[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Jul 1 11:00:17 PDT 2012
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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Beggar by the Bank http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/27/1103476/-Beggar-by-the-Bank
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Monday, July 2
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The Wonders of Electricity and Magnetism
Monday, July 02, 2012
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Walter Lewin, LIVE! Special Lecture Series, MIT Physics Professor
Walter Lewin, educator and author of "For the Love of Physics"
These lectures are free and open to the public. They will be
videotaped to air on Japanese Public Television (NHK). By attending
you are giving NHK your consent to possibly appear on this television
program without any compensation or credit.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Physics Colloquia and Seminars
For more information, contact: Nina Wu
ninawu at mit.edu
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Tuesday, July 3
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Energy Efficient Electronic Devices
Tuesday, July 3, 2013
11:00am–12:00 noon
Refreshments at 10:30am
MIT, Building 36-428, RLE Haus Room
Adrian M. Ionescu, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Abstract
In this talk, I will discuss some of the emerging device categories
that offer improved energy efficiency compared to existing solutions
for digital and analog/RF information processing. I will present
recent results in the field of tunnel FETs that stand as potential
candidates for future electronic switching below 200mV. Particularly,
the Electro-Hole Bilayer TFET fro milli-volt abrupt switching,
proposed by our group, will be detailed. Demonstration of Negative
Capacitance effect in MOS-like structures with gate stacks including
organic ferroelectric will be shortly reported. In the field of low
power NEMS, I will present recent results on resonant-body double-gate
transistors for FM demodulation and mass sensing applications. Thales,
Alcatel-Lucent and CEA/LETI will be also presented.
About Adrian M. Ionescu
Sylvain Delage*Adrian M. Ionescu* is a Professor at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland. He received the B.S./
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest,
Romania and the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, France, in
1989 and 1997, respectively. He has held staff and/or visiting
positions at LETI-CEA, Grenoble, France, LPCS-ENSERG, Grenoble, France
and Stanford University, USA, in 1998 and 1999. Dr. Ionescu has
published more than 250 articles in international journals and
conferences. He is director of the Laboratory of Micro/Nanoelectronic
Devices (NANOLAB) and head of the Doctoral School in Microsystems and
Microelectronics of EPFL. He is appointed as national representative
of Switzerland for the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory
Council (ENIAC) and member of the Scientific Committee of CATRENE. Dr.
Ionescu is the European Chapter Chair of the ITRS Emerging Research
Devices Working Group.
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Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an
Age of Discontent
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
E.J. Dionne Jr.
Harvard Book Store and The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press,
Politics and Public Policy are delighted to welcome renowned
journalist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution E.J. DIONNE
JR. for a discussion of his new book, Our Divided Political Heart: The
Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent.
Our Divided Political Heart will be the must-read book of the 2012
election campaign. Offering an incisive analysis of how hyper-
individualism is poisoning the nation’s political atmosphere, E. J.
Dionne Jr. argues that Americans can’t agree on who we are because we
can’t agree on who we’ve been, or what it is, philosophically and
spiritually, that makes us Americans. Dionne takes on the Tea Party’s
distortions of American history and shows that the true American
tradition points not to radical individualism, but to a balance
between our love of individualism and our devotion to community.
co-sponsored by The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and
Public Policy
information at (617) 661-1515, info at harvard.com
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Wednesday, July 4
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Happy Fourth of July!
Exercise your freedoms!
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Friday, July 6
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Understanding Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment
Friday, July 06, 2012
10:00a–11:00a
Webinar register at: https://mitweb.webex.com/mitweb/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=644994381
Speaker: Christopher Weber, IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute
LEAP Sustainability Speaker Series
The Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) method
estimates the materials and energy resources required for, and the
environmental emissions resulting from, activities in our economy.
Learn more about EIO-LCA from one of the field's prominent experts.
Web site: http://leap.mit.edu/speaker-series/
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): LEAP: Global Leaders in Environmental Assessment and
Performance
For more information, contact: Suzanne Greene
6177155473
segreene at mit.edu
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Super High-Voltage - Why is the Sky Blue, Why are the Clouds White and
Why are Sunsets Red?
Friday, July 06, 2012
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Walter Lewin, MIT Physics Professor, educator and author of "For the
Love of Physics"
These lectures are free and open to the public. They will be
videotaped to air on Japanese Public Television (NHK). By attending
you are giving NHK your consent to possibly appear on this television
program without any compensation or credit.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Physics Colloquia and Seminars
For more information, contact: Nina Wu
ninawu at mit.edu
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MADMEC Design Challenge 1
Friday, July 06, 2012
1:00p–2:00p
MIT, Building 4-131, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Teams will design and build a gear system using 3D printing. The
system that can pull the most weight wins this challenge's $500 prize.
Viewing available from the hallway and the atrium.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
For more information, contact: DMSE
617-253-3300
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Sunday, July 8
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Aaron Birk "Pollinator's Corridor" author: Reception & Book Signing
Sunday, July 8, 2012
3:00 PM To 6:00 PM
Follow the Honey, 1132 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge
What is "The Pollinator's Corridor?"
Set in the aftermath of the 1970's landlord fires, "The Pollinator's
Corridor" follows the lives of three friends who attempt to convince
wild bees and butterflies to cross the Bronx by planting 'corridors'
of native flora throughout the industrial wasteland. Connecting
fragmented forests, watersheds and city parks, our heros restore
biodiversity to the blighted ghetto by uniting marginalized
communities and laying the foundations of ecological health in an age
of crisis and decline.
Who is Aaron Birk?
Philadelphia-based artist Aaron Birk began work on The Pollinator's
Corridor in 2003, while employed as a forester in Central Park, NY.
Along with his efforts in restoration ecology, Aaron continues to hone
his craft in illustration, puppetry and acrobatics. He is sponsored by
New York Foundation for the Arts, and is the recipient of two major
grants from The Independence Foundation and Pennsylvania Partners in
the Arts.
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Monday, July 9
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The Hidden Beauty of Rainbows
Monday, July 09, 2012
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Walter Lewin, MIT Physics Professor Emeritus, educator and author of
"For the Love of Physics"
These lectures are free and open to the public. They will be
videotaped to air on Japanese Public Television (NHK). By attending
you are giving NHK your consent to possibly appear on this television
program without any compensation or credit.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Physics Colloquia and Seminars
For more information, contact: Nina Wu
ninawu at mit.edu
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Upcoming
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Narcotweets: Reporting on the Mexican Drug War using Social Media
Tuesday, July 10
12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/07/narcotweets#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast
and archived on our site shortly after.
Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Microsoft Research & Berkman Center for
Internet & Society, and Panagiotis "Takis" Metaxas, Wellesley College
In the last few years, the war among drug cartels and the Mexican
authorities has intensified. It is a brutal war that has claimed the
lives of many innocent people. Citizens, using Social Media have
organized a communication network reporting daily on the dangerous
zones of their cities. How did it start and how effective are they? In
this presentation we analyze the information sharing practices of
people living in cities central to the Mexican Drug War. We will
describe the content, volume, and network structures of a
microblogging corpus from several cities afflicted by this war. First,
we will describe how citizens use social media to alert each other and
comment on the violence that plagues their communities. Then we will
examine how a handful of citizens aggregate and disseminate
information from social media, many of whom are anonymous. We present
our published and ongoing research (jointly with Eni Mustafaraj) on
this phenomenon that we hope will expand our understanding of self-
organized civic media efforts along with some of the challenges that
these might face.
Bios
Andrés Monroy-Hernández is a post-doctoral researcher at Microsoft
Research and a Fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for
Internet & Society. His main areas of research are social computing
and social media. He is particularly interested in the design and
study of online collaboration, communities for creative expression and
civic engagement. His work has been featured in the New York Times,
CNN, Wired, and has received awards from Ars Electronica, and the
MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition. He was formerly a
student at the MIT Media Lab and at the Tec de Monterrey in Mexico.
Panagiotis "Takis" Metaxas is a Professor of Computer Science and
Founder of the Media Arts and Sciences Program at Wellesley College.
Currently, he is a Visiting Scholar and Affiliate at the Center for
Research on Computation and Society at Harvard University. He holds a
Ph.D. in Computer Science from Dartmouth and has been a visiting
scientist at MIT and at the Sydney University, Australia. His research
interests are currently in Social Computing, Propagation of
information and misinformation in cyberspace (including Web Spam) and
Cognitive Hacking. His current project, aims to create semi-automatic
tools that will help users evaluate the trustworthiness of the
information they receive from Social Media.
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Midsummer Nights' Science is an annual lecture series that explores
key advances in genomic research. This lecture series is held each
summer, and is free and open to the general public. Midsummer Nights'
Science at the Broad Institute takes place at 7 Cambridge Center, in
Kendall Square in Cambridge. Come experience science!
The 2012 series will run on Wednesday evenings on July 11th, 18th,
25th and August 1st from 6pm to 7pm. Space will be limited, so we ask
attendees to register ahead of time. Registration instructions for the
2012 series can be found here.
2012 Lecture Schedule:
Miniature science: How microfluidics is powering biology
Wednesday, July 11th
6-7pm
7 Cambridge Center, in Kendall Square in Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1114751
Paul Blainey, Ph.D.
Miniaturized lab-on-a-chip methods are being deployed as labor-saving
devices in biological research, through the advent of a suite of
microfluidics technologies. Microfluidics enables large-scale studies
that provide the means to better understand, prevent, and treat human
disease. Paul Blainey will discuss the promise of using microfluidics
to transform our industrial infrastructure to operate more
efficiently, while protecting the natural environment.
http://www.broadinstitute.org/education/midsummer-nights-science/midsummer-nights-science-2012
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The Egyptian Oracle
Thursday, July 13
7 pm
Northeastern's Raytheon Amphitheater, Egan Engineering/Science
Building, 120 Forsyth Street, Boston
Circle the City: Boston's Open Streets Initiative: Car-Free Corridor
Public VR will recreate an important religious event, the Oracle, from
ancient Egypt's late period. Projecting our Virtual Egyptian Temple
onto a wall opens the real space into the virtual, creating a shared
continuum for audience and actors. The star is a virtual High Priest,
controlled by a human puppeteer interacting with a live actor and the
audience, who role-play the Egyptian populace. The high priest
queries the spirit of the temple god, which is embodied in a
ceremonial boat, carried by eight assistants. Fortunes will be told,
judgments made, and blessings given. We will film the evnt, ask
audience members what they learned, and have a general discussion
afterward, all totaling 80 minutes. The information we gather will
help us improve the show and inform our educational research. This
was made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities,
PublicVR, and Northeastern University. Our actors are from the Puppet
Showplace Theater in Brookline. No charge.
Further information at 617-435-0517, jeff at publicvr.org
http://publicvr.org/html/pro_oracle.html
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July 15 and August 5
Come out to walk, bike, dance, and roll on open, car-free streets in
and between our parks! Circle The City is free and open to people of
all ages.
July 15, 11 am-4 pm, car-free corridor between Franklin Park and
Jamaica Pond. LivableStreets will be there with our "Red Line photo
booth." Come take a picture on the "T" to win best "T snap shot" of
the summer!
August 5, 10 am-1 pm, Rose Kennedy Greenway
Featuring a car-free corridor along the downtown waterfront.
Organized by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Boston Collaborative
for Food and Fitness, LivableStreets Alliance, Franklin Park
Coalition, and the City of Boston.
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Opportunity
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Boiler Rebate
If your boiler is from 1983 or earlier, Mass Save will give a $1,750
to $4,000 rebate to switch it out for a new efficient boiler that uses
the same fuel (i.e. if you have oil, you have to continue to use oil)
so long as it is installed by July 31, 2012.
Call Mass Save (866 527-7283) to sign up for a home energy assessment
or sign-up online at www.nextsteplivinginc.com/HEET and HEET will
receive a $10 contribution from Next Step Living for every completed
assessment.
This is a great way to reduce climate change emissions for the next 20
or so years the boiler lasts, while saving money.
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CEA Solar Hot Water Grants
Cambridge, through the Cambridge Energy Alliance initiative, is
offering a limited number of grants to residents and businesses for
solar hot water systems. The grants will cover 50% of the remaining
out of pocket costs of the system after other incentives, up to $2,000.
Applications will be accepted up to November 19, 2012 and are
available on a first come, first serve basis until funding runs out.
The Cambridge grant will complement other incentives including the
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center solar thermal grants. For more
information, seehttp://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/additional-resources/solar-hot-water-grant-program
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by
having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera?
With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more
comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the
cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer
Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a
hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every
building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or
buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal
images of their property and an analysis online. The information is
password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images
and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building
owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their
images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says
"Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here"
to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will
be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help
you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to
do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money,
not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
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HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor
Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to
Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass
Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on
your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or
call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living
Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the
services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home
Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call
HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
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Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green
Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for
sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org
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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.
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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/
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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
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations
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
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Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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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/
Arts and Cultural Events List http://aacel.blogspot.com/
http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/calendar
http://harddatafactory.com/mobileapp.shtml
http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/
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