---
Health Reform in the U.S.
Jonathan Gruber, Professor of Economics
Mon Jan 10, 10-11:00am, E51-345
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
This talk will discuss the path to national health reform, the content of the recent health care reform bill, and where we go from here
Contact: Ruth Levitsky, E52-252, x3-3399, levitsky@mit.edu
Sponsor: Economics
-------------------------------------
Monday, January 10, 2011
Wavelets
Speaker: Laurent Demanet
Time: 1:00p–2:30p
Location: 2-190
How much information is contained in a high-resolution digital picture? For a long time, Fourier series were the dominant mathematical tool to answer this question. The discovery of wavelets in the mid 1980s, however, changed the way engineers nowadays think about image compression. Wavelets are a series expansion scheme for functions -- much like Fourier -- but with very different convergence properties.
Web site: http://www-math.mit.edu/~eichmair/18.095
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Mathematics, Department of
For more information, contact:
Michael Eichmair
617-253-4385
eichmair@math.mit.edu
--------------------------
Monday, January 10, 2011
Energy Information: Where to go, what to do
Speaker: Chris Sherratt, Angie Locknar
Time: 1:00p–2:00p
Location: 14N-132
Information on energy is everywhere! How do you find the scientific and technical information you need and keep on the cutting edge of what is published? Attend this hands-on session to find out.
Please register for this event at http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events
This event is part of Energy Futures Week. Other events are listed here: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Libraries, MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:
Locknar, Angie
locknar@mit.edu
--------------------
Monday, January 10, 2011
Biotechnology
Time: 1:30p–3:00p
Location: 68-181
Lamine Mbow, Unit Head, Immunology, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics
Jennifer Leeds, Ph.D., Director-Antibacterial Discovery, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
Sarah Calvo, Senior Computational Biologist, Broad Institute
Jason Kelly, Founder, Gingko Bioworks
Are you considering a job in industry, or perhaps starting your own company? What are the main differences between academic and industry labs? Are there labs that are ?in between?? Join us for an exciting Q&A session with a panel of scientists who belong to different areas of industry, and decide whether industry is the right choice for you.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/biology/iap.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Biology
--------------------
Energy Futures Week featured lecture: An Efficient Future for Energy Use in the Built Environment
Neal Elliott Associate Director for Research, ACEEE
Mon Jan 10, 02-03:00pm, 32-141
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Over the past quarter century, building energy efficiency has focused on improvements to components and equipment. While component efficiencies increased dramatically, the size of our homes and the number of energy using stuff has increased even faster. Looking forward, the focus for energy efficiency in buildings will need to shift to systems rather than components. This shift will involve transformations in how we build, and where and how we live. This shift does not mean that we can ignore component efficiency, because energy using appliances are proliferating, but that we need to take a more holistic approach to our communities.
Neal Elliott is the Associate Director for Research of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), coordinating ACEEE's overall research efforts. Elliott is an internationally recognized expert and author on energy efficiency, energy efficiency programs and policies, electric motor systems, combined heat and power and clean distributed energy, and analysis of energy efficiency and energy markets.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Jennifer DiMase, E19-370D, jdimase@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
--------------------------------------
Energy Efficiency Research and Education at MIT (Panel Discussion)
Robert Armstrong, Leon Glicksman, John Reilly, Sarah Slaughter
Mon Jan 10, 03:30-05:00pm, 32-141
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Hear about and discuss innovations in energy efficiency research and education at MIT with panelists from across the Institute.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Amanda Graham, agraham@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
--------------------------------------
Efficiency Forward Forum
Susan Hockfield, Tom May
Tue Jan 11, 11am-12:00pm, E62 Lobby Sloan
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Join President Hockfield and NSTAR CEO Tom May along with invited dignitaries as they kick off Efficiency Forward: Partnering for Success - A Forum to Recognize Innovations in Energy Efficiency
Co-Sponsored by Campus Energy Task Force, Department of Facilities, EHS Headquarters Office, Sloan School of Management
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Steven Lanou, slanou@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
-------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Energy Information: Maps and data to use with GIS
Speaker: Anne Graham, Lisa Sweeney
Time: 12:00p–1:00p
Location: 14N-132
Where are the power plants and the pipelines? How close are they to population centers? In this session, MIT GIS Services will introduce you to energy maps and spatial data available, and demonstrate GIS in action on the energy front.
Please register for this event at http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events
This event is part of Energy Futures Week. Other events are listed here: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Libraries, MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:
Graham, Anne
grahama@mit.edu
--------------------
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Energy Information: Industries and Statistics
Speaker: Katherine McNeill
Time: 1:00p–2:00p
Location: 14N-132
Interested in researching or working in the field of energy? Want to find out how your energy project fits into the landscape of various industries? This session will give you the skills to research the business and statistical information on energy to find industry overviews, market research, news and data. Please register for this event at http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events
This event is part of Energy Futures Week. Other events are listed here: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative, MIT Libraries
For more information, contact:
McNeill, Kate
mcneillh@mit.edu
-------------------
Energy Education Open House
Jennifer DiMase
Tue Jan 11, 02-03:00pm, E19-319
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Stop by the Energy Initiative to learn about the Energy Studies Minor, energy classes, student groups, fellowships, and current research projects. Chat with students and faculty involved with energy.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Jennifer DiMase, E19-370D, 452-3199, jdimase@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
---------------------------------------
Community Centered Innovation: Insights from Continuum Design
Lars Torres, Kate Mytty, Gaurav Rohatgi, Gianfranco Zaccai
Tue Jan 11, 03-05:00pm, 4-231
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Alison Hynd, Kate Mytty, Gianfranco Zaccai, Gaurav Rohatgi:
In 1999 Gianfranco Zaccai, founder and President of Continuum Design, visited South Africa to participate in a design exercise intended to develop solutions for a community facing extreme water problems. What he came away with was a new set of insights and principles regarding the design concerns of rural and peri-urban communities. Come learn with Gianfranco, MIT alum Gaurav Rohatgi, and PSC staff as they share their design sojourn and provide engaging, hands on design activities that will prepare you for more productive design experiences in resource scarce communities.
