[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Nov 6 16:41:57 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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This edition goes to Monday, November 14 as I will be attending the  
Third Biennial Design Science Symposium (http://www.synergeticscollaborative.org/snec.announce.meeting.2011.11.html 
) at RI School of Design from November 11 to 13 and may not get back  
in time for a Sunday deadline.  I apologize.

Thanks for all the kind words and good wishes during my recent  
illness.  I am much better and my doctor is happy.  Still weak but  
every day I'm a little stronger.  It means a lot to me that so many  
people were ready to help and support.  I truly appreciate it.

Why I believe #Occupy Wall Street is important:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/02/1032600/-OWS:-We-Lift-Each-Other-Up

My national level proposal to slow climate change is a finalist in the  
Climate CoLab contest.  You can learn more (and vote for it if you  
want to) here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/05/1033579/-DailyKos-Writers-Solve-Climate-Change

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Energy Policy Seminar
November 7, 2011
12 pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Energy Technology Innovation Policy/ Consortium for Energy Policy  
Research
Energy Policy Seminar Series:
Rohini Pande, Harvard Kennedy School
Lunch with be provided.
Contact Name:  Louisa Lund, louisa_lund at hks.harvard.edu

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

Monday, November 7
12 pm
Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street,  
Northwest Building Room 243, Cambridge

Facebook Face Recognition with Biologically-Inspired Computer Vision  
Systems.
Zak Stone, Harvard University

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

Computational Sustainability: Computational Methods for a Sustainable  
Environment, Economy, and Society
Carla Gomes , Cornell Univ. and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
When:  Nov 07, 2011 | 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm
Where:  Maxwell Dworkin 119, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Computational sustainability is a new interdisciplinary research field  
with the overall goal of developing computational models, methods, and  
tools to help manage the balance between environmental, economic, and  
societal needs for sustainable development. The notion of sustainable  
development – development that meets the needs of the present without  
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs –  
was introduced in Our Common Future, the seminal report of the United  
Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, published in  
1987. In this talk I will provide an overview of computational  
sustainability, with examples ranging from wildlife conservation and  
biodiversity, to poverty mitigation, to material discovery for fuel  
cell technology. I will highlight overarching computational challenges  
at the intersection of constraint reasoning and inference,  
optimization, machine learning, and dynamical systems. Finally I will  
discuss the need for a new approach that views computational  
sustainability problems as “natural” phenomena, amenable to a  
scientific methodology, in which principled experimentation, to  
explore problem parameter spaces and hidden problem structure, plays  
as prominent a role as formal analysis.

Speaker Biography:
Carla Gomes is a professor of computer science at Cornell University,  
with joint appointments in the Department of Computer Science,  
Department of Information Science, and the Dyson School of Applied  
Economics and Management. Gomes is currently a fellow at the Radcliffe  
Advanced Study Institute at Harvard University (2011-2012). Gomes’s  
research has covered several themes in artificial intelligence and  
computer science, from the integration of constraint reasoning,  
operations research, and machine learning techniques for solving large- 
scale constraint reasoning and optimization problems, to the use of  
randomization techniques to improve the performance of exact search  
methods, algorithm portfolios, multi-agent systems, and game play.  
Recently, Gomes has become immersed in the establishment of  
computational sustainability, a new interdisciplinary field that aims  
to develop computational methods to help balance environmental,  
economic, and societal needs to support a sustainable future. Gomes  
has started a number of research projects in biodiversity  
conservation, poverty mapping, the design of “smart” controls for  
electric cars, and pattern identification for material discovery  
(e.g., for fuel cell technology). While at Radcliffe Gomes will write  
about computational sustainability and look for new collaborations  
with fellows and other Harvard researchers to address challenges in  
computational sustainability. Gomes obtained a PhD in computer science  
in the area of artificial intelligence and operations research from  
the University of Edinburgh. She also holds an M.Sc. in applied  
mathematics from the Technical University of Lisbon. Gomes is the lead  
principal investigator of an award from the National Science  
Foundation’s Expeditions in Computing program, the director of the  
newly established Institute for Computational Sustainability at  
Cornell, and a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of  
Artificial Intelligence.

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

Race Against the Machine: A Conversation with Andrew McAfee
Monday, November 7, 2011
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
IBM Center for Social Software, 1 Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Digital technologies are rapidly encroaching on skills that used to  
belong to humans alone. This phenomenon is both broad and deep, and  
has profound economic implications. Many of these implications are  
positive; digital innovation increases productivity, reduces prices  
(sometimes to zero), and grows the overall economic pie. But digital  
innovation has also changed how the economic pie is distributed, and  
here the news is not good for the median worker. As technology races  
ahead, it can leave many people behind. Workers whose skills have been  
mastered by computers have less to offer the job market, and see their  
wages and prospects shrink. Entrepreneurial business models, new  
organizational structures and different institutions are needed to  
ensure that the average worker is not left behind by cutting-edge  
machines. McAfee brings together a range of statistics, examples, and  
arguments to show that technological progress is accelerating, and  
that this trend has deep consequences for skills, wages, and jobs. He  
makes the case that employment prospects are grim for many today not  
because there's been technology has stagnated, but instead because we  
humans and our organizations aren't keeping up.

Register at http://andrew-mcafee.eventbrite.com/?ref=enivtefor&utm_source=eb_email&utm_media=email&utm_compaign=invitefor&utm_term=readmore&invite=MTM5MjUxOC9nbW9rZUB3b3JsZC5zdGQuY29tLzA=
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Tiny Houses with Deek Diedricksen
Tiny Houses: Hacking together micro-shelters with Derek 'Deek'  
Diedricksen
Monday, November 07, 2011 | 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Location:  MIT Media Lab, Building E14-240, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker:  Derek 'Deek' Diedricksen
Derek 'Deek' Diedricksen, host of the web-series Tiny Yellow House,  
author, and all-around uber-builder, will discuss his sustainable  
micro-cottages and low-cost 'hacked' dwellings at the Media Lab.

Background reading at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/garden/24tiny.html?_r=3

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Monday, November 07, 2011
Practices of Encroachment, Creative Acts of Citizenship
Speaker: Teddy Cruz, Architect, Activist, Professor, University of  
California San Diego
Time: 4:00p–6:00p
MIT Building 7-431, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
In this lecture, architect Teddy Cruz presents a new paradigm of  
urbanism. While in the last years, the global city became the primary  
site of economic consumption and display, local neighborhoods in the  
margins of such centers of economic power remained sites of cultural  
production. These are peripheral communities and neighborhoods where  
new economies are emerging and new social, cultural and environmental  
configurations are taking place as catalysts to produce a new  
collective imagination, alternative urban policies and more inclusive  
housing paradigms.

Teddy Cruz was born in Guatemala City. He obtained a Master in Design  
Studies at Harvard University in 1997 and established his research- 
based architecture practice in San Diego, California in 2000. He has  
been recognized internationally for his urban research of the Tijuana- 
San Diego border. In 1991, he received the prestigious Rome Prize in  
Architecture and in 2005 he was the first recipient of the James  
Stirling Memorial Lecture On The City Prize. His work has been  
profiled in important publications including The New York Times, Domus  
and Harvard Design Magazine. In 2008, he represented the US in the  
Venice Architecture Biennial and this year his work will be included  
in Small Scale, Big Change exhibition at MoMA. In 2010 he was selected  
by the New York Times as America's top 50 up-and-coming talents.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning, School of  
Architecture and Planning, City Design and Development, Department of  
Architecture

For more information, contact:
Eran Ben-Joseph
ebj at mit.edu

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Monday, November 07, 2011

CRISIS IN EUROPE

Speaker: NIcolas VERON--Bruegel and Peterson IIE--and David Singer,  
MIT Political Science

Time: 5:30p–7:00p

MIT, Building E-51-335, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

Europe's financial crisis is threatening to undo the EU and is  
seriously affecting the global economy--US included. What can be  
expected and what should be done? A European and a US expert discuss  
these issues.

