[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Oct 16 18:53:14 PDT 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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I'll be away next Sunday so this week's edition is expanded.  Next  
edition will be published on Monday, October 25 and the regular  
schedule will resume in two weeks.

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GREEN SOLUTIONS EXPO and WORKSHOPS
12pm – 5pm
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Newton Harvest Fair
Newton Centre Green

A Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce Expo with solutions you need to  
reduce your carbon footprint & over 50 exhibitors held under a big  
tent held from 12-5pm in Newton Centre during the Newton Harvest Fair.  
Continuous entertainment, food and games for the kids. Tips on how be  
more environmentally friendly and live a "green" life style.

See exhibitors with green products, services and ideas.
Come to our expert workshops every hour.
Find out how you can convert to solar electricity without paying  
thousands and reduce your electric bills.
Find out how to save money on energy and reduce your carbon footprint.
These workshops and more will help you save money and the environment  
at the same time!

Green Life Style Workshops:  Under the big tent
http://greendecade.org/green-solutions-expo.html

------------------------------

Monday, October 17, 2011
What would have happened to the ozone layer if chlorofluorocarbons  
(CFCs) had not been regulated?
Speaker: Paul Newman (NASA)
Time: 12:00p–1:00p
Location: MIT, Building 54-915
MASS Seminar
The MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) is a student-run weekly  
seminar series within PAOC. Seminar topics include all research  
concerning the atmosphere and climate, but also talks about e.g.  
societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars usually take  
place on Monday from 12-1pm followed by a lunch with graduate  
students. Besides the seminar, individual meetings with professors,  
post-docs, and students are arranged. The seminar series is run by  
graduate students and is intended mainly for students to interact with  
individuals outside the department, but faculty and post docs  
certainly participate.

MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar Series

Web site: http://eaps-www.mit.edu/paoc/events/calendars/mass

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)

For more information, contact:
Roberta Allard
253-3382
allard at mit.edu

---------------------------------------

Towards Robotic Laundry
Speaker: Pieter Abbeel, UC Berkeley, Department of Electrical  
Engineering and Computer Sciences
Date: Monday, October 17 2011
Time: 2:00PM to 3:00PM
Location: MIT, Building 32-D463, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Host: Leslie Kaelbling, MIT CSAIL
Contact: Teresa Cataldo, cataldo at csail.mit.edu
Since Rosie the Robot first debuted on television’s “The  
Jetsons” in 1962, the futuristic image of a personal robot  
autonomously operating in a human home has captivated the public  
imagination. Yet, while robots have become an integral part of modern  
industrial production, their adoption in these less well defined and  
less structured environments has been slow. Indeed, the high  
variability in, for example, household environments, poses a number of  
challenges to robotic perception and manipulation.

The problem of robotic laundry manipulation exemplifies this  
difficulty, as the objects with which the robot must interact have a  
very large number of internal degrees of freedom.  In this talk, I  
will present our research towards enabling a general purpose robot,  
such as a Willow Garage PR2, to perform laundry.  Our current results  
include the ability to fold towels, starting from a bunched towel on a  
table, the ability to organize socks, and a still limited-reliability  
ability to fold a mix of t-shirts, sweaters, towels and pants,  
starting from them bunched on a table.

BIO:   Pieter Abbeel received a BS/MS in Electrical Engineering from  
KU Leuven (Belgium) and received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science  
from Stanford University in 2008. He joined the faculty at UC Berkeley  
in Fall 2008, with an appointment in the Department of Electrical  
Engineering and Computer Sciences. He has won various awards,  
including best paper awards at ICML and ICRA, the Sloan Fellowship,  
the Okawa Foundation award, and the TR35. He has developed  
apprenticeship learning algorithms which have enabled advanced  
helicopter aerobatics, including maneuvers such as tic-tocs, chaos and  
auto-rotation, which only exceptional human pilots can perform. His  
group has also enabled the first end-to-end completion of reliably  
picking up a crumpled laundry article and folding it. His work has  
been featured in many popular press outlets, including BBC, MIT  
Technology Review, Discovery Channel, SmartPlanet and Wired. His  
current research focuses on robotics and machine learning with a  
particular focus on challenges in personal robotics, surgical robotics  
and connectomics.
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Monday, October 17, 2011
Joichi Ito: Enabling Emergent Voices and Expression Through Technology
Speaker: Joichi Ito
Time: 7:00p–9:00p
Location:  MIT, Buidling E15-070, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street,  
Cambridge
Zones of Emergency: Artistic Interventions -- Creative Responses to  
Conflict & Crisis

Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab (USA)
Enabling Emergent Voices and Expression Through Technology
Respondent: TBA

Moore's law and the Internet have dramatically reduced the cost of  
producing and distributing information. This has greatly lowered the  
cost of collaboration and has empowered a qualitatively different  
"public" to think, express, and act without, or in spite of, central  
authority. These changes and advances in technology enabled  
interventions such as low-cost video cameras in the case of WITNESS;  
blogs (Global Voices); or open hardware and software used to build,  
distribute, collect and visualize data from geiger counters  
(Safecast). Ito will discuss how these trends relate to media,  
citizenship, academics, and conflicts. Joichi Ito was named Director  
of the MIT Media Lab in April 2011.

The Zones of Emergency: Artistic Interventions -- Creative Responses  
to Conflict & Crisis Fall 2011 lecture series investigates initiatives  
and modes of intervention in contested spaces, zones of conflict, or  
areas affected by environmental disasters. We will explore whether  
artistic interventions can transform, disrupt or subvert current  
environmental, urban, political and social conditions in critical  
ways. How can these interventions propose ideas, while at the same  
time respecting the local history and culture?

Web site: act.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, School of  
Architecture and Planning
For more information, contact:
Laura Anca Chichisan Pallone
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu

------------------------------

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Materials Day Symposium and Poster Session 2011
Time: 8:00a–6:00p
Location: MIT, Building W-16
Computational Materials will be the focus of this year's Materials  
Day. Computational methods have reached the point at which predictions  
of materials structures and properties can be made before they are  
demonstrated in the laboratory. This has led to new breakthroughs in  
materials design that have greatly accelerated the development of new  
materials and processes that are optimized for a wide range of  
applications. Materials Day activities will include a one-day  
conference featuring speakers from both inside and outside MIT. A  
student poster session will follow featuring 50 to 100 posters with up- 
to-the minute research results from the broad materials research  
communities in MIT's Schools of Engineering and Science.

