[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Feb 13 19:39:32 PST 2011
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 at world.std.com
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MIT
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Monday, February 14, 2011
Sustainability at Sloan: Juliet Schor - Plenitude
Speaker: Juliet Schor
Time: 11:45a–1:00p
Location: E62-262
The MIT Sustainability at Sloan Speaker Series presents:
Plenitude: How and why millions of Americans are creating a time-rich,
ecologically-light, small-scale, high-satisfaction economy
Lunch will be served at 11:45AM
Juliet Schor's recent book Plenitude offers a groundbreaking
intellectual statement about the economics and sociology of ecological
decline, suggesting a radical change in how we think about consumer
goods, value, and ways to live. Schor is the bestselling author of The
Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure and The
Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need
Web site: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/sustainability/speakers.php
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Sustainability at Sloan Speaker Series, Sustainability at MIT
For more information, contact: Jason Jay
jjay at mit.edu
----------------------
Monday, February 14, 2011
More electricity for less CO2
Speaker: Yves Bamberger, Scientific Advisor, EDF
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: E19-319
Energy needs for all human beings, coupled with limited natural
resources, global warming, and energy independence, are pushing the
development of electricity. New uses on the customer/citizen side,
deployment of dispersed generation and storage, implementation of the
"smartgrids", building of new plants, change in the regulations: all
will deeply transform the electrical systems inherited from the 20th
century. The arrival of the Internet in the old electrical world will
change the value chain. In the developed countries, the cost of
electricity will generally increase, depending on the political and
regulatory choices. The presentation will try to show some of the
principal factors of this metamorphosis.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact: Jameson Twomey
617-324-2408
jtwomey at mit.edu
-------------------------
Monday, February 14, 2011
Does Disability Insurance Receipt Discourage Work: Using Examiner
Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt
Speaker: Kathleen Mullen (RAND)
Time: 4:00p–5:30p
Location: E51-376
Does Disability Insurance Receipt Discourage Work: Using Examiner
Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Public Economics Seminar
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu
-----------------------
Monday, February 14, 2011
Watson on Jeopardy! : The Turing Test Breaks the 4th Wall
Speaker: Dr. David Gondek, IBM Watson Research Center
Time: 6:00p–8:00p
Location: 3-270
On Feb. 14 - 16, a machine will compete shoulder to shoulder against 2
of the most successful competitors in TV game show history in a trivia
contest which is widely considered to be a test of general intelligence.
Come hear from one of the developers on the IBM DeepQA project, Dr.
David Gondek, that gave us this remarkable system. A viewing party
will follow.
Erin McLean, winner of the 2010 Jeopardy! College Championship, will
give us some tips and tricks on how to beat Watson before we introduce
Dr. Gondek. Being a walking wikipedia is not enough; there is some
strategy involved that may give us an advantage against our silicon-
based opponents.
Web site: www.ibmwatson.com
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): SDM activities - sponsored by GSC, MIT SDM
For more information, contact:
debug at mit.edu
-----------------------
Monday, February 14, 2011
Collision 2 Lecture Series: Florian Dombois
Speaker: Florian Dombois
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location: E15-070, Bartos Theater
Collision 2: When Artistic and Scientific Research Meet
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The ACT Monday night lecture series Collision 2: When Artistic and
Scientific Research Meet draws together artists and scientists from
different disciplines to discuss artistic methodologies and forms of
inquiry at the intersection of art, architecture, science and
technology.
This series is part of AR - Artistic Research, a yearlong
collaboration between the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology
and Siemens Stiftung, Munich, co‑curated by ACT Director Ute Meta
Bauer and Siemens Stiftung Curator of Visual Arts Thomas D. Trummer.
The lecture series is also part of the related ACT course 4.365/4.366
From Bauhaus to Our House.
The lecture series is free and open to the public.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology presents its Monday night
lecture series, Collision 2: When Artistic and Scientific Research Meet
Luginsland (On Art as Research)
Florian Dombois, founder of the Y - Institute of Interdisciplinarity
at the Bern University of the Arts, Bern, Switzerland
Respondent: Ute Meta Bauer, ACT Director and Associate Professor
Luginsland (Belvedere) is an installation and sound piece by Florian
Dombois, winner of the 2010 German Sound Art Award. Dombois? work
focuses on landforms, labilities, seismic and tectonic activity,
scientific and technical fictions, as well as their various
representational and media formats. In his dissertation What is an
Earthquake? Dombois undertook a comparison of historical,
contemporary, artistic and scientific representations of earthquakes
and developed the art-as-Research method. In his talk, Dombois will
also introduce the international Journal for Artistic Research, (JAR),
and give a short overview of activities and research projects going on
at the Institute Y - Institute for Interdisciplinarity at the Bern
University of the Arts.
Florian Dombois founded the Y - Institute of Interdisciplinarity at
the Bern University of the Arts, Bern, Switzerland where he teaches
and acts as the Head of Y - Research.
Web site: http://visualarts.mit.edu/about/lecture.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology
For more information, contact: Laura Chichisan Pallone
617-253-4415
clauraa at mit.edu
---------------------------
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Microsystems for Cell Sorting: Tiny Technologies, Microfluidics, and
Clinical and Global Health Applications"
Speaker: Mehmet Toner
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 34-101
MTL Seminar Series
Refreshments at 3:30 p.m.
Bodily fluids, especially blood, contain a treasure of information
about the functioning of whole body. Consequently, blood sampling and
analysis are of prime interest for both clinical and biomedical
research applications, and hold a central place in the diagnosis of
many physiologic and pathologic conditions, localized or systemic.
However, tapping into this wealth of information has been
significantly limited with the lack of adequate technologies and the
unspecific nature of the information generated from the current
approaches. Among the new technologies with an increasingly broader
impact in biology, microfluidics is extremely attractive for blood and
other bodily fluid analysis. This presentation will focus on our
recent efforts to bring microfluidics to clinical medicine in (i)
cancer, (ii) burns and trauma, and (iii) global health. While each of
these applications has drastically different design and engineering
requirements, the capture of specific cells in peripheral blood is
achieved through the use of binding of target cells to antibody-coated
surfaces in precisely controlled micro-channel flows. In cancer, the
use of microfluidics in isolating extremely rare circulating tumor
cells (CTCs) from ~5 to 10 mL of whole blood and the development of
CTC-chip will be discussed with specific examples for the initial
utility of the CTC-chip in various cancers.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact:
Mara Elena Karapetian
452-2545
webmaster at mtl.mit.edu
--------------------------------
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Screening of "9500 Liberty" by Amnesty International
Speaker: Chris Rigopulos
Time: 7:30p–9:30p
Location: 66-110
Producer Chris Rigopulos will be there in person to give his
perspective on the documentary, as well as assist us in facilitating a
discussion after the film.
Food and drink will be provided.
There is no price for attending or eating/drinking, but donations to
MIT's Chapter of Amnesty International will be accepted.
Synopsis of the film:
Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America?s
explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt
a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have "probable
cause" to suspect is an undocumented immigrant.