Sponsor: Public Service Center, IDEAS and the MIT Global Challenge
Web: http://www.continuuminnovation.com
Contact: Lars Torres, W20-549, (617) 324-5176, lhtorres@mit.edu
Sponsor: Public Service Center
--------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
UN Climate Roundtable: What should we expect from the UN climate negotiation process? A Discussion of International Climate Governance
Speaker: Rebecca Dell
Time: 10:30a–11:30a
Location: 5-231
The international community unanimously resolved to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" at Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In the 18 years since then, we have achieved one binding international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions--the Kyoto Protocol--but global emissions now exceed the worst case scenario outlined in the 1990s. Many have found the international process slow, confusing, and uninspiring, but there is no viable alternative framework for addressing a truly international problem like climate change.
Please join us for a round-table discussion on the UN climate negotiations process, where we will try to clarify how the UN is addressing climate change, what are some of the key sources of conflict and obstruction, and where the UN is making progress (because we are making progress in some areas). The discussion will be lead by Rebecca Dell, a PhD student in climate science and the MIT student delegate to the recent meeting of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico.
Light refreshments will be served.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:
Jennifer DiMase
jdimase@mit.edu
--------------------
Technology in Humanitarian Crises: MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Effort in Post Quake Haiti
Dr. Marc A. Zissman, Dr. Richard M. Heinrichs, Mischa M. Shattuck, Amanda C. Schiff, Michael Hartnett
Wed Jan 12, 12-01:30pm, E40-496, Light Lunch Provided
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Join MIT Lincoln Laboratory staff on the one year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake for a discussion about their efforts towards humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
This presentation will discuss the operation of the ALIRT 3-D laser radar over Haiti and show examples of the collected data. The information gleaned from this imagery was used to help determine the migration of the greater than 750,000 people displaced by the earthquake, in order to better plan for shipments of relief supplies.
Additionally, the development of a qualitative assessment tool and the data collection methodology will be discussed. This will focus on how real-time data supports decisions in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Contact: Dr. Marc A. Zissman, LIN-D-309, (781) 981-7606, maz@ll.mit.edu
Sponsor: Lincoln Laboratory
-------------------------------------------
Inspiration from Nature: Biomimicry Design Competition Preparatory Lectures
Kachina Gosselin
Wed, Fri, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28, 01-03:00pm, 66-160
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Have you ever marveled at the swiftness of a cheetah? The adhesive ability of gecko feet? The coherence of a flock of birds? Nature has an amazing ability to solve challenges that seem at first glance to be insurmountable. Peer into the design of natural systems and perhaps glean insight into solutions to the pressing problems facing our civilization. Compete to contribute to solving the greatest challenges of our generation.
Coordinated with The Biomimicry Institute and with guest lectures in topics from engineering to design to business development, this course will introduce you to basic biomimicry tools and concepts,encourage you to approach engineering problems from a systems thinking perspective, and help you create technically novel solutions with the simple elegance that nature inspires. This is a preparatory course to prepare students for a new biomimicry design competition to be held in the spring.
Sustainability is all around us, we just need to learn how to emulate it.
Contact: Kachina Gosselin, (617) 893-1988, kachina@mit.edu
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering
----------------------------------
Four Nuclear Lectures
Dr. Kosta Tsipis
Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Dr. Kosta Tsipis will present four nuclear lectures:
Jan. 12, 2010, 2-3PM, room 5-233: The Physics of Nuclear Weapons
Jan. 13, 2010, 2-3PM, room 5-233: Effects of a Nuclear Explosion in a City
Jan. 19, 2010, 2-3PM, room 5-233: Nuclear Proliferation
Jan. 20, 2010, 2-3PM, room 5-233: The Origin, History and Accomplishments of "Pugwash"
Contact: Dr. Kosta Tsipis, 3-435B, 253-2228, tsipis@mit.edu
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering
The Physics of Nuclear Weapons
Dr. Kosta Tsipis
Wed Jan 12, 02-03:00pm, 5-233
Effects of a Nuclear Explosion in a City
Dr. Kosta Tsipis
Thu Jan 13, 02-03:00pm, 5-233
Nuclear Proliferation
Dr. Kosta Tsipis
Wed Jan 19, 02-03:00pm, 5-233
The Origin, History and Accomplishments of "Pugwash"
Dr. Kosta Tsipis
Thu Jan 20, 02-03:00pm, 5-233
------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Financial Crisis -- What We Do and Don't Understand
Speaker: Bengt Holmstrom
Time: 2:00p–3:00p
Location: E51-395
IAP - The Financial Crisis -- What We Do and Don't Understand
Web site: http://student.mit.edu/iap/ns14.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Economics Special Workshops/Seminars
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa@mit.edu
-----------------
"Fuel Your Mind" -- A Primer on Transportation Fuels, Current and Future
William H. Green (MIT Dept. of Chem. Eng.), George Huff & Jim Simnick (BP Global Fuels Technology)
Thu Jan 13, 09am-04:00pm, 56-114
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up, lunch provided
How is crude oil converted into gasoline and other transportation fuels? Is the gasoline available in Boston the same as what is available in Chicago? What are biofuels and what is driving the demand for these fuels of the future? Which fuel properties matter for performance?
