Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston area that catch the editor's eye.
Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke@world.std.com
What I Do and Why I Do It: The Story of Energy (and Other) Events
----------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************
BU Professor Nathan Phillips is on a hunger strike by to get Governor Baker and DEP’s Commissioner Suuberg to obey the laws and environmental regulations in the current construction happening at the North Weymouth gas compressor site.
His three demands are
"All dump trucks leaving the site abide by the decontamination procedures described on page 27 of the Release Abatement Measures Plan of November 25, 2019, which require a decontamination pad/station, and other measures to clean tires and exterior vehicle surfaces of site residue. https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/EEA/fileviewer/Default.aspx?formdataid=0&documentid=525509
"The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection commences comprehensive testing for asbestos in furnace bricks and in the coal ash matrix, across and throughout the vertical profile of the North Parcel.
"The Baker Administration commits to a date certain, no later than two weeks from today, for the installation and operation of an air quality monitor, as Governor Baker pledged action on “within a couple of days” on Radio Boston on Thursday, January 23, 2020."
He asks people to call Baker at 617-725-4005 and Suuberg at 617-292-5500 and simply say:
“I am calling to urge you to meet the 3 demands that will allow the ongoing hunger strike of Nathan Phillips to cease.”
More at https://twitter.com/nathanpboston/status/1223988206229692416 and http://bluemassgroup.com/2020/01/a-request-for-your-help-prof-nathan-phillips-goes-on-hunger-strike/
Editorial Comment: I know Nathan through his work on mapping fugitive methane emissions throughout the Boston area. He is a true scholar who knows what he’s doing. His activism is on behalf of us all.
*******************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Details of these events are available when you scroll past the index
******
———
Index
———
******
——————————
Monday, February 3
——————————
9:30am Climate Change: The View from Massachusetts
11am Educating Incarcerated Youth
12pm Program on Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate [PAOC] Colloquium
12pm Boxing Pandora: The Justice of Secession by Timothy William Waters
12:10pm Adventures in the uttermost part of the Earth: Fungi, plants and biogeography
2pm Russia and Central Asia: Coexistence, Conquest, Convergence
5pm Industry Seminar: Dan Svirsky, Uber
5:30pm Forms of Grief
5:30pm Coloniality and AI: The Missed Connection in the Harms of AI
5:30pm White House Presidential Innovation Fellows: Civic Tech, AI & Policy Panel
6:30pm Coral reefs in a changing world
6:30pm Conscious Capitalism – A Radical Transformation of Business Culture
7pm Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field
——————————
Tuesday, February 4
——————————
11:45am Human Rights and the Crossroads - Where Does Activism Go Next?
12pm Advancing Racial Literacy in Tech
12pm Brazil Under Bolsonaro: Brasil Acima de Tudo, Deus Acima de Todos
12:30pm Open Borders, Local Closures: Municipal Curfews and the Lebanese Response to the Syrian Refugee Influx
1pm Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Lecture on the Role of the Scientific Community in Furthering Dr. King's Dream
4pm Brains, Minds + Machines Seminar Series: Doing for our robots what nature did for us
4:30pm Annual Neuhauser Lecture Featuring Ambassador Samantha Power: China, the U.N., and the Future of Human Rights
6pm Unmaking the Presidency: Donald Trump's War on the World's Most Powerful Office
6pm From Inspiration to Monetization: Making Tech Transfer Work for Innovators, Universities, and Their Partners
6:30pm Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World
6:30pm “Harvard in Allston: Perspective and Next Steps” with Marika E. Reuling and Thomas Glynn
7pm NOVA Polar Extremes Sneak Peek & Panel Discussion
7:30pm Green tech Entrepreneur Forum & Brainstorming
————————————
Wednesday, February 5
————————————
10:45am Dammed or damned: Five open challenges in sustainable river basin development
12pm Being Seen, Feeling Heard: Designing Intimate-Scaled Spaces on Urban College Campuses
12pm Understanding and reducing the spread of misinformation online
1pm Controlling Infectious Diseases in the 21st Century
1pm How can we tackle climate change with new protein solutions?
3pm Sierra Club 2020 Priorities
6pm Maria Baldwin's Worlds: Black New England and the Fight for Racial Justice
6pm IOP Resident Fellows Unpack Politics
6pm Beyond the Ballot: Climate Change and Sustainability
7pm We Keep Us Safe
7pm Nature's Best Hope
7pm Extinction Rebellion New Member Orientation
——————————
Thursday, February 6
——————————
12pm Pictures from an Expedition: A Search for a Personal Relationship with Wilderness
12pm Lunch & Learn: Closing the Civic Participation Gap in 2020
12:15pm Law as a Battlefield: The United States, China, and Global Escalation of Lawfare
2pm National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
3:30pm Books@Baker with Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo
5:30pm Circularity Challenge Final Showcase
6pm Engineers for Social Impact Kick-Off Meeting
6:30pm Frederick Law Olmsted Lecture: Günther Vogt, “The Imprint of the Landscape”
7pm The Longing for Less
7pm When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains
7pm Cured: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing
7:30pm Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future
————————————————————
Friday, February 7 - Saturday, February 8
————————————————————
Global Health in a Changing World: People, Planet, and Technology
—————————
Friday, February 7
—————————
8am The Art of Leadership Communication | BostonSpeaksSeries
9am Data, Privacy, and the Internet | The 2020 JOSTL & PILJ Symposium
12pm Book Talk: When Misfortune Becomes Injustice: Evolving Human Rights Struggles for Health and Social Equality
12pm Deep decarbonization: The search for natural and engineered geological hydrogen
2pm Panel Discussion: Colored People Time Examined
4pm Screening of the documentary "The True Cost”
5pm The Supreme Court's Threat to Civil Society
6pm LASER Boston – Sensory Overload
7pm A Planet to Win: Why We Need A Green New Deal
7pm Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence
7pm Screening of 1200+ Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls
——————————
Saturday, February 8
——————————
12pm Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar
1pm Sunrise Boston Full Hub Meeting
—————————
Sunday, February 9
—————————
12pm Global Meditation Flash Mob
5:30pm Restorative Justice: What it is and How it Can Work Potluck & Conversation
——————————
Monday, February 10
——————————
12:10pm Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
4:30pm Thomas Pickering: U.S.-Russia Relations: What Can We Do About It?
5pm Film Screening and Panel Discussion on Gene Editing and Disability
5:30pm We Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us
5:30pm Green Solutions for Responsible Business
5:30pm Cleantech Startups: Navigating the Mass Cleantech Landscape 2020
6:30pm MIT $100K Accelerate Finale 2020
———————————
Tuesday, February 11
———————————
12pm Speaker Series with Don Baer12pm Systems Thinking Webinar: Nicholas A. Ashford, "Sustainable Development at a Crossroads”
12pm Once Upon a Neighborhood: A History of the South End from Alison Barnet
12pm The State of Recycling: Changing Standards, Facts, and Fallacies!
3:30pm Documentary Screening and Panel: The Game Changers
4pm Air Pollution and Population Growth
4pm 2019-2020 Killian Award Lecture: Resilience of Law: Stories from Everyday Life
4:30pm A Europe Fit for the Digital Age
4:30pm Comedy or Leadership? A Conversation with Activist-Turned-Comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi
5pm CLIC Panel: Privacy Law Around the World
5:30pm Documentary Screening and Panel: The Game Changers
6pm Becoming the Beloved Community in the Midst of Domestic Terror
6pm Entering a New TECHade - Expert Panel
6pm Light Electric Vehicle Builders
6:30pm Amy Zhang - Systems to Improve Online Discussion
*******************************************
My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
*******************************************
——————————
Monday, February 3
——————————
Climate Change: The View from Massachusetts
Monday, February 3
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM EST
University of Massachusetts Club, 1 Beacon Street, #32nd floor, Boston
The MassINC Polling Group presents findings on how Massachusetts residents feel about the present and future impacts of climate change.
Climate Change: The View from Massachusetts
Keynote: Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides
Panel:
Elizabeth Turnbull Henry. President, Environmental League of Massachusetts
Jay Ash. CEO, Massachusetts Competitive Partnership
Marcos Marrero. Director of Planning and Economic Development, City of Holyoke
Moderator: Tracy Corley. Transit-Oriented Development Fellow, MassINC
With a presentation of new poll results from Steve Koczela, President of The MassINC Polling Group.
In the past decade we've watched as the impacts of a warming planet make their mark in climate events around the world, from droughts to fires to floods. As we brace for more to come, the question inevitably arises: what specific effects will we face here in Massachusetts? How prepared are Bay Staters to respond to the dangers of climate change when they occur? What effects are they already experiencing? The MassINC Polling Group in partnership with the Barr Foundation asked these very questions of residents across the Commonwealth, from Western Massachusetts to the South Coast and everywhere in between. Join us as we unpack the results of this poll and share insights into what members of our state think about climate change, what impacts they currently feel, and what they believe the future may bring.
The event will begin with a presentation of the poll results, followed by a keynote address from the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides, and finally a panel moderated by Tracy Corley of MassINC. Panelists include Elizabeth Turnbull Henry from the Environmental League of Massachusetts,Marcos Marrero of the City of Holyoke, and Jay Ash of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership.
Please join us at the University of Massachusetts Club at 1 Beacon St., 32nd floor, in the Boston room. Light refreshments will be served. Questions? Contact Libby Gormley at lgormley@massincpolling.com.
—————————————
Educating Incarcerated Youth
Monday, February 3
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Webinar
SPEAKER(S) Lynette N. Tannis
DETAILS What support structures are needed to ensure our most marginalized youth receive a high-quality education?
This webinar focuses on the research and work of juvenile justice education expert Lynette Tannis.
Contact: Evelyn Contreras
More information at https://rides.gse.harvard.edu/rides-virtual-community-webinar
—————————————
Program on Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate [PAOC] Colloquium
Monday, February 3
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Mike Pritchard
—————————————
Boxing Pandora: The Justice of Secession by Timothy William Waters
Monday, February 3
12:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST
Boston University School of Law, 765 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 102, Boston
Join us for a lecture by Timothy William Waters, Professor and Associate Director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy.
Political commonsense says fixed borders are a good idea. But what if borders are actually a problem -- what if they cause instability, injustice and violence? Despite what globalization theorists might imagine (or hope), borders and states aren't going away -- so we should think hard about if have the right ones, and how to change them if we don't. In this talk, which draws on my recent book, I examine the assumptions behind the current global order's suspicion of new states and border changes, and argues for the justice -- and practicality -- of a more flexible norm: an international right of secession.
About the Speaker
Timothy William Waters is Professor and Associate Director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy, Indiana University Maurer School of Law. JD (cum laude), Harvard; M.I.A., Columbia University/SIPA (Adv. Cert East Central Europe); B.A. (magna cum laude) UCLA. Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institut (Heidelberg, 2012-3). Editor of The Milošević Trial – An Autopsy (Oxford, 2013); author of Boxing Pandora: Rethinking Borders, States, and Secession in a Democratic World (Yale 2020).
—————————————
Adventures in the uttermost part of the Earth: Fungi, plants and biogeography
Monday, February 3
12:10 p.m.
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre Street, Boston
More information at https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/research/research-talks/
Contact arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu
617-524-1718
——————————————
Russia and Central Asia: Coexistence, Conquest, Convergence
Monday, February 3
2 – 3:15 p.m.
Harvard, CGIS South Building, Room S250, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Shoshana Keller, Professor of History, Hamilton College
DETAILS "Russia and Central Asia: Coexistence, Conquest, Convergence" (University of Toronto Press, 2020) provides an overview of the relationship between two dynamic regions, highlighting the ways in which Russia and Central Asia have influenced and been influenced by Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This readable synthesis, covering early coexistence in the seventeenth century to the present day, seeks to encourage new ways of thinking about how the modern world developed.
CONTACT: Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617-495-4037
Fax: 617-495-8319
LINK https://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events/russia-and-central-asia-coexistence-conquest-convergence
——————————————
Industry Seminar: Dan Svirsky, Uber
Monday, February 3
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Harvard, Sever Hall 213, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Dan Svirsky
CONTACT INFO datascience@harvard.edu
DETAILS Fighting Discrimination on Tech Platforms: An Insider and Outsider Account
The rise in online market platforms creates new challenges in the fight against discrimination. While in theory, online markets can help prevent discrimination by obscuring users' demographic traits, the opposite is also possible. This talk covers a range of projects aimed at combating discrimination on tech platforms. The talk focuses equally on projects conducted as an outsider -- as an academic, or as part of public interest lawsuits -- and as an insider -- as a data scientist within a major tech platform.
——————————————
Forms of Grief
Monday, February 3
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Harvard, Common Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
CONTACT CSWR, 617.495.4476
DETAILS This talk will meditate on the forms that grief can take, in the work of Zoe Leonard, Peter Hujar, David Wojnarowicz, and John Constable.
Kate Zambreno is the author of several acclaimed books, including Screen Tests, Heroines, and Green Girl. She has recently published a collection of talks and essays, Appendix Project, in the shadow of Book of Mutter, her meditation on grief. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, VQR, and elsewhere. A novel, Drifts, is forthcoming in May 2020. She teaches in the writing programs at Columbia University and Sarah Lawrence College.
——————————————
Coloniality and AI: The Missed Connection in the Harms of AI
Monday, February 3
5:30 – 6:45 p.m.
Harvard, Rubenstein 414AB, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Sabelo Mhlambi
DETAILS Towards Life 3.0: Ethics and Technology in the 21st Century is a talk series organized and facilitated by Mathias Risse, Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Philosophy and Public Administration. Drawing inspiration from the title of Max Tegmark’s book, Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, the series draws upon a range of scholars, technology leaders, and public interest technologists to address the ethical aspects of the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on society and human life.
Sabelo Mhlambi, Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, will give a talk titled, "Coloniality and AI: The Missed Connection in the Harms of AI."
A light dinner will be served.
——————————————
White House Presidential Innovation Fellows: Civic Tech, AI & Policy Panel
Monday, February 3
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM EST
Harvard, 15 Elliot Street, Taubman Building, 5th FL, Room T-520 NYE B, Cambridge
Please join current and past White House Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIFs) and others for an exciting panel discussion about civic tech, artificial intelligence policy, and government modernization.
The PIF program brings diverse technologists and innovators into the highest levels of the Federal government to tackle our nation’s biggest challenges. Please join us at the Harvard Kennedy School to learn more!
Panelists
Joshua Di Frances, Executive Director, PIF Program
Laura Manley, Director, Technology and Public Purpose Project at Belfer Center at HKS, Co-Founder Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE)
Dennis Chornenky, Presidential Innovation Fellow, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Vigen Sargsyan, former Minister of Defense and Chief of the Presidential Administration, Armenia
Wanmei Ou, Presidential Innovation Fellow, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Gajen Sunthara, Past Presidential Innovation Fellow, 1upHealth Founder, Harvard Medical School Senior Advisor
——————————————
Coral reefs in a changing world
Monday, February 3
6:30-8:00pm
Saloon, 255 Elm Street, Somerville
Dr. Sarah Davies, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology, Boston University
Changing climates and ongoing anthropogenic habitat modifications threaten natural ecosystems worldwide. In response to these threats, a species has four choices: i) remain in the natal habitat but suffer reduced fitness, ii) acclimate to current conditions by modifying their physiologies, iii) adapt to the local environment through natural selection on standing genetic variation, or iv) disperse to new, more favorable environments. Research in my lab studies the potential roles of acclimation, adaptation, and dispersal in an organism’s response to rapid climate change.
More information at http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/science-by-the-pint/
——————————————
Conscious Capitalism – A Radical Transformation of Business Culture
Monday, February 3
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM EST
CIC Venture Cafe, 1Broadway , Venture Cafe 5th floor, Cambridge
Raj Sisodia will review the history of capitalism and its challenges and explore the concept of “conscious capitalism”.
On February 3, 2020, Professor Raj Sisodia will review the history of capitalism and its challenges and explore the concept of “conscious capitalism” focused on higher purpose, long-term thinking and collaborative, enduring and empathic relationships among all stakeholders.
Rajendra Sisodia, PhD, is the F.W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business at Babson College and author of Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business (2014, with John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market), and The Healing Organization: Awakening the Conscience of Business to Help Save the World (2019, with Michael Gelb), as well as nine other books. He is co-founder and co-chairman of Conscious Capitalism Inc.
Join Raj and other Long Now thinkers at this Long Now Boston Conversation Series event at the Cambridge Innovation Center.
Doors open at 6pm -- Come early and meet other Long Now thinkers – Presentation starts at 6:30pm.
A Long Now Boston Community Conversation.
Description: Over the past two centuries, free-enterprise capitalism has delivered immense benefits to human civilization. The adjusted standard of living worldwide has increased by over 1,500 percent since 1800, while population increased more than 8,000 percent. Thanks to business activity, global trade and technological innovations, vastly more people are living longer and much more comfortable lives.