9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local
government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the
Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens. Alarmed by
a climate of fear and racial division, residents form a resistance
using YouTube videos and virtual townhalls, setting up a real-life
showdown in the seat of county government.
The devastating social and economic impact of the ?Immigration
Resolution? is felt in the lives of real people in homes and in local
businesses. But the ferocious fight to adopt and then reverse this
policy unfolds inside government chambers, on the streets, and on the
Internet. 9500 Liberty provides a front row seat to all three
battlegrounds.
Web site: http://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/
event.php?eid=189635547732102
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Amnesty International, GSC Funding Board, Student Life
Grants
For more information, contact: Cory Hernandez
mitai-exec at mit.edu
--------------------------
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Joint with MIT/Harvard Development & Environment Seminar - The Equity
and Efficiency of Two-Part Tariffs in US Natural Gas Markets
Speaker: Lucas Davis (UC Berkeley)
Time: 2:30p–4:00p
Location: E51-376, Please Note Change in Date and Room
Joint with MIT/Harvard Development & Environment Seminar - The Equity
and Efficiency of Two-Part Tariffs in US Natural Gas Markets
Web site: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/6492
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IO Workshop (Sponsored by Analysis Group)
For more information, contact: /Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu
------------------------
Net Neutrality and the FCC
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
MIT Building E51, Room 395
Presenter Caroline Hunter
Summary A discussion of the FCC's recent Net Neutrality policy
Abstract
Caroline will moderate and lead a discussion on the recent FCC Net
Neutrality rulings. The following is a short extract of topics
Caroline and guests plan to cover:Net Neutrality through the FCC's Eyes
• Limiting power of big business
• Closing the Digital Divide
• Genachowski's Initiatives
Net Neutrality vs. Network Management
• Big business helping small business
• Government as unwelcome complication
• Broadband corporations as community partners
• Service fees and packages - comparison
• Higher education stake in broadband company success
Social Justice, Integrated Progress
• Government as broadband customer
• Job growth in telecomm vs. knowledge empowerment
• Digital Citizenship - First and Second Class
Open Source Community Role in NN Debate
• Copyleft movement success?
• Subversive programming in current affairs
• Resources available to voice position
• Ways to share expertise - Installfest
• Policy in government of tech industry vs. government
• Gaming as method for community engagement
------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Innovations in Agricultural Processes: A Panel sponsored by the 2011
Yunus Innovation Challenge
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location: 66-110
Come hear panelists discuss challenges and gaps current Agricultural
processes. Around the world 550 million smallholder farmers lack
access to mechanized agricultural technology. This year's Yunus
Innovation Challenge calls for locally and environmentally sustainable
innovations to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/idi/yunus_2011.htm
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): International Development Initiative
For more information, contact: Laura Sampath
617-253-7052
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
MIT Colloquium on the Brain and Cognition: Bidwell Memorial Lecture:
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease): Lessons from
Genetics
Speaker: Robert Brown, UMASS Medical
Time: 4:00p–5:30p
Location: 46-3002
MIT Colloquium on the Brain and Cognition
This lecture series, held weekly during the academic year, features a
wide array of speakers from all areas of neuroscience and cognitive
science research. The social teas that follow these colloquia bring
together students, staff, and faculty to discuss the talk, as well as
other research activities within Building 46, at MIT, and around the
world. This event is co-sponsored by The Department of Brain and
Cognitive Sciences, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and the
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult-onset degenerative
disorder of motor neurons, typically leading to paralysis and death in
five years or less. About 10% of cases are inherited, usually as
dominant traits (familial ALS or FALS). Over the last two decades,
several FALS genes have been identified, including SOD1, TDP43 and FUS/
TLS. Numerous investigations support the view that the mutant proteins
are unstable and readily provoked to misfold, thereby acquiring toxic
properties. Transgenic expression of mutant SOD1 protein in mice and
cells generates animal and cell-based models of FALS, which have
assisted in elucidating molecular events and targets for therapy. More
recent data suggest that post-translational modifications of non-
mutant SOD1 confer toxic attributes on the protein in sporadic ALS,
mimicking the influence of the SOD1 mutations in FALS. These
investigations have identified broad themes in the biology of motor
neuron disease as well as approaches to therapy; these concepts are
likely to be relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders.***Please
see the series website for more information.
Web site: http://bcs.mit.edu/newsevents/colloquia.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Brain and Cognitive
Sciences, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
For more information, contact: Kathleen V. Dickey
617-324-5399
bcs-info at mit.edu
------------------------
Thursday, February 17, 2011
From Elsinore to Monkey Island: Theatre and Videogames as Performance
Activities
Speaker: Clara Fernandez-Vara, Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab
Time: 5:00p–7:00p
Location: 2-105
CMS Colloquium Series
What do Shakespeare and videogames have in common? Clara Fernandez-
Vara, a Comparative Media Studies alumna, explains her journey from
researching Shakespeare in performance to studying and developing
videogames. Applying concepts from theatre in performance illuminates
the relationship between the player and the game, as well as between
game and narrative.
Videogames are not theatre, but the comparison gives way to productive
questions: What is the dramatic text of the game? How does this text
shape the actions of the player? Who are the performers? Who is the
audience? These questions will be addressed in the context of
adventure games, a story-driven genre where the player solves puzzles
that are integrated in the fictional world of the game.
Web site: http://cms.mit.edu/events/talks.php#021711
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cms at mit.edu
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
What Do 23 Million Loans Say About the Impact of Monetary Policy on
Credit Risk-Taking?
Speaker: Jose Luis Peydro (European Central Bank)
Time: 5:30p–7:00p
Location: at Harvard Littauer M16
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT/Harvard Applied Theory Workshop - (New Workshop Spring
2011)
For more information, contact: Theresa Benevento
-----------------------
Energy Club networking event with Clean Economy Network
February 17, 2011 6:00p–8:00p
Please join us for a night of socializing and networking with the
Boston Clean Economy Network (CEN). We'll have beer, soda, and food.
The Clean Economy Network enables business professionals, academia and
policy makers with an interest in renewable energy to connect with one
another, to promote the growth of the renewable energy industry. CEN
provides opportunities for networking, education and business
creation. Please see http://boston.cleaneconomynetwork.org/ for more
information.
The CEN Boston Chapter's members are active across many facets of the
New England clean energy and environment community and are eager to
meet and connect with MIT Energy Club members. CEN expects 40-60 of
its Boston professionals to attend, and they're very excited to meet us.
We look forward to seeing you there! Please RSVP at the Doodle poll
link below if you plan to attend so that we can order enough food.
Also, bring some beer money in the event outside funding for alcohol
isn't found.
Category: career development
Location: Blue Room of Walker Memorial (2nd floor; directions to the
room will be posted in the building)
Sponsored by: MIT Energy Club, Boston Clean Economy Network (CEN)
Admission: Open to the public
For more information: Contact Melissa Zgola
(607) 351-2424
mzgola at mit.edu
http://doodle.com/shmvd9ynudriabmq
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
Architecture Lecture Series
Speaker: Anton Garcia-Abril and Debora Mesa Molina, Architects, Madrid
Time: 6:30p–8:00p
Location: 7-431
PoPs: Prototypes of Prefabrication
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture
For more information, contact: 617-253-7791
----------------------
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Human Diversity and Social Order Forum: Diversity on the World Stage
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location: E14, Media Lab Complex
Human Diversity and Social Order Forum Series
February and March bring a series of forums to examine how the
inherent and occasionally difficult diversity of humans shapes their
lives, their creativity, and the political and social context of their
existence. Titles include: The Fruits of Diversity, Diversity on the
World Stage, Minorities in the United States, and Education in the
United States.