Please join us in this short course offered by engineers from BP and Prof. Green to answer these and other questions, and to gain a better understanding of transportation fuels, and fuel processing technology. Topics to be addressed include:
1. Fuel Performance Criteria
2. Refining
3. Gasoline and Diesel
4. Biofuels, Ethanol & E85
Contact: William Green, 66-207A, x3-4580, whgreen@mit.edu
Sponsor: Chemical Engineering
--------------------------------------
Climate CoLab Workshop
Robert Laubacher, Professor Thomas W. Malone, Joshua Introne
Thu Jan 13, 02-05:00pm, NE25-746
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Single session event
Prereq: None
The Climate CoLab is a web forum where people for all over the world can work together to create proposals for what we should do about climate change. It is a project of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. The system combines web-based climate and economic modeling, structured online conversation, and new kinds of group decision making tools.
In this workshop, we invite students to learn about the Climate CoLab and share their ideas about how the project might evolve in the future. The workshop will start with a presentation on the Climate CoLab by Sloan Professor Thomas W. Malone. We then will invite students to undertake a series of tasks using the system. The final part of the session will be a discussion of possible future directions for the project, where we will welcome student input.
The workshop will be of value to students with an interest in sustainability, climate change, and emerging energy technologies. It will also be useful to students who would like to learn about next generation Web 2.0 technologies.
Attendees should bring a laptop so they can use the Climate CoLab during the session.
Web: http://climatecolab.org
Contact: Robert Laubacher, NE25-753, x3-0526, rjl@mit.edu
Sponsor: Sloan School of Management
----------------------------------------
Strategic Opportunities in Residential Energy Efficiency
Harvey Michaels
Thu Jan 13, 02:30-04:00pm, 56-154
The year ahead will be an important one for concept of enabling efficiency as an energy resource, very challenging and with high stakes for its long term viability. It’s a great time to get engaged! In this session, we will discuss new strategies being developed or tested to more successfully mitigate market barriers to efficiency in homes, including consideration of:
• New models for utility and government-supported incentives, including Green Communities
• Behavior/feedback systems, supported by Internet and “smart” electric/gas meters.
• New business approaches, and policies promotive of innovation.
Please come and share your thoughts on:
• What are the big ideas that change everything?
• How will consumers respond to them?
• How do we align incentives with objectives?
• How can efficiency performance be effectively measured?
Harvey Michaels directs the multidisciplinary MIT Energy Efficiency Strategy Project, which performs case research and analysis of utility, community, and smart grid-enabled efficiency deployment models.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Harvey Michaels, hgm@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
-----------------------------------
Residential Energy Savings: Real vs. Modeled
Michael Blasnik, Independent Consultant
Thu Jan 13, 06:30-08:00pm, 32-141
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Michael Blasnik will explain:
How to save the most energy in your home
Why real world savings don’t always equal modeled savings
Why the energy efficiency field needs great researchers
Michael Blasnik:
Has analyzed the energy use of millions of homes over the last 25 years
Heads the energy impact evaluation for the National Weatherization Assistance Program
Is feisty, funny, and informative
This event is cosponsored by MITEI, Sustainability@MIT, the MIT Energy Club, HEET, Cambridge Energy Alliance and Greenport
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Jennifer DiMase, E19-319, 452-3199, jdimase@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
--------------------------------------
Wind Energy 101
Katherine Dykes
Fri Jan 14, 11am-12:00pm, 3-133
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Come join for an overview of wind energy fundamentals from the physical resource, to the technology, to the economics, policy and social impacts. For details on our wind energy activities, please see http://windenergy.mit.edu
Co-sponsored by the MIT Wind Energy Sub-Community of the Energy Club
Web: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap
Contact: Katherine Dykes, dykesk@mit.edu
Sponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
---------
Harvard
---------
1/11/11, 12:15pm ET, Harvard Law School **Please note earlier start time for this date only**
RSVP is required via the form on the event page: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/01/wu
Topic: The Master Switch
Guests: Tim Wu, author of The Master Switch and Professor of Law at Columbia University
Tim Wu presents his widely acclaimed new book THE MASTER SWITCH: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. "A Masterpiece" - Lawrence Lessig. "A ripping yarn" - The Atlantic
About Tim
Tim Wu is an author, policy advocate and author of The Master Switch. He is a professor at Columbia Law School, the chairman of media reform organization Free Press. Wu was recognized in 2006 as one of 50 leaders in science and technology by Scientific American magazine, and in 2007 Wu was listed as one of Harvard's 100 most influential graduates by 02138 magazine.