Open to: the general public

Cost: none

Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MISTI, MIT POLITICAL  
SCIENCE

For more information, contact:
ssferza
(617) 452-2693
ssferza at mit.edu

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Monday, November 07, 2011

Starr Forum: The Republican Party and American Foreign Policy

Speaker: Michael Singh, Daniel Drezner

Time: 5:30p–7:00p

MIT, Building E14-674, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker:
Michael Singh, managing director of The Washington Institute and a  
former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National  
Security Council.
Daniel Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher  
School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
Moderator: Steve Van Evera, Ford International Professor in the MIT  
Department of Political Science

Web site:http://web.mit.edu/cis/eventposter_110711_republicanparty.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact:
starrforum at mit.edu

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Monday, November 07, 2011
International Migration, Economic Development and the City-Region:  
What Do We Know and What Do We Most Need to Learn?
Time: 6:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building E14-633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Reinventing the City @ MIT
During 2011-2012, the Department of Urban Studies & Planning will host  
a series of high-profile speakers and panels on a wide-range of topics  
related to the future of cities, planning, participation, economies,  
technology, design, and development. This series is part of a multi- 
year initiative in the department to raise cutting-edge questions  
about the field in an era of rapid change.


See http://dusp.mit.edu/p.lasso?t=7:6:0 for more in this series.

Seeking to challenge conventional wisdom, this panel explores the most  
important, least understood questions in the realm of transnational  
change and development.

Devesh Kapur, Director, Centre for Advanced Study of India and Madan  
Lal Sobti Professor for the Study of Contemporary India, University of  
Pennsylvania; Natasha Iskander, Assistant Professor of Public Policy,  
NYU Wagner; Peggy Levitt, Professor of Sociology, Wellesley College

The following cross-cutting questions are posed: What is the role of  
cities in international migration? If cities can lead rather than just  
react, how? Where is the attention of engaged scholars needed most?  
How will global migration, rapid urbanization, and more diverse urban  
populations affect the capacity of urban regions to offer their  
residents access to economic opportunity in an environmentally  
sustainable, socially equitable, and resilient way? And on what policy  
and design decisions will those effects depend most?

Reception at 6:00, presentations begin at 6:30.

Web site: http://dusp.mit.edu/p.lasso?t=7:6:0

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning

For more information, contact:
Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu

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Monday, November 7
7:00 PM
Bartos Theater at MIT, Wiesner Building (E15), Lower Level, 20 Ames  
Street, Cambridge

Stella McGregor
Ploughshares from Swords – Social Sculpture and Cultural Agency
Respondent: Gediminas Urbonas, ACT Associate Professor, MIT (USA)

How does creative activism contribute to society? How do we moderate  
crises through individual and collective art practice? How do we  
reconcile the arts, activism, and pedagogy? Stella McGregor, Founder  
and Director of Urbano Project, will share her experience of working  
with inner city youth and introduce projects such as Violence  
Transformed, and Pedro Reyes’ Palas por Pistolas. Stella McGregor has  
been an artist and a cultural worker for over 25 years, working on  
projects in Boston, New Orleans, Macedonia, and Taiwan. Urbano  
Project: http://urbanoproject.org

For more information:
http://act.mit.edu
http://visualarts.mit.edu/about/lecture.html
act at mit.edu
617-253-5229

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Tuesday, November 8
12 p.m.
"Where Is Turkey Headed? The Politics and the Media."
Speaker Series with Cüneyt Ülsever, freelance journalist, Turkey.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge

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Preventing Societal Discrimination: Accessible Web Design for People  
with Disabilities
Jonathan Lazar, Towson University
Tuesday, November 8, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person via http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/11/lazar#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast 
) and archived on our site shortly after.

Technical standards already exist to make web sites accessible for  
people with perceptual and motor disabilities, while research is  
underway to better understand web design for cognitive disabilities.  
Despite the existing resources and knowledge, many categories of web  
sites continue to be inaccessible for people with perceptual and motor  
disabilities. For instance, over 90% of federal government web sites  
are inaccessible for people with disabilities, denying users access to  
important government information. Social media tools tend to be  
inaccessible, cutting people with disabilities out of the chance to  
socialize with friends and contribute to important discussions, both  
interpersonal and societal. E-commerce web sites are inaccessible,  
often meaning that people with disabilities are denied the online-only  
discounts available on the web. Online employment applications are  
often inaccessible, denying people with disabilities the ability to  
apply for jobs on an equal footing. This presentation will provide an  
overview of web accessibility for people with disabilities, including  
the technical standards and laws, as well as reporting on recent  
research projects documenting how inaccessible web sites lead to  
various forms of discrimination against people with disabilities.

About Jonathan
Dr. Jonathan Lazar is a Professor of Computer and Information  
Sciences, Director of the Undergraduate Program in Information Systems  
and Director of the Universal Usability Laboratory, all at Towson  
University. Dr. Lazar is involved in teaching and research in the area  
of human-computer interaction, specifically, Web usability, Web  
accessibility for people with disabilities, user-centered design  
methods, assistive technology, and public policy in the area of human- 
computer interaction. He has published 5 books, including “Research  
Methods in Human-Computer Interaction” (2010, John Wiley and Sons),  
“Universal Usability: Designing Computer Interfaces for Diverse User  
Populations” (2007, John Wiley and Sons), and “Web Usability: A User- 
Centered Design Approach” (2006, Addison-Wesley). He serves on the  
editorial boards of Interacting with Computers, Universal Access in  
the Information Society, and ACM Interactions Magazine, and serves on  
the executive board of the Friends of the Maryland Library for the  
Blind and Physically Handicapped. Dr. Lazar was named a winner of the  
2011 University System of Maryland Regents Award for Public Service, a  
winner of the 2010 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award from the National  
Federation of the Blind, and a winner of the 2009 Outstanding Faculty  
Award in the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics at Towson  
University. Dr. Lazar currently serves as the chair of public policy  
for ACM SIGCHI (Computer-Human Interaction).

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

Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Energy 101 : Nuclear Fission
Speaker: Nathan Andrews
Time: 12:30p–1:30p
MIT, Building 4-145, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Energy 101 lecture series

Energy 101 presentation on nuclear fission. Topics that will be  
covered include the fission reaction, reactor technologies and the  
future of the nuclear industry.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
Aziz Abdellahi
aziz_a at mit.edu

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

Tuesday, November 8
2:00 pm
Webinar with Barry Estabrook on his book, Tomatoland on the human and  
environmental costs of the $10 billion fresh tomato industry.

Register at  https://stonyfield.webex.com/stonyfield/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=663483119

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
2pm ET
Business of Innovating:  Conference call
Call-in information: (760) 569-9000, Code: 160031#
Please join us by sending your RSVP to info at digin.org

Meg Crawford from the Pew Center will share their work on innovation,  
structured around a recently released report on "The Business of  
Innovating: Bringing Low Carbon Solutions to Market" featuring case  
studies from leading companies including HP, Johnson Controls, Alstom  
Power and others.