Diversity on the World Stage: We will explore the competition among a
handful of sovereign powers, the exploitation of peoples and global
resources, the relevance of economic power, and the efficacy of
international institutions created to mitigate conflicts. As we
struggle to define a universal set of rights and modes of conduct,
diverse peoples of the world take their cues from current global
interactions and enter the world stage with their crafts, mores, and
world views.
Speakers
* Chair: Bishwapriya Sanyal, Ford International Professor of Urban
Development and Planning, MIT
* Nazli Choucri, Professor of Political Science, Associate Director of
the MIT Technology and Development Program, and Head of the Middle
East Program at MIT
* Geoffrey A. P. Groesbeck, Legatum Fellowships Programs, Legatum
Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT
* Joanne Mariner, Director, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program,
Human Rights Watch
Web site: http://mit150.mit.edu/events/diversity-world-stage
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT150 Office
For more information, contact: human-diversity-forums at mit.edu
-------------------------------
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Pianist Ran Blake & Vocalist Dominique Eade
Time: 8:00p–10:00p
Location: 14W-111, Killian Hall
A cult figure surrounded by the same mysterious aura that permeates
the classic Film Noir scenes that so inspire him, Boston-based pianist/
composer and pioneering New England Conservatory educator Ran Blake
has been one of improvised music's most respected and incomparable
voices for more than 40 years. His noteworthy collaborators on record
have included Anthony Braxton, Clifford Jordan, Steve Lacy, Jeanne
Lee, and Houston Person among others, but his seminal solo recordings
have defined his discography and his career. As former student John
Medeski puts it in the "All That Is Tied" liner notes, "alone at the
piano is how Ran Blake reveals the depth of his musical universe most
completely."
Vocalist and composer Dominique Eade performs at New York's finest
jazz venues, tours Europe, has recorded for RCA Victor and has served
on the faculty of New England Conservatory since 1984. She has
collaborated with Benny Golson, Ran Blake, Fred Hersch, Alan Dawson,
Dave Holland, George Mraz and Lewis Nash, among many others. Eade has
been highly active on the Boston jazz scene, including performances
with Bill Pierce, Mick Goodrick, Orange Then Blue and Either Orchestra.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Music and Theater Arts
For more information, contact: 617/253-2906
------------------------------------
Friday, February 18, 2011
Building Technology Lecture Series: Some Lessons Learned From Two
Decades of Promoting Natural Disaster Risk Reduction
Speaker: Brian Tucker, President, GeoHazards International
Time: 12:30p–2:00p
Location: 4-231
Building Technology Spring Lecture Series
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Building Technology Program, Department of Architecture
For more information, contact: Kathleen Ross
617 253 1876
kross at mit.edu
-------------------------------
Friday, February 18, 2011
Atmospheric Organic Nanoparticles: Importance, Challenges and Progress
Speaker: Lea Hildebrandt, Carnegie Mellon University
Time: 3:00p–4:00p
Location: 66-110
Chemical Engineering Department Seminar Series
See speakers, talk titles, and dates at http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html
I will present recent results from laboratory experiments and ambient
measurements which shed light on organic aerosol formation, the
interaction of different organic aerosol types, and their chemical
transformation. Firstly, measurements at a remote coastal site suggest
that organic aerosol is transformed significantly in the atmosphere,
and that the photochemical age of organic aerosol may be just as
important as its source in understanding concentrations and
characteristics. Secondly, aerosol production experiments using a
state-of-the-art environmental chamber showed that aerosol mass yields
from anthropogenic organic aerosol precursors are much higher than
previously reported. Finally, we developed a new experimental method
to understand the interaction of organic aerosol from different
sources. Our results are consistent with pseudo-ideal mixing of
anthropogenic and biogenic organic aerosol components at equilibrium.
All of these findings have been used to more accurately represent
organic aerosol in chemical transport models. Results from the updated
model agree much better with observations of organic aerosol
concentrations and approximate oxidative states in highly polluted as
well as pristine environments.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemical Engineering Department
For more information, contact: Melanie Miller
617-253-6500
melmils at mit.edu
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Harvard
----------
The New Sick Man of Europe? Greece in Crisis
WHEN Mon., Feb. 14, 2011, 4:15 – 5:45 p.m.
WHERE WAPPP Cason Seminar Room (T-102), Taubman Building, Harvard
Kennedy School, 79 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-
Central Europe
SPEAKER(S) Iason Athanasiadis, freelance writer, photographer,
political analyst, and television producer
CONTACT INFO ilyana_sawka at hks.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis/
-----------------------------
Loeb Fellowship Seminar: "From Landscapes of Extraction to Creative
Industries of Organic Matter and Waste"
WHEN Mon., Feb. 14, 2011, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Stubbins Rm 112, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR This discussion is one of a four-part series
called Much, Much More, with Much, Much Less: Loeb Fellows invite...
organized by the Loeb Fellows.
SPEAKER(S)
Colleen Hansel - Materials Research Science and Engineering Center,
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Manuel (Manman) Mansylla, Trashpatch
Pablo Rey, Basurama
Moderator: Richard Forman, GSD professor of advanced environmental
studies in the field of landscape ecology
CONTACT INFO Sally Young: syoung at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE
This event is free and open to the public. Valentine's Day
refreshments will be served.
Technology has no limits. Science has no limits. Human creativity and
imagination have no limits. The limits are imposed by matter. Raw
materials are being extracted from the remotest of geographies and we
are beginning to exhaust the last reservoirs of available minerals in
order to perpetuate a production system based on disposability and the
consumption of wholes, not parts; of large, not small; of new, not
old; of multiple, not the one that is needed. In order to extract such
minerals, we often deplete forests, along with the cultures that
inhabit them, or contaminate river basins. Science and technology can
produce brilliant responses to our environmental problems, but unless
they take into account the source of the materials they consume, the
counter landscapes of extraction, those of waste and slums (people get
displaced as we render their land useless through monoculture or
extraction), will continue to grow; setting off our good intentions to
move towards a more sustainable future.
In the midst of the conundrums of "green development" three activities
are acquiring a preeminent role: reinserting waste into the cycles of
matter and production; re-using, adapting and renovating existing
material culture; and last but not least, computing the economic value
of biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and vegetation mantles whose
market value cannot currently compete against the minerals that
underlie them, even though our access to vital resources like oxygen
and water depend on them. Research efforts geared towards developing
industries of waste, bio-tectonics and bio-mineralization should at
the very least equate those assigned to developing alternative sources
of renewable energy (in some cases, they are one and the same thing).