Yet capitalism faces significant challenges today and its reputation is in severe decline. According to Raj, the key problem is with the ideology that capitalism gets good results through the self-interested choices of market participants and that success is due to the “survival of the fittest.” This ideology planted the seeds that led to an increasingly short-term focus for businesses and investors in recent decades. The idea that businesses should focus on long-term goals and on the overall welfare of customers, employees, communities as well as investors, has been increasingly diminished.
The solution, which Raj and his colleagues have carefully laid out, is to rebuild a business culture based on enlightened “conscious capitalism.” Businesses designed and led on the basis of conscious capitalism understand that success is a function of healthy, mutually beneficial relationships in the business ecology, including customers, suppliers, investors, employees, unions, communities, regulators, government and, critically, the natural environment on which we all rely.
Among the questions Raj will address:
What are the key features of conscious capitalism and how is it working?
How does a business operating under the principles of conscious capitalism deal with success and failure?
How does conscious capitalism get enforced and reinforced in the real world?
What would the world look like, in terms of well-being, relative inequality, poverty, health and personal fulfillment, under a fully conscious capitalist economy in a century? In a millennium?
Join the conversation and be part of the solution.
We’re proud and excited to welcome Raj Sisodia to the podium at this Long Now Boston community conversation.
——————————————
Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field
Monday, February 3
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Harvard Book Store welcomes ESPN writer and NPR sports correspondent HOWARD BRYANT for a discussion of his latest book, Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field.
About Full Dissidence
Whether the issues are protest, labor, patriotism, or class division, it is clear that professional sports are no longer simply fun and games. Rather, the industry is a hotbed of fractures and inequities that reflect and even drive some of the most divisive issues in our country. The nine provocative and deeply personal essays in Full Dissidence confront the dangerous narratives that are shaping the current dialogue in sports and mainstream culture. The book is a reflection on a culture where African Americans continue to navigate the sharp edges of whiteness—as citizens who are always at risk of being told, often directly from the White House, to go back to where they came from. The topics Howard Bryant takes on include the player-owner relationship, the militarization of sports, the myth of integration, the erasure of black identity as a condition of success, and the kleptocracy that has forced America to ask itself if its beliefs of freedom and democracy are more than just words.
In a time when authoritarianism is creeping into our lives and is being embraced in our politics, Full Dissidence will make us question the strength of the bonds we think we have with our fellow citizens, and it shows us why we must break from the malignant behaviors that have become normalized in everyday life.
——————————
Tuesday, February 4
——————————
Human Rights and the Crossroads - Where Does Activism Go Next?
Tuesday, February 4
11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Harvard, Allison Dining Room, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA
DETAILS The Carr Center’s Human Rights in Hard Places talk series offers unparalleled insights and analysis from the frontlines by human rights practitioners, policy makers, and innovators. Moderated by Sushma Raman, the series highlights current day human rights and humanitarian concerns such as human rights in North Korea, migration on the US-Mexico border, Myanmar, and the dismantling of democracy.
Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, will give a talk titled, "Human Rights and the Crossroads: Where Does Activism Go Next?”
—————————————
Advancing Racial Literacy in Tech
Tuesday, February 4
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM ET
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall Room 2036 (Milstein East C), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwgLeJbAyTkTzPURmxHjSQIyxphuSp58sRbK6JQFN8MCQtmA/viewform
Dr. Howard Stevenson of the University of Pennsylvania kicks off the Berkman Klein Spring 2020 Luncheon Series with a talk and discussion on Advancing Racial Literacy in Tech. Racial literacy provides a framework for considering how to combat the proliferation of racially-biased technology. Dr. Stevenson will be joined in conversation by Jessie Daniels and Mutale Nkonde.
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/advancing-racial-literacy-tech at 12:00pm on February 4, 2020.
Dr. Howard Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Africana Studies, in the Human Development & Quantitative Methods Division of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Executive Director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative at Penn, designed to promote racial literacy in education, health, community and justice institutions.
—————————————
Brazil Under Bolsonaro: Brasil Acima de Tudo, Deus Acima de Todos
Tuesday, February 4
12 – 1:30 p.m.
Harvard, CGIS South (S250), 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Amy Erica Smith, Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor and Associate Professor of Political Science, Iowa State University
DETAILS How have Brazilian society and politics changed in Jair Bolsonaro's first year in the presidency? In rhetoric and style, Bolsonaro has intensified culture war politics, setting his camp up for Manichean battles against perceived enemies who range from the LGBT community to "cultural Marxists." Yet groups ranging from center-rightists in Congress to agribusiness interests have constrained his pivot towards hard-right issues in the policy sphere. Nonetheless, we see alarming policy shifts in areas where Bolsonaro's culture warrior instincts align with business interests -- most notably, with respect to the Amazon.
LINK https://drclas.harvard.edu/event/brazil-under-bolsonaro-brasil-acima-de-tudo-deus-acima-de-todos
CONTACT INFO drclas@fas.harvard.edu
—————————————
Open Borders, Local Closures: Municipal Curfews and the Lebanese Response to the Syrian Refugee Influx
Tuesday, February 4
12:30pm to 2:00pm
MIT, Building 9-451, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Part of the Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration with guest speaker Lama Mourad
With the largest refugee population per capita in the world, Lebanon now hosts at least 1.1 million refugees alongside a local population of approximately four million. Up until late 2014, the Lebanese government maintained what has been called a policy of “no policy”: maintaining de facto open borders, little regulation of Syrians within its territory and refusing to build any formal camps to house the population. In light of this apparent state absence, municipalities emerged as the "frontline" actors in the governance of Syrians on Lebanese territory. Most prominently, municipalities across the country adopted restrictive curfews targeting Syrians.
This talk will explore her paper which seeks to explain why certain municipalities adopted curfews, while others did not? Drawing on evidence from an original dataset of spatial, demographic, electoral, and budgetary data on over 1000 Lebanese municipalities and 120 interviews and ethnographic evidence from a year of fieldwork, she finds that the variation in the implementation of municipal curfews targeting Syrians is explained not by factors related to the presence of Syrians themselves, such as demographic pressure and inter-ethnic dynamics, but rather by local electoral competition and the the spill-over effect of this competition on neighbouring areas. Contrary to much of the expectations in the literature on host-refugee dynamics and ethnic politics, she argues that local responses are driven primarily by local leaders’ need to project a sense of order to residents. In areas where neighbouring towns and villages have recourse to discriminatory curfews, mayors and municipal leaders faced greater pressure to act, and curfews present a relatively low cost policy mechanism through which to alleviate fears and project authority.
About the speaker:
Lama Mourad is a postdoctoral fellow at Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania, and a SSHRC-postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. In 2018-2019, she was a pre-doctoral fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She specializes in comparative politics and the politics of migration, with a regional focus on the Middle East.
——————————————
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Lecture on the Role of the Scientific Community in Furthering Dr. King's Dream
Tuesday, February 4
1 – 3 p.m.
Harvard, Jefferson Labs 250, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) John Silvanus Wilson, Senior Advisor and Strategist to the President
CONTACT INFO Benita Wolff
DETAILS The FAS Division of Science is proud to host a lecture in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. John Silvanus Wilson, Senior Advisor and Strategist to the President, will share remarks on “The Role of the Scientific Community in Furthering Dr. King’s Dream.” A light reception will be held immediately following the lecture in Jefferson 450 (Physics Library).
NOTE: We are not able to offer a live stream but the lecture will be recorded.
——————————————
Brains, Minds + Machines Seminar Series: Doing for our robots what nature did for us
Tuesday, February 4
4:00pm to 5:00pm
MIT Building 46-3002, Singleton Auditorium, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Prof. Leslie Pack Kaelbling, MIT EECS, CSAIL
Abstract: We, as robot engineers, have to think hard about our role in the design of robots and how it interacts with learning, both in "the factory" (that is, at engineering time) and in "the wild" (that is, when the robot is delivered to a customer). I will share some general thoughts about the strategies for robot design and then talk in detail about some work I have been involved in, both in the design of an overall architecture for an intelligent robot and in strategies for learning to integrate new skills into the repertoire of an already competent robot.
Prof. Kaelbling's research website: http://people.csail.mit.edu/lpk/
——————————————
Annual Neuhauser Lecture Featuring Ambassador Samantha Power: China, the U.N., and the Future of Human Rights
Tuesday, February 4
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Harvard, CGIS South, Tsai Auditorium, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, 2013-2017. Anna Lindh Professor of the Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, William D. Zabel Professor of Practice in Human Rights, Harvard Law School
DETAILS Named in honor of Harvard alum Charles Neuhauser, this annual lecture series invites practitioners to talk to an academic audience about their experiences related to U.S.-China relations.
——————————————
Unmaking the Presidency: Donald Trump's War on the World's Most Powerful Office
Tuesday, February 4
6:00 PM EST
The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
Cost: $6 – $29.75
Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes present Unmaking the Presidency: Donald Trump's War on the World's Most Powerful Office
in conversation with JACK GOLDSMITH
Pre-sale tickets (book included) on sale December 19
General entrance tickets on sale January 2 at 9am
Harvard Book Store welcomes Brookings Institution fellows and Lawfare co-founders SUSAN HENNESSEY and BENJAMIN WITTES for a discussion of their co-authored book, Unmaking the Presidency: Donald Trump's War on the World's Most Powerful Office. They will be joined in conversation by author and Harvard Law professor JACK GOLDSMITH.
Tickets are available online only. All tickets for this event include a $5 coupon for use in the bookstore. Pre-sale tickets include a copy of Unmaking the Presidency. Books bundled with pre-sale tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand.
——————————————
From Inspiration to Monetization: Making Tech Transfer Work for Innovators, Universities, and Their Partners
Tuesday, February 4
6:00pm to 8:00pm
MIT Stata Center, Building 32-155, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Tech transfer offices (TTOs) bridge the divide between the market and innovators at universities and non-profit organizations. TTOs help to promote the adoption of technology by matching technologists and scientists with industry that can bring that technology to market. TTOs can also generate revenue to support development and to demonstrate its value.
Yet, TTOs face numerous challenges. Curating a marketable patent portfolio on a limited budget is difficult, especially where technology in development often takes years to come to market. Additionally, some TTOs receive inadequate buy-in from their universities and faculty, complicating the invention harvesting and portfolio curation processes. TTOs, in the course of monetizing, must also bear in mind partnerships and other business relationships their parent organizations have or may wish to pursue.
This program will discuss the roles TTOs can and should play in research organizations, best practices, key trends, and upcoming challenges.
Major topics
Invention harvesting
Creating a virtuous cycle – incentivizing your innovators to disclose inventions and to participate in the harvesting process
Best practices – optimizing your invention harvesting process
Useful metrics – statistics that may be useful in understanding ways in which your process is succeeding and ways in which it could improve
Portfolio curation
Marketable portfolio composition – understanding circumstances under which foreign equivalents and continuations can drive portfolio value
Shepherding limited resources – spotting, as early as possible, the technologies in which you should invest heavily
Monetization
Potential transaction partners – identifying and approaching prospective partners
Patents-plus – selling know-how and ongoing partnerships as part of a larger deal
Presentation to market – generating marketing materials, including evidence of use or claim charts
Valuation – pricing your assets and/or articulating the business objectives you wish to achieve in an IP transaction
Moderator: Robert J.L. Moore, Patent Attorney, Caldwell IP
Speakers: Ian McClure, Executive Director, Office of Technology Commercialization at University of Kentucky
Roger Ross, CEO and Founder, Commonwealth Licensing Services LLC
Michael Gulliford, Managing Principal, Soryn IP Group, LLC
——————————————
Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World
Tuesday, February 4
6:30 PM
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes writer, performer, and activist JACLYN FRIEDMAN for a discussion of her new co-edited anthology, Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World. She will be joined in conversation by contributor and Executive Director of the Victim Rights Law Center STACY MALONE.
About Believe Me
Harvey Weinstein. Brett Kavanaugh. Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump. The most infamous abusers in modern American history are being outed as women speak up to publicly expose behavior that was previously only whispered about—and it's both making an impact, and sparking a backlash. From the leading, agenda-setting feminist editors of Yes Means Yes, Believe Me brings readers into the evolving landscape of the movement against sexual violence, and outlines how trusting women is the critical foundation for future progress.
In Believe Me, contributors ask and answer the crucial question: What would happen if we didn't just believe women, but acted as though they matter? If we take women's experiences of online harassment seriously, it will transform the internet. If we listen to and center survivors, we could revolutionize our systems of justice. If we believe Black women when they talk about pain, we will save countless lives.
With contributions from many of the most important voices in feminism today, Believe Me is an essential roadmap for the #MeToo era and beyond.
——————————————
“Harvard in Allston: Perspective and Next Steps” with Marika E. Reuling and Thomas Glynn
Tuesday, February 4
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Harvard, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Marika E. Reuling
Thomas Glynn
CONTACT INFO Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events@gsd.harvard.edu.
DETAILS Join us for a conversation between Marika E. Reuling, Thomas Glynn and Alex Krieger, Interim Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design. Reuling is the Managing Director for Allston Initiatives at Harvard University, where she oversees the team focused on planning, development and placemaking strategy in Allston. Glynn is the Chief Executive Officer of the Harvard Allston Land Company, overseeing Harvard University’s non-institutional development of its Enterprise Research Campus in Allston.
——————————————
NOVA Polar Extremes Sneak Peek & Panel Discussion
Tuesday, February 4
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST
WGBH Studios, One Guest Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nova-polar-extremes-sneak-peek-panel-discussion-tickets-86814543637
Nova is hosting a Polar Extremes screening which focuses on exploring the unexpected secrets of our planets polar past.
Polar Extremes, an upcoming NOVA special hosted by paleontologist and Sant Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History Kirk Johnson, immerses viewers in a scientific quest to explore the unexpected secrets of our planet's polar past. Following a trail of strange fossils found in all the wrong places--beech trees in Antarctica, hippo-like mammals in the Arctic--the film uncovers the bizarre history of the poles, from miles-high ice sheets to warm polar forests teeming with life. As Johnson digs up the hidden history of our past at the poles, Caitlin Saks & Arlo Perez explore the challenges of polar research today in Antarctic Extremes, a 10-part digital series that discovers what it takes to live, work, and do science at the bottom of the world.
Join us for an exclusive sneak peek of clips from the film and digital series before the full-length film and digital series premiere. After the screening, Julia Cort, Co-Executive Producer of NOVA, will moderate a Q&A discussion with
Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, and host of Polar Extremes
Jeremy Shakun, paleoclimatologist, associate professor at Boston College.
Arlo Perez, host of Antarctic Extremes
Caitlin Saks, host of Antarctic Extremes
A dessert and coffee reception will be following the event.
The event is free, but seating is limited. Be sure to reserve your seats today, using the registration button at the top.
NOVA Polar Extremes premieres on Wednesday, February 5th at 8 p.m. ET on WGBH and PBS Stations nationally, and simultaneously on Facebook (#PolarExtremesPBS)
——————————————
Green tech Entrepreneur Forum & Brainstorming
Tuesday, February 4
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM (Every 2 weeks on Tuesday)
Eastern Bank, 647 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The Agenda is:
You can give a 5 to 10 minute elevator speech about your startup if you would like. (We will divide the 1st hour by # of people.)
Review Entrepreneur & Green Tech Opportunities in Cambridge and Boston.
Discuss and What stage is your ideas or startup? What is your goal?
Tell what personnel or additional expertise, funding, etc. you are seeking, ideas for viable moneymaking startups, methods of collaboration, networking, forming teams & partnerships etc. marketing, media, social media, ideas that have worked well for publicity
Agencies, websites, companies that assist startups
Boston Greenfest & Gov't opportunities.
What would you like to see in future meetups?
We will introduce ourselves and tell about our interest, expertise or work (1st hr):
Discussion and Brainstorming on (2nd hr)
Seminars - We will have seminars by Sustainable Energy engineers and other tech experts often.
————————————
Wednesday, February 5
————————————
Dammed or damned: Five open challenges in sustainable river basin development
Wednesday, February 5
10:45am to 12:00pm
MIT, Building 48-316, Ralph M Parsons Laboratory, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Andrea Castelletti, Matteo Giuliani, Marta Zaniolo, Environmental Intelligence Lab, Politecnico di Milano
Abstract
Large storage systems play a key role for securing water, energy, and food, and thus increasing socioeconomic development and reducing poverty worldwide. This is leading developing countries and international agencies to undertake major investments in dam construction, primarily to produce hydropower. Globally, about 3,700 new major dams are planned or under construction. Dam booming has multiple reasons. Hydropower is generally regarded as a valuable renewable and clean energy resource. Additionally, hydropower reservoirs provide important ancillary services to the electric system as well as non-energy services like flood control and water supply for food production. Despite these many potential benefits, dams can create substantial negative environmental externalities that are commonly underestimated in single large dam developments as well as in the development of multi-dam schemes in large river networks. This talk will analyse the main challenges and barriers to internalizing such externalities, and explore the potential role of Artificial Intelligence and optimal control in supporting a paradigm shift in modern river basin development. A particular focus will be devoted to investigating the potential value of the unprecedent torrent of information that today is available, but still rarely used, for supporting water resources planning and management. We show how machine learning tools can be employed to synthetize global datasets of climate oscillations (e.g., sea surface temperature) into a valuable source of predictability of local hydro-meteorological anomalies, and how sustainable dam planning, initial dam filling, and regime operations can benefit from it.