Additionally, Dave Witzel from EDF will discuss a new partnership with  
DELL around an online brainstorming opportunity around how the  
internet can drive innovation for sustainable business.You can log in  
via the link provided here and results will be circulated in late  
November.

As always, we will invite conversation, questions, and your  
perspectives on this vibrant topic. We look forward to your  
participation in this call!

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Tuesday, November 08, 2011
A Preliminary Review of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's  
Clean Energy Package
Speaker: Joseph Aldy, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard  
Kennedy School
Time: 4:15p–5:30p
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.

The Recovery Act invested more than $90 billion in clean energy and  
leveraged more than $100 billion in private capital for investments in  
manufacturing, power generation, and the residential and commercial  
building sectors to advance the deployment of energy efficiency, wind,  
solar, geothermal, biomass, low-carbon fossil fuel, and other  
technologies. This talk will review the rationale, design, and  
implementation of the act's clean energy package, including a survey  
of policy principles for clean energy stimulus, a description of the  
process of crafting this package during the 2008-2009 Presidential  
transition, and identifying the key elements of the package. Aldy will  
also discuss the initial employment, economic activity, and energy  
outcomes associated with these energy investments and focus on the  
Recovery Act's support for renewable power through grants and loan  
guarantees.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/mitei/news/seminars/aldy.html
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

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

Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Cellular Materials in Nature, Engineering, and Medicine
Speaker: Prof. Lorna J. Gibson
Time: 4:30p–5:30p
MIT Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Engineering honeycombs and foams, wood, plant stems and leaves,  
trabecular bone (a porous type of bone), and tissue engineering  
scaffolds all have a cellular structure that gives rise to unique  
properties that are exploited in engineering and in medicine. Nature,  
too, uses cellular materials to provide structural support as well as  
to conduct fluids. This talk illustrates the wide range of cellular  
materials and describes how they are used in engineering, nature,  
medicine.

The Wulff Lecture is an introductory, general-audience, entertaining  
lecture which serves to educate, inspire, and encourage MIT  
undergraduates to take up study in the field of materials science and  
engineering and related fields. The entire MIT community, particularly  
freshmen, is invited to attend. The Wulff Lecture honors the late  
Professor John Wulff, a skilled, provocative, and entertaining teacher  
who inaugurated a new approach to teaching the popular freshman  
subject: 3.091 Introduction to Solid State Chemistry.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

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

Environmental Resources Management Content Presentation
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Aldrich 208, Harvard Business School, 35 Harvard Way, Allston

Environmental Resources Management Content Presentation: "Elements to  
a Successful Sustainability Strategy"
Gregg Demers, Partner, and Rob Howe, Senior Sustainability Consultant  
will walk through a diagnostic tool ERM has developed for assessing a  
company's sustainability program - with the goal of identifying key  
opportunities and risks.  They’ll also provide an overview of ERM and  
their efforts to be the world's leading sustainability consultancy.

Contact Name:  Jessica Sobel, jsobel at mba2012.hbs.edu

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European Revolutions, Arab Spring and Mediterranean Future
WHEN  Tue., Nov. 8, 2011, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE  Cabot Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern  
Studies and the Middle East Initiative at the Belfer Center for  
Science and International Affairs
SPEAKER(S)  Jean-Pierre Filiu, associate professor of history,  
Sciences-Po
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Trisha Craig: pcraig at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE
Chaired by Jonathan Laurence, associate professor of political  
science, Boston College
LINK  http://ces.fas.harvard.edu/events/20111108_french_event.html

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

Tuesday, November 8, 5:30-7 p.m.
"Israeli Spring: The Unanswered Jewish Question."
Lecture with Roger Cohen, International Herald Tribune/New York  
Timescolumnist, and Fisher Family Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy  
Project. Co-sponsored by the Belfer Center.
Harvard, Wiener Auditorium, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge

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

WALL STREET IN CONTEXT:  Strategies for Restoring the Dignity of the 99%
Tuesday, November 8
7:00pm
MIT Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speakers:  Pete Cannon, Occupy Boston, Medical Coordinator
Marisa Egerstrom, Occupy Boston, Organizer, Protest Chaplains
Professor Mel King, Occupy Boston, Protester and Professor Department  
of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT
Professor Thomas Kochan, Sloan School of Management, Co-Director,  
Institute for Work and Employment Research
Professor Michael Piore, Professor of Political Economy, MIT

Contact http://web.mit.edu/tac

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

Green Communities Act progress report
Wednesday, November 9
10 am and 1 pm or 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Gardner Auditorium, MA State House, Boston

Want to find out how the  Commonwealth is proceeding on implementation  
of the Green Commuinities Act -- and what's next for major climate- 
related legislation? Join BostonCAN and Green Justice Coalition at an  
all-day hearing at the State House on the Green Communities Act. Our  
Green Justice bill (filed this year) to open up the green economy is  
part of this hearing. We want to send the legislature a message about  
the kind of access and job creation we want to see  and, or course,  
urge them to pass our bill. Cindy Luppi of Clean Water Action and  
Darlene Lombos here at CLU will be testifying.

--------------------------------------
Energy Features of MIT's Sloan & Koch Building

November 09, 2011  11:30a–1:00p

MIT Building E62, 100 Main Street, Cambridge and MIT Building 76, 500  
Main Street, Cambridge

The award-winning new Sloan (E62) and the Koch Institute (76)  
buildings have cutting-edge energy saving features you would never  
guess! Peter Cooper, Manager of Sustainability Engineering and Utility  
Planning of MIT Facilities, will talk about efficiency technologies  
installed in these two buildings. The talk will be followed by a  
guided tour of the new Sloan Building. Those interested in integrated  
construction planning or in the energy footprint of labs at MIT are  
also strongly encouraged to join.

Category:  MIT events/clubs: interest clubs/groups

Speaker:  Peter Cooper, Manager of Sustainability Engineering and  
Utility Planning of MIT Facilities

MIT, Building E62-250

Sponsored by:  MIT Energy Club

Admission:  Open to the public

For more information:Contact MIT Energy Club

energyclub at mit.edu

Editorial Comment:  The Koch Building was donated by one of THOSE Koch  
Brothers.  They do believe in some kinds of science after all.

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


Global Imbalances and World Growth: Where Do We Stand?
WHEN  Wed., Nov. 9, 2011, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Fainsod Room, 3rd Floor Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy  
School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special  
Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business &  
Government (M-RCBG)
SPEAKER(S)  Jean-Pierre Landau, second deputy governor of The Banque  
De France
CONTACT INFO  mrcbg at ksg.harvard.edu

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

Harvard Environmental Law Society Lecture
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Hauser 104, 1575 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge

Harvard Environmental Law Society & Harvard Environmental Law Review  
present:
John Echeverria, takings expert & Vermont Law School Prof, and Chelsea  
Miller, VLS Research Fellow, on Property Rights in Water

Professor Echeverria, Professor of Law at Vermont Law School, and  
Chelsea Lane Miller, a research fellow at Vermont Law School, will be  
discussing the ongoing judicial debate over property rights in water,  
and in particular whether the California public trust doctrine limits  
private rights in water and what standard should govern claims of  
alleged takings of private water rights based on regulatory  
restrictions protecting endangered fish.  They also will be describing  
the history of the long-running political battle in California over  
the nature and scope of public rights in water.

Pizza and cookies provided!

Contact Name:  Sachin Desai, sdesai at jd13.law.harvard.edu

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

Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Science Impact Collaborative Luncheon
Speaker: Leah Stokes, PHD Candidate, DUSP
Time: 12:00p–2:00p
MIT, Building 9-554, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Science Impact Collaborative Luncheon

The Mercury Simulation: Understanding the Uses of Science in  
International Environmental Treaty Negotiations

Despite decades of work on environmental problems including ozone  
depletion, climate change, and toxic chemicals, communicating  
scientific uncertainty effectively remains a major challenge in all  
global environmental treaty negotiations. The Mercury Game is a  
negotiation simulation designed to teach scientists, in particular,  
about ways of balancing science and politics in multiparty negotiations.

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

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

Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Dilemmas of Nonproliferation Statecraft
Speaker: Etel Solingen, University of California, Irvine
Time: 12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496
SSP Wednesday Seminar

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Security Studies Program

For more information, contact:
617-253-7529
valeriet at mit.edu

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

Wednesday, November 9
12-1pm EST
Yale Center for Business and the Environment webinar series: Blueprint  
for Efficiency

"The Tools and Business Case for Energy Efficiency and On-Site Power  
Generation at Diversey"
Featuring Jeramy LeMieux, Senior Auditor, GEHS and Climate Savers Lead  
at Diversey

Register now at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/156940198

In this presentation, Jeramy Lemieux will explore a number of reasons  
why energy efficiency and renewable power projects often fail to be  
consistently implemented in a corporation. In particular, he will  
discuss common efficiency pitfalls and impediments and how to address  
them.

By understanding these challenges and where they naturally occur, a  
business can better navigate around them or leverage them into a  
competitive advantage that can serve as the backbone of a corporate  
energy strategy.

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

Wednesday, Nov 9, 2011
4:00 PM
100 Main Street , MIT Building E62, Room 450, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Andreea Gorbatai - Harvard University

ALIGNING COLLECTIVE PRODUCTION WITH DEMAND: EVIDENCE FROM WIKIPEDIA
ABSTRACT:  Economic markets align supply and demand through prices.  
However, many social phenomena lack pricing to inform producers about  
consumer demand. This can lead to the over- or under-production of  
certain goods and services.

In this paper, I propose a social mechanism that aligns collective  
production with demand. I argue that this will occur as long as three  
conditions are met: first, that consumers attempt to become occasional  
producers; second, that these attempts are observed by producers who  
interpret them as signs of unmet demand; and lastly, that producers  
are willing and able to provide these goods. I test this theory using  
a large dataset of English-language Wikipedia articles, created by  
merging information from 185 million records of article contributions  
with data on article views, quality, and knowledge type. The results  
are consistent with my theory, suggesting that this social mechanism  
can take the role of prices in certain markets.

This study has implications for the sociology of markets, as it  
highlights a largely ignored collective action-demand alignment  
mechanism, and for collective production in organizational and non-  
organizational settings such as collective creativity, scientific  
collaboration, and community production of collective goods, as it  
identifies an unexpected benefit from consumer contributions.

BIO:  Andreea Gorbatai is a Ph.D. Candidate in the joint-degree  
program in Organizational Behavior and Sociology at Harvard  
University. Her research examines the consequences of social  
structures for the success of collective production projects.  
Recently, she identified social mechanisms which improve on three  
potential problems with Wikipedia article production: the lack of  
direct, aggregate demand information; disrespect for collaboration  
norms; and high turnover stemming from role conflicts and low  
embeddedness of participants in the peer network. Andreea is currently  
expanding this research into other collective production settings.

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

Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy: Goal Setting and Energy  
Efficiency
WHEN  Wed., Nov. 9, 2011, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School Room Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street,  
Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Classes/Workshops, Environmental Sciences
SPEAKER(S)  Matthew Harding
LINK  http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82245&pageid=icb.page443881

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

Wednesday, November 9
5 pm
"How We Think Together: the role of networks in collective problem  
solving."
David Lazer.   Brandeis:  Abelson 333, Waltham

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

The Great Disruption: Will Climate Change the Way We Do Business?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
5:00pm - 7:30pm
Harvard Innovation Lab, 125 Western Avenue, Allston

Harvard Business School, the Harvard Innovation Lab, and Earthwatch  
are proud to co-sponsor
The Great Disruption: Will Climate Change the Way We Do Business?
A Conversation with Paul Gilding
Please visit http://earthwatchhbspaulgilding.eventbrite.com to register.

This event is open to the Boston community. Parking is available in  
the Harvard Business School lot for a nominal fee. A reception to  
follow.

Paul Gilding is an international advisor and advocate for action on  
climate change and sustainability. He has served as head of Greenpeace  
International, and is currently a faculty member for Cambridge  
University's Program for Sustainability Leadership. In his new book  
The Great Disruption, Paul Gilding argues we are in a global  
ecological and economic crisis that will lead to a period of major  
transformation, as well as enormous opportunity to build a new  
approach to economic and social development for humanity.

About the Co-Sponsors:

Since 1971, Earthwatch has empowered people of all ages and walks of  
life to contribute to more than a thousand crucial, hands-on  
environmental research projects around the globe. These programs  
directly engage a global community of researchers, volunteers,  
students, NGO’s and businesses, who transfer these learning  
experiences back to their communities.

The Harvard Innovation Lab is a new University initiative that will  
foster team-based and entrepreneurial activities and deepen  
interactions among students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of  
the Allston and Greater Boston community.

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

LivableStreets Networking Night
co-sponsored by local planning, public health, social change, and  
transportation groups

Wednesday, November 9, 5:30-7:30pm
@ Lir Irish Pub & Restaurant, 903 Bolyston St, Boston
Free and open to the public.

Interested Boston's urban planning and design scene? Love thinking  
about how cities are shaped? Applying to graduate schools or looking  
to get involved in advocacy, government, engineering or consulting  
firms? Come meet people in the field and learn what's happening in  
your backyard and how to get involved.

A unique networking opportunity. Schmooze with people from five  
different groups and fellow community members. Take advantage of this  
event to expand your social and professional network. Become part of a  
growing community of people who want to make the Boston region a  
better place to live, work and play.

Convened by LivableStreets Alliance with Young Professionals in  
Transportation (YPT), Planners Network Boston (PN), The  
Interdisciplinary Consortium on Urban Planning and Public Health  
(ICUPPH) & New England Insititute of Transportation Engineers (NEITE).

For more information: http://www.livablestreets.info/617.621.1746/kara@livablestreets.info

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

Sustainability and Resource Productivity: Discontinuities and  
Opportunities
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Sever Hall, Room 113 Harvard Yard, Cambridge

"Sustainability and Resource Productivity: Discontinuities and  
Opportunities"
A Discussion with McKinsey & Company
How does McKinsey see the energy industry changing in the next 20, 50,  
and 100 years?  Can clean energy firms be profitable or will they  
always be dependent upon government subsidies?  What does the growth  
of emerging markets like India, China and Brazil imply for the global  
energy industry?