Because we believe that design disciplines are called to play an
important role in reshaping and retrofitting our environments,
productions systems, commodities, ways of life and values, we propose
to host a dialogue between a scientist of innovative biomaterials,
emerging designers working with waste and the design community at the
GSD in order to reflect upon the ways in which we can design less
wasteful buildings and objects, adapt what we have to new uses and
take into consideration the source of the materials we select as well
as their socio-environmental impact.
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/index.cgi
----------------------------------
Tuesday, February 15, 12 p.m.
"Are Colbert, Stewart and Leno Just Kidding? The covert power of
political humor and mock journalism." Otto Santa Ana, associate
professor, Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, UCLA.
Kalb Seminar Room, Taubman 275, Kennedy School of Government
------------------------------------
February 14 |ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar Series
12 - 1:30PM
"Perspectives on Energy Policy Making"
Dick Benschop
Shell
Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Building, Kennedy School
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/events.htm
-----------------------------------------
Brown Bag Lunch: Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood –
Obstacles to Peace in the Middle East or Opportunities?
WHEN Tue., Feb. 15, 2011, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Pound Hall, Room 202, Harvard Law School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Ethics, Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences,
Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S) Robert Pastor
COST Free and open to the public
NOTE
The foreign policy of the United States and its allies have been based
on the premise that all three organizations are immutable threats to
peace in the Middle East and thus, these organizations should be
defeated or suppressed for peace to be possible. Pastor has studied
and held conversations in the past four years with leaders from Hamas
and, to a lesser extent, with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt. He contends that all three groups have deep
roots in their societies, and a policy of suppression has made peace
and democracy more difficult to achieve, not less. He just returned
from two weeks in the Middle East and believes that the recent changes
in Egypt makes the need to find a more effective and inclusive
strategy all the more urgent.
Drinks and dessert will be served.
LINK http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/hamas-and-hezbollah-obstacles-to-peace-in-the-middle-east-or-opportunities/
-----------------------------------
2/15/11, 12:30 pm ET
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St., Cambridge, MA
RSVP is required to ashar at cyber.law.harvard.edu
Topic: Whose choice? ICTs for “development” and the lives people
value
Guests: Dorothea Kleine, Lecturer at the UNESCO Chair/Centre in ICT4D,
Royal Holloway, University of London
Recognising that ICTs are powerful tools shaping people’s everyday
lives, practitioners, policy-makers and academics in the ICT for
development (ICT4D) field engage with these technologies in the name
of “development”. Yet understandings of development differ and too
often remain implicit and removed from participatory processes
involving the intended users. Techno-euphoria and the focus on
universal access distracts from the very individual choices people
should have to integrate technologies in their everyday practices (or
not). Working with Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach and its view
of development as freedom, this open conversation will discuss the
diverse and potentially conflicting ideologies embedded in state ICT
policies and technical artefacts and the intended and unintended
consequences. It will explore potential technological and process
innovations which could lead to more participatory decision-making on
policy and technology design – an area where all countries can be
classified as “developing”.
About Dorothea
Dorothea Kleine is Lecturer in Development Geography at the UNESCO
Chair/Centre in ICT4D at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her
work focuses on the relationship between notions of “development”,
choice and technology. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical
Society (with the IBG) and has worked as a consultant/advisor to
EuropeAid, DFID, GTZ and to NGOs. She is the author of Surfen in
Birkenstocks (Oekom, 2005), a book on the potential of the Internet
for the Fair Trade movement and has recently been managing action
research using smartphones to assist socially and environmentally
responsible consumption choices (www.fairtracing.org). She is
currently completing her new book, Technologies of Choice (MIT Press)
which offers an operationalisation of the capabilities approach for
evaluation and project design in ICT4D.
This event will be webcast live; for more information and a complete
description, see the event web page: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/02/kleine
-----------------------------------------------
The Urban is Everywhere Always
WHEN Tue., Feb. 15, 2011, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard School of Design
SPEAKER(S)
Tobias Armborst, Daniel D'Oca, Georgeen Theodore
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Brooke King: events at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE
Tobias Armborst is an architect and urban designer. He received a
diplom ingenieur in architecture from RWTH Aachen and a master of
architecture in urban design from the Harvard Design School. He is
assistant professor of architecture and urban studies at Vassar
College, NY.
Daniel D'Oca is an urban planner. He received a master in urban
planning degree from the Harvard Design School in 2002. He is
assistant professor of urban and architecture history and theory at
the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Georgeen Theodore is a registered architect and urban designer. She
received a bachelor of architecture from Rice University and a master
of architecture in urban design from the Harvard Design School. She is
an assistant professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology?'s School
of Architecture and the associate director of the Infrastructure
Planning Program.
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/index.cgi
-----------------------------------
ABCD-GIS Meeting February 16, 2011
Presenter: Brian Morgan, Putnam Research Fellow at the Arnold
Arboretum of Harvard University
"GIS for Public Gardens"
When: Wednesday, February 16. Noon - 1:30
Where: Room S050 in the CGIS South building at 1730 Cambridge St.
http://gis.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k235&pageid=icb.page190012
------------------------------------
WIND ENERGY: Which Way Does the Media Wind Blow?
WHEN Wed., Feb. 16, 2011, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, Malkin Penthouse, Littauer Bldg., 4th
Floor
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science,
Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR HKS Belfer Center for Science & International
Affairs & Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy
SPEAKER(S)
Beth Daley, Boston Globe environment reporter; Elisabeth Rosenthal,
New York Times environment reporter
TICKET INFO Free & open to the community
CONTACT INFO Cristine_Russell at hks.harvard.edu
NOTE
1st in HKS Clean Energy & the Media Seminar Series
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5388/wind_energy.html
------------------------------------
Changing Habitable Environments on Mars: Implications for Global
Processes
WHEN Wed., Feb. 16, 2011, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Haller Hall (Room 102), Geo Museum, 24 Oxford St.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Origins of Life Initiative
SPEAKER(S)
John Mustard, Brown University
COST Free
CONTACT INFO origins at cfa.harvard.edu
LINK http://origins.harvard.edu/OriginsForum.html
-------------------------------------
Rebuilding Queensland After the Floods: Lessons from New Orleans
Recovery
WHEN Wed., Feb. 16, 2011, 4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE 124 Mount Auburn, Suite 200-North, Room 226
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center for Democratic Governance and
Innovation, Program on Crisis Leadership
SPEAKER(S) A leading scholar and practitioner of urban policy, Ed
Blakely served from 2007 to 2009 as executive director of New
Orleans’ Office of Recovery and Development Administration. He also
led recovery planning efforts in Oakland, Calif., following the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake. He is currently honorary professor of urban
policy at the University of Sydney.
COST Free
CONTACT INFO David Giles: david_giles at harvard.edu, 617.496.4165
NOTE
As 2010 drew to a close, floodwaters were washing across much of the
state of Queensland, Australia. By the time they had subsided, they
had affected an area larger than France and Germany combined, killed
dozens of residents, and inflicted serious damage on remote towns and
major cities alike. Just a month later, Cyclone Yasi smashed into
north Queensland, straining resources and compounding the suffering
already experienced across the state. In this talk, Blakely will draw
upon lessons learned from post-Katrina recovery in New Orleans to
explore the challenges that lie ahead as Australia looks to rebuild
the flood- and storm-ravaged state. Refreshments will be served.