—————————————————
Being Seen, Feeling Heard: Designing Intimate-Scaled Spaces on Urban College Campuses
Wednesday, February 5
12 – 1pm
Tufts, Sophia Gordon Hall, 15 Talbot Avenue, Somerville
Verna DeLauer, UEP Visiting Scholar, Franklin Pierce University
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) Spring 2020 Colloquium Series
Light lunch provided.
Contact: chelsea.alexander@tufts.edu
——————————————
Understanding and reducing the spread of misinformation online
Wednesday, February 5
12 – 1:30 p.m.
Harvard, Wexner 434, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) David Rand, Erwin H. Schell Professor; Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT Sloan; Director of the Human Cooperation Laboratory and the Applied Cooperation Team
DETAILS Part of the speaker series on misinformation, co-sponsored by the NULab at Northeastern University.
David Rand is the Erwin H. Schell Professor and an Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT Sloan, and the Director of the Human Cooperation Laboratory and the Applied Cooperation Team. Bridging the fields of behavioral economics and psychology, David’s research combines mathematical/computational models with human behavioral experiments and online/field studies to understand human behavior.
——————————————
Controlling Infectious Diseases in the 21st Century
Wednesday, February 5
1 – 1:50 p.m.
Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge 502, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston
SPEAKER(S) Caroline Buckee, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
DETAILS
The Department of Epidemiology Seminar Series: Controlling Infectious Diseases in the 21st Century
CONTACT INFO Coppelia Liebenthal
(617) 432-6477
——————————————
How can we tackle climate change with new protein solutions?
Wednesday, February 5
1pm - 1:30pm (7.00-7.30 pm CET - Stockholm time)
Live chat: 1.00-2.00 pm
Webinar
On one hand, protein is fundamental to our diets. On the other, the way we produce and consume this protein is depleting our natural resources.
The questions we face and will try to answer Feb. 5th are:
How can we produce enough protein to sustainably feed the world?
Is there a solution that is both accessible and that meets the 1.5°C target?
With the help from both the 2019 Exponential Roadmap and their recently launched guide – 1.5°C Business Playbook – Climate Action News explores new ways to reach the 1.5°C target to solve the climate crisis.
Register to receive a reminder before the show starts and follow the instructions to join live. Tune in to watch, listen and participate by commenting during and after the show.
For the best experience watching and interacting with Climate Action News and for the most climate action and bang for the buck (it's free!) - please download our app today.
——————————————
Sierra Club 2020 Priorities
Wednesday, February 5
3:00 pm ET
Webinar
Please join us on Wednesday, February 5 for a forum hosted by SIERRA magazine Editor in Chief Jason Mark in a candid conversation with Sierra Club’s Executive Director Mike Brune, and senior staff members Karissa Gehrke and Elly Benson on this year’s priorities. We’ll highlight key legal fights, our plans to protect the planet, and how we’ll fight for democracy in order to make lasting change.
This is the start of the most important decade of our lives. The decisions we make now may affect our world for a century. It’s our job to make change and build our power along the way. In 2020, we’re continuing to expand outreach to fight climate change, and focus on elections, in which we’ll do an unprecedented level of organizing, mobilizing and power building.
Jason Mark, Editor in Chief, SIERRA Magazine
Mike Brune, Executive Director
Karissa Gehrke, Senior Manager, Strategic Implementation
Elly Benson, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law Program
We’d love to hear from you ahead of the forum, and welcome you to submit your questions in advance at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zWXK_lNdTeuxEUlw4VYg5g
——————————————
Maria Baldwin's Worlds: Black New England and the Fight for Racial Justice
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST
Boston Public Library, Central Library in Copley Square - Commonwealth Salon, 700 Boylston Street, Boston
The first African-American female principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast.
Maria Baldwin (1856–1922) held a special place in the racially divided society of her time, as a highly respected educator at a largely white New England school and an activist who carried on the radical spirit of the Boston area’s internationally renowned abolitionists from a generation earlier. She used her respectable position to fight alongside more radical activists like William Monroe Trotter for full citizenship for fellow members of the black community. And, in her professional and personal life, Baldwin negotiated and challenged dominant white ideas about black womanhood. In Maria Baldwin’s Worlds, Kathleen Weiler reveals both Baldwin’s victories and what fellow activist W. E. B. Du Bois called her “quiet courage” in everyday life, in the context of the wider black freedom struggle in New England.
Kathleen Weiler is professor emeritus of education at Tufts University. The author of Country Schoolwomen: Teaching in Rural California, 1850-1950; Women Teaching for Change; and Democracy and Schooling in California: The Legacy of Helen Heffernan and Corinne Seeds, Weiler’s work has been supported by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Spencer Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe. She makes her home in Cambridge.
——————————————
IOP Resident Fellows Unpack Politics
Wednesday, February 5
6 – 7:15 p.m.
Harvard, John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Tiffany Cross
Lord Kim Darroch
Mark Harvey
Rohini Kosoglu
Tara Setmayer
Bill Walker
DETAILS Join us in the JFK Jr. Forum for a conversation with IOP's Fall 2019 Resident Fellows Tiffany Cross, Mark Harvey, Tara Setmayer, Lord Kim Darroch, Rohini Kosoglu, and Governor Bill Walker. They'll unpack politics, discussing their pathways to public service, bipartisanship, and the 2020 election. The conversation will be moderated by IOP Director Mark D. Gearan ’78.
CONTACT INFO jlin@hks.harvard.edu
——————————————
Beyond the Ballot: Climate Change and Sustainability
Wednesday, February 5
6:00pm-8:00pm
TripAdvisor, 226 Causeway Street, 2nd Floor, Boston
Join us for an evening of civic engagement featuring cocktails and conversation, a dynamic panel discussion, and ideas for action
Hosted by the Generation Citizen Massachusetts Associate Board of Young Professionals, Beyond the Ballot is an annual event that creates an opportunity to learn more about local issues and how to go beyond the ballot and take action in our communities.
Light appetizers and cash bar
Moderated by:
The Honorable Samantha Perlman, City Councilor-At-Large, City of Marlborough
Panelists:
Jayden Khatib, Advocate, Sunrise Movement Boston
Michael Nichols, Executive Director, Esplanade Association
Yael Nidam, Research Manager, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Joel Simonson, Development Officer, Lovin' Spoonfuls
Please email ma@generationcitizen.org if you have any questions.
——————————————
We Keep Us Safe
Wednesday, February 5
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline
Zach Norris
A groundbreaking new vision for public safety that overturns more than 200 years of fear-based discrimination, othering, and punishment.
We Keep Us Safe is a blueprint of how to hold people accountable while still holding them in community. The result reinstates full humanity and agency for everyone who has been dehumanized and traumatized, so they can participate fully in life, in society, and in the fabric of our democracy.
Zach Norris is the executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which creates campaigns related to civic engagement, violence prevention, juvenile justice, and police brutality, with a goal of shifting economic resources away from prisons and punishment and towards economic opportunity. He is also the cofounder of Restore Oakland and Justice for Families, both of which focus on the power of community action. He graduated from Harvard and took his law degree from New York University.
——————————————
Nature's Best Hope
Wednesday, February 5
7:00pm to 8:30pm
Harvard Science Center, Hall B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Grow Native Massachusetts is proud to present our 2020 Evenings with Expertslecture series! These talks are free and open to all.
Join us for this talk with Doug Tallamy, Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Biology at the University of Delaware.
Recent headlines about global insect declines, the impending extinction of one million species worldwide, and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals that sustain us. Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue our present-day standard of living on Planet Earth. The good news is that none of this is inevitable. Doug Tallamy will discuss simple steps that each of us can— and must take— to reverse declining biodiversity and to explain why we, ourselves, are nature’s best hope.
Doug Tallamy is the nationally acclaimed author of Bringing Nature Home, and the co-author of The Living Landscape. In 2013, he was awarded the Garden Club of America’s Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation Education. His newest book,Nature’s Best Hope,is being released the day before this event, and copies may be purchased at the lecture.
Thank you to our community partners— the Cambridge Public Library, Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects— for their support of this series.
Continuing education credits will be available.
More information is available on our website:https://grownativemass.org/Our-Programs/evenings-experts
——————————————
Extinction Rebellion New Member Orientation
Wednesday, February 5
7 p.m.
Encuentro 5, 9A Hamilton Place, Boston
If you are new to Extinction Rebellion or would just like to learn more about how it works, please join us! We will cover the following:
What is XR? What is civil disobedience & direct action?
What do we want?
What are our principles and values?
How are we organized?
Come out and learn how you can get involved!
The session will run for around 90 minutes.
——————————
Thursday, February 6
——————————
Pictures from an Expedition: A Search for a Personal Relationship with Wilderness
Thursday, February 6
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Multi-purpose Room, Curtis Hall, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford
Ralph Robinson, Photographer
The book "Pictures from an Expedition" explores our connection to the unspoiled, natural places around us, and how we see our role in protecting our distressed planet. The basis for the book, and the focus of this talk, will be the story of a tragic accident, which occurred during a photographic expedition to eastern Siberia, in which a park ranger lost his life when he surprised a Russian brown bear in the woods. However, beyond the simple documentation of a loss of life, the story is also a personal search for a spiritual and emotional relationship with the wilderness, the risks we take in life, and the impact we have on the world whenever we step outside to explore it. The speaker joins a long tradition of wildlife photography in which a sense of awe and respect for the animals emerges from the encounters, and at the same time explores the potential dangers which are inherent when trekking in remote areas. In its totality, the book goes beyond one tragedy or one species at risk, and points to a broader recognition that, just as nature takes care of us, we also urgently need to take care of nature.
Ralph Robinson creates imagery focused on the importance of preserving remaining wilderness areas, and protecting endangered species, drawing attention to the increasing degree to which that wilderness, and the entire planet, is threatened by human activities. His sense of urgency about the plight of our planet has driven him to use his art to inform and encourage others to act now, before it becomes too late. Primarily working in photography, he often brings his images into woodblock, screen, and other forms of printmaking as a way to further explore these themes. He is currently a candidate for the Master of Fine Arts at SMFA at Tufts.
——————————————
Lunch & Learn: Closing the Civic Participation Gap in 2020
Thursday, February 6
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM EST
Hyams Foundation, 50 Federal Street # 9, Boston
Communities of color, immigrants, and low-income people can seize many opportunities to increase our power in 2020.
The Massachusetts Voter Table is releasing our report on voting patterns and the voter registration and turnout gap by race. We're going to share exactly how many voters of color we need to register and turnout in 2020. We want you to be part of the conversation about how to close the racial civic participation gap in 2020. Join us for lunch, and join us for a discussion to strategize for the big year ahead!
——————————————
Law as a Battlefield: The United States, China, and Global Escalation of Lawfare
Thursday, February 6
12:15 – 2 p.m.
Harvard, One Brattle Square, Room 350, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Jill Goldenziel, Associate Professor, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia
DETAILS Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch@harvard.edu
LINK https://www.belfercenter.org/event/law-battlefield-united-states-china-and-global-escalation-lawfare
——————————————
National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
Thursday, February 6
2:00pm to 3:30pm
MIT, Building 32-882, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Please join the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) for a conversation on the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on national security and research. How the United States adopts AI will have profound ramifications for our immediate security, economic well-being, and position in the world.
The Commission’s Interim Report to Congress provides an initial assessment on AI’s relationship to national security, preliminary judgements on areas where the United States can do better, and suggests interim actions the government can take today. The Commission looks forward to hearing from the MIT community on the types of recommendations that must be considered to prepare for an AI future.
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence was established by the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act as an independent Commission to consider ways to advance the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies to comprehensively address the national security needs of the United States. The NSCAI is composed of 15 Commissioners appointed by Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Commerce. It is led by Chairman Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, and Vice Chairman Bob Work, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense.
The panel will have their Executive Director, Yll Bajraktari, the lead writer for their Interim Report, and the Commission’s Directors of Research and Analysis for each of the primary lines of effort.
——————————————
Books@Baker with Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo
Thursday, February 6
3:30 – 5 p.m.
Harvard Business School, Aldrich Hall 210, Soldiers Field Road, Boston
SPEAKER(S) Laura Morgan Roberts
Anthony J. Mayo
DETAILS At a time when there are fewer African Americans in corporate leadership roles, the compilation of essays in "Race, Work & Leadership" illuminate the present-day dynamics of race in the workplace.
What does it mean to be black in corporate America today? How are racial dynamics in organizations changing? How can organizations support the advancement of African Americans?
Developed in conjunction with the research and programming for Harvard Business School’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the HBS African American Student Union, the book's contributions by researchers and practitioners should act as an indispensable reference for leaders who are intent on addressing the challenges of building inclusive organizations.
There will be a Q&A session and copies of the book will be available for signing.
——————————————
Circularity Challenge Final Showcase
Thursday, February 6
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Greentown Labs, 444 Somerville Avenue, Somerville
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greentown-labs-circularity-challenge-final-showcase-tickets-84641736713
Join Greentown Labs for the final showcase of the Circularity Challenge, a six-month accelerator program for startups to advance innovative ideas to disrupt the plastics, energy storage, and recycling value chains to enable and circular economy.
The Greentown Labs Circularity Challenge is a six-month accelerator program for startups developed in partnership with BASF, one of the world’s leading chemical companies. The program intends to advance innovative ideas to disrupt the plastics, energy storage and recycling value chains to enable a circular economy. The Circularity Challenge is focused on connecting entrepreneurs with mentors, team members, business, and technical resources they need to launch successful ventures with partnership from BASF and support from Stanley Black and Decker.
Contact: 888-954-6836
——————————————
Engineers for Social Impact Kick-Off Meeting
Thursday, February 6
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EST
50 Milk Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/engineers-for-social-impact-kick-off-meeting-tickets-89628207381
Cost: $0 – $10
Join us for snacks and conversation at the Cambridge Innovation Center. We will be gathering to talk about how engineering can be used as a tool for social good. This is a kick off meeting to start having more workshops, activities, discussions, projects at the intersection of engineering and social impact. This is a great meet-up for you if:
You have been feeling like your job doesn't align with your values
You got into engineering to do good in the world
You want to improve how engineering is used as a problem-solving tool
You want to leverage your skills for social impact
Looking forward to meeting you there!
——————————————
Frederick Law Olmsted Lecture: Günther Vogt, “The Imprint of the Landscape”
Thursday, February 6
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Günther Vogt
CONTACT INFO Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events@gsd.harvard.edu.
DETAILS Please join us for the Frederick Law Olmsted Lecture delivered by landscape architect Günther Vogt. Vogt's lecture will also mark the opening of the exhibition 'Günther Vogt: First the Forests,' which is on view in the Druker Design Gallery from Jan. 21 – March 8, 2020. A reception in the gallery will take place immediately following the lecture.
What is the relevant scale for operating with the landscape of the city?
Since the Industrial Revolution at the latest, humans have become the determining factor for global ecosystems. This fact becomes apparent when we look at sediment displacement influenced by human activity, for example. There is thirty times more of it today than what natural processes cause. Due to our massive intervention in the Earth system, not just new landscapes are formed, however, but the conditions for cohabitation in our cities are also fundamentally changed.
Against this backdrop, solutions proposed by the current ‘green movement’ seem to have little viability. Green facades, vertical gardens or planted bridges deal primarily with esthetic aspects and are neither sustainable nor do they work as part of a network of lived public space. Vegetation is applied onto a construction framework, demoted to the ‘new ornament’ of landscape architecture.
Set against these neatly composed images, Günther Vogt applies a systematic design approach with his projects. Their success is measured not just by their design qualities, but primarily by their consequences for the environment. In the spirit of Friedrick Law Olmsted, who met the changing environmental conditions of his time with a holistic view of space, thinking in systems like this requires incorporating highly diverse scale levels and leads us from the miniature to the panorama of the city landscape.
——————————————
The Longing for Less
Thursday, February 6
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
Porter Square Books welcomes Kyle Chayka for a reading and discussion of his new book The Longing for Less, in conversation with novelist Miranda Popkey (Topics of Conversation)!
"More than just a story of an abiding cultural preoccupation, The Longing For Less peels back the commodified husk of minimalism to reveal something surprising and thoroughly alive." -Jenny Odell, author of How to Do Nothing
“Less is more”: Everywhere we hear the mantra. Marie Kondo and other decluttering gurus promise that shedding our stuff will solve our problems. We commit to cleanse diets and strive for inbox zero. Amid the frantic pace and distraction of everyday life, we covet silence-and airy, Instagrammable spaces in which to enjoy it. The popular term for this brand of upscale austerity, “minimalism,” has mostly come to stand for things to buy and consume. But minimalism has richer, deeper, and altogether more valuable gifts to offer.
