These groundbreaking projects ─ in collaboration with the MGH Wellman Center for Photomedicine ─ have led to very promising results. Considerable press attention stemmed from these studies, with CNN and Washington Post coverage at the national level.
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Communal Reading of Frederick Douglass’ Speech
Tuesday, July 3
12:00 PM
Boston Common at the State House, Shaw-MA 54th Memorial, Boston
Mass Humanities’ signature communal reading of Frederick Douglass’s speech in which he took exception to
being asked to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
contact: 413-584-8440
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Play Labs 2018 Open House
Tuesday, July 3
5:00pm to 8:00pm
MIT, Building 32-124 & 32-144, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
On Tuesday, July 3rd, we’re inviting the public to test the latest products and games created by the companies we’re hosting at Play Labs!
10 companies are working on the following playful technologies this summer – there’s lots of neat products you’ll be able to try out! Many of these are game related, and some have other applications (including business and education).
Educational games and tools
AR/MR Applications/Tools
Blockchain
eSports
Natural Language & AI
AR Games
We’ll also be showcasing work in development at the MIT Game Lab and MIT Education Arcade, including a multiplayer VR game about cellular biology.
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Monday, July 9
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Curriculum Design Workshop
Monday, July 9 (More dates through July 20)
12:00pm
MIT, Building NE49, 600 TECHNOLOGY Square, Cambridge
Meeting the challenges of higher education, Curriculum Design is a collegial and collaborative program based at the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) that introduces MIT approaches of problem-solving, learning science, entrepreneurship and use of online tools. Participants develop curriculum reform, contributing to student success and the economic trajectory of their country.
VISION
As educational approaches and technologies develop, the faculty of Higher Educators is challenged to engage students in the most productive way. Curriculum Design meets this challenge by addressing pedagogical approaches, curriculum design and implementation, with emphasis on MIT-style problem-solving methods, science of learning, and educational technology/online tools. Inclusion of entrepreneurial skills into higher education is becoming increasingly important to meet unemployment challenges, and the program includes exposure to the MIT innovation culture and startup development. Specific subject content is part of the curriculum.
Curriculum Design is aimed at global faculty, and especially groups from one university or several within one country that have the goal of reworking their curricula and revising educational structure. Faculty from new universities will find the program exceptionally useful as curriculum is devised for the first time, and state of the art approaches can be incorporated.
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E Pluribus: Opening Reception
WHEN Monday, July 9, 2018, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gutman Gallery, 6 Appian Way, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Gutman Library
DETAILS
Muriel Stockdale’s United States flag series, "E Pluribus," expresses the many colors of patriotism found everyday in the United States, which is perhaps the most diverse culture in the world. Muriel’s flags are exquisitely hand crafted in the USA from typical fabrics representing diverse cultures that make up this American mosaic. As an immigrant, Muriel is awed by the harmonious co-existence of Americans who celebrate their freedom in all possible ways.
Editorial Comment: These days, it might be good to think about the history of the many shades of the American flag.
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Tuesday, July 10
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Slash & Burn: How Two Houghton Manuscripts Survived a Violent Past
WHEN Tuesday, July 10, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Lamont Library Forum Room, 11 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Exhibitions, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Houghton Library
SPEAKER(S) Sylvie Merian, Morgan Library & Museum
TICKET WEB LINK https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfyNBzNeC0AXpGbjlV6uQ2tsPSfJ9vJKmh_u3OqwR_d8VrTRQ/viewform?usp=send_form
TICKET INFO RSVP. Free and open to the public.
DETAILS When Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide he defined not only the intent to destroy a group of people but the deliberate aim of erasing their cultural legacy. Dr. Sylvie Merian will focus on two manuscripts now held at Houghton Library, which she discovered while a Houghton Library Visiting Fellow/Katharine F. Pantzer Jr. Fellowship in Descriptive Bibliography 2008-2009. Both manuscripts were violently attacked during the 1894-1896 Hamidian massacres in the Ottoman Empire. This brutal attempt to annihilate Armenian literary tradition will be contextualized through several examples of the deliberate destruction of significant cultural artifacts, not only for the Armenians but also in world history. Examining the history of cultural genocide highlights the importance of artifacts as key to the survival of the Armenian people.