LINK http://www.hks.harvard.edu/programs/crisisleadership/events
--------------------------
Biodiversity, Ecology & Global Change: "Forests in a Changing Climate"
WHEN Wed., Feb. 16, 2011, 5 p.m.
WHERE Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S)
Paul Moorcroft, professor of organismic and evolutionary biology,
Harvard University
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: lisa_matthews at harvard.edu, 617.495.8883
NOTE
Ongoing changes in climate, atmospheric carbon dioxide, and
disturbance regimes are transforming the composition, structure, and
functioning of the earth’s terrestrial ecosystems. Thus far, insights
into how forests and other terrestrial ecosystems will change in
response to changes in climate and rising atmospheric CO2 levels have
relied heavily on the predictions of terrestrial biosphere models that
contain detailed, mechanistic representationsof the biological
processes that underpin terrestrial ecosystem dynamics. In this talk,
Moorcroft will discuss some recent insights these models have provided
on the impacts of changes in climate forcing on the fate of temperate
forest ecosystems. He will then discuss some recent progress on
bridging between these complex, process-based models and simpler,
analytically-tractable formulations in order to develop a predictive,
non-equilibrium theory of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-02-16/biodiversity-ecology-global-change-forests-changing-climate
---------------------------
Do Americans Consume Too Little Natural Gas?
WHEN Thu., Feb. 17, 2011, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Environmental Sciences, Lecture,
Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business &
Government at the Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S)
Erich Muehlegger, associate professor of public policy at the Harvard
Kennedy School
NOTE
Lunch will be served. RSVP to MRCBG at ksg.harvard.edu
-------------------------------
Brown Bag Lunch. "The Longest War: Challenges and Negotiation
Strategies in Afghanistan"
WHEN Fri., Feb. 18, 2011, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Hauser Hall, Room 105, Harvard Law School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S)
Hassina Sherjan and Michael O'Hanlon, co-authors of the book "Toughing
It Out In Afghanistan"
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/the-longest-war-challenges-and-negotiation-strategies-in-afghanistan/
-----------------------------
Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned from Australia's Droughts
& Floods
WHEN Fri., Feb. 18, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Haller Hall – Geo Museum 102
24 Oxford St
Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
SPEAKER(S)
Chris Arnott, managing director, Alluvium Consulting Pty Ltd;
Will Fargher, general manager, Water Markets and Efficiency Group,
Australia National Water Commission
CONTACT INFO Kellie Corcoran: kcorcoran at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE
Arnott specialises in strategic advice to government on environmental
water policy and management. Most recently, Chris authored the
National Water Commission’s inaugural Australian Environmental Water
Management Report 2010. Arnott founded Alluvium in 2006 and has since
grown the business to 35 professionals and revenue in excess of $8
million. Alluvium won the Business Review Weekly (BRW) award for
‘Most Innovative’ professional services firm in Australia in 2008
and has been named in BRW’s Top 50 Best Places to Work in 2010.
Fargher is responsible for providing advice to state and federal
governments on rural and urban water policy and management, including
water markets, pricing, and structural reforms. He has worked on state
and federal water policy in Australia for the past eight years and was
responsible for Australian Water Reform 2009 – the comprehensive
assessment of progress in Australia’s water reforms under the
National Water Initiative. In 2010 he undertook a Churchill Fellowship
to investigate water policy arrangements in Asia, the Middle East,
Europe and United States.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/australia
------------------------------
Primitive Future
WHEN Fri., Feb. 18, 2011, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S)
Sou Fujimoto
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Brooke King: events at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE
Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto will discuss his recent works.
This lecture is part of the series "A New Innocence: Emerging Trends
in Japanese Architecture" sponsored by the Dean's Office.
This event is free and open to the public.
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/index.cgi
---
BU
----
EBE Seminar
Monday, February 14, 2011
12 pm in BRB 113, 5 Cummington Street, Boston
Emerging diseases and emerging ecologies: what changes to the
biosphere mean for human infectious disease
Aaron Bernstein
Harvard Medical School
Lunch to follow in BRB 117
Please contact CECB for questions or comments: cecb at bu.edu ///
617.353.6982
About 60% of emerging infectious disease events are zoonotic and of
these 70% involve the movement of pathogens from wildlife to humans.
Evidence also suggests that the number of emerging infectious diseases
is increasing. Why should this be so? A consideration of recent
zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks reveals that in many instances,
alterations to ecosystems have fostered conditions conducive to the
spread of infections into humans.
The role of altered ecosystems in human disease emergence goes beyond
zoonotic disease, however. Changes to the human microbiome have
started to exact a toll upon human health. Antibiotic use is well
known to spur resistant organisms. A less well known, but increasingly
apparent and well-studied, consequence of antibiotic use are the
effects antibiotics have on the composition of the microbiome and how
these changes may predispose to a variety of emerging and non-
infectious disease states, including allergic and autoimmune diseases.
This lecture will explore, on several levels, how the modification of
ecosystems may influence human health and make the case that, having
evolved in the web of life, humans remain, despite major technological
and medical advances, susceptible to perturbations of it.
------------------------------------
Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011
4:00pm
Photonics Center, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 211, Boston
"Technology Disruptions and Trends: The Next Decade" with Dr. Nick
Bowen, Vice President of Software Appliances, IBM
Faculty Host: Martin Herbordt
Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 3:45 p.m.
About the Presentation: Looking around us, we are surrounded by a
plethora of new technologies – smart phones, wi-fi everywhere, social
networking, solid state disks, business analytics, and “smart”
solutions – many of which barely existed a decade ago.
Predicting the changing landscape of technology is both an art and a
science. In many cases, a deep understanding of the underlying science
of the technology can be a useful gauge in predicting how the
capability may evolve over time. However, predicting exactly when an
emerging technology will explode in terms of broad adoption is an art
at best.
IBM is about to celebrate its Centennial as a company – a rare feat
for an information technology company. The IT industry is littered
with roadkill as major trends, such as the PC Era, client server, and
UNIX, come and go. IBM is a very unique company in that it has
reinvented itself many times to remain a leader in the industry and in
many cases set the agenda for the next eras in computing. Today, you
will see that with IBM around areas such as business analytics, cloud
computing, and Smart Planet solutions.
Dr. Nicholas Bowen has held several roles inside of IBM that involved
understanding how changing technology will impact IBM business units.
He will talk about some of the core drivers of technology changes,
including the notion of disruptive technologies and how IBM has been
able to maintain a long term focus on continual transformation in
order to become an industry leader.
About the Speaker: Dr. Nicholas (Nick) Bowen was appointed the Vice
President of Software Appliances at IBM in October 2010. He leads an
effort in IBM's software division to drive a common hardware delivery
model as well as optimize the ease of client experience with these
products and drive innovation in terms of hardware-software
optimization.