Kyle Chayka is one of our sharpest cultural observers. After spending years covering minimalist trends for leading publications, he now delves beneath this lifestyle's glossy surface, seeking better ways to claim the time and space we crave. He shows that our longing for less goes back further than we realize. His search leads him to the philosophical and spiritual origins of minimalism, and to the stories of artists such as Agnes Martin and Donald Judd; composers such as John Cage and Julius Eastman; architects and designers; visionaries and misfits. As Chayka looks anew at their extraordinary lives and explores the places where they worked-from Manhattan lofts to the Texas high desert and the back alleys of Kyoto-he reminds us that what we most require is presence, not absence. The result is an elegant new synthesis of our minimalist desires and our profound emotional needs.
"Thoughtful and absorbing . . . A superb outing from a gifted young critic that will spark joy in many readers." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Kyle Chayka is a freelance writer and critic whose work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, the New Republic, Rolling Stone, n+1, Vox, the Paris Review, and other publications. He has contributed chapters to Reading Pop Culture: A Portable Anthology and A Companion to Digital Art. Chayka is cofounder of Study Hall, a newsletter and digital community for journalists. He began his career as a visual art critic for Hyperallergic in Brooklyn, and now lives in Washington, D.C.
Miranda Popkey was born in Santa Cruz, California in 1987. She graduated with a BA in Humanities from Yale in 2009 and with an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis in 2018. She has written for, among other outlets, The New Republic, The New Yorker‘s Page-Turner blog, the Paris Review Daily, The Hairpin, The Awl, GQ, and New York magazine’s The Cut.
——————————————
When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains
Thursday, February 6
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes writer ARIANA NEUMANN for a discussion of her debut memoir, When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains. She will be joined in conversation by Tufts professor of theatre BARBARA WALLACE GROSSMAN, former member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
About When Time Stopped
In 1941, the first Neumann family member was taken by the Nazis, arrested in German-occupied Czechoslovakia for bathing in a stretch of river forbidden to Jews. He was transported to Auschwitz. Eighteen days later his prisoner number was entered into the morgue book.
Of thirty-four Neumann family members, twenty-five were murdered by the Nazis. One of the survivors was Hans Neumann, who, to escape the German death net, traveled to Berlin and hid in plain sight under the Gestapo’s eyes. What Hans experienced was so unspeakable that, when he built an industrial empire in Venezuela, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. All his daughter Ariana knew was that something terrible had happened.
When Hans died, he left Ariana a small box filled with letters, diary entries, and other memorabilia. Ten years later Ariana finally summoned the courage to have the letters translated, and she began reading. What she discovered launched her on a worldwide search that would deliver indelible portraits of a family loving, finding meaning, and trying to survive amid the worst that can be imagined.
When Time Stopped is an unputdownable detective story and an epic family memoir, spanning nearly ninety years and crossing oceans. Neumann brings each relative to vivid life. In uncovering her father’s story after all these years, she discovers nuance and depth to her own history and liberates poignant and thought-provoking truths about the threads of humanity that connect us all.
——————————————
Cured: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing
Thursday, February 6
7 – 8:30 p.m.
The Harvard Coop, 1400 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Jeffrey Rediger
TICKET WEB LINK http://harvardcoop.eventbrite.com
CONTACT INFO hbooks@bncollege.com
DETAILS What do miraculous cures tell us about the way we treat certain diseases? What might be discovered in those stories that could offer hope to others facing terminal diagnoses? "Cured" offers a deeply researched argument for shifting the medical focus from the “silver” bullet approach to certain diseases and to give more support and power to something more individual and far-reaching. What if these remarkable stories of healing gave us new insights into root causes of disease and could show us how we can realign our lives before we receive a deadly diagnosis?
———————————————
Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future
Thursday, February 6
7:30 PM (Doors at 6:30)
Back Bay Events Center, 180 Berkeley Street, Boston
Cost: $25 - $35.00 (book included) - On Sale Now
Harvard Book Store is thrilled to welcome Nobel Prize–winning economist PAUL KRUGMAN for a discussion of his latest book, Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future. He will be joined in conversation by PBS NewsHour correspondent PAUL SOLMAN.
Please Note
This event does not include a book signing. Books included with tickets are pre-signed editions of Arguing with Zombies. (Additional pre-signed copies will be available for purchase at the event, while supplies last.)
We will not be able to accommodate requests for personalized inscriptions.
About Arguing with Zombies
There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no stronger foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won’t die.
In Arguing with Zombies, Krugman tackles many of these misunderstandings, taking stock of where the United States has come from and where it’s headed in a series of concise, digestible chapters. Drawn mainly from his popular New York Times column, they cover a wide range of issues, organized thematically and framed in the context of a wider debate. Explaining the complexities of health care, housing bubbles, tax reform, Social Security, and so much more with unrivaled clarity and precision, Arguing with Zombies is Krugman at the height of his powers.
Arguing with Zombies puts Krugman at the front of the debate in the 2020 election year and is an indispensable guide to two decades’ worth of political and economic discourse in the United States and around the globe. With quick, vivid sketches, Krugman turns his readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news and hands them the keys to unlock the concepts behind the greatest economic policy issues of our time. In doing so, he delivers an instant classic that can serve as a reference point for this and future generations.
————————————————————
Friday, February 7 - Saturday, February 8
————————————————————
Global Health in a Changing World: People, Planet, and Technology
Friday, February 7, 7:30 am - Saturday, February 8, 6:30 pm
Northeastern, East Village, 17th floor, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston
GHCW: People, Planet, and Technology is a joint venture that spans across the Northeastern University Global Campus. We invite anyone from any campus, organization, age, and discipline to attend the conference for free.
The face of global health is undeniably changing. GHCW is a seamlessly integrated research and experiential learning forum that explores this changing landscape in a nuanced, multifaceted way. Attendees will develop new research and industry relationships, learn how to advocate for change on a local, national, and international level, and ultimately be prepared to take meaningful steps in their own lives.
Join us for plentary pillars, poster sessions, research sessions, tech talks, networking sessions, and workshops. View full schedule and live stream at https://web.northeastern.edu/nuglobalhealth/
—————————
Friday, February 7
—————————
The Art of Leadership Communication | BostonSpeaksSeries
Friday, February 7
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST
BostonSpeaks, 50 Milk Street, Boston
February 2020: The Art Of Leadership Communication | BostonSpeaksSeries
Are you a good communicator? Communication is an essential leadership skill. Leaders need to communicate with others to share their vision. This helps them build trust and effective working relationships. However, there are a lot of factors that affect the effectiveness of your communication. Interested to learn more? Join us this February BostonSpeaksSeries and learn all about the Art of Leadership Communication.
TAKEAWAYS:
Master the art of leadership communication
How to build an effective working relationship through communication
Build relationships and network with panelists, business professionals, and entrepreneurs from Boston
Q/A with panelists
The BostonSpeaksSeries is a panel breakfast series for the entrepreneurial and business community. First Friday, every month. Learn more about BostonSpeaks.
AGENDA:
8:00-8:15 AM: Breakfast, Networking, Chit-Chats
8:15-8:20 AM: Introductions/Announcements
8:20-8:45 AM: Special Activity
8:45-9:45 AM: Panel Discussion
9:45-10:00 AM: Closing, Shout-outs, Networking
***A Link To Tune-In Virtually Will Also Be Provided The Day Before***
PANELISTS:
ROB SALAFIA, CEO AND FOUNDER OF PROTAGONIST CONSULTING GROUP
ROB SALAFIA – Keynote Speaker – Executive Coach – Facilitator
Rob is an authority on executive presence and transformative learning experiences. He combines two decades of experience as a top leadership development executive with a successful career in the performing arts.
He is the author of – Leading from Your Best Self: Develop Your Executive Poise, Presence and Influence to Maximize Your Potential (McGraw-Hill).
Rob enjoys stepping onto the main stage as a keynote speaker at leadership conferences. Some highlights include Harvard Business School, IMA Corp, CREW Network, MIT Sloan School of Management, ATD, Gallagher, YPO, and YPO Gold, Sony Music Entertainment, ING Bank, Vynamic, and MITX.
As a learning partner and workshop facilitator, Rob has worked with Fortune 500 companies including, PepsiCo, ICMA-RC, Sapient Consulting, Digitas, ING Bank, McKinsey & Co, NN Group, News Corp, American Express, Sony Music Entertainment, Thought Ensemble, Metro AG, Philips International, Alliance Bernstein, Fidelity, and Merrill Lynch.
In his work as an executive coach, Rob finds great satisfaction in guiding leaders through transitions to more senior roles, as well as coaching senior executives and leadership teams to enhance team effectiveness and prepare for strategic presentations.
What’s unique about Rob is that for the first half of his career he was a performing artist where he traveled the globe delivering his unique, one-person variety show.
Rob is a lecturer in MIT Sloan School of Management and an MIT Leadership Center Master Executive Coach.
Rob has a Masters from Boston University in Administration and Organizational Policy, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from William James College.
WWW.PROTAGONISTCONSULTING.COM | LINKEDIN.COM/IN/ROBSALAFIA | TWITTER: PROTAGCONSULTINGGRP @ROB_SALAFIA | FACEBOOK: PROTAGONIST CONSULTING GROUP
CAT AYERS, DIRECTOR, NORTH AMERICA BRAND AND ACCOUNT MARKETING - ASICS
Catherine Rau Ayers, widely known as “Cat” throughout the athletic industry, has been dedicated to providing a 360* consumer experience that delivers ROI, but ultimately provides an emotional intersection of consumer and brand. Cat studied Psychology at the University of Southern California while captaining the Women’s Water Polo team. There her passion for sports grew, and after a Summer internship with the Los Angeles Dodgers Marketing Department, she parlayed the opportunity into a 6 year career as a buyer for the team. Working with the key vendors in the industry--Nike, New Era Cap, 47 Brand and Majestic Athletic—she established her foundation in delivering memorable customer experiences.
With encouragement from friends and family Cat, a native Californian, moved to Maryland to join the Under Armour team where she oversaw and established their Visual Merchandising Field program and soon became Director of Account Marketing. Cat oversaw a 20+ team of Account managers, partnering with sales on all aspects of the customer experience for retailers, including Foot Locker Inc., Dicks Sporting Goods, Macys, Academy Sports & Outdoors and Hibbett. As the leader of the Under Armour Account Marketing team, she was charged with creating comprehensive marketing activation plans around all aspects of the business from Out of Home marketing, in-store POP, shop in shops, tech rep programs, product launches, events and exclusive marketing programs. Cat joined ASICS in 2018 and oversees all Brand and Channel Marketing for North America where she is working to establish ASICS as the performance run leader in the industry. Cat and her team will be ramping up their efforts and activity in 2020 as the Olympics takes center stage in ASICS home country, Japan!
HTTPS://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/CATHERINE-RAU-AYERS-87422563
STEPHAN K. THIERINGER, CEO AND FOUNDER, HUMAN INNOVATION GARAGE
Stephan is a nationally renowned personal innovation strategist, business thinker, and executive coach. He is a successful serial entrepreneur and after leaving his last global startup he founded the Human Innovation Garage in early 2013.
Stephan was awarded just recently by the World Human Resource Development Congress the title "101 Most Fabulous Coaching Leaders", he is a 2019 Future of Leadership Salon thought leader and under his leadership, the Human Innovation Garage was recognized in 2018 as a Top 30 Innovative visionary small business in the United States. In 2012 Thieringer was awarded the World Education Award for “Visionary Leadership In Impacting Economic Development”.
Thieringer was an MIT Global Strategy advisor from 2005 until 2012 and an ELES Africa Ambassador in 2011. He was named a 2008 CXO finalist of the MTLC Leadership Award, being selected as one of the State’s Leaders in Innovation and Economic Impact.
Stephan is a Forbes™ Council Member, a TIE Charter Member, and he dedicates his personal time to several non-profit organizations also engages on various executive boards. Stephan is a native of Stuttgart, Germany and currently resides in Boston.
HTTP://WWW.TWITTER.COM/STEPHANT HTTP://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/STEPHANTHIERINGER HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HUMANINNOVATIONGARAGE
DAVID NEWKIRK, CEO, ETHOS CONSULTING LLC
As CEO and Founder, David brings over 30 years of experience working in large corporations, small privately owned companies and business start-ups. His work has been a source of innovative thinking that has changed how industries and business leaders adapt to the ongoing dynamic changes impacting them. The innovation has led to his creation of ADEPT6, a program that is changing how businesses adapt and make changes to sustain growth and profitability.
Prior to founding ETHOS Consulting LLC, his second business, David has had a wide ranging set of management responsibilities across organizations covering all aspects of the business with the exception of financial management & accounting – his field of study at Penn State University. David is frequently asked to speak on the topic of ADEPT6 and transforming businesses into profitability. His speaking engagements include workshops, industry conferences and podcasts. Outside of work, he is a Board Member for a non-profit organization and is also involved in several philanthropic efforts throughout the year focused on helping families in need, Veterans and the elderly. David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University and received his UC Berkley Management Program in Financial Services certification.
LINKEDIN: HTTPS://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/ETHOSCONSULTS/
Your Host:
KIT PANG, FOUNDER OF BOSTONSPEAKS
Kit Pang is a Communication Expert TEDx, Inbound and Keynote speaker, the host of the BostonSpeaksSeries and the founder of BostonSpeaks. He is on a mission to help individuals become exceptional speakers and communicators. He started this monthly breakfast series in order to build a community where entrepreneurs, business professionals, workaholics and individuals could come together to get motivated, learn the latest tips and discover new insights. @kitpangx www.bostonspeaks.com
———————————————
Data, Privacy, and the Internet | The 2020 JOSTL & PILJ Symposium
Friday, February 7
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST
Boston University School of Law, 765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
The 2020 JOSTL & PILJ Symposium will explore civil rights and the progression of privacy laws and litigation.
As evidenced by recent European and U.S. state legislative actions, information privacy has come to the forefront of the conversation about personal privacy. U.S. privacy laws are “in flux,” while the rights and abilities of various entities to collect, monitor, use, and disseminate individual information have been the subject of substantial recent legal development. The conversation about the interaction of civil rights and data privacy promises to influence the progression of privacy laws and litigation.
The 2020 Journal of Science & Technology and Public Interest Law Symposium will examine the scope and boundaries of privacy protection for personal data, including artificial intelligence, sexual images, biometric information, and personal information, and their implications for civil privacy rights in the context of an increasingly data-driven internet, government, and business climate. The objective of the program will be to elevate the conversation about the intersection of data privacy and the public interest, incorporating civil rights concerns over the proliferation of information technology, and ask what more should be done to protect the individual and the public interest.
—————————————
Book Talk: When Misfortune Becomes Injustice: Evolving Human Rights Struggles for Health and Social Equality
Friday, February 7
12 – 1 p.m.
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East (2036), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Alicia Ely Yamin, Senior Fellow, The Petrie-Flom Center
Sue Goldie, Roger Irving Lee Professor of Public Health and Director, Center for Health Decision Science, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health; Director, Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University
Michael Ashley Stein, Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability; Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School
Lucie White, Louis A. Horvitz Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
TICKET WEB LINK https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07egnr1auk8a3d68f3&oseq=&c=&ch=
CONTACT INFO Petrie-Flom Center:
DETAILS "When Misfortune Becomes Injustice" tells a story of extraordinary progress with respect to health-related rights over the last few decades, in both conceptual frameworks and diverse people's lived realities. However, Yamin shows that over these same years economic reforms at global and national levels shrank the political space necessary to realize a robust agenda in health and other social rights. In the face of ballooning inequality, a loss of confidence in democratic institutions and multilateralism, and existential threats posed by climate change today, Yamin proposes a re-energized human rights praxis to promote health, gender equality, and social justice.
At this event, Yamin will be joined by expert panelists to discuss both the progresses and the challenges that she describes in the book, as well as her proposals for a re-energized human rights praxis.
—————————————
Deep decarbonization: The search for natural and engineered geological hydrogen
Friday, February 7
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 48-316, Ralph M Parsons Laboratory, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Prof. Tom Darrah, The Ohio State University
Environmental Science Seminar Series
—————————————
Panel Discussion: Colored People Time Examined
Friday, February 7
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST
MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames Street, Wiesner Building (Building E15), Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/panel-discussion-colored-people-time-examined-tickets-88016928001
This panel of artists and scholars explore the history and impact of how the history of slavery and colonialism has shaped our country.
In conjunction with the exhibition Colored People Time: Mundane Futures, Quotidian Pasts, Banal Presents, this panel of artists and scholars explore the history and impact of how the history of slavery and colonialism has shaped our country and impacts our present and futures through examining their respective contributions to the exhibition Colored People Time. This exhibition was conceived as a sequential exhibition unfolding over the course of 2019 at the Institute of Contemporary Art at University of Pennsylvania and is united as one exhibition at the List Center creating a new dialogue that will be investigated in this discussion. The panel participants include Aria Dean, Carolyn Lazard and Meg Onli and is moderated by Tina Campt.