Web site: http://mpc-web.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): Materials Processing Center
For more information, contact:
Fran Page
617-253-5159
fmpage at mit.edu

--------------------------------

Webinar Kick-Off
Energy Efficiency: America's First Fuel

The Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY) is pleased to  
launch our fifth annual online webinar series.  This year’s series  
will continue Blueprint for Efficiency, with an emphasis on the latest  
developments and opportunities for energy efficiency in the private  
sector. Through weekly presentations from leaders in the corporate,  
non-profit, and public-private arenas, we will explore a range of  
topics around energy efficiency.

This year’s series is a unique collaboration between the Yale Center  
for Business and the Environment and the Alliance to Save Energy  
(ASE).  Founded in 1977, the Alliance is a Washington, D.C. based  
nonprofit organization that works solely to promote energy efficiency  
worldwide through research, education, and advocacy.  ASE encourage  
business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders to use  
energy efficiency as a means to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner  
environment, and greater energy security.

Join Kateri Callahan, President of the Alliance to Save Energy, as she  
kicks-off this year's series by highlighting why energy efficiency is  
America's first fuel.  Providing context, Kateri will discuss the  
changing landscape of the energy efficiency sector by highlighting the  
potential for energy efficiency legislation as well as the new  
opportunities emerging across the energy efficiency landscape. Kateri  
will explore the necessary tenants to deliver energy efficiency at  
scale, and showcase trends being deployed by private sector companies  
who are leading by example as they build their own energy efficiency  
portfolios.


Title:  Energy Efficiency: America's First Fuel

Date and Time: Tuesday, October 18, from 12pm to 1pm (EST)

GotoWebinar URL: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/557211598

Speaker: Kateri Callahan, President, Alliance to Save Energy

Register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/557211598


Kateri Callahan brings more than 20 years of experience in policy  
advocacy, fundraising, coalition building, and organizational  
management to her position as the president of the Alliance to Save  
Energy.  Serving as president of the Alliance since January 2004,  
Kateri leads a staff of nearly 100, oversees a budget of approximately  
$15 million annually, and works with the Alliance Board of Directors,  
which includes Members of Congress, state and local officials and top  
corporate and NGO executives, to establish and oversee the core  
objectives and strategic plans for the organization.  Prior to joining  
the Alliance, Kateri served for 11 years as the president/executive  
director of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, a nonprofit  
organization promoting battery, hybrid, and fuel cell transportation  
technologies.  She also has served as a director of government  
relations for a nonprofit organization, as a non-lawyer professional  
at a Washington, D.C-based law firm, and as a legislative assistant to  
a U.S. senator.


Save the date for our upcoming webinars!

NRG Energy
Tuesday, October 25, 12-1pm EST
David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy (one of the nation's largest  
independent power producers), will discuss a variety of topics ranging  
from overcoming regulatory & policy uncertainty to how large utilities  
invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy.  This will be a  
special live-broadcast event as part of CBEY's GE Sustainability  
Leaders Speaker Series.

Wal-Mart
  Wednesday, November 2, 12-1pm EST
Jim Stanway (Senior Director, Global Supplier Initiatives) and Jim  
McClendon (Director of Engineering) will discuss what the world’s  
largest retailer is doing to improve energy management and supply  
chain efficiency.


Blueprint for Efficiency is supported by the Yale Center for Business  
& the Environment and theAlliance to Save Energy.  The series will  
take place from October 2011 through May 2012. It will be free and  
open to the public through online webcasts that will be conducted on a  
weekly basis.  Each presentation will be recorded and made available  
to the global community through Yale University's iTunesU channel.

Do you have an idea for a webinar, or know of someone that you’d like  
to hear present?  Send us an email at cbey at yale.edu and let us know.  
We also welcome any additional feedback!
------------------------------

The BSA Sustainability Education and COTE will  be co-hosting a USGBC- 
produced webinar titled The Costs & Benefits of Green Buildings:  
Putting the Research into Practice. It offers 1.5 AIA, GBCI and CSI CE  
credits, but it requires persons to be present at the event. There is  
no charge for the event.

The event will be held on Tuesday, October 18, @ noon @ the BSA.

RSVP to Lauren Burn (LBurn at architects.org) by Monday, October 17, if  
you don't want to starve (the BSA generously feeds lunchtime attendees).

The course description:
Green buildings can cost less than conventional ones, but de pending  
on a number of factors it's not a guarantee. However, research on the  
costs and benefits of green buildings provides evidence suggesting  
that they yield a convincing return on investment in addition to other  
forms of value. In this session USGBC and three leading experts will  
give you the understanding you need to pres ent the business case for  
green buildings, including addressing questions about return on  
investment, project financing, cost planning, and value beyond cost  
savings. Real estate owners, investors, and other building  
professionals will leave this training with the knowledge they need to  
shape initial project planning and financing.

Learning Objectives
Summarize the current state of cost, benefit and finance research for  
new commercial and institutional green buildings.
Describe the various research methods that have been employed to  
measure the costs and benefits of green building
Gain practical insights and guidance that you can apply to your own  
building projects
Become conversant in the business case for green buildings and value  
beyond cost savings, and address questions about project underwriting  
and cost planning

------------------------

Tweeting the Revolution: agency, collective action, and the  
negotiation of risk in a networked ageBeth Coleman, MIT
Tuesday, October 18, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/7000
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET and archived on our  
site shortly after.

This paper looks at the impact of social media platforms on collective  
action. In particular, it focuses on spheres of activism where  
personal risk (bodily or otherwise) is the condition of participation.  
For this analysis, I discuss interviews conducted with Egyptian  
activists around the events of Tahrir Square. Issues of copresence,  
witness, and visibility are central to my discussion. This talk is  
based on a research paper developed with my coauthor Dr. Mike Ananny.