Prior to his current position, he was appointed Vice President of
Technology in May 2008 where he led a group that reports to the
Chairman of IBM on technology strategy and business opportunities for
IBM. He also had corporate wide responsibilities for the technical
community including technical recognition and appointments to IBM
Fellow and Distinguished Engineer. He was also responsible for quality
of all products and services, the development process and development
transformation. Prior to that, in January 2007, he was appointed Vice
President of Technical Strategy and Worldwide operations for IBM’s T.
J. Watson Research Division which includes driving the creation of the
Global Technology Outlook, leading the worldwide operations and I/S
teams, and driving the research strategy, plan and measurement
processes.
From 2000 to 2006 he held several executive positions within the IBM
Systems & Technology Group (STG) including: vice president, software
development, with responsibility for all server operating systems
(zOS, AIX, i5OS, zVM, VSE, Linux), firmware development for IBM
Systems z, i, p, and x, management software (IBM Systems Director) and
hardware management systems (HMC, FSP); and chief technology officer
and vice president of software architecture for the same group of
products. His career started in IBM Research where he held many roles
from Research Staff Member to the Executive leading the server research.
Nick’s career with IBM spans over 26 years and he has experience as a
research scientist, leader of very large global development teams, and
driving corporate wide strategy projects. He received the B.S. degree
in computer science from the University of Vermont, a M.S. degree in
computer engineering from Syracuse University, and the Ph.D. in
electrical and computer engineering from the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst. He is a senior member of the IEEE and a
member of ACM. He served on several Computer Science Advisory Boards
and is currently on the IEEE Computer Society Industrial Advisory
Board. His research interests are on operating systems and fault-
tolerant computing.
Open to General Public
Admission is free
--------
Tufts
--------
Visualizing Culture
February 17, 2011
2:50 pm - 4:00 pm
Halligan 111
Speaker: Martin Wattenberg, Google, HINT.FM
Host: Lenore Cowen
Abstract
Data visualization has historically been a tool used by science,
business, and the military. In recent years, however, it has blossomed
into a medium for journalism, art, and self-expression. I'll discuss a
series of work, with Fernanda Viegas, that shows how visualization can
be used by scientists and non-scientists alike as a way to tell
stories and explore our culture.
bio: Martin Wattenberg is a computer scientist and artist. He is a
co- leader, with Fernanda Viégas, of Google's "Big Picture" data
visualization group.
Before joining Google, he and Viégas founded Flowing Media, Inc., a
visualization studio focused on media and consumer-oriented projects.
Prior to Flowing Media, they led IBM’s Visual Communication Lab,
where they created the ground-breaking public visualization platform
Many Eyes. From 2005 to 2010, Wattenberg founded and managed IBM's
Visual Communication Lab, exploring new forms of visualization and how
they can enable better collaboration. A key project was Many Eyes (http://www.many-eyes.com
), an experiment in open, public data visualization and analysis.
Prior to joining IBM, Wattenberg was the Director of Research and
Development at SmartMoney.com, a joint venture of Dow Jones and
Hearst. His work at SmartMoney included the groundbreaking Map of the
Market.
Wattenberg is known for his visualization-based artwork, which has
been exhibited in venues such as the London Institute of Contemporary
Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New York Museum of
Modern Art.
Wattenberg holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from U.C. Berkeley. He lives
in Winchester, Massachusetts.
-------
Other
-------
Greenpeace Boston Chapter - Arctic Sunrise Tour
Date: February 14th @ 6:00 PM
Description: Boston, MA - Coal Free Future Tour
Description: We are very excited to announce that Greenpeace's ship,
the Arctic Sunrise, is sailing into Boston in February. This is the
last stop of the Coal Free Future Tour.
Greenpeace is continuing its fight against the coal industry with a
ship tour to highlight places like Massachusetts, where people across
the commonwealth are standing up to the coal industry. We are joining
this fight by raising awareness about the true cost of coal and the
impacts of burning coal on our planet and the devastating effect on
people’s health.
If you are interested in any of the following events please register
on this page so we can keep you clued in to important updates and
information!
March and Rally at the State House - Friday 2/18
Join us as we march to the State House to deliver the message to Gov.
Patrick that we appreciate his work on clean energy. We challenge the
governor to be an even stronger leader by shutting down the Salem
Harbor coal plant by 2012.
Open Boat tours - Come down to Rowes Wharf at the Boston Harbor and
take a tour of the Arctic Sunrise! - the schedule is as follows:
Wed 2/16 - Open Boat 12 - 6
Sat 2/19 - Open Boat 10 - 4
Sun 2/20 - Open Boat 10 - 4
Mon 2/21 - Open Boat 10 - 4
Let us know if you are interested in attending one of our events, and
we'll contact you with details.
We are also still looking for volunteers throughout the ship’s stay
to help with tours and other activities. If you can volunteer some of
your time please contact David Lands at dlands at greenpeace.org
Please include your full name, phone number, and email address so that
we can let you know the details of this exciting opportunity!
Location: Rowes Wharf, Boston Harbor
http://members.greenpeace.org/event/view/4022/
---------------------------------------------
Monday, February 14, 2011 from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM (ET)
Robin Chase on Excess Capacity: The Source for the Next Wave of
Innovation
IBM Center for Social Software
1 Rogers Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
http://ctr4ss-robinchase.eventbrite.com/
In this talk, Robin puts a new lens on Web 2.0. She sees it as a
combination of giving end-user "excess capacity" a unifying platform
that allows for incredible speed and scale of solutions. Skype, eBay,
Wikipedia, Couchsurfing -- all great examples. What's up next? Her
favorite opportunities in the realm of transportation and
communications.
Robin Chase is a transportation innovator. She is co-founder and
former CEO of Zipcar (the largest car-sharing company in the world)
and GoLoco (the first company to combine ride-sharing, social
networks, and easy payment). Robin writes, consults, and gives talks
about the future of transportation and how to actually get there.
-------------------------------------
How Cuba Survived Peak Oil – A showing of the film The Power of
Community – How Cuba Survived Peak Oil,
Tuesday, February 15, 6:30 pm, Cambridge Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave.
Sponsored by Cambridge Climate Emergency Action Group.
------------------------------------
*GreenPort Forum: How to Start a Green Business.* Creating green jobs
and developing a green economy are essential to preventing a climate
catastrophe. How can we actually build the new economy? This Forum
will offer nuts and bolts information about how to create successful
new green businesses. With panelists Susan Labandibar/, /President of
the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston; Chris Basler,
Cambridge Community Development Department; Stephen Leonard, Senior
Vice President, Cambridge Savings Bank; and a representative from
ACCION USA to speak about "sprout loans" for new home based
businesses. *
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 7:00pm.
Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Av, Cambridge (corner of
Magazine St. and Putnam Ave)
*For more information contact Steve Wineman at swineman at gis.net *
-----------------------------------
Eye to Eye with Climate Change in the Ocean: Coral Reefs to Cape Cod
SftP’s Public Science Lecture Series
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM, Cambridge Public Library
Lecture Hall
Les Kaufman, PhD, Professor of Biology, Boston University Marine
Program; Senior Marine Scientist, Conservation International; Research
Scholar, New England Aquarium
To marine biologist Les Kaufman, climate change is real and palpable.