The event will be real-time translated for personal devices. You may access real-time captioning link for personal devices here when link is made available.
About the Speakers
Aria Dean is an exhibiting artist in Colored People Time: Mundane Futures and lives and works in Los Angeles and New York. Dean is an artist, writer, and curator whose work examines the frameworks of our individual and collective identities. Her work has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at such venues as Chapter NY, New York (2019), Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York (2019); Tai Kwun, Hong Kong (2019); The MAC, Belfast (2019); ICAVCU, Richmond (2019); Chateau Shatto, Los Angeles (2018); the Sunroom, Richmond, Virginia (2018); Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin (2018); de Young Museum, San Francisco (2017); Arcadia Missa, London (2017); and Veronica, Seattle (2017); among others. Her writing has appeared in publications including Artforum, TextArt in America, e-flux, The New Inquiry, X-TRA Contemporary Art Quarterly, Spike Quarterly, Kaleidoscope Magazine, and CURA Magazine. She serves as Editor and Curator at Rhizome. She also co-directs Los Angeles project space As It Stands.
Carolyn Lazard is a Philadelphia-based artist working in installation, video, and sculpture. Lazard has shown work at various institutions including the Walker Art Center, the New Museum, the Kitchen, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Lazard has published writing in the Brooklyn Rail, Mousse Magazine, and Triple Canopy.
Meg Onli is the Andrea B. Laporte Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at University of Pennsylvania and exhibition curator of Colored People Time: Mundane Futures, Quotidian Pasts and Banal Presents. Onli is a curator and writer whose work attends to the intricacies of race and the production of space. Prior to joining the Institute of Contemporary Art she was the Program Coordinator at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. While at the Graham Foundation she worked on the exhibitions Architecture of Independence: African Modernism and Barbara Kasten: Stages. In 2010 she created the website Black Visual Archive for which she was awarded a 2012 Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. In 2014 she was the recipient of a research grant from the Graham Foundation for the collaborative project Remaking the Black Metropolis: Contemporary Art, Urbanity, and Blackness in America with curator Jamilee Polson Lacy. Onli holds a Master’s degree in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her writing has appeared in Art21, Daily Serving, and Art Papers.
Tina Campt is Owen F. Walker Professor of Humanities and Modern Culture and Media at Brown University and a Research Associate at the Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre (VIAD) at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Campt is a black feminist theorist of visual culture and contemporary art whose published work explores gender, racial and diasporic formation in black communities in transnationally. She is the author of three books. Other Germans: Black Germans and the Politics of Race, Gender and Memory in the Third Reich (2004), Image Matters: Archive, Photography and the African Diaspora in Europe (2012), and Listening to Images (2017). Her forthcoming book, The Black Gaze, engages the work of black artists creating embodied practices of “witnessing” that center race and gender as central to our contemporary moment of visualizing blackness.
For more information contact:
Emily Garner
—————————————
Screening of the documentary "The True Cost"
Friday, February 7
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST
Lunder Arts Center, 1801 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Join us for the a free showing the Documentary of the The True Cost.
This famous Documentary by Directed by Andrew Morgan, Produced by Michael Ross and the Associate Producer, Laura Piety and was produced in 2015 and has uncovered many issues within the fast fashion industry today. And be Shown at Lesley's Lunder Art Center. If you have any questions please feel free to email Lauren at Lclayton@lesley.edu
And please follow this project:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naivewealth/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Naivewealth/
—————————————
The Supreme Court's Threat to Civil Society
Thursday, February 7
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Harvard Law School, Langdell North - 225 Vorenberg, Cambridge
Annual Kissel Lecture in Ethics with Linda Greenhouse
Abstract: Greenhouse looks critically at recent decisions including Janus v. AFSCME; Masterpiece Cakeshop; Hobby Lobby; and the Little Sisters of the Poor Litigation, in which the Supreme Court empowered -- indeed, invited -- individuals to opt out of the rules by which the rest of us have agreed to be governed. Respecting claims of conscience is of course an essential element of civil society. But honoring such claims selectively, while failing to give weight to the foreseeable burdens on third parties, can accelerate the descent into the tribalism with which American society is threatened today.
Linda Greenhouse is the Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law and Knight Distinguished Journalist-in-Residence at Yale Law School. She assumed this position in 2009 after a 40-year career at the New York Times, including 30 years covering the United States Supreme Court. At Yale, she is a member of the faculty of the Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic and teaches other Supreme Court-related courses. She writes a bi-weekly op-ed column on the Supreme Court and law for the New York Times web site as a contributing columnist. In her extracurricular life, she is president of the American Philosophical Society and serves on several nonprofit boards. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College, Harvard, and earned a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School.
She received numerous journalism awards for her reporting, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 (beat reporting); the Carey McWilliams Award from the American Political Science Association in 2002 for “a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics”; and the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from Harvard University’s Kennedy School in 2004. Her newest book, published in October 2017 by Harvard University Press, is a brief memoir, Just a Journalist. Other books include The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right (with Michael J. Graetz), The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press); a biography of Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Becoming Justice Blackmun; and Before Roe v. Wade: Voices That Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court’s Ruling (with Reva B. Siegel).
—————————————
LASER Boston – Sensory Overload
Friday, February 7
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm EST
swissnex Boston, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
What do multi-sensory perception and synesthesia reveal about our perceptual realities? Answering these questions and more as we hear from three speakers across the arts and sciences.
How does multi-sensory perception function in the brain? What does synesthesia reveal about our perceptual realities? Can software-driven music change our perception of time, place, and space?
On February 7th, LASER Boston will explore these questions and more as we hear from three speakers across the arts and sciences. With the ultimate goal of fostering cross-disciplinary discovery and dialogue, this event will feature Neoperceptions co-founders Thomas Sanchez Lengeling and Brodi Elwood, psychology and neuroscience researcher Psyche Loui, and musician and performance artist Marcel Zaes.
Presented by swissnex Boston and SciArt Initiative.
Program
6:00 pm – Community Networking
Speakers and audience members are welcome to join in a pre-talks networking session.
6:30 pm – Talks
Three 12 min segments followed by a Q&A
7:30 pm – Networking Reception
Stick around to continue the discussion over drinks and snacks.
Talks
Thomas Sanchez Lengeling and Brodi Elwood
“Neoperceptions”
Thomas Sanchez Lengeling is a scientist, artist, and engineer and is currently a researcher at the City Science Group at the MIT Media Lab and at the MIT Physics Department. His research is in the intersection between science, art, and technology. He works in mobility, urban planning, artificial intelligence, wearable technology, immersive experiences, music, and educational outreach. His interest in creating experiences that will allow people to change their perspective about the world by blending an extra perceptual experience in digital information. His education works focus on inspiring and mentoring the future generation of scientists and innovators in Latin America through international scientific networks.
Brodi Elwood graduated from MIT Physics Department with a focus on dark matter and axions. He is also a researcher at the MIT nuclear science department.
Psyche Loui
“Music as a Window into Emotion and Creativity”
Psyche Loui is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University, with a focus in psychology and neuroscience, where she is also the Director of MIND Lab. Loui earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, after earning her BA in Psychology and Music, and certificate in Neuroscience from Duke University. She has since held faculty positions in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Integrative Sciences at Wesleyan University, and in Neurology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. When not doing research on how music can be used to understand the brain, Loui performs as a violinist in the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, a Boston-based orchestra that strives to heal the community through music, and in Folie a Quatre, a string quartet with mental health professionals.
Marcel Zaes
“Music, Time, Place and Space”
Marcel Zaes is an artist and artistic researcher, holding degrees from University of the Arts in Bern and Zurich University of the Arts, and has studied composition with Alvin Curran in Rome and with Peter Ablinger in Berlin. Zeas’ artistic practice explores the ways in which rhythm forms the basis for community, that is, rhythm affords the sociality that is traditionally called “making music together,” or “dancing together,” even if no such action is involved at all. He investigates mechanical time, its politics and its socio-cultural contexts with an interdisciplinary framework that encompasses sound and media studies, new technologies, critical race studies, and performance and dance studies. HIs work has been showcased at the at ISEA Hong Kong, the Center for New Music San Francisco, Goethe Institute New Delhi, Biennial of Contemporary Arts Lisbon, Cabaret Voltaire Zurich, and at Columbia University in New York. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Music & Multimedia Composition at Brown University.
—————————————
A Planet to Win: Why We Need A Green New Deal
Friday, February 7
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
Please join us at Porter Square Books to welcome Alyssa Battistoni and Thea Riofrancos, co-authors of A Planet to Win, for a reading and discussion. This event is co-sponsored by the Democratic Socialists of America, Boston chapter.
In the twenty-first century, all politics are climate politics.
The age of climate gradualism is over, as unprecedented disasters are exacerbated by inequalities of race and class. We need profound, radical change. A Green New Deal can tackle the climate emergency and rampant inequality at the same time. Cutting carbon emissions while winning immediate gains for the many is the only way to build a movement strong enough to defeat big oil, big business, and the super-rich—starting right now.
A Planet to Win explores the political potential and concrete first steps of a Green New Deal. It calls for dismantling the fossil fuel industry and building beautiful landscapes of renewable energy, guaranteeing climate-friendly work and no-carbon housing and free public transit. And it shows how a Green New Deal in the United States can strengthen climate justice movements worldwide. We don’t make politics under conditions of our own choosing, and no one would choose this crisis. But crises also present opportunities. We stand on the brink of disaster—but also at the cusp of wondrous, transformative change.
Alyssa Battistoni is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University and an Editor at Jacobin. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, n+1, The Nation, Jacobin, In These Times, Dissent, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Thea Riofrancos is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Providence College and the author of Resource Radicals. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, n+1, Jacobin, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Dissent, and In These Times. She serves on the steering committee of DSA’s Ecosocialist Working Group.
——————————————
Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence
Friday, February 7
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed cartoonist JOEL CHRISTIAN GILL—author of the beloved Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History—for a discussion of his graphic memoir, Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence.
About Fights
Fights is the visceral and deeply affecting memoir of artist/author Joel Christian Gill, chronicling his youth and coming of age as a Black child in a chaotic landscape of rough city streets and foreboding backwoods.
Propelled into a world filled with uncertainty and desperation, young Joel is pushed toward using violence to solve his problems by everything and everyone around him. But fighting doesn’t always yield the best results for a confused and sensitive kid who yearns for a better, more fulfilling life than the one he was born into, as Joel learns in a series of brutal conflicts that eventually lead him to question everything he has learned about what it truly means to fight for one’s life.
——————————————
Screening of 1200+ Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls
Friday, February 7
7 PM
First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist, 6 Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain
Join us for a screening and fundraiser to support the film entitled, ‘1200+’, which focuses on a region in Canada where the Indigenous community has been tragically impacted by women and girls being victims of violence and murder. The documentary was created and produced by journalist Sheila North, former Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, and filmmaker Leonard Yakir.
This screening is part of the 2019-2020 Dismantling White Supremacy Film Series sponsored by the Social Justice Action Committee of First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist. Proceeds will benefit a trust fund for Cherisse Houle, the film's producers, and United American Indians of New England (UAINE). Tickets may be purchased in advance using the link on this page. No one will be turned away based upon ability to pay.
——————————
Saturday, February 8
——————————
Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar
Saturday, February 8
12pm - 1pm
Harvard, Pierce Hall (100F), 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Randall Martin, Washington University in St. Louis, will give a talk.
Contact Name: Yang Li
—————————————
Sunrise Boston Full Hub Meeting
Saturday, February 8
1 PM – 3 PM
Old South Church, 645 Boylston Street, Boston
All are welcome! Come join us, get to know the Boston Hub, and hear what's next for Sunrise Boston!
Questions? Email: SunriseMovementBoston@gmail.com or message our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/2586044595007305/
—————————
Sunday, February 9
—————————
Global Meditation Flash Mob
Sunday, February 9
noon
Main lobby of MIT (77 Massachusetts Avenue, up the steps and through the columns), Cambridge
Join us for a Global Meditation Mob in solidarity with XR Philadelphia, Omaha, Miami, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Mexico!
Similar to a flash mob, a meditation mob is a spontaneous gathering of people sharing a common goal: a better world and future in the face of this climate emergency. In meditating together we hope to embrace our empathy for all living things, to come together in love and peace in a world that is incredibly chaotic.
We will be meeting in the main lobby of MIT (77 Massachusetts Avenue, up the steps and through the columns) at noon for a short group meditation followed by a walking meditation (mostly indoors).
We encourage you to invite friends and family, all are welcome. Bring chimes, bells, and/or sounding bowls if you have them. Signs and flags will be provided. This is another way to bring awareness to the climate crisis and the need for action as we herald in a better future. No previous meditation experience needed.
———————————————
Restorative Justice: What it is and How it Can Work Potluck & Conversation
Sunday, February 9
5:30 - 7:30pm (Doors open at 5:00pm)
Temple Beth Shalom, 670 Highland Avenue, Needham
Please RSVP by February 4th! at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/restorative-justice-what-it-is-and-how-it-can-work-potluck-conversation-tickets-86844920495
Join us for a conversation over a potluck on how we can bring ourselves closer to a larger, more inclusive community.
At My Neighbors’ Table Series
with Special Guests:
Dr. Rachel King, Title IX Coordinator Institutional Planning, Curry College
Dr. Rachel King serves as the Title IX coordinator at Curry College in Massachusetts, where she was formerly Associate Dean of Students. Prior to joining Curry College in 2011, Rachel’s previous position was as Associate Dean of Students and Director of Community Standards and Conflict Resolution at the University of Northern Colorado. She holds a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Boston College and earned her doctorate at the University of Northern Colorado in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership, where she researched the educational value and fairness of student conduct from the perspective of nearly 2,000 students.
Rachel brings passion to her work in conflict resolution and crisis management, having served as chair of her institutions’ behavioral intervention teams for eight years. She is trained as a mediator and has extensive experience facilitating restorative justice conferences in community and school-based programs. Over the past 15 years, she has been an active member of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA), including serving on the faculty at the Donald D. Gehring Academy for Student Conduct Administration and the Association’s Sexual Misconduct Institute. She also serves as a consultant at the DOJ’s Office of Violence Against Women’s Technical Training, addressing the topic of a restorative approach to cases of gender-based violence.
Dr. Jennifer Balboni, Professor of Criminal Justice, Curry College
Dr. Jennifer Balboni is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Curry College. She completed her Ph.D. in Law, Policy and Society at Northeastern University, with a focus on criminal justice and restorative justice issues. Her original dissertation research looked at the meaning of litigation against the Catholic Church for clergy sexual abuse survivors through an ethnographic lens. In addition to her own original research, she has published on topics including prosecutorial misconduct and civil liability, the disparate impact of the War on Drugs on minority communities, “high-end” juvenile sentencing, the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, and hate crimes, as well as other justice related topics. She has been published in The Boston Globe, The Criminologist, Albany Law Review, Contemporary Justice Review, and other venues. From 1997 through 2002, she worked as a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Criminal Justice Policy and Research, Northeastern University, and has a background in direct services, working with DSS- and DYS- involved youth in both residential and outreach settings. She was recently recognized with the Regional Fellow Award for the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (2019). She considers herself privileged to teach future justice professionals about restorative justice, and reform in the justice system, broadly. She is currently a (volunteer) practitioner with Communities for Restorative Justice.
Officer Adrienne Anderson, Needham Public Schools Resource Officer
This event is FREE and OPEN to the public.
Register now as space is limited.
Follow up email will be sent by February 8th from table leaders.
Pre-reading exercise: Interrupting the School to Prison Pipeline Through Restorative Justice
Please bring a vegetarian dish to share with eight at your table. Drinks and desserts will be provided.
For questions, please contact: info@coopmet.org
——————————
Monday, February 10
——————————
Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
Monday, February 10
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretun Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre Street, Boston
Brook Moyers, University of Massachusetts, Boston, will give a talk.
617-524-1718
——————————————
Thomas Pickering: U.S.-Russia Relations: What Can We Do About It?
Monday, February 10
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM EST
Tufts, ASEAN Auditorium, The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
Please join the Russia and Eurasia Program at The Fletcher School for a conversation with Ambassador Thomas Pickering about the current state of U.S.-Russia relations. The event will be followed by a reception in the Hall of Flags. Refreshments will be provided.
Thomas Pickering has served as Vice Chairman of Hills and Company since 2016. He served as the U.S. Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations in New York under President George H.W. Bush. Pickering led the U.S. effort to build a global coalition in the UN Security Council during and after the first Gulf War. He also was the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs under President Bill Clinton. In a diplomatic career spanning five decades, he was U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Pickering was Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans, Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Executive Secretary of the Department of State, and Special Assistant to Secretaries of State William P. Rogers and Henry A. Kissinger.