Tim Wu's best known work is the development of Net Neutrality theory, but he has also written about copyright, international trade, and the study of law-breaking. He previously worked for Riverstone Networks in the telecommunications industry in Silicon Valley, and was a law clerk for Judge Richard Posner and Justice Stephen Breyer. He graduated from McGill University (B.Sc.), and Harvard Law School.
Wu has written for the New Yorker, the Washington Post, Forbes, Slate magazine, and others. He can sometimes be found at Waterfront Bicycles, and he once worked at Hoo's Dumplings.
This event will be webcast live; for more information and a complete description, see the event web page: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/01/wu
---------------------------------
Gorillas to Grizzlies: Conservation in Action from Africa to the United States — Free Lecture and Booksigning
WHEN
Thu., Jan. 13, 2011, 6 – 7 p.m.
WHERE
Harvard Museum of Natural History
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION
Education, Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR
Harvard Museum of Natural History
SPEAKER(S)
Amy Vedder and Bill Weber
COST
Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO
617.495.3045
NOTE
Conservationists Amy Vedder and Bill Weber have devoted three decades to ensuring the survival of endangered wildlife and wild lands around the world. Vedder and Weber will discuss their pioneering work with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, an effort combining wildlife and human interests, and how this model can be applied to conserving North America's charismatic animals and spectacular habitats.
LINK
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php
------------
Other
------
Healing Haiti: Stories from Haitian Physicians
Dr. Inobert Pierre and Dr. Miliane Clermont from St. Boniface Hospital
in Fond des Blancs, Haiti
share their experiences for the one-year anniversary of the earthquake
Tuesday, January 11th
Harvard Medical School 12:30-1:30 pm
TMEC room 109, 260 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA
(Co-sponsored by AMSA, Students for Global Health)
Wednesday, January 12th
"We Will Never Forget - Nou Pap Janm Bliye"
Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Ave 4-9 pm (Co-sponsored
by AFAB, MACCHA and many other community based organizations)
Thursday, January 13th
Brigham and Women's Hospital 12:00-1:00 pm
Carrie Hall, 15 Francis St, Boston, MA
Cambridge Health Alliance 5:00-6:30 pm
Macht Auditorium, Macht Building, 1493 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA
All events are free and open to the public!
For more information, please email Zadok Sacks at zsacks@partners.org
or go to www.physiciansforhaiti.org
-------------------------------------
Tech Tuesday - Featuring Mobile Apps/ Devices/ Platforms and more!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)
Cambridge, MA
Event Details
Where? Microsoft's NERD Center, 1 Memorial Drive Cambridge overlooking the Boston skyline. Easily reached on the T at Kendall (Red Line), there is also parking in the building.
Join your fellow geeks, tech savvy professionals, DIY-ers, press, and other industry luminaries for this informal gathering.
MassTLC members interested in showcasing your mobile product, handset, technology or platform to 300+ of the region's entrepreneurs, investors and corporate decision makers contactLaura@masstlc.org.
Non-members interested in this opportunity contact Membership Director Kristen@masstlc.org. This event is free to attend!
Presenting companies include:
AT&T, HeyWire, HTC, Malleable Devices, Microsoft, Motorola, Pyxis Mobile, RIM, Samsung, Sprint, and Wireless ESP
A community meeting on the evening of Wednesday, January 12th at the Great Hall, 6 Norfolk Street in Dorchester concerning the proposed City land disposition and rezoning for Urban Agriculture in Mattapan/Dorchester.
Sincerely,
Tad Read
Senior Planner III, BRA
617-918-4264
john.read.BRA@cityofboston.gov
register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1069483855
--------------------------------------
edSocialMedia Boston Tweetup!
Join edSocialMedia for a our Boston Tweetup! It's a terrific opportunity for educators and administrators in the Boston area to talk social media and schools.
When:
January 12th, 2011
5pm - 7pm
Where:
John Harvards Brew House
33 Dunster Street
Cambridge, MA
T- Harvard Square
Cost: FREE!
Boston Tweetup
Hosts:
Jesse Bardo, Director, edSocialMedia
Peter Baron, Partner, edSocialMedia
Join us
edSocialMedia is getting together in Boston for a great evening of social media and education discussion. We are excited to be kicking off our Making Facebook Pay Dividends: From Inquiry to Alumthe following day could not think of a better way to celebrate.
Contact Info
Please kindly direct all inquiries to info@edsocialmedia.com or call us at 617-855-5106.
http://bostweet.eventbrite.com/
---------------------------------------
1st Business Meeting of the Internet Society - New England Chapter (in formation)Thursday, January 13, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM (ET)
Cambridge, MA
Event Details
Please join us for the first business meeting of Internet Society - New England (US) Chapter (in formation) meeting. We ask that you register for event planning purposes so that we may have an indication of the number of participants expected.
The meeting space has been provided by the Harvard University Division of Continuing Education and is located at 1 Story Street, Cambridge, MA. The building is located on the corner of Brattle and Story Streets in Harvard Square and the entrance is on Story Street; the meeting room is on the third floor.
The meeting agenda will include the discussion of the draft bylaws, consideration of any changes to the bylaws, adoption of the bylaws, and election of the chapter officers and committee chairs. The solicitation of nominations and the draft bylaws can be found on the chapter website at http://isoc-ne.org.
We will have an audio conference bridge available for this meeting and the teleconference bridge information will be published on the chapter website prior to the meeting. We seek and encourage your active input and participation.
Should you have any questions, nominations, or comments on the draft bylaws, please forward them to info@isoc-ne.org.
Regards,
Hampton Watkins
Toral Cowieson
John Sax
http://isoc-ne-02.eventbrite.com/
---------------------
BASEA Forum
Thursday, January 13th, 7 pm, Clayton Handleman: "Our Renewable Energy Future"
People, even climate-change non-sceptics, often ask "Will there be enough renewable energy to really make a difference? Can renewable energy really provide all of the country's electrical needs? If so, by when? And how?"
Our January Forum speaker is a long-time BASEA member and board member who will help us answer these questions: Clayton Hadleman of Heliotronics will give an over-view on the future and importance of renewable energy. His presentation will give BASEA members and friends, as well as those less familiar with the subject of renewable energy, the tools to communicate with others on this subject, and become educators themselves.
In a presentation that is inspiring, fun, thought provoking - and a little bit scary - Clayton will provide answers that many will find surprising. Liberal use of graphics and visual aids will help put into perspective the big energy picture in this country and to a large degree throughout the developed and developing world. A compelling case will be made that it is likely that we will achieve 20% renewables in about 10 years but that there are barriers to getting significantly beyond that. Those barriers will be identified as will be some of the most promising solutions.
This talk originated as part of a one day teacher training about renewable energy in the classroom. It has been designed to put renewable energy into perspective so that the teachers can be conversant on the impact that renewable energy will have on their students' futures and the opportunities that it offers. From interested citizens to government officials, from architects to renewable energy professionals, this talk will provide new insights into how and why renewable energy is growing at a rate that has surprised even the optimists, and the ramifications of this change in our world.
Location: First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist
3 Church Street, Harvard Square
Time: Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
------------------------------------------
Arlington Weatherization Barnraising
Ring in the New Year by cutting carbon and helping the community! Arlington HEET's next event will be Saturday, January 15 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 164 Mount Vernon Street.
On the great list of things we’ll be doing:
• Putting some polyisocyanurate rigid insulation in a knee wall, along the roofline
• Some fireblock work where the chimney exits the attic, which has been converted to a living space
• Wrapping pipes
• Improving safety on a number of items (dryer vent, chimney opening)
• Lots of work in the basement to stop air flow both into the home and up to the living area
• Weather sealing three doors,
• And a bunch of other fun things
This is going to be another great day doing great work. Bonus: If you’re short with extremely long arms we’ve got some work for you!
If you can make it, please RSVP to arlHEET@gmail.com.
------------
Upcoming
------------
MIT Independent Activities Period
January 3 - 28
http://web.mit.edu/iap/
IAP is a month-long celebration of learning where anyone at MIT, from a professor emeritus to the cleaning staff, can present a course or lecture. It is primarily for the MIT community but if you don't make a scene you can partake of the educational banquet too.
-----
Plasma Science and Fusion Center IAP Series
Peter Catto, Abhay Ram, John Rice, Paul Rivenberg
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
This series introduces plasma physics research and areas of related interest at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. See URL below.
Web: http://www.psfc.mit.edu/
Contact: Paul Rivenberg, NW16-284, x3-8101, rivenberg@psfc.mit.edu
Sponsor: Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Using models to study climate
John Marshall
An approach to the study of climate that emphasizes modeling hierarchies, but based on a common set of modeling tools. Prof. Marshall will illustrate some of the science that such models facilitate in the context of paleo climate (focusing on the past 50 million years), exploring, for example, whether more than one stable climate might exist for a given external forcing.
Tue Jan 18, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
Climate change, nuclear proliferation and fusion energy
Rob Goldston, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Tue Jan 18, 03-04:00pm, NW17-218
Fifty Years of Fusion
Dale Meade, Fusion Innovation Research and Energy (FIRE)
Wed Jan 19, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
An Alcator chronicle, or What happened to Alcator B?
Ron Parker
Wed Jan 19, 03-04:00pm, NW17-218
The challenge of fusion burn and ITER
Steven Cowley, Culham Center for Fusion Energy
Thu Jan 20, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
Recreating deep interior states of planets and stars in the laboratory
Rip Collins
Developments in inertial confinement fusion have led to new ways of exploring highly compressed materials, such as those found deep inside giant planets and low mass stars, where the crushing force of gravity makes matter extremely dense. Recent experiments show that such compressed materials have rather exotic properties; and some fundamental rules of condensed matter, chemistry, and plasma physics break down.
Thu Jan 20, 03-04:00pm, NW17-218
MIT study on the future of natural gas
Daniel Cohn
Use of shale gas has created a large increase in the availability of low cost natural gas, and with it new opportunities for reducing CO2 and oil dependence. This talk will discuss the MIT interdisciplinary study on the future of natural gas.
Fri Jan 21, 10-11:00am, NW17-218
Diagnosing plasma turbulence in tokamaks
Anne White
Scientists have made great progress in understanding and predicting turbulent transport in tokamaks, but challenges remain. Future fusion reactor development depends on using fluctuation diagnostics to monitor plasma turbulence, and comparing the results with advanced theory and simulations. This talk considers recent advances in diagnosing turbulent transport in tokamaks, and the path to predicting transport in ITER.
Fri Jan 21, 11:15am-12:30pm, NW17-218
Tour of Alcator C-Mod and the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF)
Tour guide TBD
Visit the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, a well-tested approach to fusion research that has direct applications to ITER, the world's largest tokamak, currently under construction in France. Compare this to the Versatile Toroidal Facility, a small student-built tokamak used to explore magnetic reconnection, the process observed in solar flares.
Fri Jan 21, 01:30-02:30pm, NW17-218
---------------------------------------------------
Introduction to Nuclear Power
Benoit Forget, Paul Romano, Jacob DeWitte
Tue Jan 18 thru Fri Jan 21, 10:30am-12:00pm, 4-149
Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 50 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Course 1: Historical perspective of nuclear fission; Overview of radioactive decay and nuclear fission; Basic concepts of a nuclear power reactor. Course 2: Introduction of nuclear reactor safety. Discussion of reactivity and feedback mechanisms. Overview of defense in depth concepts. Discussion of Chernobyl accident. Course 3: Overview of the fuel cycle; From mining to waste disposal, this course will discuss ore processing, enrichment, spent nuclear fuel and long term disposal. Course 4: Overview of closed-fuel cycles possibilities such as Pu recycling and Minor actinides recycling. Introduction to fast reactors.
Particularly geared for Freshman.
Contact: Benoit Forget, 24-214, (617) 253-1655, bforget@mit.edu
Sponsor: Nuclear Science and Engineering
--------------------------------------------
Income Inequality in America
Frank Levy
Mon Jan 24, Tue Jan 25, Wed Jan 26, 10-11:00am, 9-450A
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
In 2008, the top 1 percent of households received about 21% of all income, twice its income share in 1990 and roughly equal its share in 1929 at the end of the Gilded Age. Average household income in the top 1 percent doubled over these years (adjusted for inflation) while income of the average household grew by 5 percent.
This activity will consist of three sessions reviewing what we know about the causes of income inequality including immigration, technological change, the growth of the financial sector and international trade. We will also devote some time to discussing what is known about the consequences of inequality for national life.
Contact: Frank Levy, 9-523, x3-2089, flevy@mit.edu
Sponsor: Urban Studies and Planning
---------------------------------------
MIT Physics Lecture Series:g
Exoplanets and the Search for Habitable Worlds
Professor Sara Seager
Mon Jan 24, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
For thousands of years people have wondered, “Are we Alone?” With about 500 planets discovered to orbit nearby stars, the existence of exoplanets is firmly established. Astronomers are now able to routinely measure planetary sizes, masses, and atmospheres for a subset of hot, big exoplanets. The race to find habitable exoplanets is on with the realization that big Earths orbiting small stars can be both discovered and characterized with existing technology. Professor Seager will answer the four questions she gets asked most often: “What could aliens see, looking at Earth from afar?”; “When will we find another Earth?”; “Can we go there?”; “If we cannot go there, why look?”
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
--------
Other
--------
The first Nerdnite of 2011 is at a special time and place – January 17 at the A.R.T Oberon Theater in Harvard Square
We’ll return to the Middlesex on the last monday of February
The next Nerdnite:
Monday January 17, 2010 — 8pm at the Oberon
2 Arrow Street, Cambridge
In Harvard Square
$5 at the door or in advance from the Oberon website
Click http://boston.nerdnite.com/2011/01/07/jan-17-special-nerdnite-event-at-the-oberon/ to buy advance tickets
The lineup:
Talk 1: “R. Buckminster Fuller: Prototype of the American Nerd”
by D.W. Jacobs
Talk 2: “Derivatives Work: The Brief Histories of “Happy Birthday” and “Who Let the Dogs Out”
by Ben Sisto
------------------
GreenPort Forum:
Growing Community-Scale Energy in New England: What Vermont's District Heating Efforts Could Mean for Cambridge
with speaker Ralph Meima, Board Co-Chair, Brattleboro Thermal Utility, Inc.
Ralph Meima is Program Director, MBA in Managing for Sustainability, Marlboro College Graduate School, Brattleboro, VT. Until he joined Marlboro College in 2006, Ralph Meima was Assistant Professor of Organizational Management at the School for International Training. He has written books and articles on environmental management and policy. Other research interests include simulation design, experiential education, CSR, and sustainable development. Meima serves on the board of the Vermont Environmental Consortium, and is Co-Chairman of the Board of Brattleboro Thermal Utility, which is developing a biomass district energy system. Meima began his career as an IT industry engineer.
Brattleboro Thermal Utility's mission is to create a community energy system for the Town of Brattleboro, Vermont generating both electricity and thermal energy, using biomass as a fuel, for the benefit of multiple stakeholders and the town as a whole. Their long-term aim is to eliminate Brattleboro's dependency on fossil fuels (primarily oil and natural gas) for heating, and obtain most of its electricity from renewable local sources.
District energy could have direct applications in Cambridge, as the most efficient means of delivering heat and energy to our homes.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church
459 Putnam Av, Cambrige
(corner of Magazine St. and Putnam Av)
For more information, contact Steve Morr-Wineman at swineman@gis.net
--------------------------
*Skillshare: Art of the Schmooze - Thursday, January 20 from 6PM-8:30PM*
The NonProfit Center, downtown Boston
This highly interactive, fast-paced skillshare hosted by Robbie Samuels will
help you make the most out of Connecting for Justice the following
week.Forming and cultivating relationships is at the heart of any
successful
fundraising campaign, volunteer drive, committee effort or community
building activity. This workshop will give you the confidence to pursue your
personal goals. Learn how to get in and out of conversations smoothly, how
to create a welcoming space by considering yourself a host and the
difference between croissants vs. bagels.
*RSVP:* http://www.sojust.org/calendar/15792339/ and *spread the word:*
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176827112338467
-------------------------
It is now possible to order tickets for "R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE" in Cambridge, MA. Performances start on Jan 14th and run through Feb 5th. During previews (1/14 - 1/18) all tickets are $35 (for A and B sections). After previews tickets are from $25 - $65 (the $25 tickets are for the last two rows in the theater).
You can take advantage of a special offer to see the Saturday, January 22nd 2:00pm or the Sunday, January 23rd 7:30pm performance by using the Promotional Code THIRTYVERTI for $35 tickets (Normally $50-$65) for those two specific performances. This discount can not be combined with any other offers such as Student, $25 advance or Senior Discount and are subject to availability.
Tickets are on a first come, first served basis, so please order your tickets for the play now.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.AmericanRepertoryTheater.org, by phone at 617.547.8300, or in person at the A.R.T. Box Office, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Please register for the event on-line at
http://synergeticscollaborative.org/registration.01.2011.html
Jan 22 Special Exhibit
====== ======= =======
After the Saturday, January 22nd 2:00pm performance, the Synergetics Collaborative, Foundation for New Directions (FND), Museum of Mathematics (MoMath), and American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will present an exhibit featuring a special geometry activity led by George Hart of MoMath. Synergetics Collaborative, MoMath and FND will have people on hand to discuss, explain, demonstrate and engage participants with the displays. Some displays will be hands-on.
Jan 23 Discussion/Seminar
====== ==================
On Sunday, 23 January from 10am to 4pm, the Foundation for New Directions (FND) will host a discussion seminar on "Building on Marvin Solit's Work". We plan to break in time so that interested participants can go to the theater to see the Dymaxion Car #4 presentation (see next item).
Please either bring a potluck or pre-register and bring $15 so we can provide enough food for lunch and snacks.
Jan 23 Special Presentation
====== ======= ============
After the Sunday, January 23rd 2pm and 7:30pm performances, the Synergetics Collaborative and American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will present a special presentation by Thomas T. K. Zung on Lord Norman Foster's Dymaxion Car #4. Thomas T. K. Zung was Buckminster Fuller's long-time architectural partner, editor of the book Buckminster Fuller: Anthology for a New Millenium, and a Distiguished Fellow to the Stanford University Libraries.
Anyone with a ticket stub for a performance of the A.R.T. production of R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE will be able to attend the special events at the A.R.T. by presenting their ticket stub to gain access. The special events are scheduled for 4:30pm after a matinee performance and 10pm after the evening performance.
Please register for the event on-line at
http://synergeticscollaborative.org/registration.01.2011.html
More details are on the event web page at
http://synergeticscollaborative.org/snec.announce.meeting.2011.01.html
Editorial Comment: I have met the writer and director of this play and friends who saw it last summer in Washington DC enjoyed it. I will most definitely be at George Hart's presentation, having attended a couple of his presentations, learned a lot, and had much fun building geometric sculptures of his design.
If you want to see my own geometric modeling, you can watch this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEinwxzzUEs
------------------------------
BREAD AND PUPPET THEATER
The Return of Ulysses
and
Decapitalization Circus
Reducing the proceedings of the historic dramma per musica to 75 minutes, brazenly updating the Baroque accents and adding two timely prologues, (Peter Schumann) labelled his marvellous mishmash a "respectful truncation?."