About Beth
Dr. Beth Coleman’s work focuses on the role of human agency in the  
context of media and data engagement. She is currently a Harvard  
University Faculty Fellow at Berkman Center for Internet and Society  
and a visiting professor at the Institute of Network Cultures,  
Hogeschool van  Amsterdam. From 2005-2011, Coleman has been an  
assistant professor of comparative media studies at Massachusetts  
Institute of Technology, where she is the primary investigator of the  
Pervasive Media/City as Platform research and design lab. Her book  
Hello Avatar: Rise of the Networked Generation is published by the MIT  
Press. She received her B.A. in literature from Yale University and  
her Ph.D in comparative literature from New York University.
------------------------


 From Neighborhood Watch to Neighborhood Development: Transforming  
Revolutionary Energy to Rebuild Egypt from the Ground Up

WHEN  Tue., Oct. 18, 2011, 2 – 3:30 p.m.
WHERE  Center for Middle Eastern Studies, 38 Kirkland St, Room 102,  
Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Center for Middle Eastern Studies
SPEAKER(S)  Mona Mowafi, research fellow, HSPH; chair, NEGMA Conference
CONTACT INFO  Liz Flanagan: elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu
LINK  http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/2833

--------------------------

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Debt Structure, Entrepreneurship and Risk: Evidence from Microfinance
Speaker: Rohini Pande (Harvard)
Time: 2:45p–4:00p
Location: at Harvard - Harvard Hall 104
Debt Structure, Entrepreneurship and Risk: Evidence from Microfinance

Web site: http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82766&pageid=icb.page450594
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT/Harvard Development Workshop
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento

theresa at mit.edu

-------------------------

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Convergence of Information Technology (IT) & Smart Energy Technology  
(ET)
Speaker: Ahmad Bahai, Texas Instruments
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: MIT, Building 34-101, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
MTL Seminar Series
MTL hosts a series of talks each semester known as the MTL Seminar  
Series. Speakers for the series are selected on the basis of their  
knowledge and competence in the areas of microelectronics research,  
manufacturing, or policy. The series is held on the MIT Campus during  
the academic year on Tuesdays at 4:00 pm. The seminar series is open  
to the public. Refreshments are served at 3:45 p.m.

Convergence of Energy and Communication technologies has prompted many  
interesting research projects ranging from new power devices to signal  
processing and software. In this talk, we focus on opportunities for  
innovation in future energy management systems for mobile systems as  
well as high voltage smart grid applications.

Web site: http://www-mtl.mit.edu/seminars/fall2011.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact:
Valerie Dinardo
253-9328
valeried at mit.edu

-------------------------------

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Crystalline Microporous Metal-Organic Frameworks: Opportunities in  
Energy Research

Speaker: Mircea Dinca, MIT Department of Chemistry

Time: 4:15p–5:30p

Location: MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge

MITEI Seminar Series
A year-long series of seminars given by leaders in the energy field  
sponsored by the MIT Energy Initiative.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline solids wherein  
inorganic nodes are connected by organic ligands to give rise to  
highly ordered and monodisperse micropores with diameters ranging from  
0.5 to ~ 2 nanometers. The micropores are responsible for  
unprecedented surface areas occasionally exceeding 5000 m2/g, making  
MOFs popular choices for energy applications in gas storage or  
separation as well as potentially energy storage. The crystalline  
nature of these materials also makes them attractive candidates for  
studying photophysical phenomena in ordered and/or confined organic  
chromophore aggregates. The various applications of MOFs in energy  
research will be discussed.

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

----------------------------

The Penguin and the Leviathan: How Cooperation Triumphs over Self- 
Interest
Yochai Benkler, Berkman Center Faculty Co-Director
Tuesday, October 18, 6:00 pm
Austin West Classroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School
Free and Open to the Public; RSVP required for those attending in  
person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2011/10/benkler#RSVP
Co-hosted by the Harvard Law School Library
Reception to follow

Harvard Professor Yochai Benkler (The Wealth of Networks) is one of  
the world’s top thinkers on cooperative structures. In his new book,  
The Penguin and the Leviathan: How Cooperation Triumphs over Self- 
Interest, he uses evidence from neuroscience, economics, sociology,  
biology, and real-world examples to break down the myth of self- 
interest and replace it with a model of cooperation in our businesses,  
our government, and our lives.

About Yochai
Yochai Benkler is the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal  
Studies at Harvard, and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for  
Internet and Society. Since the 1990s he has played a part in  
characterizing the role of information commons and decentralized  
collaboration to innovation, information production, and freedom in  
the networked economy and society. His work can be freely accessed athttp://benkler.org 
.

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GreenPort Forum:  The State of the Birds
With distinguished ornithologist Christopher Leahy. Chris holds the  
Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at  
the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He has been a professional  
conservationist for more than thirty-five years, most recently as the  
Director of Massachusetts Audubon’s Center for Biological  
Conservation.

We all know that climate change is real and that weather patterns have  
been more unpredictable than ever. How has climate change and other  
environmental changes impacted the types and behaviors of local and  
migrating birds? What can we expect as temperatures continue to warm?  
The birdlife of Massachusetts is exceptionally rich, containing both a  
great diversity of species and several populations of global  
significance.  However, it is also clear that in recent decades, many  
Massachusetts bird populations have decreased significantly and  
continue to decline. These declines are occurring not just among our  
rarest species, but affect a broad spectrum of bird families in many  
habitats and include some of the most familiar and beloved birds of  
our backyards and countryside –birds that we tend to think of as  
common. Please join us for a presentation and discussion by one of the  
key authors of the just issued Mass Audubon report “The State of the  
Birds” - http://www.massaudubon.org/StateoftheBirds/.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church
459 Putnam Av, Cambrige
(corner of Magazine St. and Putnam Av)

GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable  
Cambridgeport neighborhood
For more information, contact Steve Morr-Wineman at swineman at gis.net

----------------------------

Join us next Wednesday, October 19 at 11am EDT / 4pm PDT for an  
interactive webinar about organizing a Resilience Circle!

Register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/128380358

We’ll talk about how to start a group for your community or  
congregation, including:

	• finding an organizing partner
	• finding participants through "base communities" and the "linking  
method"
	• how to show the idea of a club or circle with others
	• some notes on the curriculum
You will receive a confirmation email after registering with  
information about how to join the webinar. View system requirements  
below.

Before the webinar, please take 10 - 15 minutes to familiarize  
yourself with the  Resilience Circle seven-session curriculum.   
Contact us (info at localcircles.org) for an electronic copy.

Register for the free webinar here:  https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/128380358

Onward,
Sarah Byrnes

System Requirements:

PC-based attendees

Required: Windows(R) 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh(R)-based attendees
Required: Mac OS(R) X 10.4.11 (Tiger(R)) or newer

Resilience Circles (also called Common Security Clubs) strengthen  
communities, allowing neighbors to come together to get to know each  
another, find inspiration, and have fun while preparing for economic  
change. Our website is http://localcircles.org/.