After serving in government, Pickering was Senior Vice President International Relations of The Boeing Company and was briefly President of the Eurasia Foundation. In 2012, Pickering chaired the Benghazi Accountability Review Board at the U.S. State Department. Pickering holds a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and a master's degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He received the Distinguished Presidential Award and the Department of State’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Award. He speaks French, Spanish, and Swahili and has some fluency in Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian.
——————————————
Film Screening and Panel Discussion on Gene Editing and Disability
Monday, February 10
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Lydia X. Z. Brown, Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council
Joseph A. Stramondo, San Diego State University
Michael Ashley Stein, Harvard Law School
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS From Botox to bionic limbs, the human body is more upgradable than ever. But how much can we alter and still be human? What do we gain or lose in the process?
The award-winning documentary Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement explores the social impact of human biotechnologies. Haunting and humorous, poignant and political, Fixed rethinks “disability” and “normalcy” by exploring technologies that promise to change our bodies and minds forever.
Join us for a discussion about the ethics of gene editing and disability. Register online.
——————————————
We Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us
Monday, February 10
5:30 – 6:45 p.m.
Harvard, Rubenstein-414AB, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Sushma Raman, Executive Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
DETAILS Towards Life 3.0: Ethics and Technology in the 21st Century is a talk series organized and facilitated by Mathias Risse, Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Philosophy and Public Administration. Drawing inspiration from the title of Max Tegmark’s book, Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, the series draws upon a range of scholars, technology leaders, and public interest technologists to address the ethical aspects of the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on society and human life.
Sushma Raman, Executive Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, will give a talk titled, "We Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us."
A light dinner will be served.
——————————————
Green Solutions for Responsible Business
Monday, February 10
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM EST
Impact Hub Boston, 50 Milk Street, 20th Floor, Boston
How can businesses advocate for smart environmental solutions and promote a more responsible, sustainable, and prosperous economy?
Green Solutions for Responsible Business: Carbon Pricing and Collective Action
In 2019, top business leaders from across the country — including Microsoft, Levi’s, and Tesla— lobbied Capitol Hill to put a price on carbon pollution and transition to a sustainable future. These businesses represent more than 2.8 million employees globally! Businesses, big and small, are beginning to recognize that an economy-wide price on carbon is the most efficient and cost-effective tool to move towards a low-carbon green economy that values consumers, communities, workers and our shared environment.
Join leaders from Climate Action Business Association (CABA), B Corps from across New England, and Impact Hub Boston for a workshop to:
Learn about the landscape of current policy and discover new avenues your business can take to support the progress being made in carbon pollution pricing and its benefits in promoting clean energy, emissions reductions, and climate adaptation at the local, state, and federal levels.
Walk away with effective tools for engaging your company and employees in socially conscious and just climate advocacy and the ability to leverage your brand in the fight against climate change.
Network with the presenters and other forward-thinking business owners and leaders.
——————————————
Cleantech Startups: Navigating the Mass Cleantech Landscape 2020
Monday, February 10
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Foley Hoag, 155 Seaport Boulevard, Seaport West, Boston
Pre-registration is required
Cost: $10 Members; $30 Non-Members; $5 Student Members, $10 Non Member Students
Over 200 institutions in New England provide support for Cleantech research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Many of these organizations offer help to startups at all stages of development and provide critical resources like business and marketing support, mentorship, and more.
We are lucky to have so many support organizations in the area, but we know it can be hard for an entrepreneur in Cleantech to navigate all of them.
That's why we're bringing together concept/early stage startup founders and startup support organizations specializing in Cleantech for this special event where we'll help founders:
CONNECT with experts who can guide you in your journey from idea to commercialization
DISCUSS ideas and challenges with other entrepreneurs and learn from their experiences
ACCESS a guide showcasing resources at the inflection points along the path to entrepreneurial success
Hear from people who have participated in these startup support organizations, prepare your questions regarding where you are in your journey. They will be there to help you succeed and have provided some great offers for attendees to help guide you along your journey.
Agenda
5:30 - 6:00 pm: Registration
6:00 - 6:15 pm: MITEF intro, event overview, and purpose
6:15 - 7:50 pm: Startup and supporting organizations presentations
7:50 - 8:50 pm: Networking and tabletop discussions between entrepreneurs and Supporting organizations
8:50 - 9:00 pm: Wrap Up
———————————————
MIT $100K Accelerate Finale 2020
Monday, February 10
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM EST
MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Join us for an action-packed evening as we highlight some of MIT's most exciting student entrepreneurs and their startups!
This event is the culmination of MIT $100K's second competition of the school year: ACCELERATE. Our semi-finalist teams have worked with dedicated mentors to get ready for the main event. Don't forget - the audience gets to pick our $10K grand prize winner!
Doors will open at 6:30pm. Ticketed attendees are guaranteed seats until 6:45pm, at which point we will allow waitlisted attendees to be seated. Presentations start promptly at 7:00pm.
———————————
Tuesday, February 11
———————————
Speaker Series with Don Baer
Tuesday, February 11
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST
Harvard, Wexner 434AB, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Don Baer is a Spring 2020 Walter Shorenstein Fellow. He has had a career that spans roles as a media and communications executive for a range of business, government, political and non-profit enterprises. Since 2014 he has been the Chair of PBS’s Board of Directors. He is also the lead independent director and member of the Board of Directors of the Meredith Corporation, a publicly held media company that owns magazines, television stations and online services.
From 2012-18, Baer was Worldwide CEO and Chair of the strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller, and was Global Chair of its successor firm BCW from 2018-19. Previously he was White House Communications Director and Chief Speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, and helped lead his 1996 re-election campaign. Baer is also a former journalist covering national affairs and politics, a media executive at Discovery Communications, and a lawyer.
While at the Kennedy School, Baer will lead a series of study groups on the potential intersection between public media and the private sector in the national conversation, as well as participate in other activities at the Shorenstein Center, the Center for Public Leadership, and HKS. His fellowship is co-sponsored by the Center for Public Leadership.
——————————————
Systems Thinking Webinar: Nicholas A. Ashford, "Sustainable Development at a Crossroads"
Tuesday, February 11
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Webinar
Join us for a free webinar with Nicholas A. Ashford, MIT Professor of Technology and Policy and Director of the MIT Technology and Law Program.
About the Talk: "Sustainable Development at a Crossroads: Challenges for Industrial Growth, Economic Welfare, Employment, and Environment"
The most important barrier to achieving a transformation to a more sustainable industrial system is lock-in or path dependency due to (1) the failure to envision, design, and implement policies that achieve co-optimization, or the mutually reinforcing – rather than compromising – of societal goals (increasing economic welfare, environmental quality, and employment/earning capacity) and (2) entrenched economic and political interests that game (and gain from) the present system and advancement of its current trends. System-wide change requires system-wide thinking and action -- and direct confrontation of wrong-headed policies.
About the Speaker: Nicholas A. Ashford is Professor of Technology & Policy and Director of the Technology & Law Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he teaches courses in Environmental Law, Policy, and Economics; Law, Technology, and Public Policy; and Technology, Globalization, and Sustainable Development. Dr. Ashford is a Faculty Associate of the Center for Socio-technical Research in the School of Engineering; the Institute for Work and Employment Research in the Sloan School of Management; and the Environmental Policy Group in the Urban Studies Department. He holds both a Ph.D. in Chemistry and a Law Degree from the University of Chicago, where he also received graduate education in Economics.
——————————————
Once Upon a Neighborhood: A History of the South End from Alison Barnet
Tuesday, February 11
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Northeastern, Snell Library 90, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston
Join the Archives and Special Collections in learning about the history of the South End from Alison Barnet, a local author who will be sharing from her book Once Upon a Neighborhood: A Timeline and Anecdotal History of the South End of Boston. Learn about events big and small that took place not far from Northeastern's campus from 1600 to 2015. Get to know the South End both as a place and as its own character.
Part of the Neighborhood Matters series.
Lunch will be served.
——————————————
The State of Recycling: Changing Standards, Facts, and Fallacies!
Tuesday, February 11
12–1:30 pm
Harvard, WCC Milstein East A, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Presented by the Harvard Law School Green team, this is a talk with Gretchen Carey, Recycling and Organizs Coordinator for Republic Services, Recycling Vendor for Harvard University about The State of Recycling: Changing Standards, Facts, and Fallacies!
Dessert will be served
——————————————
Documentary Screening and Panel: The Game Changers
Tuesday, February 11
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM EST
Harvard Business School, 500 Soldiers Field Road, Spangler Auditorium, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/documentary-screening-and-panel-the-game-changers-tickets-90468414463
Featured screening and panel for the award-winning Netflix documentary, The Game Changers.
Please join us for a curated screening and panel discussion of the Netflix documentary The Game Changers, produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, and Chris Paul. Vegan refreshments will be provided.
Moderator - Chris Green, Executive Director, Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program
Panelists:
James Wilks (Producer of The Game Changers, Winner of The Ultimate Fighter, and Combatives Trainer for the US Marines, US Army Rangers and US Navy SEALs)
Joseph Pace (Producer and Writer of The Game Changers)
Scott Jurek (Legendary Ultramarathoner who has won the 153-mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-Mile Ultramarathon, and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which he won a record seven straight times.)
David Goldman, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS (Chief Science Advisor to The Game Changers who also works as Sports Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist for a wide range of collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes)
Nimai Delgado (IFBB Pro bodybuilder and Co-Founder of Vedge Nutrition who has been featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine)
Zdeno Chara (Captain, Boston Bruins)
Paresh Patel (CEO Sandstone Capital, Executive Producer, The Game Changers)
James Loomis, MD: Former Team Physician for the St. Louis Rams and St. Louis Cardinals, current Medical Director at the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The screening will take place on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 3:30pm in Spangler Auditorium.
——————————————
Air Pollution and Population Growth
Tuesday, February 11
4:00PM TO 5:00PM
Harvard School of Public Health, Room G2, Kresge Building, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston
with Neal Fann from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The benefits of improved air quality are often expressed as deaths averted in a single year, which obscures the impact on population longevity and risks over-counting the number of attributable deaths. In this seminar, Neal Fann (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) will illustrate an alternative approach that uses a life table model, relying on data from the U.S. and Chile. The seminar will be held from 4:00 to 5:00 pm at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Kresge G-2. Registration is needed to access the building; please contact Christine Bell (cbell@hsph.harvard.edu) to sign-up.
More information at https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hcra/events/
Contact Name: Christine Bell
—————————————
2019-2020 Killian Award Lecture: Resilience of Law: Stories from Everyday Life
Tuesday, February 11
4:00pm to 5:15pm
MIT, Building 10-250, Huntington Hall, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Professor Susan Silbey
Susan Silbey, an MIT sociologist whose pathbreaking work has examined the U.S. legal system as experienced in everyday life, has been named the recipient of the 2019-2020 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award.
Silbey is the Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities, Sociology, and Anthropology in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and professor of behavioral and policy sciences at the Sloan School of Management.
Official James R. Killian, Jr. Award and Lecture Series website: http://killianlectures.mit.edu/susan-silbey
—————————————
A Europe Fit for the Digital Age
Tuesday, February 11
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Harvard, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Adolphus Busch Hall at Cabot Way, Lower Level Conference room, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Kasia Jakimowicz, Edward S. Mason Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School; Senior Programme Advisor, European Innovation Council, European Commission (2018-2019)
Julia Reda, Fellow, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University; Member of the European Parliament (2014-2019)
Álvaro Renedo Zalba, Rafael del Pino-Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fellow, Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship, Harvard Kennedy School
Chair Karl Kaiser, Fellow, Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship, Harvard Kennedy School; CES Seminar Co-chair, Harvard University
DETAILS As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies change the way societies work and live, Europe's future economic prosperity will hinge on digital transformation and innovation.
With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Union (EU) has set a global benchmark to guide the use of data while preserving privacy, security and ethical standards.
This discussion will center on key questions, including: What are the new initiatives that will allow the EU to lead the way in grasping the opportunities of the digital revolution and artificial intelligence while at the same time maintaining technological sovereignty in critical areas? How will investments in disruptive research and breakthrough innovation support this ambition?
CONTACT INFO apopiel@fas.harvard.edu
—————————————
Comedy or Leadership? A Conversation with Activist-Turned-Comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi
Tuesday, February 11
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Harvard, CMES, Rm 102, 38 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER(S) Noam Shuster-Eliassi, Comedian; Visiting Fellow, Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative, Harvard Divinity School
DETAILS Noam Shuster-Eliassi is a freelance comedian, performer, peacebuilder and activist. A graduate of Brandeis University, she grew up in Neve Shalom Wahat Al Salam (“Oasis of Peace”), the only community where Jews and Palestinians live together by choice, and she performs in three languages - Hebrew, Arabic and English. In 2018, she was named the “New Jewish Comedian of the Year” in London. That same year, she was also the first Jewish performer in the Palestine Comedy Festival and her content went viral in the Arab media.
Now Noam is at Harvard Divinity School's Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative developing her one-woman show in Hebrew, English and Arabic, entitled "Coexistence My Ass". Recently, Public Radio International's (PRI) "The World" did an excellent profile of Noam and her work: https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-09-05/how-comedian-noam-shuster-eliassi-became-woman-who-proposed-mbs
Note: CMES events are open to the public (no registration required), and off the record. Please note that events may be filmed and photographed by CMES.
CONTACT INFO elizabethflanagan@fas.harvard.edu
—————————————
CLIC Panel: Privacy Law Around the World
Tuesday, February 11
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Northeastern University School of Law, 220 Dockser Hall, 65 Forsyth Street, Boston
Featuring Fumio Shimpo
Commissioner for International Academic Exchange of the Personal Information Protection Commission and Associate Professor, Institute of Library and Information Science, University of Tsukuba (Japan)
Moderated by Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law, Northeatern University School of Law; Professor of Computer Science, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University
—————————————
Documentary Screening and Panel: The Game Changers
Tuesday, February 11
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Harvard Law School, Ames Courtroom, 2nd Floor, Austin Hall, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/documentary-screening-and-panel-the-game-changers-tickets-92254603001
Full documentary screening of the groundbreaking documentary, The Game Changers, followed by Q&A with the filmmakers and featured athletes.
Please join the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program for a full screening of The Game Changers, produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, and Chris Paul.
After the screening there will be an opportunity to ask questions of the filmmakers and athletes.
Panelists:
James Wilks (Producer of The Game Changers, Winner of The Ultimate Fighter, and Combatives Trainer for the US Marines, US Army Rangers and US Navy SEALs)
Joseph Pace (Producer and Writer of The Game Changers)
Zdeno Chara (Captain, Boston Bruins)
Nimai Delgado (IFBB Pro bodybuilder and Co-Founder of Vedge Nutrition who has been featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine)
Scott Jurek (Legendary Ultramarathoner who has won the 153-mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-Mile Ultramarathon, and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which he won a record seven straight times.)
David Goldman, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS (Chief Science Advisor to The Game Changers who also works as Sports Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist for a wide range of collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes)
James Loomis, MD: Former Team Physician for the St. Louis Rams and St. Louis Cardinals, current Medical Director at the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Paresh Patel (CEO Sandstone Capital, Executive Producer, The Game Changers)
Moderated by Chris Green, Executive Director of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program.
The screening will take place on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 5.30pm at Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, and is co-sponsored by the Harvard Animal Law Society. A plant-based dinner will be provided.
—————————————
Becoming the Beloved Community in the Midst of Domestic Terror
Tuesday, February 11
6 – 8 p.m.
Harvard, Common Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
CONTACT CSWR, 617.495.4476
DETAILS This event is part of a year-long series titled Theological Bioethics Within Marginalized Communities.
This lecture is a womanist critique of a longstanding racist campaign of domestic terror in the United States. It will investigate the intersectionality of racism, in particular the racist acts condoned by religious communities and by the health care system. It will give special attention to the 40-year Syphilis Study at Tuskegee conducted by the United States Public Health Service.
The Rev. Dr. Joan R. Harrell is a womanist practical theologian and journalist committed to social justice. Her scholarship investigates the intersectionality of racism, sexism, xenophobia, religion, politics, media and public health inequities in marginalized communities. She is a Journalism Lecturer and the inaugural Diversity Coordinator for the Auburn University School of Communication and Journalism and Associate Pastor at the historic Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, Al.
—————————————
Entering a New TECHade - Expert Panel
Tuesday, February 11
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
PAN Communications, 255 State Street, #floor 8, Boston
Cost: $15 – $25
Learn about technology industry trends and topics in the coming years
Join PRSA Boston and PAN Communications as we look ahead at the trends and topics that will impact the technology industry in the coming years.
The expert panel will include brand marketers, reporters, analysts and other tech industry experts to offer a variety of perspectives on the topic.
You will learn: How technology is permeating new markets like insurance, retail and legal? What role will AI play in technology in the next 5-10 years?