["The Return of Ulysses,"
Boston Center for the Arts
CYCLORAMA
January 24 through January 30
presented in partnership with the Boston Center for the Arts as part of the Cyclorama Residency Series
(Boston, MA 02116) Bread and Puppet Theater presents ?The Return of Ulysses? and ?Decapitalization Circus? : two separate performances presented in partnership with the Boston Center for the Arts as part of the Cyclorama Residency Series. Performances, Art Exhibit, and Cheap Art Sale run from January 24 through January 30. All held in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA), 539 Tremont St., South End, Boston. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets for the performances available for purchase [cash or
check only] in the Cyclorama one hour before each performance. For advance tickets, log onto www.breadandpuppet.org
or call 866-811-4111 (toll free). For detailed information regarding the week?s events, call the BCA's Bread and Puppet Theater information line at
617-800-9539 or log onto
Detailed listings information:
Evening Performances [recommended for ages 12 & older]:
Bread and Puppet Theater: The Return of Ulysses
Jan. 27-Jan. 30, Thurs.-Sun., 7 pm
$12 general admission [$10 students, seniors, & groups of 10 or more]
Description: This "respectfully truncated," rough-hewn, and bold DIY adaptation of Claudio Monteverdi's opera was first developed this past June by Bread and Puppet in collaboration with the Theatre Department of Concordia University in Montreal and the Montreal Baroque Festival. The production was initially performed as a dress rehearsal in the DB Clarke Theatre at Concordia and then presented as a festival performance in the plaza of the Centre Mondial. During July & August in Glover, VT (Bread and
Puppet?s base of operations), the opera was pared down to approximately 75 minutes, including 10 minutes of prologue. The performances have been conceived to include 20 volunteer puppeteers and 15-20 volunteer singers and instrumentalists in the chorus and orchestra with Peter Schumann playing the role of Penelope. Schumann describes the plot as follows: "In order to commit genocide on their competitors, the Trojans, the tricky Greeks employ their multitalented sky, full of custom tailored divinities, to justify the
crime, just as we employ our Judeo-Christian sky, occupied by a divine air force and permitted by the in-god-we-trust court system, to justify our atrocities in Afghanistan, Palestine and elsewhere. By order of Jove, the boss, and with special help from his daughter Minerva, Ulysses finally returns home, where he has to murder 100 evil suitors in order to be happily reunited with wife and property." The piece includes two prologues, "Modern Sky" and "Antique Sky." For Boston, The Return of Ulysses will be performed
by Peter Schumann and the Bread & Puppet Company, along with a large number of local volunteer puppeteers and musicians. Informal talk back with the artists follows each performance. Sourdough rye bread will be served and cheap art will be for sale after each performance.
Family-Friendly Matinees:
Bread and Puppet Theater: Decapitalization Circus
Jan. 29-Jan. 30, Sat.-Sun., 4 pm
$10 general admission [$5 students, seniors, and pre-school children (2 &
under free)]
Description: The family-friendly "Decapitalization Circus" demonstrates in numerous death-defying stunts the fantastic effects of the capitalization of life in the U.S. and citizens? courageous efforts of decapitalization. The performers represent the whole scale of the social spectrum from benign billionairism to despicable homeless anti-social-elementarianism. All the acts are FDA and FBI certified displays of patriotic correctness and defy all imaginable forms of terrorism. The Possibilitarians, a multi-instrumental variety ensemble, provide the appropriate-inappropriate sounds for the Circus. Performed by Peter Schumann and the Bread & Puppet Company, along with a large number of local volunteer puppeteers and musicians. Take note that some of the circus acts are politically puzzling to adults, but accompanying kids can usually explain them. The audience is welcome to examine all the masks and puppets after the performance. Cheap art will be for sale after each performance.
Visual Art Exhibit:
Bread and Puppet Theater: NOLANGUAGE, visual art installation created by
Peter Schumann
Jan. 24-Jan. 30, Mon.-Sun.
Free and open to all.
Description: Bread and Puppet Theater Artistic Director Peter Schumann?s most recent visual art exploration, ranging from very large paintings to very small string booklets, which depict matters that concern us all.
Exhibit details:
--Mon., Jan. 24, 6-9 pm: opening reception, with refreshments, an art talk given by Schumann, short skits performed by the touring company, and live music performed by the Boston Typewriter Orchestra (www.bostontypewriterorchestra.com
--Tues.-Fri., Jan. 25-28: regular Cyclorama hours: 9am-5pm [Thursday & Friday hours extended up to and after the evening performance].
--Sat.-Sun., Jan. 29-30: one hour before and after each matinee and evening performance.
For this residency at the Cyclorama, the Bread and Puppet touring company includes Schumann, along with Maura Gahan, Greg Corbino, Maryann Colella, Susie Perkins, among others. Both the evening and matinee performances will be performed by the company and a large number of local volunteers and musicians, including the popular Somerville-based Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band (
In addition to Peter Schumann?s NOLANGUAGE art installation, the Cyclorama will also be decorated with the unique Bread and Puppet collection of powerful black-line posters, banners, masks, curtains, programs and set-props. All pieces are created by Schumann, including sculpting and painting all the major masks and puppets, with input from the company. After each evening performance there will be an opportunity to savor Schumann's famous sourdough rye bread, smeared with garlic aioli; and there will also be many opportunities during the week to purchase the theater's legendary "cheap art."
For more information on the Bread and Puppet Theater, log onto
ABOUT THE BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS:
The Boston Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit performing and visual arts complex that supports working artists to create, perform and exhibit new works, builds new audiences, and connects art to community. Visit
------------------
Request for Help
------------------
The Somerville Winter Farmers Market is beginning its first year! It will be Saturdays 10-2 at the Armory on 191 Highland Ave in Somerville, MA. January 8th through March 26th. Please spread the word to your friends, family and coworkers.
ALSO----We are looking for musicians, as well as people interested in leading skillshares and workshops on a variety of topics having to do with food or
sustainability in general. It would be great to collaborate!
Please email me at adrianne.schaefer@gmail.com with suggestions, leads, or contacts.
Thanks!
Adrianne Schaefer
Market Manager
Somerville Winter Farmers Market
------------
Resource
-----------
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
----------------------
Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/studios
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation
-----------------------------------------------------
Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the
Boston Area http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
--------------------------------------------------
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
No comments:
Post a Comment