----------------------------

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Disobedience Archive, a Talk by Marco Scotini

Speaker: Marco Scotini

Time: 4:00p–6:00p

Location: MIT, Building E15-001, ACT Cube, Wiesner Building, 20 Ames  
Street

At a time when many still consider the reterritorialisation of the  
classic Left as a possible response to the advancing neo-capitalistic  
cultural barbarism, Disobedience, an ongoing video archive aims to  
provide an alternative model of thought and action, which is wide- 
reaching, though the archive is limited in its space-time dimensions.  
It is an investigation into practices of artistic activism that  
emerged after the fall of the Soviet bloc, which paved the way for new  
ways of being, saying, and doing.

Marco Scotini is a curator and art critic based in Milan. He is the  
director of the BA and MA of Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies at  
NABA in Milan, curator of Gianni Colombo Archive and editor of the  
magazine No Order - Art in a Post-fordist Society.

Supported in part by the Council for the Arts at MIT, the Program in  
Art, Culture and Technology, and NABA - Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti,  
Milano.


Web site: act.mit.edu

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free and open to the public.

Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology

For more information, contact:
Laura Anca Chichisan Pallone
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu

-----------------------------

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Meet 2006 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Winner, Carl Dietrich

Speaker: Carl Dietrich Co-Founder of Terrafugia

Time: 4:00p–5:30p

Location: MIT, Building W20, Student Center Plaza

What: 2006 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Winner, Carl Dietrich Co-Founder  
of Terrafugia: http://www.terrafugia.com/

When: Wednesday, October 19th, 2011, 4-5:30 pm
Where: Student Center Plaza
Contact: Shannon O'Brien (617.258.5798)

Come see Terrafugia's "roadable aircraft," the Transition??
Learn about the L-MIT Student Prize: http://web.mit.edu/invent/a-student.html
Enjoy donuts and apple cider!

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Campus Events

For more information, contact:

MIT Energy Club  energy-events at mit.edu

-------------------------------------

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Ice on a Slippery Slope: The Role of Meltwater Beneath Glaciers

Speaker: Dr. Ian Hewitt, Mathematics Department, University of British  
Columbia

Time: 4:00p–5:00p

Location: MIT, Building 54-915

EAPS Department Lecture Series

Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/news/dls.html

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:
Jacqui Taylor
617-253-2127
jtaylor at mit.edu
---------------------------

Boston Quantitative Self Meet-Up #7: Measuring the Infinite (on  
meditation and the brain)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 7:30 PM
SELECTED BY: MICHAEL NAGLE
Sprout, 339R Summer St, Somerville, MA
Hi Boston QS! Our next meetup is scheduled for October 19th, at 7:30  
p.m. It's entitled "Measuring the Infinite" -- and is looking at  
different ways people measure their meditation practices and broadly  
looking at neurofeedback. Speakers will include Rohan Dixit of http://www.brainbot.me 
, Cathy Kerr, a researcher at Harvard Medical who studies the  
neuroscience of meditation and touch (http://www.osher.hms.harvard.edu/kerrlab/index.htm 
), and others with personal meditation projects. If you have a data  
set of project you'd like to present, please let me know! There's  
still room, and I think some of the best talks are the ones that are  
simple & personal anecdotes. For people who are excited by the broader  
QS movement, QS co-founder & WIRED editor Gary Wolf'll be at the  
event. Note that we're starting a little later than usual. Feel free  
to drop in earlier, and people will also be welcome to hang out  
afterwards. See you there!

RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/bostonQS/events/36541612/?a=ea1.2_grp&rv=ea1.2
----------------------------

October 20, 2011
2:30 pm
Haller Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge

"Arctic Armageddon? Can microbial methane oxidation prevent runaway  
methane release?" with William S. Reeburgh, Professor of Marine and  
Terrestrial Biogeochemistry, University of California Irvine.

Bill Reeburgh received his B.S. degree in chemistry from the  
University of Oklahoma in 1961, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in  
oceanography from Johns Hopkins University in 1964 and 1967. Before  
joining the UCI faculty he was Professor of Marine Science at the  
University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He is the editor of the American  
Geophysical Union journal, Global Biogeochemical Cycles. His work is  
sponsored by NSF, EPA, NASA and DOE. Visit: http://www.ess.uci.edu/~reeburgh/

Contact Name:  Lisa Matthews
lisa_matthews at harvard.edu
----------------------------

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Starr Forum: Border Security in the 21st Century

Speaker: Alan Bersin, Chappell Lawson

Time: 4:30p–6:00p

Location: MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge

Alan Bersin and Chappell Lawson will speak on border security in the  
21st century. Q&A will follow the discussion.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Alan Bersin, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection with  
the Obama Administration.

Chappell Lawson, Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT and  
Director of MISTI
(Professor Lawson served as Executive Director and Senior Advisor to  
the Commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection from Sept 2009  
- Feb 2011)
This event is Free and Open to the Public.
More details to come.

Web site:http://web.mit.edu/cis/eventposter_100611_bordersecurity.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MISTI, MIT-Mexico Program
For more information, contact:
starrforum at mit.edu
---------------------------

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Earth's Surprising Climate History

Speaker: Paul Hoffman, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology Emeritus at  
Harvard University

Time: 6:30p–8:00p

Location: MIT, Building 32-123

The Lorenz Center presents: The John Carlson Lecture Series
The John Carlson Lecture communicates exciting new results in climate  
science to the general public. Free of charge, the lecture is made  
possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the  
Lorenz Center at MIT.

6:30p.m. Community Reception
7:00p.m. Lecture

Lecture summary - The geological record shows that Earth's climate has  
changed in dramatic and surprising ways. Harvard geologist Paul  
Hoffman will share his fascination with the give and take between  
those who discovered the ancient changes and those struggling to  
develop theories of climate change. His story ranges from the  
beginnings of climate change as a science to his own involvement in  
the controversy over the ultimate climatic disturbance: snowball Earth.

Web site:http://web.mit.edu/science/events/john_carlson_lecture.pdf
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT School of Science
For more information, contact:
Shira Wieder
617-253-8055
swieder at mit.edu

---------------------------

Writing for the Environment

WHEN  Thu., Oct. 20, 2011, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE  First Parish in Cambridge, Mass Ave at Church Street, Cambridge  
MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Award Ceremonies, Environmental Sciences,  
Humanities, Poetry/Prose, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Cambridge Forum, PEN-New England
SPEAKER(S)  Renee Loth and a panel of environmental writers, including  
Bill McKibben
Wendell Barry, award recipient
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  director at cambridgeforum.org
617.495.2727
NOTE  PEN-New England presents its Howard Zinn Award and its Vasyl  
Stus Freedom to Write Award
LINK  http://www.cambridgeforum.org

------------------------------

Oct 21-23, 2011: Social Movements/Digital Revolutions - Conference for  
Organizers & Activists

SM/DR is being called to look at new developments in technology,  
social media, journalism and the creative world* from the perspective  
of grassroots movements for social justice. *We?re also interested to  
discuss and debate some of the key issues facing creators and  
progressive organizers today.

The conference will kick off on Friday Oct. 21st at MIT Room 10-250  
with a Town Hall Meeting on Media and Democracy. The event will  
feature an expert panel - including New York Times' Brian Stelter and  
Free Press' Craig Aaron - that will reflect on the future of  
journalism, media and democracy through the lens of the new  
documentary Page One.

With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and  
newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles  
the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest  
turmoil. A number of clips from the film will be shown, each will be  
discussed by the panel in turn, then the floor will be turned over to  
the audience to help determine what this development means for our  
democracy - and for grassroots social movements working to revive it.

The conference proper will begin on Saturday Oct. 22nd at Lesley  
University's Doble Campus, and will feature panels focusing on our  
Social Movements/Digital Revolutions theme. The rest of the weekend  
will be filled out with a number of workshops on related topics and  
practical tutorials on social media and digital media.

 From activists looking for an introduction to our crucial  
technologies to experience electronic campaigners, the conference will  
have many opportunities to learn and grow. It will also feature  
plenaries involving activists from Madison, WI, from England's student  
movement and Egypt's democracy movement; among our workshops will be  
sessions on Wikileaks and its local implementations, the use of  
Facebook to challenge deportations, hands-on privacy exercises, and  
the like.

Join in on October 21, 22 and 23!

Conference website: http://digitalmediaconference.org
Download conference flyers here: http://bit.ly/oLQdOu

------------------------------

Reimagining the City-University Connection: Integrating Research,  
Policy, and Practice

WHEN  Fri., Oct. 21, 2011, 8:45 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.
WHERE  Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Radcliffe Gymnasium, 10  
Garden Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Education, Ethics, Humanities, Law,  
Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Sponsored by the Radcliffe Institute for  
Advanced Study in collaboration with the Rappaport Institute for  
Greater Boston, and the city of Boston
COST  Free; registration is required:  http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?424639
CONTACT INFO  617.495.8600
NOTE  “Reimagining the City-University Connection” seeks to promote  
a new kind of partnership by stimulating mutually beneficial research  
and policy relationships involving Harvard and other universities with  
Boston and other cities and towns in greater Boston. Scholars and  
practitioners from a variety of fields and communities will explore  
accomplishments of—and lessons from—several notable university/city  
initiatives. The symposium will create novel opportunities to  
strengthen existing collaborations and to begin to develop new ones— 
particularly those that cross academic disciplines and bureaucratic  
boundaries.
Registration is required:  http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?424639
LINK  http://www.reimagining-the-city-university-connection.com

---------------------------
Friday, October 21, 2011

Science Impact Collaborative Luncheon

Speaker: Lawrence Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental  
Planning and Danya Rumore, PHD Candidate, DUSP

Time: 12:00p–2:00p

Location: MIT, Building 7-338, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Science Impact Collaborative Luncheon

Sensitive Coastal Environments

There are seventeen National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) in  
the United States. These are coastal areas where salt water and fresh  
water meet. The four New England Reserves are trying to figure out how  
to engage the public in figuring out the best way to respond to  
climate change risks. The Science Impact Collaborative is designing a  
supportive public educational program to accomplish this.

Web site: http://waterdiplomacy.org/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): EPP, DUSP
For more information, contact:
Nina Tamburello
617.253.1509
ninat at mit.edu

---------------------------

Friday, October 21, 2011

MIT Energy Night

Time: 5:00p–8:30p

Location: MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue,  
Cambridge

The MIT Energy Night is one of the flagship events of the MIT Energy  
Club. The MIT Energy Night is hosted every year at the MIT Museum and  
1000+ visitors come together to share their interest in energy. The  
purpose of the MIT Energy Night is to showcase the latest energy  
related research, technology innovation and entrepreneurship at MIT.

Web site: energynight.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Night, MIT Energy Club, MIT Energy Club- Energy  
Night Subgroup
For more information, contact:
Christina Karapataki
857-445-8553
ck333 at mit.edu

---------------------------

Free Event - "A Robot Sent to Destroy Me": The New Media Invasion and  
the Future of News, 10/21, 7 p.m.
http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/2047

by Jason Pramas
* <http://www.openmediaboston.org/taxonomy/term/235>

So, ok, the official title of the event is the *Town Hall Meeting on  
Media and Democracy* <http://civic.mit.edu/event/town-hall-meeting-on-media-and-democracy 
 >.  But we thought that sounded too low-key; so we decided to zip up  
our promotions a bit this week.??Anyhow, Open Media Boston and the other
event co-sponsors - *Free Press* <http://www.freepress.net/>, *Lesley  
University* <http://www.lesley.edu/>, *Mass. Global Action* <http://www.massglobalaction.org/ 
 >, *MIT Center for Civic Media* <http://civic.mit.edu/>, and *MIT  
Comparative Media Studies* <http://cms.mit.edu/> - are pleased to  
invite everyone who wonders about what the rise of social media means  
for the future of journalism to come to the famed lecture hall *MIT  
Room 10-250* <http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=10> (Building 10, 2nd floor,  
Room 250) at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 21st and join us for a fun,  
informative discussion. The evening will be hosted by the *Boston  
Media Reform Network* <file://localhost/bostonmediareform> with  
support from
*Participant Media* <http://www.participantmedia.com/>.

The documentary *Page One: Inside the New York Times* <http://www.takepart.com/pageone 
 >, which chronicles the transformation of the media industry in the  
face of changing economic and technological realities, will frame the  
conversation. We will explore how the shifting media landscape impacts  
our democracy, and what that means for the news and information needs  
of local communities, especially in Boston. Clips from the film will  
be shown, several media experts will be asked to share their thoughts  
and experience on this changing landscape, and audience participation  
will be strongly encouraged.

And how about those media experts? We'll have *Brian Stelter* <http://www.brianstelter.com/ 
 > of the New York Times (who is featured in Page One), *Cindy  
Rodriguez* <http://cindyerodriguez.com/> from Emerson College, *Sasha  
Constanza-Chock* <http://schock.cc/> from the MIT Center for Civic  
Media and MIT Comparative Media Studies, and *Craig Aaron* <http://www.freepress.net/node/122 
 > from Free Press. *I will be* <http://about.me/jpramas> moderating.  
Plus we might have some extra special guests on hand.

Incidentally, the quote in the title of this editorial refers to  
something that *David Carr* <http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/bio-carr.html 
 > of the New York
Times media desk says about his colleague Brian Stelter in Page One.  
It's a funny scene that reflects the passing of the torch from older  
reporters like Carr to younger social media savvy ones like Stelter,  
and one of the big reasons we thought it would be a blast to build  
this event around the film.

This panel is also the opening event of the *Social Movements/Digital  
Revolutions conference* <http://www.digitalmediaconference.org/> -  
which we'd love you all to attend. We've *already written about that* <http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/1996 
 > in detail in these pages, but we'll be putting out a special  
editorial on it next week - with a list of speakers and workshops.

Given the role that social media is playing in the rise of the #Occupy  
movement nationally, and in the global wave of uprisings from which it  
sprung, we think this conversation could hardly be more timely. So we  
strongly encourage *#OccupyBoston* <http://www.occupyboston.com/>  
folks to come on over to the both the opening panel on Friday, October  
21st and the main conference on Saturday, October 22nd.

That's it for now. If anyone has any questions about either event,  
just email us at OMB ... info [at] openmediaboston [dot] org. And if  
you're coming on the 21st, we'd appreciate it if *you would RSVP* <http://act2.freepress.net/survey/townhall_media_Boston 
 > so we'll have an idea of how many folks are definitely planning to  
attend. Thanks!

/Jason Pramas is Editor/Publisher of Open Media Boston/

----------------------------

2011 Energy Symposium
WHEN  Sat., Oct. 22, 2011, 8 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE  Spangler & Aldrich, Harvard Business School campus
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Conferences, Environmental Sciences,  
Exhibitions
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  HBS Energy & Environment Club
SPEAKER(S)  More than 30 panelists from a range of areas involved in  
the energy sector including: conventional, cleantech, investing, start- 
ups, consultancy & policy
COST  Club members: $15; any students & Harvard affiliates: $25;  
industry professionals: $50
TICKET WEB LINK  http://www.harvardenergyclub.org/symposium_tickets/
TICKET INFO  Online purchase only
CONTACT INFO  Lee Hodder: lhodder at mba2012.hbs.edu, Evan Hindman: ehindman at mba2012.hbs.edu
LINK  http://www.harvardenergyclub.org/symposium_tickets/

Editorial Comment:  Most of the events here are free.  There are  
sometimes exceptions.  A reasonably priced symposium on energy  
organized by students at Harvard Business School seems like a useful  
exception.
----------------------------

Saturday, October 22, 2011

MIT Press Bookstore Loading Dock Sale

Speaker: Huge Savings!

Time: 10:00a–6:00p

Location: MIT, Building E38, 292 Main Street, Kendall Sq., Cambridge

Literally *tons* of books will be on sale at drastically reduced  
prices--up to 90% off their original retail price. Come enjoy huge  
savings on slightly worn and overstock books from the MIT Press and  
other fine publishers. It's a feeding frenzy for the brain!

Saturday will again be the "no-book-dealers" day. MIT or other  
University id will be required for admittance. Please see the website  
for more information, or email us with questions.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/bookstore/www/events/docksale.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): The MIT Press Bookstore
For more information, contact:
The MIT Press Bookstore
617-253-5249
books at mit.edu

-----------------------------

Monday, October 24, 2011
12 pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Energy Technology Innovation Policy/ Consortium for Energy Policy  
Research
Energy Policy Seminar Series:

Trevor Houser, Peterson Institute for International Economics,  
"China’s energy future"

Lunch with be provided.

http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-10-24/energy-policy-seminar


-----------------------------

A World Without Superpowers

WHEN  Mon., Oct. 24, 2011, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Littauer 166, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  International Security Program
SPEAKER(S)  Barry Buzan, Montague Burton Professor Emeritus,  
Department of International Relations, London School of Economics
CONTACT INFO  susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5602/world_without_superpowers.html

-----------------------------

October 24, 2011
12 pm
Cabot 102, The Fletcher School, Tufts University, 160 Packard Avenue,  
Medford, MA

The Center for International Environment and Resource Policy’s Road  
to Durban Speaker Series presents:
Climate Governance at the Crossroads: Experimenting with a Global  
Response after Kyoto
A book talk with Matthew J. Hoffman, Associate Professor of Political  
Science, University of Toronto

RSVP required. Sign up at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2286262272

Description: The global response to climate change has reached a  
critical juncture. Since the 1992 signing of the United Nations  
Framework Convention on Climate Change, the nations of the world have  
attempted to address climate change through large-scale multilateral  
treaty-making. These efforts have been heroic, but disappointing. As  
evidence for the quickening pace of climate change mounts, the treaty- 
making process has sputtered, and many are now skeptical about the  
prospect of an effective global response. Yet global treaty-making is  
not the only way that climate change can be addressed or, indeed, is  
being addressed. This book provides an exciting new perspective on the  
politics of climate change and the means to understand and influence  
how the global response to climate change will unfold in the coming  
years.

This is the first in a series of speakers discussing the climate  
negotiations that will take place November 28 to December 9 this year  
in Durban, South Africa.
Contact Name:
  Miranda Fasulo
617.627.2778

------------------------------

Monday, October 24, 3–4:30 p.m.
"Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against  
Al Qaeda."
Seminar with Eric Schmitt, terrorism correspondent for The New York  
Times, and Thom Shanker, Pentagon correspondent for The New York  
Times. Co-sponsored with the Belfer Center for Science and  
International Affairs. Moderators: Alex S. Jones, director,  
Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy and  
Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International  
Affairs, Belfer Center.
Bell Hall, Belfer Building, 5th floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

-----------------------------

What Can Cloud Do for You?
Monday, October 24, 2011, 7:00 PM
Microsoft NERD Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA (map)

The Topic:  You’ve probably seen the “to the cloud” commercial  
and are aware of the hype that makes cloud computing sound like the  
next best thing since sliced bread, but do you really know what cloud  
computing is? And what it’s not? When does it make sense? And when  
doesn’t it? What does it mean to us as software developers, startup  
entrepreneurs, and end-users? And how do you sort through all of the  
vendors and offerings to determine whose cloud portfolio offers the  
most value to you? We’ll look at all of these questions and more as  
we spend the evening navigating through the cloudscape.