Moderator: Nikki Festa (PAN)
Panelists:
Hiawatha Bray, Tech Reporter at The Boston Globe
Steve Kraus, Senior Vice President at Cogito,
Rowan Walrath at Bostinno
—————————————
Light Electric Vehicle Builders
Tuesday, February 11 (and vvery 2nd Tuesday of the month)
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
This is a monthly get together of area LEV builders, converters, enthusiasts, DIY-ers, modders (with wrenching breakout sessions in between)
Thanks for coming out to our informal summer kickoff EV meetup. Now that winter build season is upon us, the group is gearing up for some serious building and learning. Hub motors, mid-drives, programmable controllers, batteries, balancers, gearing, and on and on.
We officially have monthly meetup space at the Artisan’s Asylum on the second Tuesday of every month 6-9pm. For non-Artisan's Asylum members we kindly suggest a $10 donation.
——————————————
Amy Zhang - Systems to Improve Online Discussion
Tuesday, February 11
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
IBM, One Rogers Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amy-zhang-systems-to-improve-online-discussion-registration-91545482001
The internet was supposed to democratize discussion, allowing people from all walks of life to communicate with each other at scale. However, this vision has not been fully realized—instead online discourse seems to be getting worse, as people are increasingly drowning in discussion, with much of it unwanted, unpleasant, or downright harmful. In this talk, I present new systems that empower discussion participants to work collectively to bring order to discussions through a range of collaborative curation tools. These systems enable the following new capabilities: 1) recursive summarization of threaded forums using Wikum, 2) teamsourced tagging and summarization of group chat using Tilda, 3) fine-grained customization of email delivery within mailing lists using Murmur, and 4) friendsourced moderation of messages against online harassment using Squadbox.
In a world of abundant discussion and mass capabilities for amplification, the curation of a social space becomes as equally essential as content creation in defining the nature of that space. By putting more powerful techniques for curation in the hands of everyday people, I envision a future where end users are empowered to actively co-curate every aspect of their online discussion environments, bringing in their nuanced and contextual insights to solve social issues.
BIO
Amy X. Zhang is a fall 2020 incoming assistant professor at University of Washington's Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering. She is currently doing a 1-year postdoc in the Computer Science Department of Stanford University after just finishing her Ph.D. at MIT CSAIL. She is also a current affiliate and 2018-19 Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. She is a founding member of the Credibility Coalition, a group dedicated to research and standards for information credibility online. She has interned at Microsoft Research and Google Research. Her work has received a best paper award at ACM CSCW, a best paper honorable mention award at ACM CHI, and has been profiled on BBC's Click television program, CBC radio, and featured in articles by ABC News, The Verge, New Scientist, and Poynter. She received an M.Phil. in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge on a Gates Fellowship and a B.S. in Computer Science at Rutgers University, where she was captain of the Division I Women's tennis team. Her Ph.D. research was supported by a Google PhD Fellowship and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
SCHEDULE
6:30 - 7:00 Networking over food and beverages
7:00 - 8:30 Meeting
8:30 - 9:00 CHI Dessert and more networking!
**********
Upcoming
**********
————————————
Wednesday, February 12
————————————
Fighting for Tyranny: How State Repression Shapes Military Performance
Wednesday, February 12
12:00pm to 1:30am
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
SSP Wednesday Seminar series with speaker Yuri M. Zhukov, University of Michigan
How does mass repression affect the military performance of soldiers in battle? Past research has highlighted trade-offs between the loyalty and competence of military personnel in authoritarian regimes, suggesting that some autocrats can sacrifice expected military performance by purging competent, yet potentially disloyal officers. Yet officer purges and ``coup-proofing'' represent only a fraction of the state violence to which soldiers in such regimes are potentially exposed. We know very little about how mass repression in broader society affects individual behavior on the battlefield. To address this question, we employ a unique dataset containing millions of individual records on Soviet conscripts in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and millions of arrests and political killings during the Soviet Great Terror in the 1930's. We link the two data sources at the level of individual family and birth location to study how experiences of repression at the individual and community level impacted the battlefield resolve and loyalty of soldiers during the Great Patriotic War. Our preliminary findings suggest that Red Army soldiers more exposed to pre-war repression were less likely to flee the battlefield, more likely to die, and less likely to receive awards for their war efforts. While repression may have helped resolve some collective action problems associated with fighting, it ultimately produced conformity and a crippling lack of initiative.
————————————————
Can media literacy reduce belief in false news? Evidence from the United States and India
Wednesday, February 12
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
Harvard, Wexner 434AB, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Part of the speaker series on misinformation, co-sponsored by the NULab at Northeastern University.
Andrew Guess (Ph.D. Columbia University) is an assistant professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of political communication, public opinion, and political behavior.
Via a combination of experimental methods, large datasets, machine learning, and innovative measurement, he studies how people choose, process, spread, and respond to information about politics. Recent work investigates the extent to which online Americans’ news habits are polarized (the popular “echo chambers” hypothesis), patterns in the consumption and spread of online misinformation, and the effectiveness of efforts to counteract misperceptions encountered on social media. Coverage of these findings has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and other publications.
His research has been supported by grants from the Volkswagen Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, and the American Press Institute and published in peer-reviewed journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Political Analysis.
————————————————
Remaking Globalization
Wednesday, February 12
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Northeastern, Alumni Center, Pavilion Room, 716 Columbus Place, 6th Floor, Boston
Dani Rodrik is Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has published widely in the areas of economic development, international economics, and political economy. His current research focuses on employment and economic growth, in both developing and advanced economies. He is the recipient of the inaugural Albert O. Hirschman Prize of the Social Sciences Research Council and of the Leontief Award for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Professor Rodrik is currently President-Elect of the International Economic Association. His newest book is Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy(2017). He is also the author of Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science (2015), The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy (2011) and One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth (2007).
This lecture is part of the 2019-2020 "Challenging the Liberal World Order" Speaker Series.
———————————————
From JD to Data Science: A Case Study in AI and Law
Wednesday, February 12
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM ET
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein West B (Room 2019, Second Floor), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at
Thomson Reuters Westlaw has long integrated machine learning and AI into its product offerings. In the last few years, deep neural networks have been responsible for a sea change in Natural Language Processing capabilities, making possible what, until recently, would have been considered science fiction.
Zac Kriegman will describe his path from a Harvard JD to a data science career focused on deep learning, and demonstrate a case study illustrating how some of these new techniques were applied to a legal annotation task to produce legal summaries on par with human annotators, allowing Thomson Reuters to “improve quality, expand coverage and reduce costs.”
This event is co-hosted with the Harvard Data Science Initiative. It is part of the HDSI Industry Seminar Series. It will not be webcast or recorded
———————————————
Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country
Wednesday, February 12
6:59 PM (Doors at 6:30)
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cost: $8 - $29.75 (book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes E.J. DIONNE, JR.—Washington Post columnist and professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University—for a discussion of his latest book, Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country. He will be joined in conversation by renowned legal scholar MARTHA MINOW.
About Code Red
Will progressives and moderates feud while America burns? Or will these natural allies take advantage of the greatest opportunity since the New Deal Era to strengthen American democracy, foster social justice, and turn back the threats of the Trump Era?
The United States stands at a crossroads. Broad and principled opposition to Donald Trump’s presidency has drawn millions of previously disengaged citizens to the public square and to the ballot boxes. This inspired and growing activism for social and political change hasn’t been seen since the days of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and the Progressive and Civil Rights movements. But if progressives and moderates are unable—and unwilling—to overcome their differences, they could not only enable Trump to prevail again but also squander an occasion for launching a new era of reform.
In Code Red, award-winning journalist E. J. Dionne, Jr., calls for a shared commitment to decency and a politics focused on freedom, fairness, and the future, encouraging progressives and moderates to explore common ground and expand the unity that brought about Democrat victories in the 2018 elections. He offers a unifying model for furthering progress with a Politics of Remedy, Dignity, and More: one that solves problems, resolve disputes, and moves forward; that sits at the heart of the demands for justice by both long-marginalized and recently-displaced groups; and that posits a positive future for Americans with more covered by health insurance, more with decent wages, more with good schools, more security from gun violence, more action to roll back climate change.
Breaking through the partisan noise and cutting against conventional wisdom to provide a realistic look at political possibilities, Dionne offers a strategy for progressives and moderates to think more clearly and accept the responsibilities that history now imposes on them. Because at this point in our national story, change can’t wait.
———————————————
Darwin Day: The Plausibility of Life
Wednesday, February 12
7:00pm to 9:30pm
MIT, Building 2-190, 182 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
"but the old saying of 'Vox populi, vox Dei', as every philosopher knows, cannot be trusted in science"
-- Charles Darwin, Origin of Species
In celebration of Charles Darwin Day 2020, the Secular Society of MIT presents a special talk by Harvard University cell biologist Marc W Kirschner. Dr Kirschner is known for major discoveries in cell and developmental biology, and for co-authoring "The Plausibility of Life: Resolving Darwin’s Dilemma", a seminal book presenting the scientific case for how living organisms on Earth developed with such astounding variety and complexity. He will discuss his solutions to this puzzle, reflect on the book's relevance 15 years on, and respond to criticism of his ideas by intelligent design advocates.
Free entry. Darwin's birthday party with cake, beverages, and themed games follows talk.
The event will be photographed and recorded.
Facebook Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/459452284933486/
More about Darwin Day: http://darwinday.org
Funded by the MIT Association for Students Activities and the Greater Boston Humanists
Join us the following Sunday afternoon for a winter conifer nature walk outing. Details and (required) registration for the walk portion at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=2140&DayPlannerDate=2%2f16%2f2020
We then meet at Darwin's Ltd Cafe in Harvard Square at 4pm.
———————————
Thursday, February 13
———————————
Sustainability Lunch Series: Corporate Political Responsibility
Thursday, February 13
11:45am to 12:45pm
MIT, Building E62- 262 100 Main Street, Cambridge
What is the role of NGOs in raising awareness of corporate political activity? Join Bethany Patten of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative and Chris Fox of CERES as they discuss how corporations impact climate policy for better, or worse.
———————————————
"The Luxury of Supposing": Black Power & U.S. History
Thursday, February 13, 2020
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM EST
MIT Room W20-307 (Stratton Student Center), 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The celebrated novelist, essayist, and activist James Baldwin wrote in 1968 that “Americans” allowed “themselves the luxury of supposing” that Stokely Carmichael “coined the phrase ‘black power’” in June 1966. In actuality, maintained Baldwin, Carmichael "simply dug it up again from where it’s been lying since the first slaves hit the gangplank.”
This lunchtime presentation emerges out of Dr. Williams’ book-in-progress titled A Black Power History of the United States, which treats struggles over black power (or lack thereof) and white power as a dialectic.
Focusing on the centuries before the United States formally existed, Dr. Rhonda will discuss how white power and race, class, and gender oppression are not aberrations or mere flaws of the country; they are in its DNA. Indeed, the early colonizing imperatives and building blocks of white power in the “New World” – racial capitalism, patriarchal privilege, and the dehumanization of human beings – provided the economic, political, and social foundations for the nation. The tyrannical state of affairs, set in motion before the 19th century (and still with us even today), not only compelled, but also necessitated, black people’s struggles for self-determination.
Please join us as Dr. Rhonda invites us to release our own luxury of supposing in order to think more intentionally about how U.S. history is told and how that impacts us now.
———————————————
Vicious and Virtuous Cycles in Global Climate Policy
Thursday, February 13
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford
Since 1992, the global climate change negotiations have experienced numerous booms and busts. What causes the momentum to change? What induces countries to come together at times and why do they splinter apart at other times? Most importantly, how can progress be sustained and ambition enhanced through virtuous policy cycles so that global climate policy actually works to bend the upward trend of global emissions down to net zero.
Dr. Kelly Sims Gallagher is Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. She directs the Climate Policy Lab and the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Fletcher. From June 2014-September 2015 she served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as Senior China Advisor in the Special Envoy for Climate Change office at the U.S. State Department. Gallagher is a member of the board of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and she also serves on the board of the Energy Foundation.
Broadly, she focuses on energy innovation and climate policy. She specializes in how policy spurs the development and deployment of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, domestically and internationally. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Titans of the Climate (The MIT Press 2018), The Global Diffusion of Clean Energy Technologies: Lessons from China(MIT Press 2014), China Shifts Gears: Automakers, Oil, Pollution, and Development (The MIT Press 2006), and dozens of other publications.
* This talk will NOT be live-streamed or recorded.
———————————————
xTalk: Nataliya Kosmyna on Physiological Sensing in Learning Environments
Thursday, February 13
3:00pm to 4:00pm
MIT, Building 3-270 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Lessons Learned from Physiological Sensing in Learning Environments
Knowledge work has become increasingly complex and demanding.
Given the magnitude of information surrounding us, our never-ending connection to the Internet and the constant shifting between increasingly complex tasks, it is no surprise many of us suffer from low attention span, engagement issues, cognitive overload and increased fatigue. All these may negatively affect our performance on cognitively demanding tasks. Despite several recent research efforts which investigate the measurement of attention, cognitive load, fatigue and engagement, few of these projects have made it to the real world.
In this talk, Dr Nataliya Kosmyna will present a novel platform to help tackle these problems in real-world scenario of learning environment. The platform consists of an improved version of an existing smart glasses research prototype called AttentivU, which measures physiological data of a person: their brain activity using Electroencephalography (EEG) and their eye movements using Electrooculography (EOG).
In her talk Kosmyna will share the results of the interventions she has performed using the glasses; challenges of such projects; ethical concerns related to using physiological data; and possible future use cases of technology involving physiological monitoring like brain signals in the learning environments and scenarios.
Nataliya Kosmyna is a Post-Doctoral Associate in the MIT Media Lab, helping MITili evaluate the real-time biofeedback of learners to monitor and improve their ability to sustain attention. Most of her projects are focused around EEG-based BCIs in the context of consumer grade applications. In 2016 Nataliya also created her first start-up, Braini, for consulting in the domains of Artificial Intelligence for Cognitive Enhancement as well as Neuroscience. She has also participated in two TEDx talks.
———————————————
Restoring Democracy: Lessons from Offender Re-enfranchisement
Thursday, February 13
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Harvard Law School, Milstein East C, Wasserstein Hall, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Abstract: Karlan explores what the recent success of the offender re-enfranchisement movement tells us about both constitutional and popular approaches to democracy. Why has this movement succeeded even during a time when restrictive voting practices have been introduced elsewhere? What is the relationship between offender re-enfranchisement and criminal justice more broadly.
Pamela Karlan is the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and a founder and co-director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Stanford Law School. She has argued nine cases before the Court.
Karlan’s primary scholarship involves constitutional litigation, particularly with respect to voting rights and antidiscrimination law. She has published dozens of scholarly articles and is the co-author of three leading casebooks as well as a monograph on constitutional interpretation—Keeping Faith with the Constitution (Oxford University Press). She has received numerous teaching awards.
Karlan’s public service including clerking for U.S Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, a term on California’s state Fair Political Practices Commission, and an appointment as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. There, she received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service (the Department’s highest award for employee performance) for her work in implementing the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor and the John Marshall Award for Providing Legal Advice for her work on Title VII and gender identity.
——————————————
Fight of the Century : Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases
Thursday February 13
6:00 pm
Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline
Cost: $8 - $30 9 (book included)
Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman
In conversation with Carol Rose, Executive Director of ACLU of Massachusetts.
In collaboration with the ACLU, prize-winning authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman have curated an anthology of essays about landmark cases in the ACLU’s 100-year history. In Fight of the Century, bestselling and award-winning authors present unique literary takes on historic decisions like Brown v. Board of Education, the Scopes trial, Roe v. Wade, and more. Contributors include Geraldine Brooks, Michael Cunningham, Jennifer Egan, Dave Eggers, Louise Erdrich, Neil Gaiman, Lauren Groff, Marlon James, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Morgan Parker, Ann Patchett, Salman Rushdie, George Saunders, Elizabeth Strout, Jesmyn Ward, Meg Wolitzer, and more.
Fight of the Century shows how throughout American history, pivotal legal battles, fought primarily by underdogs and their lawyers, have advanced civil rights and social justice. The ACLU has been integral in this process. The essays range from personal memoir to narrative history, each shedding light on the work of one remarkable organization as it shaped a country.
Chabon and Waldman are donating their advance to the ACLU and the contributors are forgoing payment.
Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of many books, including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Gentlemen of the Road, Telegraph Avenue, Moonglow, Pops, and the picture book The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man. He is the editor, with Ayelet Waldman, of Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation.
Ayelet Waldman is the author of the memoir, A Really Good Day, as well as of novels including Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, and Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. She is the editor of Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons, and with Michael Chabon, of Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation.
———————————————
JP Community Conversation: Climate Change
Thursday, February 13
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST
Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, 30 South Street, Jamaica Plain
Join fellow Bostonians for a Local Voices Network conversation on the critical topic of climate change.