Fresh from the field, he presents in pictures and words a scene of
sweeping transformation in the world’s oceans, from the most remote
coral atolls of the Pacific nation of Kiribati, to the threatened
waterfronts and fisheries of coral bleaching
Massachusetts. His message: clean up our act at home, and we can hand
our grandchildren a world as rich as the one we grew up in.
Great background for general readers: The Last Extinction, L. Kaufman
& K. Mallory (Eds.) MIT Press
--------------------------------------
FEBRUARY BOSTON TECH MEETUP
• Date: 2/15/2011
• Location: Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive,
Cambridge, MA 02142
• Time: 7pm - 9pm
• Audience: Boston Area Technologists
• Twitter: @bostontechmeet
• Description: Like the New York Tech Meetup, but in Boston! This
event will showcase 6 startups from around the Boston area. Each will
give a short tech demo, followed by some audience questions. Find out
what's under development in Boston!
http://www.meetup.com/newtech-73
-----------------------------
Wednesday, February 16th
February BASEA Forum
Chris Williams. "The Potential of Distributed Energy"
Location: First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist
3 Church Street, Harvard Square
Time: Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
As a complement to our January Forum which focused on large-scale
overview, we are delighted to have Chris Williams, founder of
GreenLight Distrikt, give an update on single-home energy solutions,
current technologies, and potential for total impact and contribution
to a clean energy future.
-------------------------------
Boston Social Enterprise Community: TechnoServe Mixer and Information
Night!
Thursday, February 17, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)
Venture Cafe, CIC, One Broadway, Cambridge MA
Event Details
Interested in international development, social enterprise, or social
entrepreneurship?
JOIN US at the Venture Cafe event featuring TechnoServe on February
17! TechnoServe alumni, TNS prospectives, and friends of TNS will be
there to hang out, relax and chat about social enterprise,
international development, and social entrepreneurship over FREE beer,
wine and snacks at the Venture Cafe in Cambridge!
Venture Cafe is graciously hosting a mixer and information night to
help connect socially-focused entrepreneurs, including Boston-area
graduate schools. TechnoServe is an incredibly impactful summer
internship opportunity, particularly for MBA and other graduate
students. MIT's SEID club has also helped us to plan and organize
this event, so we hope to see many Sloanies there in particular!
The idea is for former people associated with TechnoServe to connect
with each other and with future people to be associated with
TechnoServe. We've all lived, worked or volunteered in Africa,
Central America, South America, or Asia with TNS and we'd love to
share our experiences. We look forward to seeing you all there!
The Venture Cafe is a unique and truly awesome space for Boston's
entrepreneurial and innovation communities. Read more about them
below, but they are doing amazing things for their targeted
communities in Boston. HUGE thank you to them -- they are providing
space for our event as well as providing drinks and snacks!
About SEID (http://seid.mit.edu/):
Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development (SEID) is a student-
led organization at the MIT Sloan School of Management that seeks to
drive sustainable global development through entrepreneurship. Our
members create new ventures and engage with existing organizations in
emerging markets addressing critical global issues. We harness the
power of business to develop innovative market-based solutions to the
current challenges in the world.
About The Venture Cafe (http://www.venturecafe.net/about/):
The Venture Café was created to provide a resource for the Boston
entrepreneurial and innovation communities. Our mission is to enable
fresh and useful conversations.
Cambridge is a fountain of innovative spirit, spirit that needs a
framework to reach its full potential. The Venture Café serves as a
nexus for helping innovators and entrepreneurs find one another and
collaborate to bring their dreams to reality.
Even in this digital world, it’s important to have a physical space.
Shared physical spaces provide common meeting ground and a forum for
semi-serendipitous encounters that often foster brainstorming and
drive creativity. Meeting in person establishes the trust that’s so
crucial to working together, particularly on risky, underfunded
projects. The Venture Café can provide the framework upon which
numerous experimental “applications” can be nurtured and launched.
Please email Caroline Lundberg at caroline.lundberg at gmail.com if you
have any questions. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at the
event!
Register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1272745817
-------------------------------------------------
Thursday, Feb 17, in Cambridge: [please download & distribute flyer
<http://rule19.org/download-film/film-110217-deceptions-wl.pdf#decep>]
/*Deceptions*/
Chris Pratt, filmmaker: [he'll be onsite available for Q&A after the
film]
Our opinions and perceptions are being managed by a corporate media;
there is no public policy, only corporate policy. How can we reconcile
continual war, wiretapping, unanswered 9/11 questions, torture,
rendition, terrorism, the loss of freedom, police brutality, news
suppression, the bailouts, evaporation of the public option, a
toothless financial reform, no real audit of the Fed, BP's constant
lies, political bribery, uncharged war criminals and corruption beyond
belief?
Media manipulation is orchestrated by an elite never held
accountable. The extent that big money has taken control of the media,
of who & how we elect officials, of governmental policies both at home
and abroad is a reflection of a public that continually chooses to do
nothing.
"If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it
not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will
without their knowing it?" ~Edward Louis Bernays ? father of Public
Relations, author of Propaganda, nephew of Sigmund Freud
"What we wanted was to do was have a terror campaign." ~Howard Hunt,
head of CIA Operation, Guatemala, 1954
(DVDs available for purchase)
*NOTE: early bird short film at 6:40pm* -
*When/where*
February 17, 2011
6:30 pm, doors open for refreshments, extra
*7pm, film starts promptly*
243 Broadway, Cambridge - corner of Broadway and Windsor, entrance on
Windsor
*rule19.org/videos <http://rule19.org/videos/>*
Please join us for a stimulating night out; bring your friends! free
film, free refreshments, & free door prizes.
[donations are accepted]
"You can't legislate good will - that comes through education." ~
Malcolm X
*UPandOUT film series - see rule19.org/videos <http://rule19.org/
videos/>*
-----------------------------
New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
February 18, 2011 - 9:00am - 12:30pm
http://www.RaabAssociates.org
Foley Hoag LLP 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor Boston, MA
FERC Policies and New England; Smart Power and the Future of Electric
Utilities; and Massachusetts' and Boston's New Climate and Energy Plans
FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur will kick-off our 121st Roundtable
with a discussion of FERC's new policy directions on a variety of
issues that will impact New England, ranging from capacity markets and
transmission to both renewable and demand-side resources. As the
former acting CEO at National Grid, Commissioner LaFleur knows New
England well and is well-positioned to provide relevant and insightful
comments for its regulators, market participants, and other
stakeholders.
Next up is Dr. Peter Fox-Penner, author of a new and provocative book
entitled Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future
of the Electric Utilities. Currently a principal at the Brattle
Group, Peter worked in top-level positions in energy policy at U.S.
DOE and the White House, and is also quite familiar with New England,
having spent many years at Charles River Associates in Boston. In
keeping with our "restructuring" focus, Peter's new book envisions the
need for a very different utility industry and regulatory structure if
we are to succeed in transforming the electricity system to meet
climate and other public policy objectives.
Our final panel will feature Massachusetts' and Boston's "hot-off-the-
press" and nationally-ground-breaking climate and energy plans. These
plans will become the primary vehicles for ensuring that a wide range
of energy and climate goals are met through existing, as well as new,
policies and programs, spanning electricity supply, efficient
buildings, and transportation.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2020, just released
in December, will be presented jointly by Undersecretary for Energy,
Phil Giudice, and Assistant Secretary for Policy, Dr. David Cash, both
at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs. Jim Hunt, Chief of Environmental and Energy Services at the
City of Boston, will then present the City's forthcoming climate plan.
The soon-to-be-released report is based on a year-long stakeholder and
community engagement process, culminating in a comprehensive plan and
set of recommendations to Mayor Menino, entitled "Sparking Boston's
Climate Revolution".
http://www.RaabAssociates.org/main/roundtable.asp
----------------------------------
Performance Workshop Opportunity for the Boston/Cambridge Community!
VOLUNTEERS WANTED FEBRUARY 18-21
TO PARTICIPATE IN BREAD AND PUPPET THEATER'S
NEW LUBBERLAND NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY PRODUCTION -- "MANNING"
CHOREOGRAPHED BY BREAD AND PUPPET FOUNDER PETER SCHUMANN
AT MIT (The Cube in the Wiesner Building, 20
<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=20+ames+street+
cambridge
+massachusetts&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.052282,78.486328&ie=U
TF8&hq=&hnear=20+Ames+St,+Cambridge,+Middlesex,+Massachusetts
+02142&z=16>
Ames Street, Cambridge)
(no experience necessary...)
The <http://breadandpuppet.org/lubberland-national-dance-company>
Lubberland National Dance Company, a branch of the <http://breadandpuppet.org/
> Bread & Puppet Theater, has produced dances with political themes
in response to current events, including 10 No-No-No Dances against
Israel's war on Lebanon (2006), 27 Dirt-Cheap Money Dances, with Marx
quotations in response to the financial crisis (2009), and 7 Dances
for Gaza in commemoration of the victims killed on the Gaza
humanitarian aid flotilla (2010).
The Company's latest work-in-progress is called "Manning", and
concerns <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-cables-bradley-manning
> Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old soldier who has spent the last
eight months in solitary confinement in a brig in Virginia, accused of
providing WikiLeaks with classified Defense Department documents.
The approximately eight dances are tentatively titled:
1) 23 Hours-A-Day-Intensive-Solitary-Confinement Dance in a 6' x 12'
Cell
2) Banned-From-Exercise + Denied Pillow + Sheet Dance
3) Guards-Check-Private-Manning-Every-5-Minutes Dance
4) The Brig's Spokesman's "poppycock" Dance Saying His Treatment is
"firm,
fair and respectful"
5) The American Academy of Psychiatry's
"Isolation-Can-Be-As-Clinically-Distressing-As-Physical-Torture Dance
6) Civilized Society's Anti-Torture Dance
7) Manning's, "We're-screwed-as-a-society-if-nothing-happens" Dance
8) Manning's
"Public-reaction-to-the-video-of-the-helicopter-massacre-in-Baghdad-
gave-me-
great-hope" Dance
____________________________________________________________
These dances are choreographed by Peter Schumann and taught by Maura
Gahan and do not require prior dance experience. We are looking for
10-20 persons to take part in two days of rehearsals before a public
performance on Monday, February 21. Participants should bring
comfortable clothes to move in for rehearsals, along with a notebook,
musical instruments, water, snacks and/or meals. For the performance,
participants will wear all white clothes.
Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 18th: Load-In & Meet Participants (TBA)
Saturday, Feb. 19th: Rehearse 10am-1pm; Break 1-2pm; Rehearse 2-5pm
Sunday, Feb. 20th: Rehearse 10am-1pm; Break 1-2pm; Rehearse 2-5pm
Monday, Feb. 21st: Warm-up 5pm; Performance 7pm
All rehearsals and performance will take place in E15-001 (the Cube in
the
Wiesner Building, 20 Ames Street)
This special workshop is presented in cooperation with 4.360
Performance Workshop: Art, Technology, and Live Space, taught by John
Bell. Funded by a Director's Grant from the Council for the Arts at
MIT, and a grant from the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology.
For more information contact John Bell johnbell at mit.edu 617-599-3250
------------------------------------
The *National Conference for Media Reform* is the biggest and best
conference devoted to media, technology and democracy. Thousands of
activists, media makers, educators, journalists, policymakers and
people from across the country are coming to Boston for the fifth NCMR
on April 8-10, 2011. **
Together we will explore the future of journalism and public media,
consider how technology is changing the world, look at the policies
and politics shaping our media, and discuss strategies to build the
movement for better media.
Get ready for three days of strategizing, networking, sharing skills,
swapping information and inspiring one another in workshops, panels,
caucuses, keynote speeches, meetings and parties. You won?t want to
miss this one-of-a-kind event dedicated to better media, technology
and democracy.
http://conference.freepress.net/
-----------------------------------------
Mobile Camp: A Mobile Monday Saturday Event
Saturday, February 19, 2011 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (ET)
MIT Sloan E-51, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA
Mobile Mondays is pleased to announce the 4th Annual MobileCamp Boston
on Saturday, February 19th, 2011 at MIT Sloan.
MobileCamp Boston is a one-day un-conference style event that brings
together entrepreneurs, students, faculty, and telecom industry
professionals to share ideas, network and discuss the latest advances
in the mobile industries. MobileCamp is one of the premier development
focused events in the Boston region and attracts developers from
throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and as far as California, Europe,
and Asia.
This year’s MobileCamp Boston will give participants the opportunity
to learn with visionaries, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, and
carriers in the mobile industry, and to explore advances in the field.
Building on the success of previous years’ MobileCamps, this year’s
full-day event will bring together hundreds of participants and will
feature technical sessions, discussions on industry topics, and the
popular unconference style learning.
If you are interested in leading a session for the 2011 MobileCamp
Boston, or have any questions about the event, please send an email to
'learn' [at] 'momoboston.com'.
http://www.momoboston.com/about-2/mobile-learn-a-day-of-mobile-development-and-design/
-----------
Upcoming
-----------
PechaKucha Boston 21
Tue Feb 22
Mantra, 52 Temple Pl, Boston (near Park St T)
Drinks and chit chat at 6pm. 20×20 talks at 7pm.
Free and open to the public. Cash bar.
http://pechakuchaboston.org/blog/
--------------------------
NESEA's Building Energy Conference
March 8-10, 2011, in Boston, MA.
BuildingEnergy is the only conference where architects, designers,
planners, builders, policymakers, manufacturers, and installers work
together to determine what's possible. Conference sessions range from
emerging trends in renewable energy to deep energy retrofits of
commercial and residential buildings. The Trade Show features 160
exhibitors with the latest sustainable technologies and products.
http://www.nesea.org/be11/
------------
Resource
-----------
Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post
announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships,
programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles
or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's
food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take
place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food
system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food,
farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health,
environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of
organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on
week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let
everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of
subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and
other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
----------------------
Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/studios
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation
-----------------------------------------------------
Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the
Boston Area http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://sustainability.mit.edu/
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://pechakuchaboston.org/blog/
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
--------------------------------------------------
More information about the Act-MA
mailing list