Speaker: Sylvie L. Merian received her Ph.D. in Armenian Studies from Columbia University’s Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures. She has published and lectured internationally on Armenian codicology, bookbinding, silverwork, manuscript illumination, and the history of the book. She is currently Reader Services Librarian at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.
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Cinema: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Dr. Asaf Marco
Tuesday, July 10
6:30pm to 9:00pm
MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Join us for the first part in our Cerebral Cinema series, where you'll hear from researchers and then compare real science to depictions on the big screen.
Learn how the brain processes emotions as Kay Tye, MIT Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, describes her research. Then enjoy Inside Out, the very popular animated film starring Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness!
This event is presented in conjunction with The Beautiful Brain: The Drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
Free.
Additional Events in this Series:
August 14, Cerebral Cinema: Inception with Dr. Steve Ramirez
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The Art of Resistance: Painting by Candlelight in Mao's China
Tuesday, July 10
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
The Art of Resistance surveys the lives of seven painters--Ding Cong (1916-2009), Feng Zikai (1898-1975), Li Keran (1907-89), Li Kuchan (1898-1983), Huang Yongyu (b. 1924), Pan Tianshou (1897-1971), and Shi Lu (1919-82)--during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a time when they were considered counterrevolutionary and were forbidden to paint. Drawing on interviews with the artists and their families and on materials collected during her visits to China, Shelley Drake Hawks examines their painting styles, political outlooks, and life experiences.
These fiercely independent artists took advantage of moments of low surveillance to secretly "paint by candlelight." In doing so, they created symbolically charged art that is open to multiple interpretations. The wit, courage, and compassion of these painters will inspire respect for the deep emotional and spiritual resonance of Chinese art.
Shelley Drake Hawks teaches art history and world history at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts.
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, July 11
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Emerging Trends Series: The Future of Energy Efficiency
Wednesday, July 11
8:30 AM – 10:30 AM EDT
Mintz Levin, 1 Financial Center, Boston
Cost: $0 – $50
With multiple Northeast states ranked as national leaders in energy efficiency for multiple years in a row, the region has been at the forefront of driving adoption of the “least cost fuel” as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and customers’ energy bills. Today, the region is heading into an era when evolving business models, technologies and platforms are presenting new opportunities to engage customers and products and services providers to drive further energy efficiency through electrification and digitization.
State policymakers must explore ways to evolve and align incentives, policies and practices to advance these efforts in ways that are more strategic and valuable to the customer, while also driving the growth of solar, wind, heat pumps and other smart grid services.
Please join the NECEC team and speakers from leading companies and organizations working to drive energy efficiency through new policy mechanisms and with innovative technologies and service models that will chart a new course for energy efficiency in the Northeast.
Speakers:
Peter Rothstein, President, NECEC (moderator)
Sue Coakley, Executive Director, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)
Anna Pavlova, Vice President, Government Relations, Schneider Electric
Anne Reynolds, Executive Director, Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY)
Tom Burton, Chair, Energy & Sustainability Practice Group, Mintz Levin
By registering for and attending this event you agree to event-related photographs being taken on this specific event day by NECEC approved photographers being used in future NECEC-related printed, published and/or broadcasted material. NECEC may exercise any of these rights itself or through any successors, transferees, licensees, distributors or other parties, commercial or nonprofit.
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Mass Innovation Nights 112
Wednesday, July 11
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
On July 11th, CohnReznick and Smartbooks are sponsoring #MIN112 at District Hall! We'll be showcasing over 10 new SaaS and software products. Don't miss #MIN112!
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Boston New Technology Medical & Health Tech Startup Showcase #BNT91
Wednesday, July 11
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Microsoft NERD Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Cost: $15
Join Boston New Technology at Microsoft NERD Center on July 11th to:
See 7 innovative and exciting local Medical and Health technology demos, presented by startup founders
Network with 200 attendees from the Boston-area startup/tech community
Get your free professional headshot photo from The Boston Headshot (non-intrusively watermarked)
Enjoy Oath pizza, beverages & dessert
Each company presents an overview and demonstration of their product within 5 minutes and discusses questions with the audience.
Save 50% by purchasing at least 48 hours in advance.
Please follow @BostonNewTech and support our startups by posting on social media using our #BNT91 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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Bioverse Boston: 3D Bioprinting Meetup for Bio-Enthusiasts & Pioneers
Wednesday, July 11
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
121, 50 Milk Street, Anchor room, 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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Holy Humanitarians: American Evangelicals and Global Aid
Wednesday, July 11
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
On May 10, 1900, an enthusiastic Brooklyn crowd bid farewell to the Quito. The ship sailed for famine-stricken Bombay, carrying both tangible relief--thousands of tons of corn and seeds--and "a tender message of love and sympathy from God's children on this side of the globe to those on the other." The Quito may never have gotten under way without support from the era's most influential religious newspaper, the Christian Herald, which urged its American readers to alleviate poverty and suffering abroad and at home. In Holy Humanitarians, Heather D. Curtis argues that evangelical media campaigns transformed how Americans responded to domestic crises and foreign disasters during a pivotal period for the nation.
Through graphic reporting and the emerging medium of photography, evangelical publishers fostered a tremendously popular movement of faith-based aid that rivaled the achievements of competing agencies like the American Red Cross. By maintaining that the United States was divinely ordained to help the world's oppressed and needy, the Christian Herald linked humanitarian assistance with American nationalism at a time when the country was stepping onto the global stage. Social reform, missionary activity, disaster relief, and economic and military expansion could all be understood as integral features of Christian charity.
Drawing on rigorous archival research, Curtis lays bare the theological motivations, social forces, cultural assumptions, business calculations, and political dynamics that shaped America's ambivalent embrace of evangelical philanthropy. In the process she uncovers the seeds of today's heated debates over the politics of poverty relief and international aid.
Heather D. Curtis is Associate Professor of Religion at Tufts University.
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Thursday, July 12
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Energy Blockchain for Disrupting the Energy Industry: Opportunities and Challenges
Thursday, July 12
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Venture Development Center [3rd Floor of Wheatley Hall], 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston
Amid the recent revolution of digital currency and blockchain technology, many blockchain-centric and blockchain-adjacent companies are entering via the energy sector. Energy blockchain startups have raised over $300 million through ICOs in the past year alone. This phenomenon, while holding the potential to revolutionize the nature of electricity as a commodity, also introduces an existential threat to the existing monopoly of grid operators.
Opportunities:
Decentralization of the grid into local community microgrids using solar, wind, and storage
New innovations in solar power, superefficient PSC solar panels, control systems, peer-to-peer transactions through blockchain platforms
Unprecedented incentives for individuals and communities to embrace renewable energy through adaptive solar microgrids, providing themselves with cleaner, cheaper, and more resilient sources of energy
Challenges:
Resistance from city, state, and federal regulators; fossil fuel lobby and others invested in the status quo
Gaining the trust and cooperation of grid operators, along with equal access to systems of power production and distribution for microgrid operators; equity in economic growth
With these questions in mind, Power2Peer has assembled a panel of experts for what promises to be a lively discussion exploring the opportunities and challenges of the energy blockchain. We invite you to join us on July 12th at the Venture Development Center for this important event.
Host and Moderator:
Dr. Nish Sonwalkar (ScD, MIT)
Founder and Chief Evangelist, Power2Peer
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The Fall of Wisconsin: The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and the Future of American Politics
Thursday, July 12
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store. 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store and WBUR welcome writer and musician DAN KAUFMAN for a discussion of his new book The Fall of Wisconsin: The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and the Future of American Politics. He will be joined in conversation by ANTHONY BROOKS, senior political reporter for WBUR.
About The Fall of Wisconsin
For more than a century, Wisconsin has been known nationwide for its progressive ideas and government. It famously served as a "laboratory of democracy," a cradle of the labor and environmental movements, and birthplace of the Wisconsin Idea, which championed expertise in the service of the common good. But following a Republican sweep of the state’s government in 2010, Wisconsin’s political heritage was overturned, and the state went Republican for the first time in three decades in the 2016 presidential election, elevating Donald J. Trump to the presidency.
The Fall of Wisconsin is a deeply reported, searing account of how the state’s progressive tradition was undone and turned into a model for national conservatives bent on remaking the country. Dan Kaufman, a Wisconsin native who has been covering the story for several years, traces the history of progressivism that made Wisconsin so widely admired, from the work of celebrated politicians like Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette and Gaylord Nelson, to local traditions like Milwaukee’s “sewer socialism,” to the conservationist ideas of Aldo Leopold and the state’s Native American tribes. Kaufman reveals how the “divide-and-conquer” strategy of Governor Scott Walker and his allies pitted Wisconsin’s citizens against one another so powerful corporations and wealthy donors could effectively take control of state government. As a result, laws protecting voting rights, labor unions, the environment, and public education were rapidly dismantled.
Neither sentimental nor despairing, Kaufman also chronicles the remarkable efforts of citizens who are fighting to reclaim Wisconsin’s progressive legacy against tremendous odds: Chris Taylor, a Democratic assemblywoman exposing the national conservative infrastructure, Mike Wiggins, the head of a Chippewa tribe battling an out-of-state mining company, and Randy Bryce, the ironworker whose long-shot challenge to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has galvanized national resistance to Trump.
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One Green Deed Spawns Another: Tales of Inspiration on the Quest for Sustainability
Thursday, July 12
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
One Green Deed Spawns Another traces the unusual path David Mahood followed to become environmentally active, which brought him in contact with some exceptional individuals. Some are as well-known as celebrities; others have flown under the radar. All of them have equally distinctive stories that have inspired and influenced his philosophy on our relationship to our habitat and fellow species. This book is a compilation of these poignant moments with his environmental heroes and friends and their insightful ideas, and a tribute to the spirit of Earth’s active stewards.
David C. Mahood is a sustainability consultant, environmental writer and poet. He holds a BA from the College of Wooster, and an MBA in Sustainability from San Francisco Institute of Architecture. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Interiors and Sources, International Ecotourism Society, The Environmental Blog, NEWH Magazine and Living Green Magazine. His poetry credits include Writer's Cramp, Fifth Street Review, and Prick of the Spindle. He attributes his environmental epiphany to a desperate act of consciousness back in 1998. David spends most of his time in Massachusetts but can be found in one of various flanking airports.
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The Southern Right Whales of Argentina: A 47-Year Story Written by Biological Research and Citizen Science
Thursday, July 12
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
New England Aquarium, Simons IMAX Theatre, 1 Central Wharf, Boston
Florencia Ornela Vilches, New England Aquarium Marine Conservation Action Fund Fellow* and Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas researcher
Right whales can be identified by the callosities pattern on their heads. A photographic catalog of 3,200 individually identified southern right whales has been built up on their calving ground at PenÃnsula Valdés, Argentina, through annual aerial surveys since 1971. This long-term database is a unique resource for research, conservation, and education, and is the backbone of the Right Whale Program, run by Ocean Alliance and Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas (ICB) in the United States and Argentina, respectively. However, the database still represents a relatively small sample of whale life histories occurring in Valdés. To increase this sample size, eight whale watch photographers have contributed 460,000 photographs of whales taken between 2003 and 2016. The operators want to share the life histories of the individual whales they are seeing with about 110,000 tourists they host each year.
Supported by the Marine Conservation Action Fund, ICB researcher Florencia Vilches and Victoria Rowntree, the director of the Right Whale Program in the United States, created a way to integrate these boat-based photographs with the aerial survey catalog. Florencia is directing this project and working with members of the whale watching companies, volunteers with ICB, and local students. Join Florencia in learning how a long-term study resulted in whale life histories, how each of them has contributed to the knowledge about this population, and how a combination of scientific research and the active participation of citizens succeed in filling critical data gaps for a better assessment of the health of Valdés whales and their habitat.