What are your hopes and concerns for your community when it comes to climate change? What are the most important issues in a conversation about our climate - infrastructure, race, socioeconomic disparity, government regulation?
The Boston Public Library (BPL) is teaming up with the Local Voices Network (LVN) and local media partners for a project that seeks to record neighborhood conversations on important local topics. These recordings will be shared on a searchable website for journalists, decision-makers, and other local stakeholders to tune into the community’s real concerns.
We need the participation of local community members to make this a success.
Here's how it works:
Step one: You'll join a 4 - 6 person recorded conversation with fellow Bostonians in your community, facilitated by BPL staff or volunteer hosts. You'll share real concerns, stories, and ideas connected to your experience living in Boston.
Step two: Our recorded conversation will then be transcribed, keyworded and posted on a website to be shared with media outlets, local decision-makers, and other neighborhood stakeholders with the goal of offering a new window into issues that are important to our community.
Together, we'll create a platform where everyone is invited to be heard.
Space is limited. RSVPs are necessary for this program. Refreshments will be served.
About the Local Voices Network:
The Local Voices Network project aims to bring the perspectives and concerns of everyday Bostonians to light through facilitated community conversations that invite anyone and everyone to the table to share and listen. Conversations are recorded and transcribed with the goal of offering media, local leadership, and the greater public a new window into the most important community issues. Learn more at our website here: http://lvn.org
———————————————
Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote
Thursday, February 13
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes author CRAIG FEHRMAN for a discussion of his book, Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote.
About Author in Chief
Most Americans are familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s famous words in the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet few can name the work that helped him win the presidency: his published collection of speeches entitled Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln labored in secret to get his book ready for the 1860 election, tracking down newspaper transcripts, editing them carefully for fairness, and hunting for a printer who would meet his specifications. Political Debates sold fifty thousand copies—the rough equivalent of half a million books in today’s market—and it reveals something about Lincoln’s presidential ambitions. But it also reveals something about his heart and mind. When voters asked about his beliefs, Lincoln liked to point them to his book.
In Craig Fehrman’s groundbreaking work of history, Author in Chief, the story of America’s presidents and their books opens a rich new window into presidential biography. From volumes lost to history—Calvin Coolidge’s Autobiography, which was one of the most widely discussed titles of 1929—to ones we know and love—Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father, which was very nearly never published—Fehrman unearths countless insights about the presidents through their literary works.
Presidential books have made an enormous impact on American history, catapulting their authors to the national stage and even turning key elections. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, the first presidential book to influence a campaign, and John Adams’s Autobiography, the first score-settling presidential memoir, Author in Chiefdraws on newly uncovered information—including never-before-published letters from Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan—to cast fresh light on the private drives and self-doubts that fueled our nation’s leaders.
We see Teddy Roosevelt as a vulnerable first-time author, struggling to write the book that would become a classic of American history. We see Reagan painstakingly revising Where’s the Rest of Me?, a forgotten memoir in which he sharpened his sunny political image. We see Donald Trump negotiating the deal for The Art of the Deal, the volume that made him synonymous with business savvy. Alongside each of these authors, we also glimpse the everyday Americans who read them.
Combining the narrative felicity of a journalist with the rigorous scholarship of a historian, Fehrman delivers a feast for history lovers, book lovers, and everybody curious about a behind-the-scenes look at our presidents.
—————————
Friday, February 14
—————————
Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art
Friday, February 14
3:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Harvard Book Store and Mass Humanities welcome SUSAN NAPIER—the Goldthwaite Professor of Rhetoric and Professor of Japanese Studies at Tufts University—for a discussion of her book Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art.
About Miyazakiworld
A thirtieth‑century toxic jungle, a bathhouse for tired gods, a red‑haired fish girl, and a furry woodland spirit—what do these have in common? They all spring from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest living animators, known worldwide for films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises.
Japanese culture and animation scholar Susan Napier explores the life and art of this extraordinary Japanese filmmaker to provide a definitive account of his oeuvre. Napier insightfully illuminates the multiple themes crisscrossing his work, from empowered women to environmental nightmares to utopian dreams, creating an unforgettable portrait of a man whose art challenged Hollywood dominance and ushered in a new chapter of global popular culture.
——————————————————————
Saturday, February 15 - Sunday, February 16
——————————————————————
India Conference at Harvard - 2020
Saturday, February 15, 8:00 AM – Sunday, February 16, 6:00 PM EST
Harvard Kennedy School, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
Cost: $50 – $195
‘India Conference’ is one of the largest student-led conferences focusing on India in USA. It is organised by the students of Harvard.
At the 17th edition of India Conference at Harvard, we aim to bring together India’s thought leaders for a weekend of discussions and brainstorming sessions to unravel opportunities that lay ahead for our country.
The theme of the conference is – ‘Foresight 20/20’. Some of the esteemed speakers this year include Aroon Purie, Suresh Prabhu, Arvind Subramanian, Mahua Moitra, Milind Deora, Ritesh Agarwal, Uday Shankar, Keshav Suri, Kabir Khan and many more!
The conference has a strong legacy of bringing together government officials, business leaders, academics, artists, athletes, philanthropists, and many other leaders to meaningfully discuss key issues, solutions and opportunities in the context of India's path to global leadership.
Please see our website: http://www.indiaconference.com/ to look at the entire list of speakers, updated schedules, ticket links etc.
Venue
Day 1: Harvard Kennedy School
Day 2: Harvard Business School
Ticket includes :
Access to keynote speeches and all panels
Lunch on both days
Small-group networking events with speakers
Refund Policy: Tickets once purchased cannot be refunded.
———————————————
Sunrise Boston February Orientation Training
Saturday, February 15 - Sunday, February 16
10am
TBA
Training Overview:
*For Sunrise Boston's Training on Saturday, February 15th and 16th. More logistics info below.*
Get to know Sunrise! Get HYPED! The training will be capped at 30 PARTICIPANTS SO REGISTER ASAP!! Registration does not guarantee a spot but we will try our best to take in everyone!
If you can't make it to this training or the training is full, you can do Sunrise 101 online (https://www.sunrisemovement.org/trainings)
>>> WHAT IS THIS? <<<
This is a Youth Climate Organizing Training by Sunrise Boston, a local chapter of the youth-led organization, Sunrise. Our mission is to build a movement of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
Sunrise Boston has a powerful strategy to make climate change an urgent political priority, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel money on our politics, and elect true progressive climate champions for our state and country. During the training, we will discuss strategies to ending corruption in politics and learn why we have gotten to this point in society, specifically calling out the oppressive forces of colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy for disenfranchising many in the name of profit and hate. We will then dive into workshops on mastering the tools necessary to make our plan happen, including bird-dogging, storytelling, and action design.
This training is for any young person (millennials and younger) looking for a meaningful way to protect our climate, our homes, and our values during this critical election year. The training has been designed to be engaging for all levels of background or experience, so whether you're brand new to taking action or a veteran organizer, you'll get a lot out of this experience.
>>> AT THIS TRAINING YOU WILL: <<<
1.) Gain a deep understanding of Sunrise Movement's DNA (our strategy, structure, story, political analysis, principles and culture) and theory of change.
2.) Develop and practice key organizing skills for growing our movement and winning real change.
3.) Make lasting friendships and build community with other youth leaders who share your progressive values and vision for climate justice.
4.) Leave ready to take bold action, armed with the resources, network and support you need to hit the ground running.
Specific Topics Covered:
What's the problem (Climate Background & Political Analysis)
How We Go Here (Political Alignments, Anti-Oppressive Organizing & Progressive Populism)
Our Plan to Win (Sunrise's Strategy, Social Movement Theory)
Strategic Messaging (Sunrise's Story, Messaging Our Movement)
Decentralized Movements (Sunrise Structure & Principles)
Creative Action Design 101, Song in Movements, Storytelling as a practice of leadership,
Sunrise's 2019 organizing strategy (Green New Deal & #ChangeTheDebate)
Bringing it Home (How you can take action post training).
Plus: There will be lots of time built in for getting to know each other and having fun -- including a hilarious no-talent talent show!
>>> WHO IS THIS FOR? <<<
It's for you - whether you've come to Sunrise Boston events and meetings before and want to get the big picture of the Sunrise vision, you're involved with other climate organizations and want to hone your skills/build your network or whether you're just starting out and want to learn more about climate justice, we'd love to have you!
This is a movement of young people – that means we have members of our hub who are high school students, college students, working young people, and more. We love our diversity of ages and experiences and we are committed to supporting people of all identities so they feel welcome and supported in this space. Please reach out to the Sunrise Boston coordinator (email at the bottom) if you have any concerns or questions about this.
>>> LOGISTICS OVERVIEW <<<
LOCATION: TBD
DATE: Saturday, February 15th 10-8pm and Sunday February 16th 10-4pm
DO I HAVE TO STAY THE WHOLE TIME?: You are highly encouraged to attend the full day training if you're able, as the training curriculum builds on itself and you will have more opportunities to learn, grow and bond with other attendees. However, if you aren't able to commit to the full day, you are still invited to attend (as long as you commit to coming to as much of the training as you are able).
FOOD: We will provide vegetarian and vegan breakfast, lunch, and snacks on Saturday and Sunday
HOUSING: If you are coming from out of town or need to stay closer to the training venue, we will help match you to Sunrise Boston hosts! You are also welcome to reach out to friends/family of your own and commute from there.
COST: Sunrise is a new organization run by young people (read: we don't have a lot of money). As such, we ask all participants to pay a suggested registration fee of $20-50 to help us cover the costs of this training (including meals, space, materials, etc.). That said, we do not want cost to be a barrier to anyone -- so ultimately, we just ask people to pay what they can. You can pay the registration fee/donation in person or via venmo (@SunriseBoston) or paypal (paypal.me/SunriseBoston).
>>> CONTACT INFO <<<
For any questions, reach out to Katie Gilmore, Sunrise Boston Trainings Lead, at Katherinegilmore39@gmail.com
———————————
Saturday, February 15
———————————
Extinction Rebelllion [XR] NVDA Training (for all roles)
Saturday, February 15
11 a.m.
TBA
Learn how to take part in XR actions at this NVDA training! This training is for people who are interested in potentially doing civil disobedience as well as people who want to play support roles.
You will learn how to engage in non-violent civil disobedience and have the opportunity to form an affinity group, which is your creative team and support system for Extinction Rebellion actions. Bring people who you would like to form an affinity group with! You can also make one with fellow rebels that you meet while you're here.
Event logistics
Time: Saturday February 15, 11AM-5PM. Please arrive at 10:50AM so that you have time to settle before the training starts.
Location: TBA. We think it will be the Community Church of Boston.
Beforehand
We recommend that you attend an 'Heading for Extinction' talk and an XR orientation before you attend our NVDA training. You can find these events on our calendar. We recommend these because understanding the climate science and more about XR will help you figure out how you'd like to be involved.
If you cannot attend these events, you are still welcome to attend the training. Instead of the in-person events, you may want to watch a version of the Heading for Extinction talk online (e.g. here).
What to bring
wear comfortable clothes
your own plate, cup, and cutlery to minimize waste. We will provide snacks and drinks during a short break.
if you have them, people who you would like to form an affinity group with. Don't worry if you can't, there will be amazing fellow rebels for you to build community with at the training!
This training is free. If you would like to and can bring a contribution, we will collect cash donations to cover our costs at the end of the session.
Preparation for Civil Disobedience. Honoring the movements we stand on. Building community for action.
Contact action.care.xrmass@gmail.com with questions.
———————————
Tuesday, February 18
———————————
Speaker Series with April Glaser
Tuesday, February 18
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST
Harvard, Wexner 434AB, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
April Glaser is a Spring 2020 Joan Shorenstein Fellow, and an investigative journalist at NBC News, covering the technology industry and labor and workplace culture in Silicon Valley. Previously, she worked at Slate, Recode, and Wired, reporting on AI, disinformation and hate online, and social media platforms. Before journalism, Glaser worked at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and various other nonprofits focusing on technology policy. She has appeared on NPR, BBC, MSNBC, and elsewhere. While at the Shorenstein Center, Glaser will study new frameworks for approaching internet policy and keeping users safe online and will report on how data profiling, algorithmic targeting, and weak privacy protections harms specific communities of users.
———————————————
"Everything is better with better broadband”: Broadband Deployment in Rural America
Tuesday, February 18
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM ET
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein West A (Room 2019, Second Floor), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0R50p3j78NYnErFfHiLv-b5JNArE3bBvX1sJ85yl9n8brZA/viewform
Christopher Ali
Rural broadband is currently having a moment in American political discourse. No less than 5 presidential candidates have released plans to connect the country’s rural places, and the FCC has recently announced a $20billion funding program for fixed broadband and a $9billion program for 5G deployment in rural America. Despite these initiatives and interests, however, rural America remains woefully disconnected from a digital world that the urban and wealthy take for granted. Worse yet, the digital divide is growing, not shrinking despite billions of dollars of yearly investment and dozens of legislative proposals.
This talk will explain the policies that help and hinder broadband deployment in rural America. Christopher Ali argues that our current policy architecture grossly over-privileges incumbent telephone companies and systematically discourages new entrants from offering broadband, and demonstrates how the largest telecommunication companies have an economic incentive to keep the digital divide alive. “To rectify this imbalance, we need to democratize our approach to rural broadband policy and funding. This begins with the FCC and USDA, and spreads to state and municipal governments. For the United States to realize universal connectivity of high speed, high quality broadband, policymakers must recognize the crucial role played by municipalities, cooperatives, and local ISPs in connecting the rural unconnected,” says Ali.
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/everything-better-better-broadband-featuring-christopher-ali at 12:00pm on February 18, 2020.
——————————————
Considering the Last Mile Problem in Food System Resilience
Tuesday, February 18
6:00pm to 7:30pm
Northeasterbm Renaissance_Park, 909, 9th floor, 1135 Tremont Street, Boston
Talk by Christopher Bosso, Professor and Associate Director, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University
Each academic year, the Northeastern University’s Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, the Northeastern Humanities Center, and the Department of Political Science host a lecture series focused on “Contemporary Issues in Security and Resilience” (formerly “Controversial Issues in Security and Resilience”).
——————————————
The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception
Tuesday, February 18
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store and the Union of Concerned Scientists welcome DR. DAVID MICHAELS—celebrated author and former Assistant Secretary for Labor of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—for a discussion of his book, The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception. He will be joined in conversation by author and Harvard Law professor LAWRENCE LESSIG.
About The Triumph of Doubt
America is a country of everyday crises—big, long-spanning problems that persist, mostly unregulated, despite their toll on the country's health and vitality. And for every case of government inaction on one of these issues, there is a set of familiar, doubtful refrains: The science is unclear. The data is inconclusive. Regulation is unjustified. It's a slippery slope.
Is it?
The Triumph of Doubt traces the ascendance of science-for-hire in American life and government, from its origins in the tobacco industry in the 1950s to its current manifestations across government, public policy, and even professional sports. Well-heeled American corporations have long had a financial stake in undermining scientific consensus and manufacturing uncertainty; in The Triumph of Doubt, former Obama and Clinton official David Michaels details how bad science becomes public policy—and where it's happening today.
Amid fraught conversations of "alternative facts" and "truth decay," The Triumph of Doubt wields its unprecedented access to shine a light on the machinations and scope of manipulated science in American society. It is an urgent, revelatory work, one that promises to reorient conversations around science and the public good for the foreseeable future.
*********
------------
Resource
------------
*********
Environmental Voter Project's Spring Internship Program is now accepting applications at https://www.environmentalvoter.org/jobs/intern
Can you help us spread the word by forwarding this email to anybody who might be interested in joining us this winter/spring?
Located in our Boston office, our Spring Internship Program is great for anybody who's interested in learning more about environmental politics, cutting-edge voter turnout techniques, and data analytics.
All interested parties are encouraged to apply.
For more information and details on how to apply see https://www.environmentalvoter.org/jobs/intern
————————————
Living With Heat - Urban Land Institute report on expected climate impact in Boston
————————————
Solar bills on Beacon Hill: The Climate Minute Podcast
————————————
Envision Cambridge citywide plan
——————————
Climate Resilience Workbook
——————————
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
————————————
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
———————————
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!
——————————
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/
****************************************
———————————————————————————
Links to events at over 50 colleges and universities at Hubevents: http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
MIT Events: http://calendar.mit.edu
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
Boston Science Lectures: https://sites.google.com/view/bostonsciencelectures/home
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
Adam Gaffin’s Universal Hub: https://www.universalhub.com/
Extinction Rebellion: https://xrmass.org/action/
Sunrise Movement: https://www.facebook.com/SunriseBoston/events/
Mission-Based Massachusetts is an online discussion group for people who are interested in nonprofit, philanthropic, educational, community-based, grassroots, and other mission-based organizations in the Bay State. This is a moderated, flame-free email list that is open to anyone who is interested in the topic and willing to adhere to the principles of civil discourse. To subscribe email
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment