[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - April 6, 2014
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Apr 6 10:07:39 PDT 2014
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
What I Do and Why I Do It: The Story of Energy (and Other) Events
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html
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Event Index - full Event Details available below the Index
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Monday, April 7
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11am Paleogeographic controls on atmospheric pCO2 and global climate for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic
12pm Webinar: Applying Systems Thinking to Energy and Sustainability Challenges in Chile
12pm Designing for Community - Part 11, Pocket Neighborhoods
12:15pm Doctors of the Revolution": Egypt's Political Uprisings and the Limits of Medical Neutrality
2:40pm How to Deal with a Hostile Audience, a Public Speaking Workshop with Holly Weeks
3pm xCLINIC: What is an Environmental Health Clinic and will it pay me to ride my bike?
4pm Exploring the Spatial and Temporal Complexity of the Last Interglacial Sea Level highstand
4pm Radcliffe Institute Fellows Presentation Series: Building New Materials, One Atom at a Time
4pm When Women Lead: Insights and Experience from Women in Power
5:15pm Religion and Social Welfare: How Faith-State Partnerships Can Save the World
5:30pm Legatum Lecture: How the Mobile Industry is Building Nations
5:30pm Israel Fuel Choices Initiative: Israel's Strategy in Reducing Global Dependence on Oil
5:30pm Fear, Trauma and Memory: A Panel Discussion
6pm Protecting Syrian Refugees: Laws, Policies and Global Responsibility-Sharing
6pm Shale: A Case for Innovation
6:30pm Sharing Spaces and Building Community Where We Live, Work and Eat
7pm Noble Lecture
7pm ACT Lecture: Where's the Passion? Where's the Politics?
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Tuesday, April 8
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8am Boston Tech Breakfast: Authentik Time, The Edventure Builder, Layrs, PreApps, CookRadar
11am IAPril: 3D printing for fun and science? A conversation about digital fabrication, the library, and you.
11:45am Killing a MidWest Generation
12pm "The Future of Newspapers.”
12pm Intelligence Gathering and the Unowned Internet
12pm Crowd Sourced Real Estate Development: Fundrise.com and the Fairhaired Dumbbell
12:30pm Anglo-America and the Dynamics of Globalization
4pm Moving Mexico Forward
4pm Tanner Lectures on Human Values by Rowan Williams, The Paradoxes of Empathy
4pm Crossing the Divides of Digital Divide Research
4:15pm Foundations for Learning in the Age of Big Data
4:15pm Foundations for Learning in the Age of Big Data
6pm The Investment Crisis in Life Science
6pm Climate Change Resiliency
6pm 2014 Annual John R. Freeman Lecture: Capturing Domestic Wastewater's Resource Potentials
6:30pm Lecture: Grace La and James Dallman, "On Integration”
7pm How Environmental Pollutants Impair Brain Development
7pm "THE SQUARE" Film Screening
7pm Energy & Entrepreneurship March Mixer
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Wednesday, April 9
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10am Japan and the US Nuclear Umbrella
12pm James Baldwin and the Question of Home
12pm Is the New Communication Climate Good for the Earth's Climate?
12pm Diamond - Engineer's Best Friend
12pm Live Webcast: THRIVE: A Conversation with Arianna Huffington on Redefining Success
12pm More than a Word? Genocide and U.S. Public Opinion
12:10pm The importance of the tropical Pacific for reducing the uncertainty in global climate change
2pm Webinar: Local and Sustainable Food Procurement - Best Practices from Northeastern State Governments
3pm China 2035: Energy, Climate, Development
3pm BCSEA Webinar: The Future of Solar PV in British Columbia
4pm "Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology for Energy, Water, and Environmental Applications”
4pm Fertility in Postindustrial Societies
4pm Partisanship in the Non-Partisan Press: The Implications of Media Bias for Democracy
4pm Tanner Lectures on Human Values by Rowan Williams, The Paradoxes of Empathy
4:15pm Politics in the Religious Republic: Path to Democracy or Despotism?
4:15pm Semiconductor nanowires for energy conversion
4:30pm The Modern American Right's Thinking About Expertise: Taxonomy and Reflections
4:30pm Global Economic and Financial Challenges: A Tale of Two Views
5pm OpenMind: How the Internet Is Changing Our Lives
6pm Cambridge Net Zero Task Force
6pm Work with Watson - Smaller, Faster, More Accessible
7pm Putting Together the Pieces: The Power of Narrative
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Thursday, April 10
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11:45am Regulatory Policy Program Seminar: Does Regulation Kill Jobs?
12pm Transportation System Resilience Extreme Weather and Climate Change
12pm Using Theater to Explore Issues Related to Climate Change
12pm Energy 101: Solar Technologies
12pm Panel Discussion of The Witch Hunt Narrative: Politics, Psychology, and The Sexual Abuse of Children
12:15pm All Options on the Table? Nuclear Proliferation, Preventive War, and a Leader's Decision to Intervene
1:30pm Essential Self Technologies: Tapping into the Wisdom of the Body
2pm Can New England Supply All of its Own Energy through Renewables?
3:15pm Scaling Infrastructure
4pm Computational challenges in large-scale social networks
4pm The Intersection of Climate, Air Quality, and Vegetation
4pm Strength of the Weak: How Central Asian States Manipulate Great Powers Rivalry
4pm Partisanship in the Non-Partisan Press: The Implications of Media Bias for Democracy
4pm Sources and Sinks of Marine Biodiversity in Deep and Shallow Time
4:15pm Huge-Scale First-Order Optimization of Big Data
4:15pm Sustainable Communities Forum
4:30pm The Promise(s) of Digital Humanities
4:30pm High Frequency Traders: Taking Advantage of Speed
4:30pm Climate Change and What it Means for Extreme Weather
5:30pm Askwith Forum - Leveling the Playing Field for Children: Celebrating 40 Years of the Children's Defense Fund
5:30pm Why We Serve: A Leadership Forum
6pm Social Physics: Beyond Economics and Org Charts
6pm Predicting the Future: The Perception of Probability
7pm Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction
7pm Atomic Legos: Building and Investigating Quantum Materials One Atom at a Time
7pm Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum: Grass is Greener! Carbon Capturing Ecology
7:30pm Who Decides? Gender, Medicine, and the Public’s Health
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Friday, April 11
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Water & Cities: Shaping the Flow of Our Urban Future - register by April 7
The 20th International Development Conference at Harvard Kennedy School
9am The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: New England Governors' Energy Infrastructure Proposals and ENE's EnergyVision(2050)
9:30am Framing Architecture: Environment, Institutions, Practice
12pm Communication neuroscience: The listening, talking, and reading brain
12pm Healthcare in the future:Will advancing technology make doctors unemployed?
12pm South Africa’s “Negotiated Revolution” and Mandela’s Legacy: A Conversation with Roelf Meyer and Tim Phillips
3pm Sparking Behavior Change to Create a Culture of Health
3pm Towards Collaborative Learning At Scale
4pm Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: Responses to a Global Crisis
6pm New England Anglican Studies Conference: Christianity and Capitalism
6:30pm Swiss Gaming Corner – Opening Reception
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Saturday, April 12
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TEDxHarvardLaw
New England Anglican Studies Conference: Christianity and Capitalism
Boston FIRST Student Robotics Competition
2pm The Business of Sustainability
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Sunday, April 13
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7pm Louise Bruyn - Reading from She Walked For All Of Us
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Monday, April 14
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12pm GSD Talks: Chris Reed, "Projective Ecologies”
5:30pm Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know
6pm Nationalism, Sentimentality, and Judgment: Cultivating Sympathy in the Syrian Uprising, 2011-2013
7pm Science by the Pint: Using Math to Answer Scientific Questions
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Tuesday, April 15
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11:45am TARP: How the Most Unpopular Bill in History Became Law
12pm Can We Trust the Western Media's Coverage of Syria?
12pm Bob Berkebile
12:30pm Ethereum: Freenet or Skynet?
12:30pm Asia's 21st Century: Risks and Opportunities
3pm Challenges of Managing Post-Conflict Economies: Balancing Growth, Development, and Employment
4pm Science, Society and Education
4:30pm Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: Current and Looming Problems
4:30pm A Conversation with Ambassador Nabeela Al-Mulla
5pm Boston New Technology April 2014 Product Showcase #BNT40
6:30pm Swiss Creativity Night
7pm Sustainable Real Estate - Startup Financing for Sustainable Housing
7pm Expecto Patronum: Lessons from Harry Potter for Social Justice Organizing
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com
Gandhian Economics: A Humane Approach
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/gandhian-economics-humane-approach.html
Economy of Permanence
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/economy-of-permanence.html
Essays in Gandhian Economics
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/essays-in-gandhian-economics.html
Inclusive Economics: Gandhian Method and Contemporary Policy
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/inclusive-economics-gandhian-method-and.html
Gandhi’s Economic Thought
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/gandhis-economic-thought.html
Foundations of Gandhian Economics
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/foundations-of-gandhian-economics.html
Sarvodaya, Swaraj, and Swadeshi
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/sarvodaya-swaraj-and-swadeshi.html
MyCityGardens: Networking Greater Boston Gardening
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/30/1288543/-MyCityGardens-Networking-Greater-Boston-Gardening
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Monday, April 7
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Paleogeographic controls on atmospheric pCO2 and global climate for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic
Monday, April 07, 2014
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Dennis Kent, Rutgers University
Rather than variable outgassing scaled to presumed changes in ocean floor production, variation in continental area and especially basaltic provinces in the equatorial humid belt, and hence silicate weathering consumption, is suggested to be the dominant factor that controls how much CO2 was retained in the atmosphere in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Weathering of the huge Central Atlantic Magmatic Province after its broad emplacement in low latitudes in the earliest Jurassic may have punctuated a long-term decline in pCO2 as Pangea drifted northward. High pCO2 levels returned by the Cretaceous and into the Early Cenozoic in the apparent absence of major continental basalt provinces in the prime equatorial weathering zone (Siberian Traps remained relatively inert in high northern latitudes). Calculations from paleogeography show that shutdown of decarbonation of pelagic sediments in Tethyan subduction with collision of India and Asia at around 50 Ma was inadequate to account for the subsequent decrease in pCO2 that eventually allowed the growth of significant Antarctic ice sheets by around 34 Ma. Instead, we estimate that enhanced silicate weathering with the arrival of the highly weatherable Deccan Traps in the equatorial humid belt at around 50 Ma followed by the emplacement of the 30 Ma Ethiopian Traps near the equator and the southerly tectonic extrusion of SE Asia, an arc terrane that researchers have estimated to account for a significant fraction of total CO2 consumption
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Allison Provaire
provaire at mit.edu
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Webinar: Applying Systems Thinking to Energy and Sustainability Challenges in Chile
April 7, 2014
Noon – 1 p.m. EDT
Free and open to all
Register at http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_040714/moreno-holaschutz-webinar-energy-sustainability-chile.html
Jorge Moreno, SDM '11 and
Donny Holaschutz, SDM '10, Cofounders, inodú
In this webinar, SDM alumni Jorge Moreno and Donny Holaschutz will describe specific instances of how high-impact energy and sustainability projects have been driven from conception to operation in Chile.
Examples will include:
Working with the European Southern Observatory and the Chilean Energy Ministry to address planned increases in energy consumption while satisfying the need for reliable, cost-effective electricity and minimizing environmental impact;
Supporting the development of small hydroelectric plants through financial planning and risk management; and
Analyzing the complex systems at work in one of Chile's largest food companies, identifying opportunities for improved energy efficiency, and developing an implementation plan.
The speakers will also provide a general plan of action for energy management that can be customized and applied across industries.
A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.
We invite you to join us.
MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series
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Designing for Community - Part 11, Pocket Neighborhoods
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gund Hall Room 112, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Loeb Fellowship, Harvard Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Ross Chapin, Pocket Neighborhoods, and Eli Spevak, Loeb Fellow 14, and founder, Orange Splot LLC
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO syoung at gsd.harvard.edu
LINK http://blogs.gsd.harvard.edu/loeb-fellows/upcoming-loeb-fellowship-events/
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Doctors of the Revolution": Egypt's Political Uprisings and the Limits of Medical Neutrality
Monday, April 7
12:15-2:00 pm
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street
Abstract: Amidst the recent political uprisings in the region, physicians and other health care workers have found themselves, willy-nilly, in the crossfire. This paper focuses on Egypt’s medics, paying special attention to how many have both appealed to and practiced medical neutrality as its own potent and contested political stance, particularly since the period of military rule following Mubarak’s removal from power. Our paper draws on interviews with key players in the doctors' strike and with physicians who served as volunteers in the field hospitals in the days of unrest and violence, including those who belong to organizations, such as “Operation: Anti-Harrassment,” “Doctors of Tahrir” and “Doctors Without Rights.” Our paper reveals how their commitment to medical neutrality put them at odds with the orders of military personnel, infuriated throngs of protestors, led to suspicion among members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and even caused divisions and fractions within their own movement.
Biography: Soha Bayoumi is a Lecturer in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University. Her research focuses on questions of justice and health and is currently working on a book manuscript entitled Are Socialists Liberal?
Sherine Hamdy is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Brown University and author of Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt (University of California Press, 2012).
A complete list of STS Circle at Harvard events can be found on our website:
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/sts/events/sts_circle/
Follow us on Facebook: STS at Harvard
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How to Deal with a Hostile Audience, a Public Speaking Workshop with Holly Weeks
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 2:40 – 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, Taubman Building, Room 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Kennedy School Communications Program
SPEAKER(S) Holly Weeks, HKS adjunct lecturer in public policy
COST Free
CONTACT INFO 617.495.1329
NOTE Learn tools and methods to get your message across when your speech turns confrontational.
LINK www.hkscommunicationsprogram.org
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xCLINIC: What is an Environmental Health Clinic and will it pay me to ride my bike?
Monday, April 07, 2014
3:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building N52-3rd floor, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Natalie Jeremijenko
Through a series of public experiments Natalie's Design Tools and Talk seminar will survey the state-of-the-art in socio-ecological systems designed for improving human and environmental health, and argue why these methodologies raise standards of evidence and exploit the opportunities that new technologies provide for social and environmental change.
Design Tools and Talks Series
Tools and Talks is a new conversation series on design research at the International Design Centre. Join us as we launch creative interactions between the MIT community and the leading designers, scientists, entrepreneurs thinkers working with design tools and materials, urban research, computational methods, inventive health and global experimentation.
The Talk portion of our events feature a global line up of design researchers working at the leading edge of fields that include smart city science, natural biosensors for environmental health, open sources construction sets for manufacturing, and accessible medical devices for children.
This is the MIT IDC, with more prototyping energy per square foot that most design labs and combining more than 15 representative disciplines under the same roof. We're going to make things and you're going to make things- that's the tools portion of our events.
Web site: http://toolsandtalks.wordpress.com/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT-SUTD International Design Centre
For more information, contact: Anna Young
akyoung at mit.edu
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"Exploring the Spatial and Temporal Complexity of the Last Interglacial Sea Level highstand”
Monday, April 7, 2014
4:00pm
Harvard, Haller Hall (Geo-Museum 102), 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Dr. Andrea Dutton, University of Florida
Post-talk Reception to follow at Hoffman Lab 4th floor
EPS Colloquium
Contact Name: Sabinna Cappo
scappo at fas.harvard.edu
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Radcliffe Institute Fellows Presentation Series: Building New Materials, One Atom at a Time
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 4 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Jennifer E. Hoffman, 2013-2014 Radcliffe Alumnae Fellow, associate professor of physics, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO 617.495.8212
NOTE At Radcliffe, physicist Jennifer E. Hoffman is expanding her research program from imaging to the active creation of new materials, using molecular beam epitaxy, a process of controlled thermal evaporation of single elements that allows the growth of exotic hybrid materials, one atomic layer at a time. Combining material growth with the existing atomic-scale imaging capabilities in the Hoffman Lab allows rapid feedback to guide the discovery of materials with desired properties, such as higher-temperature superconductivity or more robust spin-momentum locking of electrons.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-jennifer-e-hoffman-fellow-presentation
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When Women Lead: Insights and Experience from Women in Power
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Office of the President, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public; seating is limited
NOTE Four distinguished women leaders will consider the changing roles of women in business, education, and politics, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing women in positions of authority. Karen Gordon Mills, A.B. ’75, M.B.A. ’77, former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School, will moderate the discussion. Jill Abramson, A.B. ’76, Executive Editor of the New York Times; Edith Cooper, A.B. ’83, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Human Capital Management at Goldman Sachs; and Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California and former Secretary of Homeland Security, will serve as panelists. Questions from the audience will be welcomed following their conversation.
LINK http://www.harvard.edu/president/event/2014/when-women-lead-insights-and-experience-from-women-power
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Religion and Social Welfare: How Faith-State Partnerships Can Save the World
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 5:15 – 6:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Common Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences
SPONSOR Center for the Study of World Religions
CONTACT Lexi Gewertz, 617.495.4476
NOTE One of the most controversial aspects of President George W. Bush's administration was the creation of state and federal offices that publicly and financially support faith-based organizations across the country. Although under President Obama this office has continued to issue public support for services offered by religious organizations, these faith-based partnerships raise big questions. What are the implications of state funding for religious organizations? Are faith-based services any more effective than nonreligious ones? Please join us as we explore these questions on the role of faith-based organizations as state sponsored social service providers with Harvard Kennedy School's Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life Fr. Bryan Hehir and Malika Rushdan, director of Islamic Relief Boston, and Dan Bush, Director of Development for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell.
This event is part of CSWR Junior Fellow Usra Ghazi's conversation series: Interfaith as Antidote: Models of Faith-Based Civic Engagement.
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Legatum Lecture: How the Mobile Industry is Building Nations
Monday, April 07, 2014
5:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building E51-325, Tang Center, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Oddvar Hesjedal
Information technology in general and the mobile services industry in particular give tremendous opportunities in emerging countries, both on a personal, national and regional level. Based on personal experiences from Asia and Eastern Europe, Oddvar will give concrete examples of how nations benefit from this development in areas like democracy, transparency, liberation of women, education, health, etc.
In addition to addressing the positive impact on nations around the world, Oddvar will discuss how the technological revolution has allowed misuse in anti-democratic directions, and the consequent dilemmas.
Web site: http://legatum.mit.edu/events/how-mobile-industry-building-nations
Open to: the general public
Cost: none
Sponsor(s): MIT Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development, Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
For more information, contact: Agnes Hunsicker
617-324-2768
legatum at mit.edu
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Fear, Trauma and Memory: A Panel Discussion
Monday April 7, 2014
5:30 reception and 6:30 panel discussion
MIT, Building 46-3189, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fear-trauma-and-memory-a-panel-discussion-registration-10868697567
How accurate are our memories after a traumatic event? Does chronic stress make us more vulnerable to trauma? Will scientists one day succeed in preventing PTSD?
We invite you to join the discussion with a distinguished group of experts who will explore new lines of research and treatment strategies for stress disorders and traumatic memory. On Monday, April 7th, McGovern Institute director Bob Desimone will moderate a panel of experts and will engage the audience in a Q&A session. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. We hope you will join us!
MODERATOR
Robert Desimone is the director of the McGovern Institute and the Doris and Don Berkey Professor of Neuroscience in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Prior to joining the McGovern Institute in 2004, he was director of the Intramural Research Program at the National Institutes of Mental Health. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of numerous awards, including the Troland Prize of the National Academy of Sciences.
PANELISTS
Michael Ball is originally from Boston and is a graduate of Boston Latin Academy High School. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps upon graduation from high school and was stationed out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Ball was deployed twice to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, and subsequently diagnosed with both post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury after receiving multiple concussions from IED blasts in southern Helmand Province. Now out of the Marine Corps for one year, Michael now volunteers to help veterans in need and spread awareness of the struggles veterans face upon separation from the military.
John Gabrieli is the director of the Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at the McGovern Institute. He is an Investigator at the Institute, with faculty appointments in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Institute for Medical Engineering at MIT. Gabrieli’s major research focus is combining brain imaging with behavioral analysis to understand the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the human brain. A central theme of Gabrieli’s research is memory in its different forms: the short-term recall that allows us to dial a phone number, our long-term memory of events and places, and the emotional associations that often color our factual memories. These different types of memory are mediated by different brain systems, and Gabrieli seeks to tease these systems apart and understand how they interact to shape our overall sense of the past.
Prior joining MIT, Gabrieli spent 14 years at Stanford University in the Department of Psychology and Neurosciences Program. Since 1990, he has served as Visiting Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital and Rush Medical College. He earned a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 1987 and BA in English from Yale University in 1978.
Ki Ann Goosens is a Principal Investigator at the McGovern Institute and Assistant Professor in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Goosens is currently dedicated to studying the relationship between fear, anxiety, and stress. In 2013, Goosens published new findings demonstrating that the hormone ghrelin, a stomach hormone whose production is dramatically enhanced in times of stress, makes the brain more vulnerable to traumatic events and may predispose people to post-traumatic stress disorder. Goosens hopes that a better understanding of the brain’s response to stress will lead to new therapeutic strategies for anxiety and stress disorders, depression, and other psychiatric diseases.
Prior to joining the McGovern Institute, Goosens was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University. She earned a PhD in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2002 and, prior to that, a BA with Distinction in Cognitive Science with a Concentration in Neuroscience from the University of Virginia.
Dr. Mireya Nadal-Vicens is a staff psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she specializes in treating individuals with stress- and trauma-related disorders. She conducts research in the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorder and Center for Addiction Medicine at Mass. General Hospital, and is an Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Nadal-Vicens is rigorously trained in basic laboratory science in the field of brain development. Her research and training plan relates to establishing a new model for depression and social defeat, and in this work she draws from several disciplines and departments at MGH/Harvard, including psychiatry, neuroscience, pharmacology, and genetics.
Nadal-Vicens earned a BA from Harvard College, an MS in Neuroscience from Stanford University, and an MD/PhD in the Department of Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. During her PhD thesis work, she studied the molecular signaling cascade responsible for the generation of neurons and glial cells during early brain development, working with newly discovered neural stem cells.
Contact: ldargus at mit.edu or 617.324.2077
http://mcgovern.mit.edu/news/talks-events-news/fear-trauma-and-memory-a-panel-discussion/#sthash.HXmJ8Von.dpuf
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Israel Fuel Choices Initiative: Israel's Strategy in Reducing Global Dependence on Oil
Monday, April 07, 2014
5:30p–7:00p
MIT, Building E51-335, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/israel-fuel-choices-initiative-israels-strategy-in-reducing-global-dependence-on-oil-tickets-11021751355
Speaker: Eyal Rosner, Chairman and Director, Administration Alternative Fuels Initiative, Israel Prime Minister's Office
The world has a dependence problem; a dependence on oil. It stems mostly from oil's massive and growing use in transportation and its monopoly as an energy source for transportation (about 96%). This dependence is a global issue with challenging geopolitical, economic, and environmental impacts. If the world fails to reduce its dependence on oil in transportation, it will soon be facing a grave social, financial, and environmental crisis.
Join us to hear what steps the government of Israel has been taken to support oil dependence and how global partnerships could accelerate the process of finding solutions.
Program:
5:30-6:00 Registration, refreshments and networking
6:00-7:00 Israel Alternative Fules Initiative; Reducing World Dependence on Oil
7:00-7:30 Networking
Web site: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/israel-fuel-choices-initiative-israels-strategy-in-reducing-global-dependence-on-oil-tickets-11021751355
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MISTI MIT-Israel Program, MISTI, Center for International Studies, MIT Energy Club, Israeli Students Club, MIT Energy Initiative, New England-Israel Business Council
For more information, contact: David Dolev
717-324-5581
ddolev at mit.edu
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Protecting Syrian Refugees: Laws, Policies and Global Responsibility-Sharing
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 6 p.m.
WHERE Allison Dining Room, 5th Floor Tabuman Building, Harvard Kennedy School, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Susan Akram, director, International Human Rights Clinical Program, Boston University School of Law
NOTE Join us for a talk with Susan Akram as she discusses her research on the legal issues that are creating barriers to relief and protection for refugees fleeing Syria. Boston University graduate students Aaron Lang, Sarah Bidinger and Danielle Hites will join Professor Akram with country-specific presentations on Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, respectively.
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Shale: A Case for Innovation
April 7, 2014
6:00pm
UK Trade & Investment, 7th Floor, One Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/energy-circle-event-oil-gas/
Cost: $0 - $30
Shale energy has been the biggest innovation in the energy industry this century. Surprised? Surging production of US’s shale energy is igniting economic revival in the US while the world is watching America’s success . The global oil shale market is expected to be US$12 billion by 2015, with an estimated yearly growth of 8% from 2015 to 2030. It has moved the US market from a net importer a just few years ago to a potential exporter in the very near term.
Tapping into this new source of energy could not be possible without breakthrough technological innovation. Disruptive technology has and will continue to dramatically alter the practices — including business practices — in place today. For example, better reservoir characterization and shale production tracking will enhance well performance. Improved micro seismic monitoring, new sensor technologies, and nano-devices create greater production efficiencies with less environmental impact.
Join us to hear the players who are driving the cutting-edge research discuss the challenges facing the industry, as well as the latest developments in technology and innovation.
Our panelists come from all facets of the upstream business: from energy companies and service providers who are spending billions of dollars annually on research; to VCs and start-ups who are financing and bringing successful innovation to market.
In this candid conversation, you will learn:
Complex geology of shale compared to conventional
Tech advancements changing the fossil fuels game
Changing business models due to differences in exploration investments
New technological approaches to increase levels of hydrocarbon retrieval
How material science, chemistry and engineering are a bridge to the new frontier
Role of big data and the importance of data management
Speakers:
Daniel Codazzi, Research Director for Sensor Physics at Schlumberger-Doll Research
Dennis R. Costello, Managing Partner, Braemar Energy Ventures
John M. Gilmore, Jr, Director, Upstream Oil & Gas, Invensys Operations Management a unit of Schneider Electric
Jonathan Kane, Shell-MIT Liaison, Shell
Dr. Michael Pavia, Chief Technology Officer, Glori Energy
Moderator:
Henri Daher, Independent Oil & Gas Researcher
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Sharing Spaces and Building Community Where We Live, Work and Eat
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Loeb Fellowship
SPEAKER(S) Kevin Cavenaugh LF '08 from Guerilla Development, and Ross Chapin, architect, Pocket Neighborhoods
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO syoung at gsd.harvard.edu
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Noble Lecture
WHEN Mon., Apr. 7, 2014, 7 p.m.
WHERE The Memorial Church Sanctuary, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Religion
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Memorial Church
SPEAKER(S) Joshua Dubois, former special assistant to President Obama and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and author of "The President's Devotional"
COST FREE
TICKET INFO No tickets required
CONTACT INFO The Memorial Church, Harvard University, 1 Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138
P: 617-495-5508
LINK http://memorialchurch.harvard.edu/william-belden-noble-lecture
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ACT Lecture: Where's the Passion? Where's the Politics?
Monday, April 07, 2014
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-001, ACT Cube, Wiesner Building, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Yvonne Rainer
Full title: Where's the Passion? Where's the Politics? or How I Became Interested in Impersonating, Approximating, and End Running Around My Selves and Others,' and Where Do I Look When You're Looking At Me?
Yvonne Rainer's lecture explores issues around self-expression, spectatorship, and the politics of both. Rainer is a choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker who in 1962 co-founded the Judson Dance Theater group. Following a fifteen-year career as a choreographer and dancer, she made a transition to filmmaking. After making seven experimental feature films including Lives of Performers (1972), Privilege (1990), and MURDER and murder (1996), she returned to dance in 2000 to work on the collaborative project After Many a Summer Dies the Swan with the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation. Her dances and films have been shown worldwide, and her work has been recognized with museum exhibitions, fellowships, and grants, most notably two Guggenheim Fellowships, two Rockefeller grants, a Wexner Prize, a MacArthur Fellowship, and retrospective exhibitions at Kunsthaus Bregenz and Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Her memoir Feelings Are Facts: A Life was published by MIT Press in 2006 and in 2011 Badlands Unlimited published a selection of her poetry under the title Poems.
Experiments in Thinking, Action, and Form: Cinematic Migrations
Cinematic Migrations, as a conjoined designation, poses the notion of "migrations" in relation to "the cinematic" in an intentionally porous juxtaposition, conceived to allow a wide range of questions, interpretations and permutations to emerge. During this initial phase, the work of John Akomfrah, currently with Smoking Dogs Films and previously with Black Audio Film Collective, provides a focal point for examination, in conjunction with presentations of filmmakers, artists, and scholars participating in the related lecture series.
Web site: http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/events/projects/cinematic-migrations/
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): School of Architecture and Planning, Department of Architecture, MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology
For more information, contact: Laura Anca Chichisan
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu
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Tuesday, April 8
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Boston Tech Breakfast: Authentik Time, The Edventure Builder, Layrs, PreApps, CookRadar
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD - Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/155722712/
Interact with your peers in a monthly morning breakfast meetup. At this monthly breakfast get-together techies, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs share learn from their peers through show and tell / show-case style presentations.
And yes, this is free! Thank our sponsors when you see them :)
Agenda for April 2014:
8:00 - 8:15 - Get yer Bagels & Coffee and chit-chat
8:15 - 8:20 - Introductions, Sponsors, Announcements
8:20 - ~9:30 - Showcases and Shout-Outs!
30 Second Lightning "Shout Outs": JOBS
9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words
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IAPril: 3D printing for fun and science? A conversation about digital fabrication, the library, and you.
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
11:00a–12:30p
MIT, Building 3-442, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
Digital fabrication has changed considerably over the last few decades. Barriers to use have fallen, and technologies that were once the purview of specialized researchers are now sold in retail outlets like Sears, Staples and the Microsoft store. Schools and libraries have even begun getting into the act, from NC State to the Chicago Public Library.
Applications include producing prosthetic hands for accident victims, manufacturing replacement part for hard-to-source components, or even mapping word frequency across the history of a given journal and printing time series histograms.
But what about here at MIT?
This session will discuss the range of fabrication technologies now available, as well as those available at MIT, for sale, for rent, and (for a limited time, experimentally) through the Libraries. As part of this session, the Libraries have acquired a MakerBot Replicator 2 that is capable of producing objects in PLA plastic!
Plus, participants will have the opportunity to see a 3D-printer in action and even design their own objects. Submit a printable file, generated by the free MakerWare software, by Tuesday, April 1st. Up to five submissions will be selected for production before the discussion (provided the designs are producible!).
(Hint: You can try turning a photo into a 3D model with 123D Catch.)
Registration Required: http://libcal.mit.edu/event.php?id=618667
Web site: http://libcal.mit.edu/event.php?id=618667
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): MIT Libraries
For more information, contact: Shapiro, Randi
6173244988
shapiror at mit.edu
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Killing a MidWest Generation
Tuesday, April 8
11:45AM-12:45PM
MIT, Building E51-345, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
It is our pleasure to welcome from Chicago the fourth guest of our Climate Change Speaker Series, Kim Wasserman. Wasserman is a community organizer and Director of the Chicago-based Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. She was the North American recipient of the 2013 Goldman Prize – a highly prestigious award given to grassroots environmental heroes from six continents each year – for her involvement in shutting down the Fisk and Crawford Coal plants of southwest Chicago; two of the nation’s oldest and dirtiest power plants. She has been the Keynote Speaker at such events as Power Shift 2013 and Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps training. Wasserman will be sharing with us the lessons that we can draw from her personal journey: from concerned single mother to internationally recognized environmental leader.
http://www.fossilfreemit.org/04-08-14-climate-change-speaker-series-kim-wasserman/
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"The Future of Newspapers."
Tuesday, April 8
12 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Speaker Series with Brian McGrory, editor, The Boston Globe
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Intelligence Gathering and the Unowned Internet
April 8, 2014 at 12:00pm ET (please note our earlier start time)
Harvard Law School
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2014/04/unownedinternet#RSVP
The long-term viability of an unowned, open Internet remains in question. Any analysis of where the Internet is headed as a protocol and a platform must take into account the activities of both public and private entities that see the Internet as a source of intelligence -- and a field of contention. The Berkman Center for Internet and Society is pleased to invite the community to continue the conversation on the future of the unowned Internet on April 8, 2014 with a discussion that aims to leverage perspectives from inside and outside the U.S. intelligence community to bring some clarity to a discussion often rife with confusion.
Participants will include: Yochai Benkler, Berkman Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School; John DeLong, Director of Compliance, National Security Agency; Anne Neuberger, Commercial Solutions Center Director, National Security Agency; Bruce Schneier, CTO of CO3 Systems and Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society; Jonathan Zittrain, Co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society; Terry Fisher, WilmerHale Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society will moderate the discussion.
About the Participants
Yochai Benkler is the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard, and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Before joining the faculty at Harvard Law School, he was Joseph M. Field '55 Professor of Law at Yale. He writes about the Internet and the emergence of networked economy and society, as well as the organization of infrastructure, such as wireless communications.
John DeLong is the Director of Compliance at the National Security Agency. Prior to his appointment in July 2009 as Director of Compliance, Mr. DeLong served as the Deputy Director of the NSA/CSS Commercial Solutions Center, which addresses the strategic needs of NSA/CSS and the national security community by harnessing the power of U.S. commercial technology. Mr. DeLong previously served in a joint duty position as the Deputy Director of the National Cyber Security Division at the Department of Homeland Security, where he applied his technical, operational, and policy expertise to a wide range of cyber security issues.
Anne Neuberger serves as the Director, NSA/CSS Commercial Solutions Center (NCSC) – NSA’s interface with the private sector – and as a member of NSA’s Senior Leadership Team. Prior to her assignment as Director, NCSC, Anne served as Special Assistant to the Director, NSA, for the Enduring Security Framework (ESF). In that capacity, Anne built a deep and effective partnership between leading companies, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, NIST and NSA, on initiatives across a broad set of technical and policy areas.
Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a "security guru" by The Economist. He is the author of 12 books -- including Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust Society Needs to Survive -- as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers.
Jonathan Zittrain is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. His research interests include battles for control of digital property and content, cryptography, electronic privacy, the roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture, human computing, and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education.
Moderator: William (Terry) Fisher received his undergraduate degree (in American Studies) from Amherst College and his graduate degrees (J.D. and Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization) from Harvard University. Between 1982 and 1984, he served as a law clerk to Judge Harry T. Edwards of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then to Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. Since 1984, he has taught at Harvard Law School, where he is currently the WilmerHale Professor of Intellectual Property Law and the Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. His academic honors include a Danforth Postbaccalaureate Fellowship (1978-1982) and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California (1992-1993).
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Crowd Sourced Real Estate Development: Fundrise.com and the Fairhaired Dumbbell
WHEN Tue., Apr. 8, 2014, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gund Hall 124, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Loeb Fellowship
SPEAKER(S) Kevin Cavenaugh LF '08 from Guerilla Development
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO syoung at gsd.harvard.edu
LINK http://blogs.gsd.harvard.edu/loeb-fellows/upcoming-loeb-fellowship-events/
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Anglo-America and the Dynamics of Globalization
WHEN Tue., Apr. 8, 2014, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), 2nd Floor, CGIS Knafel, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
SPEAKER(S) Peter Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University, and visiting professor of business administration, Harvard Business School; moderated by Susan Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/calendar/upcoming
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Moving Mexico Forward
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E15-070, Bartos Theatre, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Luis Videgaray, MIT PhD '97, Finance Minister of Mexico
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Economics Special Events
For more information, contact:
econ-cal at mit.edu
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Tanner Lectures on Human Values by Rowan Williams, The Paradoxes of Empathy
WHEN Tue., Apr. 8, 2014, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Paine Hall, Music Building
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mahindra Humanities Center and the Office of the President at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
LECTURE 1: "The Other as Myself: Empathy and Power"
Tuesday, April 8, 4:00pm; Paine Hall, Music Building
Introduction: Drew G. Faust, President, Harvard University
Respondent: David W. Tracy, University of Chicago Divinity School
LECTURE 2: "Myself as Stranger: Empathy and Loss"
Wednesday, April 9, 4:00pm
Paine Hall, Music Building
Introduction: David N. Hempton, Harvard Divinity School
Respondent: Regina Schwartz, Northwestern University
COST Free and open to the public; seating is limited
CONTACT INFO humcentr at fas.harvard.edu, 617.495.0738
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/paradoxes-empathy
Editorial Comment: Also livestreamed at the website above
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Crossing the Divides of Digital Divide Research
Tuesday, April 8
4:00 pm to 6:30 pm
BU, The Colloquium in the Photonics Building 9th Floor, 6-8 Saint Mary Street, Boston
Melvin Defleur Distinguished Lecture Series with Ron Rice
Presentation: This presentation reviews the progression in the components of the digital divide. The concept of and research on the “digital divide” has broadened over time, as different forms of digital inequality are identified, as different communication technologies diffuse, and different sources of data become available. The presentation also summarizes results using nationally representative survey data from the U.S. from around 2000, and from Caucasus countries in recent years, emphasizing influences on and relations among awareness, adoption, devices, use, and activities of the Internet and social media.
Bio statement: Ronald E. Rice (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1982) is the Arthur N. Rupe Chair in the Social Effects of Mass Communication in the Department of Communication, Department Chair, and Co-Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center, at University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of Montreal, and elected President and Fellow of the ICA. His co-authored or (co)edited books include Organizations and unusual routines; Media ownership; The Internet and health care; Social consequences of Internet use; The Internet and health communication; Accessing and browsing information and communication; Public communication campaigns (4 editions); Research methods and the new media; Managing organizational innovation; and The new media. He has also published over 100 refereed journal articles and 60 book chapters. See http://www.comm.ucsb.edu/people/academic/ronald-e-rice
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Foundations for Learning in the Age of Big Data
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
4:15 PM to 5:15 PM
Refreshments: 3:45 PM
MIT, Building 32-G449, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Maria Florina Balcan , Georgia Tech
With the variety of applications of machine learning across science, engineering, and computing in the age of Big Data, re-examining the underlying foundations of the field has become imperative. In this talk, I will describe new models and algorithms for important emerging paradigms, specifically, interactive learning and distributed learning.
For active learning, where the algorithm itself can ask for labels of carefully chosen examples from a large pool of unannotated data with the goal of minimizing human labeling effort, I will present results giving computationally efficient, optimal label complexity algorithms. I will also discuss learning with more general forms of interaction, as well as unexpected implications of these results for classic supervised learning paradigms.
For distributed learning, I will discuss a model that for the first time addresses the core question of what are the fundamental communication requirements for achieving accurate learning. Broadly, we consider a framework where massive amounts of data is distributed among several locations, and our goal is to learn a low-error predictor with respect to the overall distribution of data using as little communication, and as few rounds of interaction, as possible. We provide general upper and lower bounds on the amount of communication needed to learn a given class, as well as broadly-applicable techniques for achieving communication-efficient learning.
Contact: Holly A Jones, hjones01 at csail.mit.edu
Relevant URL: http://toc.csail.mit.edu/node/493
Reminders to: toc at csail.mit.edu, seminars at csail.mit.edu, theory-seminars at csail.mit.edu
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The Investment Crisis in Life Science
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 275 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Kevin Starr, Partner at Third Rock Ventures
Join a conversation with Kevin Starr, Partner at Third Rock Ventures, to learn about the challenges of funding new biotechnology ventures.
Inside Cambridge Biotechnology
In this new series at the MIT Museum, meet leaders from new and established Cambridge biotechnologies, and learn about the focus and potential impacts of their company's research.
Web site:http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar/Inside_Biotech.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free with Museum admission
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact: Brindha Muniappan
617-253-0527
brindha at mit.edu
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Climate Change Resiliency
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (PDT)
Workbar, 45 Prospect Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainability-series-3-tickets-11176620573
What is already under way in the city of Boston and surrounding communities to adapt and increase resilience to climate change? What are your ideas? What do you think we should do? What do you think we can do?
I'll provide some background info, and facilitate a group discussion around solutions.
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2014 Annual John R. Freeman Lecture: Capturing Domestic Wastewater's Resource Potentials
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
6:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E51-Tang, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Perry L. McCarty, Silas H. Palmer Professor, Stanford University
Today, wastewater can be looked upon more as a resource than as a waste, a resource not only for water, but also for energy and fertilizer nutrients. Using wastewater as a resource can help address the problems of population growth, consumption of finite resources, and climate change from use of fossil fuel. What emerging processes offer the most promise for capturing all of wastewater's resource potential?
Treated wastewater is widely used today in agriculture and industry. It can be treated additionally with modern membrane technology for indirect potable reuse and to meet stringent industrial requirements, though energy requirements for the latter can be quite high. Energy can be obtained from wastewater's organic content as well as from its thermal content. Microbial fuel cells offer potential for direct biological conversion of wastewater's organic content into electricity. However, significant improvements are needed for this process to be competitive with anaerobic biological conversion of wastewater organics into biogas, a renewable fuel that can be used for generation of electricity. Available physical and chemical processes can be used to capture phosphorus and nitrogen for reuse, and bio-solids can be applied to agricultural fields or used for landscaping and parks, helping offset the high-energy costs of synthetic fertilizers.
Freeman Lecture
The John R. Freeman Lecture is co-sponsored by the Environmental and Water Resources Group of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES), the ASCE, and the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Web site: http://www.bsces.org/index.cfm/page/About/pid/10708
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering, BSCES John R. Freeman Fund Committee and ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute Boston Chapter
For more information, contact: Eric Adams
617-253-6595
eeadams at mit.edu
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Lecture: Grace La and James Dallman, "On Integration”
WHEN Tue., Apr. 8, 2014, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Grace La and James Dallman
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE Architects Grace La and James Dallman engage in projects of diverse scale and type, with particular interest in the relationship between site, culture, and construction. Noted for works that expand architecture’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure as public space, the practice has been awarded numerous professional honors, architecture and engineering awards, and prizes in international design competitions. LA DALLMAN was named an Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York, received the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence Silver Medal, and is the first US practice to receive the Rice Design Alliance Prize, an international award recognizing exceptionally gifted architects in the early phase of their career. Projects include bridges, science exhibits, towers and houses. Current work includes an urban master plan and a collaborative center for dance and wellness. Their work investigates the balance between continuity and disruption, typological clarity and hybrid vigor.
Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office two weeks in advance at 617 496 2414 or events at gsd.harvard.edu
LINK www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/lecture-grace-la-and-james-dallman-on-integration.html
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How Environmental Pollutants Impair Brain Development
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
7:00 PM
Lecture Hall, Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
Philippe Grandjean, D.M.Sc, M.D., Professor and Chair of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark; Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health additional info
At present, industrial chemicals are not even tested for possible effects on brain development. As an international authority on the effect of environmental pollutants on brain development, Dr. Grandjean has long advocated stricter regulations on these neurotoxicants. In this presentation he explains how several common pollutants impair brain development in both the fetal stage and early childhood. During development, the human nervous system is uniquely sensitive to toxic substances. The damage from these substances affects cognition, behavior and health. The problems affect not only the damaged children, but their families, communities and the broader society. The brain power of the next generation deserves better protection, as we get only one chance to generate a brain.
Science for the Public: The Public Science Lectures
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"THE SQUARE" Film Screening
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
7:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Samuel Tadros, Research Fellow at Hudson's Institute's Center for Religious Freedom
The Egyptian Revolution has been an ongoing roller coaster over the past two and a half years. Through the news, we only get a glimpse of the bloodiest battle, an election, or a million man march. At the beginning of July 2013, we witnessed the second president deposed within the space of three years.
The Square is an immersive experience, transporting the viewer deeply into the intense emotional drama and personal stories behind the news. It is the inspirational story of young people claiming their rights, struggling through multiple forces, in the fight to create a society of conscience.
Q&A to follow film screening.
Free and open to the public.
Cosponsored by: The American Islamic Congress, Boston Muslim Film Festival, Mass Humanities, and Project Nur.
Web site: mit.edu/wgs/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Women's and Gender Studies
For more information, contact: The Friendly WGS Staff
617-253-8844
wgs at mit.edu
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Energy & Entrepreneurship March Mixer
Tuesday, April 8
7-9 pm
Meadhall, 4 Cambridge Center, Cambridge
Come hear Dhiraj Malkani, a partner at Rockport Capital, give his insights on cleantech entrepreneurship.
This is a great opportunity to meet other students from across the Institute interested in energy entrepreneurship.
Light food will be served!
More information at http://www.mitenergyclub.org/content/energy-entrepreneurship-community
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Wednesday, April 9
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Japan and the US Nuclear Umbrella
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE Harvard, Fainsod Room, Littauer-324, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Project on Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S) Terence Roehrig, research fellow - International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
CONTACT INFO atom at hks.harvard.edu
NOTE Terence Roehrig's research focuses on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for Japan and South Korea and extended deterrence. He is Professor of National Security Affairs and the Director of the Asia-Pacific Studies Group at the U.S. Naval War College. He is co-author with Uk Heo of a forthcoming book, "South Korea's Rise in the World: Power, Economic Development, and Foreign Policy" (Cambridge University Press), and is a past president of the Association of Korean Political Studies.
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6235/japan_and_the_us_nuclear_umbrella.html
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James Baldwin and the Question of Home
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 12 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Poetry/Prose
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Hutchins Center for African and African American Research
SPEAKER(S) John Drabinski, professor of black studies, Amherst College
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO hutchevents at fas.harvard.edu
617.495.3611
NOTE A Q+A will follow the lecture. Feel free to bring a lunch.
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"Is the New Communication Climate Good for the Earth's Climate? A look at the fast-shifting toolbox for conveying, debating and muddying news and ideas related to environmental science and policy."
Wednesday, April 9
12 p.m.
Harvard, Cason Seminar Room, Taubman Building, first floor, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Speaker Series with Andrew Revkin, non-fiction, science and environmental writer, writes the Dot Earth environmental blog for The New York Times' Opinion Pages.
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Diamond - Engineer's Best Friend
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 34-401, Grier Rooms combined, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Marko Loncar, Harvard
Dr. Loncar will review recent advances in nanotechnology that have enabled fabrication of nanoscale optical devices and chip-scale systems in diamond that can generate, manipulate, and store optical signals at the single-photon level. Examples include diamond nanowires, ring resonators and photonic crystal cavities. He will also discuss his work on diamond based on-chip frequency combs, as well as diamond nano-mechanics.
MTL Seminar Series
The MTL Seminar Series is held on Wednesdays at noon. Speakers for the series are selected on the basis of their knowledge and competence in the areas of microelectronics research, manufacturing, or policy. The series is open to the public and is free to attend.
Web site: http://www-mtl.mit.edu/seminars/spring2014.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact: Valerie Dinardo
253-9328
valeried at mit.edu
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Live Webcast: THRIVE: A Conversation with Arianna Huffington on Redefining Success
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE http://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/thrive/
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Humanities, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health
SPEAKER(S) Arianna Huffington is the chair, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group; welcoming remarks by Julio Frenk, dean of the faculty, Harvard School of Public Health; introduction by Drew Faust, president of Harvard University and Lincoln Professor of History in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences; moderated by Jay Winsten, Frank Stanton Director of the Center for Health Communication at Harvard School of Public Health and associate dean for health communication
CONTACT INFO theforum at hsph.harvard.edu
NOTE E-mail questions for Ms. Huffington any time before or during the live webcast totheforum at hsph.harvard.edu.
We'll also be live-tweeting from @ForumHSPH. Tweet your questions and comments using the hash tag #ThriveHSPH.
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More than a Word? Genocide and U.S. Public Opinion
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Benjamin Valentino, Dartmouth College
SSP Wednesday Seminar
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Security Studies Program
For more information, contact: 617-253-7529
valeriet at mit.edu
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The importance of the tropical Pacific for reducing the uncertainty in global climate change
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
12:10p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: David Battisti (UW)
There are remarkable trends in atmospheric and ocean circulation in West Antarctica that have been implicated as causal agents for the retreat of the great ice shelves in West Antarctic (most notably, the Pine Island Glacier). Similarly, the remarkable warming in NE Canada and Greenland over the past two decades are also associated with trends in atmospheric circulation. In this presentation, I will present observational and modeling evidence that suggests all of these recent high latitude trends are a results of teleconnections from the tropical Pacific. Two obvious hypotheses for the trends in the tropical Pacific are (i) a response to anthropogenic forcing and (ii) internal natural variability. Unfortunately, neither hypothesis is testable using high-end climate models (e.g., the CMIP5 models) due to large biases in their modern climate simulations. I will discuss two possible ways forward for testing these hypotheses.
Oceanography and Climate Sack Lunch Seminar Series
The MIT Oceanography and Climate Sack Lunch Seminar Series is a student-run weekly seminar series within PAOC. Seminar topics include all research concerning climate, geophysical fluid dynamics, biogeochemistry, paleo-oceanography/climatology and physical oceanography. The seminars usually take place on Wednesdays from 12.10-1pm. Students are encouraged to lunch with the speaker. Besides the seminar, individual meetings with professors, post-docs, and students are arranged.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Jen DiNisco
617-253-2127
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Webinar: Local and Sustainable Food Procurement - Best Practices from Northeastern State Governments
Wednesday, April 9th
2 pm - 3:30pm Eastern
Register today at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/587447112
Is your state government interested in expanding purchase of locally and sustainably farmed agricultural products? Creating markets for these products can contribute to the regional economy, preserve farmland and support a thriving, healthy food system.
Join the Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) for a webinar supported by the John Merck Fund that will highlight Best Practices developed in the New England region to foster state government procurement of local and sustainable food.
Hear first-hand about strategies to:
Structure contracts to best encourage local offerings;
Work with vendors over time to increase local purchasing;
Support distributors that source produce from the region; and
Use policy to build greater vendor accountability.
Speakers:
Mark Curran, Black River Produce, Vermont
Mark Izeman, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York
Jane Slupecki, Department of Agriculture, Connecticut
Moderator: Sarah Church, Responsible Purchasing Network
Space is limited.
For more information, email sarah at responsiblepurchasing.org
Want to learn more? RPN's recent report, Local and Sustainable Food Procurement by New England State Governments: Barriers and Recommendations is now available at http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org/resources/local_food/index.php
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China 2035: Energy, Climate, Development
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 3 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center A, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Environmental Sciences, Humanities, Lecture, Science, Social Sciences, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment; Harvard China Project
SPEAKER(S) Robert Zoellick, former president, World Bank; chairman of Board of International Advisers, Goldman Sachs; Q&A with Michael McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies and chair of the Harvard China Project
CONTACT INFO matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE “China 2035: Energy, Climate, and Development” is a new lecture series convened by the Harvard University Center for the Environment and the Harvard China Project. The objective of the series is to explore the challenges China is expected to face over the next two decades at the intersection of economic development, demands for energy, and environmental degradation including the potential impacts of climate change.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/china-zoellick
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BCSEA Webinar: The Future of Solar PV in British Columbia
April 9
3:00 PM EDT
Reserve your free Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/539871450
Join us for another free BCSEA Webinar.
With solar prices falling and hydro prices rising, what is the current status of solar photovoltaics - panels that generate electricity directly from sunlight - and what is its future in British Columbia?
What does it cost to do an installation, and how much energy will it produce? After his live presentation, Dave Egles will be ready to answer all your questions.
Dave Egles is founder of HES-PV. His career has been exclusively in the field of photovoltaics. He has a Masters Degree from UBC and in 1988 he founded a company to commercialize PV across Canada. In 2012, he was awarded the Canadian Solar Industry Association’s Solar Pioneer Award, and in 2013 he won the Solar Distributor of the Year Award.
He has extensive experience managing teams of engineers and technicians to build and deliver major photovoltaic systems for clients such as Exhibition Place, The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Powerstream, and various government agencies. He is Past-President of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Solar Industry Association, and served on BC’s 100,000 Solar Rooftops Task Force.
See BCSEA's previous webinars at http://www.bcsea.org/past-webinars
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"Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology for Energy, Water, and Environmental Applications"
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G115, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Xing Xie, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
Advanced materials and nanotechnology are powerful tools that have been changing our lives dramatically. At the same time, we are still facing great challenges on energy, water, and the environment. My research has focused on applying advanced materials and nanotechnology to enhance the performance of existing technologies and to develop new technologies that can provide better solution to various issues associated with energy, water, and the environment. In this presentation, I will introduce two different applications. One is about nano-enhanced microbial electrochemical cells for energy recovery from dilute organic matter. I have developed 3D bio-electrodes for microbial electrochemical cells with superior performance. I also have invented a new microbial electrochemical device, named “microbial battery”, achieving higher than 30% net energy efficiency. The other application is about nano-assisted new technologies for efficient water disinfection. In one example, water disinfection is realized by employing silver nanoscavengers, which are nanodisks with magnetic cores and silver capping layers. The silver nanoscavengers can be separated from treated water effectively after treatment and reused for thousands of times. In another example, strong electric field generated near the tips of nanowire structures is applied to kill bacteria in water. Removal efficiencies higher than 6-log have been achieved with retention times less than one second.
Bio: Xing Xie received his B.S. (2006) and M.S. (2008) degrees from Tsinghua University, and he is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University and a Henry Fan Fellow supported by the Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship. His research mainly focuses on applying advanced materials and nanotechnology for energy, water, and environmental applications. He has worked on many projects related to microbial electrochemical cells, water disinfection, water reuse, algae control, mixing entropy batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and Li-ion batteries. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including PNAS, Nature Communications, Nano Letters, Energy & Environmental Science, and ACS Nano. He received the Larry C. K. Yung Fellowship in 2008-2009, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship in 2009-2011, and the Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry from the American Chemical Society in 2012.
Environmental Sciences and Engineering Seminar
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Fertility in Postindustrial Societies
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 4 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Mary C. Brinton, 2013-2014 Hrdy Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO 617.495.8212
NOTE Mary C. Brinton is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. Her research focuses on gender inequality, labor-market change, and young adulthood in East Asia, especially Japan.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-mary-c-brinton-fellow-presentation
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“Partisanship in the Non-Partisan Press: The Implications of Media Bias for Democracy.”
Thursday, April 10
4-6 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Partisan Media Seminar Series with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania; and Jesse Shapiro, Professor of Economics, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. Moderator: Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, Harvard Kennedy School.
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Tanner Lectures on Human Values by Rowan Williams, The Paradoxes of Empathy
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Paine Hall, Music Building
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mahindra Humanities Center and the Office of the President at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
LECTURE 2: "Myself as Stranger: Empathy and Loss"
Wednesday, April 9, 4:00pm
Paine Hall, Music Building
Introduction: David N. Hempton, Harvard Divinity School
Respondent: Regina Schwartz, Northwestern University
COST Free and open to the public; seating is limited
CONTACT INFO humcentr at fas.harvard.edu, 617.495.0738
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/paradoxes-empathy
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"Politics in the Religious Republic: Path to Democracy or Despotism?"
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CES, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School; Center for European Studies at Harvard University and the Graduate Workshop "Islam and the West"
SPEAKER(S) Soli Ozel, professor of international relations, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey and chairman, Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6321/soli_ozel.html
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Semiconductor nanowires for energy conversion
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
4:15pm to 5:15pm
Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Professor Peidong Yang, University of California, Berkeley
R.B. Woodward Lectures in the Chemical Sciences, Harvard/MIT Inorganic Chemistry Seminar
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The Modern American Right's Thinking About Expertise: Taxonomy and Reflections
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
4:30-6:00PM
Wasserstein Hall, 2004 Classroom, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Ken I. Kersch, Boston College (Political Science)
Traditional understandings of conservative political thought emphasize its diverse premises and divergent theoretical commitments (e.g., libertarian versus traditionalist versus neoconservative), which, from the vantage point of ideas, render the movement’s strength and longevity a singular accomplishment and puzzle. In recent work, Kersch has sought to demonstrate the ways in which modern American conservatism’s cultivation of a core set of symbolic commitments (e.g., the U.S. Constitution) and historical narratives (e.g., about the meanings of the Founding, the Civil War, and the Progressive Era) bridge these divides, unifying and motivating the movement in ways missed by political theory’s standard analytic frames. In this talk, he considers the possibility that critiques of, and stories about, science and experts and their role in the modern regulatory/administrative/social welfare state – what others have variously called the “statutory,” “legislative,” or “policy” state – have been a critical component of this set of unifying narratives and symbols. He will survey contemporary conservative thinking from diverse theoretical starting points -- Neo-liberal (including Public Choice economics and Hayek), Traditionalist (including Evangelical Christian, the Catholic Right, and Straussian), and Neoconservative – about the nature and purpose of law, implicating fundamental questions of the role of science and expertise within U.S. constitutional government.
Ken I. Kersch is Associate Professor of Political Science, History, and Law at Boston College, where he teaches courses on American political and constitutional development and American political thought. He is the author, with Ronald Kahn, of The Supreme Court and American Political Development(Kansas, 2006), Constructing Civil Liberties: Discontinuities in the Development of American Constitutional Law (Cambridge, 2004), and Freedom of Speech (ABC-Clio, 2003) and many book chapters, articles, and reviews. Kersch’s work has won the Edward S. Corwin Prize from the American Political Science Association, the J. David Greenstone Award from APSA’s Politics and History Section, and the Hughes-Gossett Prize from the Supreme Court Historical Society. He is working on a book entitled Conservatives and the Constitution: From Brown to Reagan (Cambridge University Press). He received his B.A. from Williams, his J.D. from Northwestern, and his Ph.D. (Government) from Cornell.
Co-sponsored by the Program on Science, Technology and Societyat the Harvard Kennedy School and the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School.
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Global Economic and Financial Challenges: A Tale of Two Views
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Allison Dining Room, 5th Floor Taubman Building, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Jaime Caruana, general manager, Bank for International Settlements and the former governor, Bank of Spain
CONTACT INFO mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
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OpenMind: How the Internet Is Changing Our Lives
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
5:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building E14-6th Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://openmind.eventbrite.com
Speaker: Yochai Benkler, Harvard University; Francisco Gonzlez, BBVA; Thomas W. Malone, MIT Sloan School of Management; Jason Pontin, MIT Technology Review
Event Agenda:
5:00-6:15pm: Networking and Reception
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served
6:15-7:30pm: Programming and Audience Q&A
The Internet is the single most powerful agent for change in recent history. How will it continue to transform the way we live and do business?
Change: 19 Key Essays on How the Internet Is Changing Our Lives, is the sixth issue of BBVA's annual series devoted to exploring and disseminating knowledge on the critical issues of our time. Join us for a special presentation with Francisco Gonzalez, chairman and CEO of BBVA, and two contributing authors as we explore how the Internet will continue to shape the economy, society, politics, and culture.
Presenters:
Distributed Innovation and Creativity, Peer Production and Commons in Networked Economy: Yochai Benkler, Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies, Harvard Law School; Faculty Co-Director, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University
Knowledge Banking for a Hyperconnected Society: Francisco Gonzlez, Chairman and CEO, BBVA
How is the Internet Changing the Way we Work? Thomas W. Malone, Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; Founding Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence
Moderator: Jason Pontin, Editor in Chief and Publisher, MIT Technology Review
Web site: https://openmind.eventbrite.com
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: https://openmind.eventbrite.com
Sponsor(s): Technology Review, BBVA
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Kennedy
617-475-8079
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Cambridge Net Zero Task Force
Wednesday, April 9
6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Sullivan Chamber, Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
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Work with Watson - Smaller, Faster, More Accessible
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
6:00pm -9:00pm
IBM Innovation Center, 1 Rogers Street, Cambridge
Pre-registration required at https://s01.123signup.com/servlet/SignUp?P=15219721911427748100&PG=1521972182300
Watson is IBM’s first-generation cognitive system – containing massive statistical algorithms running massively in parallel. It combines natural language processing, machine learning, and hypothesis generation and evaluation to give you direct, confidence-based responses. Cognitive systems like IBM Watson, transform how organizations think, act, and operate in the future with technologies which leverage natural language, hypothesis generation and evidence-based learning.
This panel will discuss the Watson Cognitive Computing technology on how its transforming industries and ushering in a whole new era of information communication across enterprises. It will also share perspectives on emergent business opportunities for entrepreneurs around Watson and like technologies.
Come join TiE Boston and IBM for an evening of networking and panel discussion. Meet your local ecosystem of entrepreneurs, VCs, academic leaders, accelerators, IBM executives and Business Partners. Your ecosystem is the most effective means of fostering the success of everyone in the business community. Working together, we can go further than we would on our own!
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Putting Together the Pieces: The Power of Narrative
WHEN Wed., Apr. 9, 2014, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE First Parish in Cambridge, 3 Church Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Poetry/Prose, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Cambridge Forum
SPEAKER(S) Mary McGrath, producer, Radio Open Source; Jo Radner, storyteller
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO director at cambridgeforum.org
NOTE Radio Open Source producer, Mary McGrath and award-winning storyteller Jo Radner discuss the various ways that materials – facts, memories, voices, pregnant pauses, music, sound effects – are put together to create a narrative that inspires the imagination and moves the heart.
LINK www.cambridgeforum.org
Editorial Comment: I love stories, am always reading at least one novel, and have also researched Hungarian folktales and folklore fairly deeply. However, reading psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s work, I have begun to be skeptical of the power of narrative. We, as a species, love stories so much and tell ourselves stories so much that sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that the stories we tell are actually the way reality works. I am no longer sure that is true.
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Thursday, April 10
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Regulatory Policy Program Seminar: Does Regulation Kill Jobs?
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) A panel discussion with Joseph Aldy, Cary Coglianese, Lisa Robinson
CONTACT INFO mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
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Transportation System Resilience Extreme Weather and Climate Change
April 10
12:00 noon
Volpe Transportation Center, 55 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://volpe-events.webex.com/mw0307l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=volpe-events
Dr. Jerry Melillo, chair of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee will talk about the assessment and lessons learned. Talk can be attended in person or by webinar.
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Using Theater to Explore Issues Related to Climate Change
Thursday, April 10, 2014
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Tufts University, Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
RSVP: https://climatetheatre.eventbrite.com
Debra Wise, Artistic Director at Underground Railway Theater
In this interactive workshop, participants will brainstorm what they know - and feel - about pressing problems related to climate change, generate provocative questions, and explore their questions through a simple collaborative playwriting exercise. Participants will also get some background information on the world-premiere of SILA, by Chantal Bilodeau, about the intersection of culture, class and climate change in the Canadian Arctic. SILA will have a work-in-progress reading at Tufts on Monday, February 10, and its world premiere at Central Square Theater in Cambridge April 24 - May 25 (www.centralsquaretheater.org). The workshop will be led by Downing Cless, Associate Professor of Drama (with longtime involvement in eco-theater) and Debra Wise, Artistic Director of Underground Railway Theater and Co-Director of Catalyst Collaborative at MIT, an ongoing science theater project.
Debra Wise is Artistic Director of Underground Railway Theater (URT), which was founded in Oberlin, Ohio and toured nationally and internationally for 30 years before becoming a theater-in-residence at Central Square Theater. Wise has helped create over 30 new works as performer, playwright, director and/or dramaturge. She is also Co-Director of the Catalyst Collaborative at MIT, an ongoing partnership with MIT which brings scientists and artists together to create and present works of science theater. With CC at MIT, Wise has overseen and appeared in productions of The Life of Galileo, Breaking the Code (about Alan Turing), Distracted (about the prevalence of ADHD and our media-saturated culture),From Orchids to Octopi – an evolutionary love story, Remembering H.M. (about the science of memory), and Einstein's Dreams. She has presented about CC at MIT at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the 2012 conference of the American Association of Physical Sciences, and several national conferences about science and performing arts. On Oct. 2012, Ms. Wise was a featured presenter at a special meeting of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Board, convened to discuss how to encourage authentic creative activity at the intersection of art and science. Other science theater work has included the writing and directing of Aging Puzzle for the Boston Museum of Science (2001-2), and helping in the development of InTOXICating – an EcoCabaret (directed by Downing Cless and Wes Sanders), which toured nationally (1994-99) and received an EPA citation for excellence. Wise is on the faculty of Project Zero Summer Institute, Harvard Graduate School of Education; led in 2007-8 a Theater and Active Citizenship residency at Tufts University; has taught acting at MIT; and co-taught an MIT course, Making Theater about Science. She has performed with other companies in Boston and NYC (including the Public Theatre, in Julie Taymor's Haggadah), has received a Boston Globe citation for Best Solo Performance, and has three times been nominated in the Best Actress category by Independent Reviewers of New England.
Downing Cless is Associate Professor of Directing, Dramatic Literature and Theory, Environment and Theatre, at Tufts University. He wrote Ecology and Environment in European Drama (Routledge, 2010), which was selected to be the topic of a plenary session "Author Meets Critic" at the 2013 Comparative Drama Conference.
In May 2012 his essay "Ecodirecting Canonical Plays" was published in the collection Readings in Performance and Ecology edited by Wendy Arons and Theresa J. May (Palgrave Macmillan), and also he was a panelist in the closing session of the Earth Matters on Stage symposium and festival at Carnegie Mellon University. His articles on theatre about the environment are in TDR: The Drama Review, Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, and The Journal of American Drama and Theatre. He has presented papers and been on panels at conferences such as the American Society for Theatre Research, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment.
Director of over sixty plays in university and professional theatres during his career, in the past few years he brought to the Tufts stage productions of Oedipus & Antigone by Sophocles (in translations by former colleague Peter D. Arnott), The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux (newly translated by colleague Laurence Senelick), a contemporary interpretation of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, and a '80s sci-fi sit-com titled Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants. by Y York. In the 1980s, Cless was Associate Artistic Director of Boston's TheaterWorks, for which he directed critically-acclaimed productions of Mensch Meier by Franz Xaver Kroetz and The Island by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona. With the Underground Railway Theater he has co-directed three original plays,Sanctuary: The Spirit of Harriet Tubman; The Christopher Columbus Follies: An Eco-Cabaret; andInTOXICating: An Eco-Cabaret (which was the recipient of a grant and award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
In addition to serving as Department Chair 1995-2001 and 2010-2013, he has been on numerous departmental and university committees, including having chaired the Academic Review Board and the Academic Awards Committee. For the last ten years he has been a board member and treasurer for the Underground Railway Theater, now in its new home of five years, The Central Square Theater.
Environmental Studies Lunch & Learn Program
Contact Name: Sarah Neville
saraheneville at gmail.com
http://as.tufts.edu/environmentalStudies/events/lunchlearn.htm
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Energy 101: Solar Technologies
Thursday, April 10, 2014
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building E51-325, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
A comprehensive introduction to solar technologies.
Energy 101 Series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact: MIT Energy Club
energyclub at mit.edu
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Panel Discussion of The Witch Hunt Narrative: Politics, Psychology, and The Sexual Abuse of Children
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School, WCC 2019A, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Petrie-Flom Center
SPEAKER(S) Ross E. Cheit, author and professor of political science and public policy at Brown University; Jeannie Suk, professor of law, Harvard Law School; Alan Stone, Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law and Psychiatry, Harvard Law School
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO amew at law.harvard.edu
NOTE Lunch and beverages will be served.
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All Options on the Table? Nuclear Proliferation, Preventive War, and a Leader's Decision to Intervene
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369 at HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR International Security Program
SPEAKER(S) Rachel Elizabeth Whitlark, research fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6327/all_options_on_the_table_nuclear_proliferation_preventive_war_and_a_leaders_decision_to_intervene.html
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Essential Self Technologies: Tapping into the Wisdom of the Body
Thursday, April 10, 2014
1:30p–2:30p
MIT, Building E14-633, MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Linda Stone
Web site: http://www.media.mit.edu/events/2014/04/10/special-media-lab-talk-linda-stone
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Media Lab
For more information, contact: Jess Sousa
events-admin at media.mit.edu
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Can New England Supply All of its Own Energy through Renewables?
Thursday, April 10
2pm ET
Webinar
Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7348092640680079873
According to Commissioner David Cash of the MA Department of EnvironmentalProtection, the answer is yes. New England can supply all of its own
energy through renewables.
Through off-shore wind power alone, New England could produce more energy than we need. We could actually sell energy back to the national grid.
Join this webinar to learn more!<https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7348092640680079873>
Join us to discuss the possibilities for Net Zero New England.
Sarah Byrnes, Institute for Policy Studies, New England Office
617.477.8630 x307
http://netransition.org
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Scaling Infrastructure
Thursday, April 10, 2014
3:15p–7:30p
MIT, Building E14-674, 6th Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://cau.mit.edu/conference/2014-cau-conference
Cost: $25-$75
The Spring 2014 Scaling Infrastructure conference is CAU's second and final infrastructure conference of our biennial theme that will convene political leaders, infrastructural engineers, design professionals and academicians to discuss groundbreaking ideas on infrastructure. Faced with new economic, political, and environmental challenges, the question of appropriate infrastructural investments and design scales is critical to the future of urbanized territories. The technical and political realities, design possibilities, and social and economic concerns for shaping sustainable infrastructural futures in American and International contexts will be addressed.
Web site: http://cau.mit.edu/conference/2014-cau-conference
Open to: the general public
Tickets: http://cau.mit.edu/conference/2014-cau-conference
This event occurs daily at 3:15p - 7:30p through April 10, 2014, and also on April 11, 2014 at 8:45a - 4:15p.
Sponsor(s): School of Architecture and Planning, Center for Advanced Urbanism
For more information, contact: Prudence Robinson
pru at mit.edu
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Computational challenges in large-scale social networks
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Refreshments: 3:45 PM
MIT, Bulding 32-G449, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Johan Ugander , Cornell University
Problems involving social networks and massive social datasets motivate some of the most difficult computational challenges today, and there is a pressing demand for understanding the structure of these problems. The design and measurement of social networks is commonly studied for properties shared with other networks, when in fact many aspects are specifically characteristics of social contexts. The spread of ideas is often studied as an epidemiological process, but very little research has examined how individuals make social decisions when adopting ideas. In the online world, experimentation using A/B tests does not account for social interference between treatment units, making it poorly suited for many studies on social networks. In this talk I will present research on these challenges (social structure, social contagion, social experimentation), developing computational approaches adapted to understanding the structure of social networks and social processes, and also to impacting the design of large-scale online social systems.
Bio: Johan Ugander is a Ph.D candidate at Cornell University, advised by Jon Kleinberg. His research develops tools for analyzing massive social graphs and other large-scale social data, aiming to provide a better understanding of social structure and human decision making while also impacting the design of large-scale computational systems. He is the recipient of the WSDM '13 Best Student Paper Award and the WebSci '12 Best Paper Award, and his work has been featured in popular-media outlets including The New York Times, The Economist, NPR, and Wired.
Contact: Francis Doughty, francisd at csail.mit.edu
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"The Intersection of Climate, Air Quality, and Vegetation"
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:00pm
Harvard, Geology Museum, Haller Hall (GM 102), 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Colette L. Heald, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Reception to follow on Geology Museum, 4th floor, interactive area
Harvard Climate Seminar
Contact Name: Jenifer Lee
jeniferlee at fas.harvard.edu
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Strength of the Weak: How Central Asian States Manipulate Great Powers Rivalry
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:00p
MIT, Building E53-482, 30 Wadsworth Street, Cambirdge
Speaker: Bakyt Beshimov, MIT Center for International Studies
Beshmimov will describe the intriguing relationship of the weak states of Central Asia with great powers and what goals the local ruling elites pursue and what tactics they use to manipulate the interests of the U.S., Russia, and China. The lecture will focus on how the concepts of state "weakness" and "strength" in the context of geopolitical environment in Central Asia takes unexpected forms and bear new meanings.
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Security Studies Program
For more information, contact: Harlene Miller
617-258-6531
harlenem at mit.edu
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“Partisanship in the Non-Partisan Press: The Implications of Media Bias for Democracy.”
Thursday, April 10
4-6 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Partisan Media Seminar Series with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania; and Jesse Shapiro, Professor of Economics, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. Moderator: Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, Harvard Kennedy School.
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"Sources and Sinks of Marine Biodiversity in Deep and Shallow Time"
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:00pm
Harvard, MCZ 101 Seminar Room, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Woflgang Kiessling, University of Erlangen-Nurnberg Germany
Identifying regions and environmental settings in which the rates of evolution are greater or lower than average is a major quest in macroevolution. Most commonly, areas with high biodiversity are interpreted as cradles of evolution whereas areas with lower biodiversity are seen as museums. The out-of-the tropics dynamic discovered for Neogene bivalves is a manifestation of cradles being also sources of biodiversity for other regions. In deep time, similar dynamics are evident for coral reefs, shallow water, and calcium carbonate substrates. In shallow time, sources and sinks of biodiversity are linked to the velocity of climate change. Sources are regions of rapidly diverging isotherms whereas sinks are regions where isotherms converge. My talk will highlight how these observations might be linked to produce large-scale spatial patterns of biodiversity in the ocean.
Paleobiology Seminar
Hosted by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Contact Name: Sabinna Cappo
scappo at fas.harvard.edu
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Huge-Scale First-Order Optimization of Big Data
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:15p–5:15p
MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: George Lan
ORC Spring Seminar Series
The OR Center organizes a seminar series each year in which prominent OR professionals from around the world are invited to present topics in operations research. We have been privileged to have speakers from business and industry as well as from academia throughout the years. For a list of past distinguished speakers and their seminar topics, please visit our Seminar Archives.
ORC Spring Seminar Series
Seminar reception immediately following the talk.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/orc/www/seminars/seminars.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Operations Research Center
For more information, contact: Swati Gupta, Nathan Kallus, Maokai Lin
617-253-6185
swatig at mit.edu, kallus at mit.edu, lmk at mit.edu
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Sustainable Communities Forum
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 4:15 – 5:45 p.m.
WHERE Land Auditorium, 3rd Floor Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Classes/Workshops, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR RSLT, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
SPEAKER(S) Bruce Seifer, Rhonda Phillips, Quinton Mayne, Beth Seigel, Brian Pine, Yiota Ahladas, Alison Flint
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK http://durablecommunities.weebly.com/rsvp.html
CONTACT INFO alison_flint at hks15.harvard.edu
NOTE How do you create a successful local economy? What can cities do to support economic growth that will benefit all residents in a community?
Come learn more at the Sustainable Communities Forum, which will take place at in Land Auditorium, Belfer Building, at Harvard Kennedy School April 10th, 2014 from 4:15-5:45pm.
The Forum will be based on a recent book describing the award-winning economic development efforts in Burlington, Vermont. The authors and several speakers will offer their perspective on Burlington's efforts, opening up to a discussion and Q&A session during the second half of the Forum.
The Forum is sponsored by the Regional, State, Local and Tribal Governance student group at Harvard Kennedy School, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and the National Community Development Association Region 1.
LINK http://durablecommunities.weebly.com/cambridge-sustainable-communities-forum.html
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The Promise(s) of Digital Humanities
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:30pm
Tufts, Pearson Hall, Room 104, Medford
Neil Fraistat, Director of the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH)
Professor Fraistat chairs the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO) and is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of centerNet, an international network of digital humanities centers. He currently serves on the boards of the Society for Textual Scholarship; Project MUSE; INKE; NITLE Digital Humanities Council; Networked Infrastructure for Nineteenth Century Electronic Scholarship (NINES); Brown's Women Writer's Project; Studies in Romanticism; Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net (RaVoN); and the Keats-Shelley Association. He has been awarded both the Society for Textual Scholarship's biennial Fredson Bowers Memorial Prize and the biennial Richard J. Finneran Prize, the Keats Shelley Association Distinguished Scholar Award, and honorable mention for the Modern Language Association's biennial Distinguished Scholarly Edition Prize.
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High Frequency Traders: Taking Advantage of Speed
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:30p–6:00p
Harvard, Littauer-M15, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Yacine Ait Sahilia (Princeton)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Econometrics Workshop - Joint MIT/Harvard
For more information, contact:
econ-cal at mit.edu
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Climate Change and What it Means for Extreme Weather
Thursday, April 10
4:30pm - 6pm
MIT, Building E19--623, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
Kerry Emanuel, Professor of atmospheric science, MIT
Dr. Kerry Emanuel is the Cecil and Ida Green professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been on the faculty since 1981, after spending three years on the faculty of UCLA. Professor Emanuel's research interests focus on tropical meteorology and climate, with a specialty in hurricane physics. His interests also include cumulus convection, and advanced methods of sampling the atmosphere in aid of numerical weather prediction. He is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and two books, including Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes, published by Oxford University Press and aimed at a general audience, and What We Know about Climate Change, published by the MIT Press. He is a co-director of MIT’s Lorenz Center, a climate think tank devoted to basic, curiosity driven climate research.
Website: http://eaps4.mit.edu/faculty/Emanuel/
See more at: http://ksj.mit.edu/seminars-news/seminars/climate-change-and-what-it-means-extreme#sthash.na7zHTBl.dpuf
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Askwith Forum - Leveling the Playing Field for Children: Celebrating 40 Years of the Children's Defense Fund
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
TYPE OF EVENT Discussion, Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
BUILDING/ROOM Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME Amber DiNatale
CONTACT EMAIL askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu
CONTACT PHONE 617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED No
ADMISSION FEE This event is free and open to the public.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Lecture, Special Events
NOTE Introduction by: James E. Ryan, Dean and Professor, HGSE
Moderator: Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, Harvard Kennedy School; Secretary of Health and Social Services, Archdiocese of Boston; Former Dean, Harvard Divinity School
Discussants:
Kathleen McCartney, President, Smith College; Former Dean, HGSE
The Honorable George Miller, U.S. House of Representatives (via video)
Robert G. Schwartz, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Juvenile Law Center
Arloc Sherman, Senior Researcher, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Jerry Weast, Founder and CEO, Partnership for Deliberate Excellence, LLC; Former Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children’s Defense Fund
The Children’s Defense Fund has long espoused the philosophy that “children do not come in pieces” rather children need comprehensive, integrated supports and services from birth through adulthood. How does America achieve such given the existing fragmented education and health and human services systems? This forum focuses on forward-looking pieces in the book, Improving the Odds for America’s Children: Future Directions and Policy and Practice, which diagnose current obstacles to progress and suggest key ideas for the next 40 years of child and family policy.