Please register here:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDF1dlo5b0dfaGozaVNTcW8tUUl2aFE6MQ

Pizza and Refreshments will be served

Brought to you by the Harvard Global Energy Initiative and the Harvard  
College Consulting Group

Contact Name:  Sophia Wen, swen at fas.harvard.edu

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

Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Life in the Universe: In the Beginning
Speaker: Roger Summons, Jack Szostak
Time: 6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Life in the Universe
Are We Alone? That question has perplexed humanity for centuries.  
Perhaps scientists are getting closer to the answer; come find out  
during four evenings of discussion as biologists, astronomers,  
geologists, chemists, and anthropologists talk and share their  
insights with you as they explain some of their latest research about  
life on other planets, as well as on our own.

Part 2 of 4: In the Beginning
In the beginning, life was different. Join Jack Szostak, Professor of  
Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and Roger Summons, Professor of  
Geobiology at MIT, for an interdisciplinary conversation about the  
origins and evolution of complex life on Earth. What does it take for  
life to appear, and how does it develop over time?

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:
Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museuminfo at mit.edu

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

How Much Can Trees and Forests Slow the Global Warming Increase?
WHEN  Wed., Nov. 9, 2011, 6 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St. Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard Museum of Natural History
SPEAKER(S)  Steven Wofsy and Andrew Richardson
COST  Free and open to the public.
CONTACT INFO  617.495.3045, hmnh at oeb.harvard.edu
NOTE  Much research and debate in the scientific community is devoted  
to the question the impact forests have on in the capture or  
sequestration of carbon dioxide, the primary gas that causes the  
climate-warming “greenhouse effect.” Are more forests the key to  
slowing the rate of rising global temperatures or is it too optimistic  
to think they can capture enough of the world’s CO2 emissions to solve  
the problem? Hear two of Harvard’s most active climate researchers  
tackle this question from different perspectives, atmospheric chemist  
Steven Wofsy and forest ecologist Andrew Richardson. Part of the  
Challenges and Choices lecture series.
LINK  http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php

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

Reinventing Discovery
WHEN  Wed., Nov. 9, 2011, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE  First Parish in Cambridge, 3 Church Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Cambridge Forum
SPEAKER(S)  Michael Nielsen, quantum computing pioneer
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  director at cambridgeforum.org, 617.495.2727
LINK  http://www.cambridgeforum.org

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

Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Robert Wilson Visiting Artist Lecture
Speaker: Robert Wilson
Time: 7:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
MIT Visiting Artist Program
The MIT Visiting Artists Program invites MIT departments, labs,  
centers, and museums to nominate artists to engage in MIT???s creative  
community in ways that are mutually enlightening for the artist and  
faculty, students, and research staff at the Institute.

Robert Wilson, an American avant-garde stage director and playwright,  
delivers a lecture about his diverse career. Wilson has worked as a  
choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound  
and light designer. He is perhaps best known for his inspired  
collaborations with artists like Allen Ginsberg, David Byrne, and  
Philip Glass. With Glass, he created the monumental opera Einstein on  
the Beach (1976), which earned worldwide acclaim and altered  
conventional notions of form.

Wilson's MIT residency will articulate dialogues around sight and  
blindness in the context of the stage, using metaphors and means of  
emerging technologies. During a four-day workshop he will work with  
MIT students to develop new scenes for My New Friend SU: The Moon's  
Other Side, a theatrical piece that explores the symbiosis between  
humans and robots.

There will be books available for purchase preceding the lecture and a  
brief book signing directly after.

Robert Wilson's residency is made possible by the Arts at MIT Visiting  
Artist Program in collaboration with the MIT Museum, MIT's Department  
of Music and Theater Arts, MIT's Program in Art, Culture and  
Technology (ACT), and artist Elizabeth Goldring, ACT affiliate.

Web site: http://arts.mit.edu/va/artist/wilson/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free // Ticket Required
Tickets: http://arts.mit.edu/va/artist/wilson/
Sponsor(s): Arts at MIT
For more information, contact:
Meg Rotzel
617.253.2372
mrotzel at mit.edu

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

  November 10th
11AM EST to 1PM EST

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Attend this complimentary webinar to learn about the energy impact of  
new vehicle technologies and transportation projects. U.S. DOE  
representatives will review the Clean Cities Program and specific  
transportation projects underway. Michael Noblett will discuss the  
energy impact ofConnected Vehicles and Intelligent Transportation  
Systems.

Clean Cities: Driving Transportation Projects through Private/Public  
Partnerships

The Energy Impact of Connected Vehicles
Wendy Dafoe
US Department of Energy
Clean Cities Task Leader

Michael Noblett
IBM Global Business Services
Associate Partner and Business Solutions Professional

Register at http://virtualenergyforum.com/

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

Interweaving Strategy, Leadership, Web Entrepreneurship and Social  
Sector Impact
John Williams, The Bridgespan Group
Thursday, November 10, 12:00PM
Hauser 104, Hauser Hall, Harvard Law School, 1575 Massachusetts  
Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP requested for those attending in person via http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2011/11/williams#RSVP
Non-pizza lunch will be served

Co-sponsored by the Cyberlaw Clinic, Dean's Office at Harvard Law  
School, Office of Career Services, and Office of Public Interest  
Advising

As an established entrepreneur and social innovator, John Williams  
offers a number of lessons learned over the course of his 32+ year  
career.  How do organizations – both for-profit and not-for-profit --  
achieve strategic clarity, and why does it matter?  How does one go  
about re-positioning an iconic product or organization when the market  
changes?  What did it take to launch the first Webby Award-winning  
online travel business?  How do the most sophisticated not-for-profits  
and philanthropists think about how to maximize their impact on  
society? John will share his personal career explorations since  
graduating from Harvard with the JD and MBA in 1979, and offer insight  
into his most valuable experiences.

About John
John Williams is a partner in the Boston office of the Bridgespan  
Group, a nonprofit firm that works with mission-driven organizations  
and philanthropists to scale their impact, enhance their  
effectiveness, and help strengthen their leadership. Previously, he  
has been a strategy consultant at Bain & Co., a software marketer, a  
senior executive at American Express, an early dot-com entrepreneur  
and CEO of both Web 2.0 and private jet ventures. Since 1984, he has  
served on the Amherst College board of trustees (where he is a Life  
Trustee). He is private pilot with over 2,200 flight hours and was the  
founding president of the Massachusetts Business Aviation  
Association.  He performs regularly with the Mastersingers (a choral  
group) and has traveled extensively to over 40 countries.  His  
interests include the Web, consumer marketing, higher education,  
aviation, jazz, choral music, cosmology, military history,  
motorcycles, baseball, and tennis.

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

Countdown to Rio+20

Thursday, November 10, 2011
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Countdown to Rio+20
Join EEPIC and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and  
Government’s Regulatory Policy Program, the Belfer Center’s  
Environment and Natural Resources Program, the Harvard Environmental  
Economics Program, and the Weatherhead Center for International  
Affairs for a multi-stakeholder conversation on the challenges and  
opportunities presented by the agenda of Rio+20. What will a  
transition to the green economy look like? What are the building  
blocks necessary for a revived global governance system supportive of  
sustainable development?
Speakers include:
John Matuszak, Division Chief for Sustainable Development and  
Multilateral Affairs, U.S. State Department;
Jorge Laguna Celis, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Mexico to  
the United Nations;
and Felix Dodds, Executive Director, Stakeholder Forum.
Moderated by Joseph Aldy, Chair, Regulatory Policy Program, Harvard  
Kennedy School.

Lunch provided

Sponsored by:
The Energy & Environment PIC
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Regulatory Policy Program
Belfer Center Environment and Natural Resources Program
Harvard Environmental Economics Program
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
Harvard University Center for the Environment

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

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A Theory of Strategic Voting in Runoff Elections

Speaker: Laurent Bouton (BU)

Time: 4:00p–5:30p

Harvard, Littauer M16, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

A Theory of Strategic Voting in Runoff Elections

Web site: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/7249

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT/Harvard Theory Workshop

For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu

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

Nov 10, 2011

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Maxwell Dworkin G125, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Crowdsourcing Using Mechanical Turk: Quality Management and Scalability

Panagiotis Ipeirotis , Associate Professor at the Stern School of  
Business, New York University

I will discuss the acquisition of "labels" for data items when the  
labeling is imperfect.  Labels are values provided by humans for  
specified variables on data items, such as "PG-13" for "Adult Content  
Rating on this Web Page." With the increasing popularity of micro- 
outsourcing systems, such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk, it often is  
possible to obtain less-than-expert labeling at low cost.  I will  
present strategies of managing quality in a crowdsourcing environment,  
showing in parallel how to integrate data acquisition with the process  
of learning machine learning models.  I illustrate the results using  
real-life applications from on-line advertising:  leveraging  
Mechanical Turk to help classify web pages as being objectionable to  
advertisers.  Time permitting, I will also discuss our latest results  
showing that mice and Mechanical Turk workers are not that different  
after all.

Speaker Biography:
Panos Ipeirotis is an Associate Professor at the Department of  
Information, Operations, and Management Sciences at the Stern School  
of Business of New York University. His recent research interests  
focus on crowdsourcing and on mining user-generated content on the  
Internet. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia  
University in 2004, with distinction. He has received three "Best  
Paper" awards (IEEE ICDE 2005, ACM SIGMOD 2006, WWW 2011), two "Best  
Paper Runner Up" awards (JCDL 2002, ACM KDD 2008), and is also a  
recipient of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. He  
also maintains the blog "A Computer Scientist in a Business School"  
where he blogs about crowdsourcing, user-generated content, and other  
random facts, and his blogging activity seems to generate more  
interest and recognition than any of the other activities mentioned in  
this bio.
Host:  Yiling Chen
Contact: Gioia Sweetland, gioia at seas.harvard.edu 617-495-2919

-----------------------------
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Swimming bacteria power microscopic machines
Speaker: Andrey Sokolov, Argonne National Lab
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 48-316, 35 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Environmental Fluid Mechanics/Hydrology
Join us for a weekly series of efm/hydrology topics by MIT faculty and  
students, as well as guest lecturers from around the globe.

We describe a class of systems in which aerobic bacteria Bacillus  
subtilis moving randomly in a fluid film power submillimeter gears and  
primitive systems of gears decorated with asymmetric teeth. The  
directional rotation is observed only in the regime of collective  
bacterial swimming and the gears? angular velocities depend on and can  
be controlled by the amount of oxygen available to the bacteria. In  
addition, we measure the shear viscosity in suspensions of swimming  
bacteria and demonstrated that the viscosity can decrease by up to a  
factor of 7 compared to the viscosity of the same liquid without  
bacteria or with nonmotile bacteria.

Web site: http://cee.mit.edu/events/60
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering

For more information, contact:
Roberta Pizzinato
robertap at mit.edu

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

Thursday, November 10, 2011

4:15p–5:30p

MIT, Building 37-212, Vassar Street, Cambridge

Topic: The Gap Between Realistic Expectations and Our Transportation  
GHG Emissions Targets

Speaker: Prof. John Heywood

Sloan Automotive Laboratory FALL 2011 SEMINAR SERIES
Seminars on topics related to engines, fuels, vehicle behavior,  
broader transportation energy questions presented by graduate  
students, faculty, researchers, and special guest speakers of Sloan  
Automotive Laboratory.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Mechanical Engineering Dept.

For more information, contact:
Janet Maslow
3-4529
jsabio at mit.edu

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

Thursday, November 10, 2011

MIT Communications Forum: Cities and the Future of Entertainment

Speaker: Eduardo Paes, Mayor, Rio de Janeiro; Parmesh Shahani, Godrej  
India Culture Club; Ernest James Wilson III, USC; Mauricio Mota,  
Alchemists Transmedia Storytelling Co. (moderator)

Time: 5:00p–7:00p

MIT, Buidling E15-070, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

As a prologue to the CMS conference on the future of entertainment,  
this Forum will focus on the emergence of powerful new production  
cultures in such cities as Mumbai, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro. What  
do these developments portend for the international flow of media  
content? How does the nature of these cities shape the entertainment  
industries they are fostering? At the same time, new means of media  
production and circulation now permit individuals to produce content  
from suburban or rural areas. How do these apparently opposed trends  
co-exist? What is their likely impact on audiences and on the  
international media landscape? Speakers include Eduardo Paes, the  
Mayor of Rio de Janeiro; Parmesh Shahani, Godrej India Culture Club;  
Ernest James Wilson III, Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication and  
chair of the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at USC;  
and Mauricio Mota, a co-founder and Chief Storytelling Officer of the  
Alchemists Transmedia Storytelling Co. Shahani is a 2005 graduate of  
MIT Comparative Media Studies.

This forum kicks off the Futures of Entertainment conference to be  
held Nov. 11-12 at MIT.

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): CMS, Communications Forum, Convergence Culture Consortium

For more information, contact:
Brad Seawell
617-253-3521
seawell at mit.edu

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

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Energy Discussions: Desalination

Speaker: David Cohen-Tanugi

Time: 6:00p–7:00p

MIT, Building 4-153, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Join members of the MIT Energy Club for a discussion of desalination  
and its implications for water and energy policy.

A light dinner will be served.

Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
Rebecca Dell
rwdell(at)mit(dot)edu

----------------------------------
Thursday, November 10
6:30 p.m.
Screening of the documentary Miss Representation. Sponsored by the  
Shorenstein Center, KSSG and the Women and Public Policy Program.
Harvard, Kennedy School of Government, Belfer Building, Land  
Auditorium, 4th floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

---------------------------------
Harvard-MIT-Yale Cyberscholar Working Group at Harvard
Thursday, November 10, 6:30PM
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St. 2nd Floor
RSVP via http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/cyberscholars/2011/11/harvard#RSVP

The "Harvard-MIT-Yale Cyberscholar Working Group" is a forum for  
fellows and affiliates of the Comparative Media Studies Program at  
MIT,  Yale Law School Information Society Project, and the Berkman  
Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University to discuss their  
ongoing research.

This month's presenters will include:

Empower Public Sphere with ICTs--A Chinese Perspective

The Internet and digital technology have provided NGOs with  
unprecedented opportunities to reach more people than ever. In China,  
NGOs are becoming more and more apt to use ICT to disseminate  
information and organize activities. At the same time, government is  
under greater exposure to the public in dealing with public events. In  
my talk, I will use my own NGO experiences as well as images, videos  
and social media sources to illustrate the dynamic interaction between  
the government and NGOs as well as the civil society in China.

Jia Wang, Berkman Research Fellow. She has been a Department Director  
of the Open Constitution Initiative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Constitution_Initiative 
), one of the most influential legal NGOs in China. As a Berkman  
fellow, she will conduct research on the development of the public  
sphere in cyberspace and the influence of the Internet as well as  
various social media on the political ecology in China.

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

Web Conference: ??"Developing Energy-Efficient Communities"

Friday, November 11, 2011
4:00pm EST and 1:00pm PST
Online conference:  http://www.esource.com/members/CEC-WC-11-11-ChulaVista/Web_Conference
E Source and the California Energy Commission (CEC) will be hosting a  
web conference to discuss how significant reductions in energy  
consumption and air emissions can be achieved through the integrated  
use of advanced building technologies and urban design features.

The web conference, “Developing Energy-Efficient Communities,” will  
be held on Friday, November 11, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. PST (4:00 p.m.  
EST). It’s being funded by the CEC’s Public Interest Energy  
Research (PIER) program and hosted by E Source, an energy industry  
research and advisory company. Registration is free and the archive  
will be available online after the event as part of the funding from  
PIER. Get more information and register online at www.esource.com/members/CEC-WC-11-11-ChulaVista/Web_Conference 
.

Public and private development stakeholders and members of an expert  
research team will present findings from a 30-month research project  
intended to determine the extent to which efficient, renewable,  
distributed generation and solar energy technologies can reduce  
aggregate energy consumption, peak demand, and emissions of large- 
scale development projects. Web conference attendees will be  
introduced to the tools used to model performance of the design  
alternatives examined in the project as well as a set of valuable  
technical design and policy innovation guidelines for energy-efficient  
community development.

The six speakers include Doug Newman, president of SCD Consultants and  
director of the National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities;  
Marek Czachorski, independent consultant and former lead building  
modeler at the Gas Technology Institute; Denny Stone, independent  
consultant and former chief economic development officer for the city  
of Chula Vista, California; Ken Snyder, president of PlaceMatters;  
Doug Walker, president of Placeways; and Nick Lee, chief development  
officer at SCD Consultants and former project manager at McMillin  
Development.

Contact Name:  Jenny Field, jenny_field at esource.com

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

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology: Reception  
and Viewing of the Student's Research Projects

Speaker: The Siemens Foundation takes great pleasure in inviting the  
students, faculty, and staff of MIT to this reception and student  
project viewing.

Time: 5:00p–6:15p

MIT, Building W20, Twenty Chimneys, Stratton Student Center, Building  
W20, 3rd Floor, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology is the  
nation's premiere math and science research competition for high  
school students. The Siemens Foundation provides nearly $2 million in  
college scholarships and awards each year for talented high school  
students in the United States. By supporting outstanding students  
today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their  
excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and  
engineers.

Refreshments will be served.

Web site: http://www.siemens-foundation.org

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Information Center

For more information, contact:
Joe Coen
617-253-5734
jcoen at mit.edu

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

Soil Carbon Challenge Presentation and Discussion
With: Peter Donovan of the Soil Carbon Coalition & the Soil Carbon  
Challenge
  Where: Planet-TECH Associates Office, 240 Elm Street, Suite B1  
(basement), Davis Square, Somerville, MA
When: Friday, November 11, 2011
Time: 7 - 9 PM

OR (same program)

a location in Woburn, MA
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Time: 7:15 - 9:15 PM

Germane topics: climate change mitigation, soil health and  
restoration, reversal of desertification, urban gardening, grassroots  
& land-based activism, earth stewardship, the future

Description
Our future depends on putting atmospheric carbon into the soil, which  
can not only accept it, but also can use it to help us help ourselves.  
At the forefront of this challenge is Peter Donovan of the Soil Carbon  
Coalition, who is also co-founder of the Soil Carbon Challenge.

Planet-TECH Associates to honored to bring Peter Donovan to the Boston  
area to discuss the Soil Carbon Challenge and his work helping  
property owners to improve soils by sequestering carbon.

Additional Info Soil Carbon Coalition  http://soilcarboncoalition.org/

Video: Soil Carbon Challenge - Vermont Kickoff Event - 10/22/2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjG9JJ1FlA8

Please RSVP to seth at planet-tech.com (for Friday) or 781-721-2881 (for  
Saturday) so we may better anticipate turnout. Possible alternate  
meeting location Friday if needed for a large turnout.
-----------------------------

Environmental Careers Symposium

Saturday, November 12, 2011
9:45am - 2:30pm
Harvard CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

Learn what you'll need to begin or enhance your career in  
sustainability from experts in industry, both private and non-profit!  
In the morning, there will be a series of exciting skills workshops. A  
sustainably catered networking lunch will follow. Come meet and talk  
to our speakers and industry leaders, as well as alumni and fellow  
Harvard Extension School classmates. Tickets to the lunch with  
admission to the Symposium can be purchased for $5 + small processing  
fee at https://www.wepay.com/tickets/getgreen

After lunch, there will be a jobs panel with green career experts who  
will discuss career tracks and prospects, as well as answer questions  
from the audience.

General admission to the Symposium is free, but we recommend attending  
the subsidized networking lunch.

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

MA Climate Action Network Annual Conference:  Act Locally - Climate  
Change Is Here!

November 13, 2011 -- 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
(Registration and checkin start at 8:30 am)
Location: Stata Center, MIT, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Register at https://app.etapestry.com/cart/MassachusettsClimateActionN/default/category.php?ref=807.0.63518779
---------------------------

Energy Policy Seminar
Monday, November 14, 2011
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Fainsod Room, Room 324, Littauer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Energy Technology Innovation Policy/ Consortium for Energy Policy  
Research
Energy Policy Seminar Series:
Jason Bordoff, Associate Director for Energy and Climate Change,  
Council on Environmental Quality, and Senior Advisor for Energy and  
Environmental Policy, National Economic Council

Lunch will be provided.

Contact Name:  Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at hks.harvard.edu

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

November 14, 2011
12pm-1pm
MIT, Building 54-915
Title: Hurricanes in other climates: changes to the thermodynamic  
environment and genesis potential across geologic time.

Rob Korty (Texas A&M)

Abstract: Analyses of simulations for the next century have revealed  
that large-scale changes to the environment that spawns tropical  
cyclones can have some intriguing effects on the characteristics of  
tropical cyclone frequency and intensity. Yet Earth has passed through  
far more extreme variations over the course of its long history--from  
periods with deep ice sheets covering middle and high latitudes to  
other times that were quite hot with weak meridional temperature  
gradients. And superimposed on these various backgrounds are other  
variations--for example irregular volcanic eruptions or more periodic  
features such as the perihelion progressing around the calendar. There  
are a wealth of paleoclimate simulations conducted for various past  
climates by modeling centers around the world, and our group has been  
working on understanding how these large-scale climate deviations  
affect the thermodynamic properties most crucial to tropical cyclone  
genesis and development. This talk will give a brief tour through some  
of the more interesting periods, focusing on results from the Last  
Glacial Maximum and Holocene epoch.

Speaker's website: http://atmo.tamu.edu/profile/RKorty


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

Monday, November 14, 2011
12:30pm - 1:45pm
The Fletcher School, Tufts University, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford

The Energy and Climate Policy Research Seminar Series presents:
  "Renewable Energy and Climate Change: The IPCC Report"
with Professor William Moomaw, Lead Author, IPCC Special Report on  
Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (2011), and  
Director, Center for International Environment and Resource Policy
William Moomaw is Professor of International Environmental Policy and  
Director of the Center for International Environment and Resource  
Policy at The Fletcher School. He has worked on stratospheric ozone,  
climate, energy, forests, water and sustainable development issues for  
over 20 years. He has served as a lead author for five  
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports addressing  
mitigation options in the context of development, including this  
latest report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change released earlier  
this year. He has co-authored a report on nitrogen pollution for the  
EPA Science Advisory Board and a report on Financing Forests for the  
UN, written reports for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,  
and is co-author of an upcoming book on International Forest  
Diplomacy. He was also a member of the Technical Steering Committee  
that published new forest management recommendations for Massachusetts  
that have since been adopted. He has led training sessions for  
climate, environment and resource negotiators, and facilitated  
international environmental negotiations. He has advised corporations,  
governments, UN agencies and The World Bank on climate, sustainable  
energy and forest issues. He serves on the board of directors of  
several climate organizations and the Consensus Building institute.   
He lives with his wife, Margot, in a zero net energy home in  
Massachusetts that is powered by grid connected solar energy, and  
heated by a ground source heat pump.
A light lunch will be served (no RSVPs - first come first served)

Contact Name:  Miranda Fasulo
Miranda.Fasulo at tufts.edu

---------------------------------
November 14, 2011

5:00p–6:30p

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

"Unlocking Energy Innovation" by Prof. Richard Lester

Prof. Richard Lester, Head of the Department of Nuclear Science and  
Engineering, will discuss key ideas from his forthcoming book titled  
"Unlocking Energy Innovation: How America Can Build a Low-Cost, Low- 
Carbon Energy System," co-authored by Prof. David M. Hart of George  
Mason University.

Energy innovation offers the best chance to solve the three urgent and  
interrelated problems of climate change, worldwide insecurity over  
energy supplies, and rapidly growing energy demand. But if we are to  
achieve a timely transition to reliable, low-cost, low-carbon energy,  
the U.S. energy innovation system must be radically overhauled. Lester  
and Hart map three waves of energy innovation to show how we can speed  
up the introduction of new technologies and business models and  
accelerate their deployment on a massive scale.

Category:  lectures/conferences

Sponsored by:  MIT Energy Club

Admission:  Open to the public

For more information:  Contact MIT Energy Club

energyclub at mit.edu

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




GreenPort Forum to view documentary "Downstream"; updates on Tar Sands  
Action

November 15, 2011 07:00PM to 09:00PM

Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge

GreenPort's monthly forum: "Campaign to Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline".   
Screening and discussion of "Downstream" -- a documentary on the  
Aboriginal community of Fort Chipewyan located downstream from one of  
the most polluting operations in the world -- the tar sands of  
Alberta, Canada, where crude oil is extracted for export to refineries  
in Canada and the US. Obama has the power to approve or deny the  
permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline from the tar sands to the Gulf.   
Also, arrestees from last August's Tar Sands Action of civil- 
disobedience at the White House will lead a discussion about the  
campaign to stop the pipeline. We will also have a report back from  
Tar Sands Action's November 6th encirclement of the White House.

Please read website to learn how you can join this campaign to stand  
up to big oil:
http://www.tarsandsaction.org/

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

Upcoming

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

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

6:30 - 8:30 pm
Asian Community Development Corporation - Community Room at the  
Metropolitan
38 Oak Street, Boston, MA, 02111
(near the Tufts Medical Center Orange Line station, head west down  
Washington to Oak Street)

Book Release Event:  Cultivating Food Justice

Cultivating Food Justice highlights the ways race and class  
inequalities permeate the food system, from production to distribution  
to consumption.  By bringing together insights from studies of  
environmental justice, sustainable agriculture, critical race theory,  
and food studies, these diverse accounts of the relationships among  
food, environmentalism, justice, race, and identity will help guide  
efforts to achieve a just and sustainable food system.
The event is free, but space is limited.  Please RSVP by Friday,  
November 11 at http://cultivatingfoodjustice.eventbrite.com/

Refreshments provided.
The book will be available for purchase at the event.
Visit the book website: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=12695

“Race, class, and history aren’t foodie strong points. Yet to turn  
the food movement into one that fully embraces justice, some difficult  
discussions lie ahead. The chapters in this splendid and rigorously  
researched book will help those conversations be better informed, and  
their outcomes wiser.”
Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved and The Value of Nothing
-----------------------------

MIT Transportation Showcase
November 17, 2011, 6:00pm-9:30pm
MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA

The MIT Transportation Showcase will connect students, faculty,  
alumni, and employers through an evening featuring:
Cutting-edge research posters;
Employer recruitment booths;
Networking over food and drinks.

For more information visit http://transportclub.scripts.mit.edu/ 
showcase or contact transportation.showcase at mit.edu

--------------------------------
Thursday, November 17
7 pm
Keys Community Room at the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Avenue,  
Milton, MA

Brookwood Community Farm will present Toward Food Security for All:  
Building a Local and Just Food System on

At a time of rising levels of hunger, food insecurity, and nutrition- 
related health problems such as obesity and diabetes, many leaders are  
pointing to the benefits of eating fresh and locally produced food.  
But not all communities have good access to fresh food, and many low- 
income families cannot afford to buy fresh and organically grown  
food.  Toward Food Security For All brings together a panel of experts  
– farmers, nutritionists, food policy advocates and activists – to  
highlight some of the urgent food security challenges in our community  
and creative and effective ways to address them.

Panelists:
Judy Lieberman & Simca Horwitz, Brookwood Community Farm
Vivien Morris, Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition
Ellen Parker, Project Bread
Jim Buckle, Allandale Farm
Ashley Stanley, Lovin’ Spoonfuls

Moderator: Louisa Kasdon, Food Editor of Stuff at Night & Founder,  Lets  
Talk About Food, a collaboration with Museum of Science Boston

A simple meal of homemade soup, bread and cider will be served at  
6:30pm prior to panel discussion. Suggested donation $5. This program  
is co-sponsored by The Friends of the Milton Public Library.
Contact  http://www.brookwoodcommunityfarm.org or call 617-967-4578

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

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

Editorial Comment:  They are now taking names for the waiting list.

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

“Winning the Clean Energy Race”: Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of  
Energy
Wednesday, November 30, 12:00-1:00pm
Morss Hall, Walker Memorial
Registration: www.mitenergyclub.org
Lunch will be served following Secretary Chu's remarks.

The MIT Energy Club and MIT Energy Initiative are pleased to welcome  
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to MIT who will be giving an  
address on November 30, 2011 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm EST on "Winning  
the Clean Energy Race."

Registration is now open at www.mitenergyclub.org and we highly  
encourage you register as soon as possible to guarantee a spot. The  
event is open to all MIT personnel, student and faculty from other  
neighboring universities, professionals, and other members of the  
community.

Speaker Biography

As United States Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu is charged with  
helping implement President Obama's ambitious agenda to invest in  
clean energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, address the global  
climate crisis, and create millions of new jobs.

Dr. Chu is a distinguished scientist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize  
for Physics (1997). He has devoted his recent scientific career to the  
search for new solutions to our energy challenges and stopping global  
climate change - a mission he continues with even greater urgency as  
Secretary of Energy.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Chu was the Director of the Department  
of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where he led the lab in  
pursuit of alternative and renewable energy technologies. He also  
taught at the University of California as a Professor of Physics and  
Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology. Previously, he held positions  
at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories.


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

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://www.BostonScienceLectures.com

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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