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Friday, July 13
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Resistance: Reclaiming an American Tradition
Friday, July 13
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes award-winning historian, journalist, and playwright JEFF BIGGERS for a discussion of his latest book, Resistance: Reclaiming an American Tradition.
About Resistance
Across cities, towns, and campuses, Americans are grappling with overwhelming challenges and the daily fallout from the most authoritarian White House policies in recent memory.
In an inspiring narrative history, Jeff Biggers reframes today’s battles as a continuum of a vibrant American tradition. Resistance is a chronicle of the courageous resistance movements that have insured the benchmarks of our democracy―movements that served on the front lines of the American Revolution, the defense of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the defeat of fascism during World War II, and landmark civil rights and environmental protection achievements.
Legendary historian Studs Terkel praised Biggers’s The United States of Appalachia as a "how-to book" in the tradition of the American Revolution. With Resistance, Biggers opens a new window into American history and its meaning today. In a recovery of unsung heroes, including Revolutionary forefather Thomas Paine, Resistance is a provocative reconsideration of the American Revolution, bringing alive early Native American, African American, and immigrant struggles, women’s rights, and environmental justice movements. With lucidity, meticulousness, and wit, Biggers unfolds one of our country’s best-kept secrets: in dealing with the most challenging issues of every generation, resistance to duplicitous civil authority has defined our quintessential American story.
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The Good News about Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever--And What to Do about It
Friday, July 13
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
Why don't our kids do what we want them to do? Parents often take the blame for misbehavior, but this obscures a broader trend: in our modern, highly connected age, children have less self-control than ever. About half of the current generation of children will develop a mood or behavioral disorder or a substance addiction by age eighteen. Contemporary kids need to learn independence and responsibility, yet our old ideas of punishments and rewards are preventing this from happening.
To stem this growing crisis of self-regulation, journalist and parenting expert Katherine Reynolds Lewis articulates what she calls The Apprenticeship Model, a new theory of discipline that centers on learning the art of self-control. Blending new scientific research and powerful individual stories of change, Lewis shows that, if we trust our children to face consequences, they will learn to adapt and moderate their own behavior. She watches as chaotic homes become peaceful, bewildered teachers see progress, and her own family grows and evolves in light of these new ideas. You'll recognize your own family in Lewis's sensitive, realistic stories, and you'll find a path to making everyone in your home more capable, kinder, and happier--including yourself.
Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning independent journalist based in the Washington, DC, area who regularly writes for The Atlantic, Fortune, USA Today's magazine group, the Washington Post, and Working Mother magazine. Lewis's byline has also appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, MSN Money, Money, Mother Jones, the New York Times, Parade, Slate, and the Washington Post Magazine. Her work has won awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Chicago Headline Club. She has received fellowships from the Carey Institute for Global Good, the National Press Foundation, the Poynter Institute, and the University of Maryland's Casey Journalism Center. Residencies include Le Moulin à Nef, Ragdale, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her media appearances include CNN, NPR, Bloomberg television and radio, and HuffPost Live, as well as numerous radio programs nationally and internationally. In 2008, Lewis created a website on working moms for About.com, which she ran until 2014, attracting millions of readers to the site, its blog, and a weekly newsletter. She is a certified parent educator with the Parent Encouragement Program in Kensington, Maryland.
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Saturday, July 14
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Jamaica Plain Garden Tour
Saturday, July 14
10 AM - 2 PM
J.P. Licks Patio, 659 Centre Steet, JP
Cost: Member: $20 Advance; $24 Door; Nonmember: $25 Advance; $30 Door;
We're delighted to present the first annual Jamaica Plain Garden Tour! Come enjoy unique access to over twenty private gardens in the Sumner Hill and Central neighborhoods of JP, an area full of charming historical homes and lush perennial gardens. Sites along the route range from creative urban spaces to formal gardens in the English style, to rambling woodland landscapes. Many are hidden gems which you might never otherwise see, featuring beautiful stonework, water elements, and rare specimen plants. Our gratitude goes to the garden owners for opening up these magical spaces in support of the Trustees' 56 community gardens and parks citywide.