Meet the Presenter:  Jim O’Neil is a Developer Evangelist for  
Microsoft covering New England and Upstate New York. For the past two  
years or so, he’s been focused on educating developers on the  
technologies, architectures, and value propositions of cloud  
computing. Most recently he’s presented on cloud computing and  
Windows Azure at Sybase TechWave, The Best of TechEd (Rochester), and  
MongoBoston.

Boston Tech Event Schedule:
6:30 - 7:15: Free pizza and networking
7:16- 8:00: Jim O'Neil's Presentation on What can Cloud Do for You?
8:01 - ?: Talking the Boston tech job market with experts  
fromWorkbridge Associates and Jobspring Partners

RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/BostonTech/events/33357482/

-----------------------------

Unleashing the Nuclear Watchdog: Strengthening and Reform of the  
International Atomic Energy Agency
WHEN  Tue., Oct. 25, 2011, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE  Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Project on Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S)  Trevor Findlay, research fellow, Project on Managing the  
Atom/International Security Program
CONTACT INFO  susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK  http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5618/unleashing_the_nuclear_watchdog.html

-----------------------------

Tuesday, October 25, 12 p.m.
"From Uprisings in the Arab World to Social Unrest in London: The New  
Media Ecology and Citizen/State Dynamics in the 21st Century."
Speaker Series with Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor at the School  
of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North  
Carolina at Chapel Hill. She blogs at technosociology.org.
Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge

-----------------------------

Doing Science in the Open
Michael Nielsen, author and an advocate of open science
Tuesday, October 25, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/10/nielsen#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET and archived on our  
site shortly after.

 From Michael:  I'll start this talk by describing the Polymath  
Project, an ongoing experiment in "massively collaborative"  
mathematical problem solving. The idea is to use online tools --  
things like blogs and wikis -- to collaboratively attack difficult  
mathematical problems.  By combining the best ideas of many minds from  
all over the world, the Polymath Project has made breakthroughs on  
important mathematical problems.

What makes this an exciting story is that it's about much more than  
just solving some mathematical problems.  Rather, the story suggests  
that online tools can be used to transform the way we humans work  
together to make scientific discoveries.  We can use online tools to  
amplify our collective intelligence, in much the same way as for  
millenia we've used physical tools to amplify our strength.  This has  
the potential to accelerate scientific discovery across all disciplines.

This is an optimistic story, but there's a major catch.  Scientists  
have for the most part been extremely extremely conservative in how  
they use the net, often using it for little more than email and  
passive web browsing.  Projects like Polymath are the exception not  
the rule.  I'll discuss why this conservatism is so common, why it's  
so damaging, and how we can move to a more open scientific culture.

About Michael
Michael Nielsen is an author and an advocate of open science.  His  
book about open science, Reinventing Discovery, will be published by  
Princeton University Press in October, 2011.  Prior to his book,  
Michael was an internationally known scientist who helped pioneer the  
field of quantum computation.  He co-authored the standard text in the  
field, and wrote more than 50 scientific papers, including invited  
contributions to Nature and Scientific American.  His work on quantum  
teleportation was recognized in Science Magazine's list of the Top Ten  
Breakthroughs of 1998. Michael was educated at the University of  
Queensland, and as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of New  
Mexico. He worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, as the Richard  
Chace Tolman Prize Fellow at Caltech, was Foundation Professor of  
Quantum Information Science and a Federation Fellow at the University  
of Queensland, and a Senior Faculty Member at the Perimeter Institute  
for Theoretical Physics. In 2008, he gave up his tenured position to  
work fulltime on open science.

-----------------------------

Civilian Deaths in War: Why They Matter
WHEN  Tue., Oct. 25, 2011, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Kresge,  
502, Boston, MA 02115
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Health Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard Injury Control Research Center
SPEAKER(S)  John Tirman, executive director and principal research  
scientist of the MIT Center for International Studies; author of "The  
Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America’s Wars"
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  hicrc at hsph.harvard.edu
NOTE  Open to the public.
Refreshments will be provided.
LINK  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research/hicrc/seminar-series/

------------------------------
Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Spillover Effects of Organized Crime:Evidence from the Mexican  
Drug War

Speaker: Melissa Dell (MIT Ph.D.)

Time: 2:30p–4:00p

Location: MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge

The Spillover Effects of Organized Crime:Evidence from the Mexican  
Drug War

Web site: http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82766&pageid=icb.page450594
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT/Harvard Development Workshop
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu

----------------------------

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30–6 p.m.
"Political Polarization and Ideas for Restoring Civility to Government  
in 2012."
Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on Negotiation, Conflict and the News Media  
with Jill Lepore, David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History  
at Harvard University, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of  
The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle  
over American History; and Mark McKinnon, Reidy Fellow at the  
Shorenstein Center and comunications strategist to President George W.  
Bush, Senator John McCain, and Governor Ann Richards. Co-sponsored  
with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, the Program on  
Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Nieman Foundation and the  
Shorenstein Center.
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, 1737 Cambridge Street,  
Room N-354

-------------
***********

Upcoming

-------------
***********

Boston World Partnerships Hosts:
The Innovation Express, a rolling networking event along the Red Line  
on Thursday, October 27th.
Join us in the last car of the Red Line as we travel from JFK/UMass to  
Davis and back to Kendall Square’s Cambridge Innovation Center, with  
stops along the way to hear from and meet Boston and Cambridge’s most  
innovative people.
Learn about the newest trends in our entrepreneurial community and  
plug in with the people behind them!
All you have to do is:
1. Head to your nearest Red Line T stop and look for Innovation  
Express signs
2. Hop on with us in the last car
AND
3. Come prepared to meet and connect with Boston and Cambridge’s  
finest!

The Innovation Express starts rolling at 1pm from JFK/UMass. Please  
keep an eye on your inbox for schedule of station visits.
When: Thursday, October 27th
Where: Event kicks off at the JFK/UMass platform and ends with a  
networking event at the Cambridge Innovation Center
Time: 1:00pm -  Event begins at JFK/UMass platform
            2:30pm -  Networking finale at the Cambridge Innovation  
Center
Cost: Free

Follow this event on Twitter via our handle @ThinkingBoston or the  
event hashtag #InnoExpress

Pitch Your Company
We've partnered with Pixability to offer start-ups a chance to have  
their elevator pitches professionally video-taped at the event finale  
at the Cambridge Innovation Center. Each start-up will be given 3  
takes on a 60-90 second pitch of their company. Space is limited, so  
reserve your spot by selecting "Yes" under the video option when you  
register for this event at http://innovationexpress.eventbrite.com/

-----------------------------

October 28, 2011

New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents:  The  
Promise and Reality of "Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing"
Raab Associates presents:
The 125th NE Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm

Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02210

***Free and open to the public with no advanced registration***

October 28, 2011 Roundtable:
The Promise and Reality of
"Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing"

"Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing" are emerging nationally and locally  
here
in New England as "hot" topics. Smart grid at the distribution-to- 
customer interface promises a range of benefits, from better outage  
management, to energy savings from improved voltage modulation, to a  
variety of opportunities created by advanced metering. Dynamic  
pricing, which entails
a closer matching of rates to actual time-differentiated costs, runs  
the gamut from time-of-use rates to real-time pricing.

Our first panel is focused primarily on the broader smart grid issues.  
David O'Brien, former Commissioner of Vermont's Department of Public  
Service and current Director of Regulatory Strategy at BRIDGE Energy  
Group, will set the stage by defining smart grid and its various value  
propositions, and describing the mass deployment of advanced metering  
by utilities in Vermont. Arepresentative of Oklahoma Gas and Electric,  
recipient of one of the largest U.S. DOE Smart Grid Grants, will then  
describe its recent full-court press on installing a wide range of  
smart grid-related technologies and its pilot on dynamic pricing.   
Next, Doug Horton, Smart Grid Project Manager at NSTAR, and Cheri  
Warren,VP of Asset Management at National Grid, will describe  
theirrespective smart grid pilots. NSTAR's includes a program to  
integrate distributed resources into downtown networks, and another to  
test dynamic pricing using its existing AMR meters coupled with  
wireless communication. National Grid will share what it learned at  
its smart grid summit in Worcester in September, and provide a preview  
of its upcoming smart grid pilot.

Our second panel focuses in greater depth on national trends on  
dynamic pricing. Our lead off speaker, Ahmad Faruqui, a Principal at  
the Brattle Group and a national expert on dynamic pricing, will share  
his conclusions from analyzing all the dynamic pricing pilots  
nationwide. Commissioner Rick Morgan, of the Washington D.C. PUC and  
the author of a recent article, "Rethinking Dumb Rates," will discuss  
what he learned from D.C's PowerCentsDC™ pilot on dynamic pricing,  
and where D.C. plans to go next on advanced metering and dynamic  
pricing.Nancy Brockway, former NH PUC Commissioner, MA DPU General  
Counsel, and long-time low-income consumer advocate, will close the  
panel by sharing some of her concerns about various aspects of dynamic  
pricing.

September 16 Roundtable Presentations Online

Speakers' presentations from our September 16th Roundtable, FERC Order  
1000 (Transmission Planning & Cost Allocation Requirements);and Future  
of Solar in New England, are available on our website:  http://www.raabassociates.org/main/roundtable.asp?sel=108

-------------------------

Visit GlobeLab: The Boston Globe's take on the (near) future of news
Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 7:00 PM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester, MA

Chris Marstall, the Boston Globe’s creative technologist, is throwing  
open the doors to GlobeLab, the news organization’s space for  
exploring how news is changing.  In his words: “We're a space at the  
Boston Globe dedicated to understanding, imagining and demonstrating  
the (near) future of news & advertising.
“Current projects include wall-screen-sized instagram and twitter  
visualizations, a next-gen TV app, a device synchronizer and a  
newsroom information radiator. For more information, check out our  
recent Nieman Journalism Lab profile or follow us @GlobeLab.”

RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/35976432/?a=ea1.2_lnm&eventId=35976432&action=detail&rv=ea1.2&rv=ea1.2

------------------------------

TEDxCambridge Presents: Thrive
November 19, 2011, Harvard University
You have to apply to attend at http://www.tedxcambridge.com/thrive/

*************
----------------

Opportunity

---------------
*************

Free Solar Panels for Houses of Worship

 From a recent Mass Interfaith Power & Light (http://mipandl.org/) email
"We've recently been talking with DCS Energy (http:// 
www.dcsenergy.com/) who has an unbeatable offer: if your site  
qualifies, they design and install the panels at no cost, don't charge  
you for any electricity, and donate the system to your house of  
worship after five years. Your only costs will be for a building  
permit, possibly a structural engineer to verify that your roof can  
support their weight, and any preparatory work such as roof work or  
tree removal. If solar panels are so expensive how can anyone give  
them away for free? First, there is a federal grant program that is  
only available until November that pays for 30% of the cost of the  
system. Then there is an accelerated depreciation option that gives  
certain kinds of investors another tax advantage. Finally, the state  
awards a special allowance called a "Solar Renewal Energy  
Credit" (SRECs) to owners of solar electricity systems which are sold  
at auctions to utilities who buy them to meet their requirements under  
the Massachusetts' renewable portfolio standard. DCS is betting that  
the price of these SRECs will remain high.  Jim Nail, president of MA  
IP&L, has talked to DCS Energy and is currently having them prepare a  
proposal for his church, St. Dunstan's Episcopal in Dover.  Jim says,  
"The references I've talked to have been quite positive about the  
program and the company has been very responsive.  "If you think your  
site might qualify, contact Peter Carli, pete at dcsenergy.com, with the  
address of your house of worship and your contact information. He'll  
take a preliminary look at your site and advise you if it meets their  
criteria."

----------------------------------------------------------

Young World Inventors Success!

Young World Inventors (http://yinventors.wordpress.com/) finished  
their Kickstarter campaign (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1036325713/youngworldinventorscom 
) to fund insider web stories of African and American innovators in  
collaboration successfully.

New contributions, however, will be accepted.

*********
-----------

Resource

-----------

Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of  
Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr  
Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming  
has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it  
as being at least partially caused by human pollution.  Only 42% of  
the state’s residents say global warming will have very serious  
consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age  
group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused  
by humans compared to the 60+ age group.  African-American (56%) and  
Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to  
believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left  
unaddressed.  The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge:   
What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate  
change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent- 
challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.

----------------------------------------------------

The presentations from the recent Affordable Comfort National Home  
Performance Conference are available online at
http://2011.acinational.org/downloadable_resources

Lots of good information from what some call the best energy  
conference in the USA on Deep Energy Retrofits to Community Energy  
Challenges with details on insulation, heat flow, energy metering,  
ducting, hot water, and many, many other topics.  If you are a  
practical energy wonk, this should make your eyes light up.

--------------------------------------------------

Free Monthly Energy Analysis

CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track  
your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while  
controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly  
email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.

https://www.carbonsalon.com/

---------------------------------------

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,  
contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu

------------------------

Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston  http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/

********************************************
-----------------------------------------------------

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/





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