Interested in volunteering as a garden sitter for the tour? Contact Annie Wolf at awolf@thetrustees.org or 617.542.7696 x2127 or sign up here.
Purchase tickets in advance to save time and money. No need to print anything; we'll have a will-call list at the tour start
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20th USA Memory Championship Finals
Saturday, July 14
1:00pm to 5:30pm
MIT, Building W16: Kresge Auditorium, 48 MASSACHUSETTS AVE, Cambridge, MA 02139
The USA Memory Championship (USAMC) is an annual tournament of memory challenges, founded in 1997 by Tony Dottino and Marshall Tarley. Their vision was to demonstrate that people can be trained to improve their memory, more than ever thought possible.
This year, thirteen Mental Athletes (MAs) have advanced to the finals which will be held live on July 14th at the Kresge Auditorium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. This year’s finalists were selected from a pool of 75 MAs who competed in a variety of qualifying events including memorization of hundreds of faces and names.
The USAMC Championship Round at MIT is open to the public and will consist of five memory events: Words to Remember, Long Term Recall, Musical Chairs, Tea Party, and Double Deck O’Bust. The event is free but registration is required.
About the USAMC
In early 1997, a number of leadership consultants in New York realized the value of memory in the corporate and leadership communities and so the USA Memory Championship was born. National and international records, set by the emerging “Memory Masters,” have reached almost superhuman levels, catching the attention of educational and medical research centers around the world. The most interesting aspect of the competition is that these records have been set by competitors who began as “ordinary people” with ordinary scores!
For the first half of its existence, USAMC participants had typically received little formal training on memory skills. A watershed moment for the field came in 2006 after a journalist for Slate Magazine covered the event in 2005 and decided to compete the following year. USAMC’s 2006 Champion Josh Foer published the book on his training for the event (Moonwalking with Einstein). Many US MAs compete in international events. The performance of elite US MAs is comparable to the best in the world and a number of retired former champions now have lucrative careers as public speakers.
Mr. Dottino set out to spread the message to the world and educate various communities both personally and professionally that, “Your brain does not stop learning. Your brain is like a muscle. Exercise it! When given the proper training, the brain strengthens, regardless of age!”
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Monday, July 16 - Friday, July 20
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Creativity in Structural Design | International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures Symposium
Monday, July 16 (More dates through July 20)
9:00am to 8:00pm
MIT, Building W16: Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
In July 2018, the annual Symposium of the IASS – International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures – will take place in Boston, an American hub of academics and innovation. Hosted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the symposium aims to bring together leading designers and researchers working in the fields of structural engineering and architecture from around the world.
The symposium theme, Creativity in Structural Design, celebrates work in the built environment that pushes beyond the status quo and synthesizes across disciplines to solve important problems of today and the future. Empowered by recent advances in computation, materials, and fabrication, creative structural design is expanding possibilities for shell and spatial structures.
IASS 2018 Boston will take place from July 16 to July 20 on the campus of MIT, with the iconic shell structure of Kresge Auditorium as the principal venue.
More information at https://architecture.mit.edu/building-technology/lecture/creativity-structural-design-international-association-shell-and-spatial
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Monday, July 16
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SGO Workshop: Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
Monday, July 16
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Workbar, 45 Prospect Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sgo-workshop-unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace-tickets-46946212385
Cost: $10
You may have heard about unconscious or implicit bias, but aren't quite sure what it is or have a rudimentary understanding of it. At its core, unconscious bias is just what it sounds like. Bias that we don't consciously register. In this interactive workshop, we'll walk you through its meaning and show you several types of unconscious biases that can play out specifically in the workplace. You'll walk away with a strong grasp of unconscious bias - yes, this means you won't be able to unsee bias, which we promise, is a good thing!
Agenda:
5:30pm-6:00pm - Registration
6:00pm-7:30pm - Workshop
Who should attend?
Anyone interested in learning more about unconscious bias - All genders are welcome!
About the facilitator
Felicia is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of She Geeks Out. Felicia Jadczak is a recognized voice in the diversity and inclusion field. She worked in the technology industry for over ten years, specializing in the creation and development of innovative programs and solutions. She has extensive experience in providing strategic guidance for diversity and inclusion across cross-functional teams. In 2016 she pivoted to focus solely on She Geeks Out. Felicia runs sales and business development, is the lead diversity and inclusion facilitator, and works closely with Co-CEO Rachel Murray on strategy and corporate programming on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Felicia received a BA in Comparative Literature (French, English) from Haverford College. She holds an MBA and a Masters in Information Systems from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University and is also the recipient of Georgetown University’s Certificate in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management.
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Tuesday, July 17
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Technology breakthrough of the year: Compelling science driven by curious minds
Tuesday, July 17
10 a.m. Eastern Duration: 2 hours
Webinar
Join some of today’s most innovative and accomplished thinkers, scientists, and entrepreneurs as they discuss the future of science and technology. This webinar panel discussion is part of the Curious2018 – Future Insight conference, hosted by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, on the occasion of its 350th anniversary. The illustrious panelists represent a broad range of fields, including synthetic biology, artificial intelligence (AI), astrobiology/solar system exploration, and material sciences. Moderated by Tim Appenzeller, News Editor for Science magazine, the two-hour roundtable discussion will delve into how breakthroughs in science and technology are born, and attempt to predict what direction these fields will take over the next century and beyond, and how advances in technology will impact the planet and its inhabitants. Will AI bring an end to society as we know it, as some anticipate? What impact might the discovery of extraterrestrial life have on our understanding of the universe, and indeed of human evolution? And how might the development of new materials or advances in synthetic biology enhance—or diminish—our lives? More information on the panelists and their backgrounds can be found at http://curious2018.com/agenda/aaas-science-roundtable
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Opportunity
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MIT Solve Coastal Communities Challenge
How can coastal communities mitigate and adapt to climate change while developing and prospering?
Challenge deadline July 1, 2018
Challenge Overview
Over 30% of humanity lives near coasts, ranging from massive cities to key ports and naval bases to small islands. The effects of climate change – including sea level rise, stronger storms, ocean warming and acidification – are causing increasing negative impacts on these communities’ lives and livelihoods. For the 600 million people supported by the fishing industry, a majority of them women, overfishing, pollution, and acidification threaten their livelihoods and the fragile ecosystems on which they depend. In cities and elsewhere, some communities already face regular flooding due to higher tides, some will see more frequent natural disasters, and others will see tourist-attracting coral reefs or surfing fade.
Further, as 60% of global GDP and 90% of global trade moves through coasts, increased flooding or damage to port infrastructure poses risks for communities and businesses alike, whether or not they are near the ocean. In addition, coastal and ocean ecosystems absorb 25% of our excess CO2, but are often degraded through coastal development, making climate change harder to mitigate.
While facing numerous impacts, coastal communities from Puerto Rico to Dhaka also have the potential to demonstrate resilient and sustainable ways of living near and with the ocean. Doing so will require people to have access to new technological solutions—along with new ways to envision and enact hard decisions about economies, society, and infrastructure. The Solve community aims to find innovative solutions to support and enhance coastal communities, while mitigating and adapting to climate change. To do so, Solve welcomes solutions from innovators around the world that:
Increase the viability and scale of sustainable economic activity from oceans, ranging from fishing to energy production to tourism
Provide cost-effective infrastructure approaches to improve resilience in the face of increased storm-, sea-, and tidewater
Rebuild or replicate mangroves, corals, and other ecosystems to restore historic functions, including storm surge absorption, carbon uptake, and stable fisheries
Enable coastal communities, governments, and corporations to use data to understand and make complex decisions around sustainable and resilient development
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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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