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Why We Serve: A Leadership Forum
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Boylston Hall - Fong Auditorium, Harvard Yard
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Veterans Alumni Organization
SPEAKER(S) Panel of Harvard graduates and military veterans:
Jonathan Freeman, Hassan A. Tetteh, Phillip Baker, John Simpson, Richard Sander, Brigitte Klene, Ahron Oddman
NOTE Harvard Veterans explore the “Why We Serve” theme as it relates to their lives in the public and private sector in order to inspire future leaders towards a lifetime of service.
LINK www.harvardveterans.org
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Social Physics: Beyond Economics and Org Charts
Thursday, April 10
6:00 to 7:30 PM
MIT Museum (N51), 275 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Yaneer Bar-Yam and Sandy Pentland
From Google to the NSA, personal information has become the currency of our era. When big data meets social science, a new understanding of human society emerges which radically changes how we make decisions and respond to global challenges. Big data-driven research such as social physics and “crowdsourcing” collective intelligence offer the promise of better policy decisions. But is the cost too high? How can we leverage the enormous opportunities available through big data, while still protecting individual privacy?
Join Yaneer Bar-Yam of the New England Complex Systems Institute in discussion with Sandy Pentland of the MIT Media Lab about the convergence of big data with social science.
MIT Museum: TalkBack 360 Series
TalkBack 360 is a new program series at the MIT Museum where audiences and researchers come together to share their diverse perspectives on hot topics in science, technology, and the arts. Join the discussion in our MIT 360 arena and talk back about the research that keeps you thinking.
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Predicting the Future: The Perception of Probability
Thursday, April 10, 2014
6pm
Harvard, Yenching Auditorium, 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Professor Randy Gallistel, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Rutgers University
Probabilistic models of cognitive processes are enjoying a huge vogue in contemporary theorizing in the cognitive and neurosciences, but there is little work on how we perceive simple probabilities. Such work as there is, assumes that the brain updates its estimate of a probability on a trial by trial basis. Prof. Gallistel will present experimental data showing that this is not true; the estimated probability may remain constant for hundreds of trials. Yet, the estimate can change by very large amounts from one trial to the next. He will present a model of the process that accommodates both of these seemingly contradictory facts. And he suggests that the principles underlying the model have broad application in perception.
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Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction
Thursday, April 10, 2014
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Annalee Newitz discusses in conversation with Seth Mnookin
Harvard Book Store welcomes science journalist and editor of io9.com ANNALEE NEWITZ and contributing editor for Vanity Fair SETH MNOOKIN for a discussion of Newitz's new-to-paperback book Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction.
As a species, Homo sapiens is at a crossroads. Study of our planet’s turbulent past suggests that we are overdue for a catastrophic disaster, whether caused by nature or by human interference.
It’s a frightening prospect, as each of the Earth’s past major disasters—from meteor strikes to bombardment by cosmic radiation—resulted in a mass extinction, where more than 75 percent of the planet’s species died out. But in Scatter, Adapt, and Remember, Annalee Newitz explains that although global disaster is all but inevitable, our chances of long-term species survival are better than ever. Life on Earth has come close to annihilation—humans have, more than once, narrowly avoided extinction just during the last million years—but every single time a few creatures survived, evolving to adapt to the harshest of conditions.
This speculative work of popular science focuses on humanity’s long history of dodging the bullet, as well as on new threats that we may face in years to come. Most important, it explores how scientific breakthroughs today will help us avoid disasters tomorrow. From simulating tsunamis to studying central Turkey’s ancient underground cities; from cultivating cyanobacteriafor “living cities” to designing space elevators to make space colonies cost-effective; from using math to stop pandemics to studying the remarkable survival strategies of gray whales, scientists and researchers the world over are discovering the keys to long-term resilience and learning how humans can choose life over death.
Newitz’s remarkable and fascinating journey through the science of mass extinctions is a powerful argument about human ingenuity and our ability to change. In a world populated by doomsday preppers and media commentators obsessively forecasting our demise, Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a compelling voice of hope. It leads us away from apocalyptic thinking into a future where we live to build a better world—on this planet and perhaps on others. Readers of this book will be equipped scientifically, intellectually, and emotionally to face whatever the future holds.
General Info: (617) 661-1515
info at harvard.com
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Atomic Legos: Building and Investigating Quantum Materials One Atom at a Time
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard University, Science Center Hall D, One Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Division of Life Science
SPEAKER(S) Markus Greinet, professor of physics, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO science_lectures at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE Ultracold atoms offer a fascinating view of the quantum world. With the quantum gas microscope, invented here at Harvard, we take pictures of individual atoms dancing to the rules of quantum mechanics. For example, quantum mechanics allows a single atom to exist in many locations at once. This so-called "quantum superposition" can be directly observed with our microscope. By looking at just one or two atoms, we can gain intuition about this bizarre quantum world. We can then use our ultracold atoms as building blocks to assemble synthetic quantum materials and to explore new states of matter.
LINK https://www.physics.harvard.edu/node/296
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Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum: Grass is Greener! Carbon Capturing Ecology
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge
Land and climate are inseparable. An essential element of mitigating global warming will be restoration of the world's depleted ecosystems, including estuaries, forests, and grasslands. While we reduce carbon emissions with the ongoing shift to clean, renewable energy, the atmospheric load of 'legacy carbon' is still barrelling down on us. Can the land and ecological processes offer hope against this global warming threat?
Seth Itzkan reports from the Africa Center for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe, part of the Savory Institute, where grazing, in accordance with evolutionary patterns, is re-greening highly depleted landscapes: helping to provide sustainable food and water security in semi-arid areas while invariably sequestering carbon through new soil formation. The climate mitigation potential, if applied on range lands globally, may be significant, and far larger than is conventionally calculated.
Seth Itzkan is President of Planet-TECH Associates, a consultancy focusing on trends and innovations. Seth has twenty five years experience consulting with private and public agencies on strategies for success in changing times. His clients include The Boston Foundation, The U.S. Census Bureau, The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and the City of Haverhill. Seth is interested in climate change mitigation and is investigating new approaches to the problem, particularly the role of soils and grassland restoration through Holistic Management. Seth is a graduate of the Tufts College of Engineering and the University of Houston Masters of Science Program in Studies of the Future.
More information at http://www.BASEA.org
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Who Decides? Gender, Medicine, and the Public’s Health
WHEN Thu., Apr. 10, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Special Events, Theater
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Eve Ensler, playwright, author, and activist; and Diane Paulus, artistic director of the American Repertory Theater
COST Free and open to the public; registration required
NOTE An evening with playwright, author, and activist Eve Ensler will kick off the conference "Who Decides? Gender, Medicine, and the Public’s Health" at the Radcliffe Institute. Ensler will open the conference with a presentation based on her book In the Body of the World: A Memoir of Cancer and Connection (2013), which will include readings and a Q&A session moderated by Diane Paulus, artistic director of the American Repertory Theater.
The conference will explore the choices behind medical research funding and practice, health-care delivery, and policy making. A daylong program on Friday, April 11, will bring together physicians, policymakers, journalists, and academics for an exploration of the major themes and their interplay with gender.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-who-decides-conference
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Friday, April 11
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Water & Cities: Shaping the Flow of Our Urban Future
Friday, April 11, 2014
Tufts University Jaharis Family Center for Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston
The deadline to register is Monday, April 7th! RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mBVSAtgJZRm_2zUMb9xIxtsHE3Aj4pzi4UB03a8JJFc/viewform
Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this number is expected to increase to 70% by 2050. Urbanization in all regions of the world has implications for the design, resilience, and equity of our cities and requires regional-scale planning to balance competing demands among agricultural, industrial, commercial, and domestic users. Cities already face challenges in securing sufficient and safe water resources and in planning for the risks associated with climate change, increasing populations, and economic growth. These challenges and the continued overuse of existing water resources will only intensify the challenges urban centers face.
Water & Cities will be the fifth annual symposium hosted by the Water: Systems, Science & Society (WSSS) program at Tufts University. At the symposium, students, academics, and professionals from the public, private and non-governmental sectors will explore the past, present, and future challenges faced by global cities and the innovations and mobilization that enable us to shape our future as an urban society. Symposium panel topics will include urbanization and the water cycle, urban resilience and disaster management, regional systems and planning, and water and society.
More information at wsss.water.cities.2014 at gmail.com.
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The 20th International Development Conference at Harvard Kennedy School
WHEN Fri., Apr. 11 – Sat., Apr. 12, 2014
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Conferences, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Kennedy School
TICKET WEB LINK http://www.events.harvard.edu/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x2443798e59
NOTE More than15 panels occurring over the span of 2 days and amazing speakers such as:
Esther Duflo, co-founder and director of the Poverty Lab
Kris Balderston from the Fleishman-Hillard Washington, D.C. office and John MacArthur Senior Fellow at the UN Foundation
Jane Wales, CEO, Global Philanthropy Forum and the World Affairs
Council and vice president of philanthropy at the Aspen Institute
LINK harvardidc.com
COST: $50-$85
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The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: New England Governors' Energy Infrastructure Proposals and ENE's EnergyVision(2050)
Friday, April 11, 2014
9 am to 12:30 pm
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston
This past December, the New England Governors expressed their collective perspective on energy infrastructure diversification in a statement entitledNew England Governors' Commitment to Regional Cooperation on Energy Infrastructure Issues. In January, they followed up with a joint letter to ISO New England focusing on two specific areas of agreement:
New Electric Transmission Infrastructure-The New England States, through NESCOE, have agreed that one or more requests for proposals will be issued to advance the development of transmission infrastructure that would enable delivery of at least 1200 MW and as much as 3600 MW of clean energy into the New England electric system from no and/or low carbon emissions resources. [Costs to be recovered through an ISO tariff.]
Increased Natural Gas Capacity-Approval by FERC of a tariff for the recovery of the cost of firm natural gas pipeline capacity, in a manner that is effective to achieve the construction of new, or expansion of existing, pipelines capable of delivering in the amount of firm pipeline capacity into New England of 1000 mmcf/day above 2013 levels. [Cost proposed to be recovered in an ISO tariff.]
We expect to hear about additional developments on these matters from
the New England Governors by the time of the April 11th Roundtable. Meanwhile, ISO New England has begun its analysis of the Governors’ request to develop an unprecedented gas pipeline tariff. To discuss these developments, we will hear from two of the state leaders in these negotiations, Steven Clarke, Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy at Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Maine PUC Chairman Tom Welch. Ray Hepper, General Counsel and Vice President at ISO New England will then provide ISO's insights on these recent developments on energy infrastructure in New England and discuss how these requests by the Governors could be translated into tariffs.
Given that the transmission and gas pipeline infrastructure requested by the New England Governors are, by their nature, long-term investments, we have decided to pair this topic with another related longer-term horizon topic - meeting New England's 2050 75-80% greenhouse gas reduction targets. The February release by ENE (Environment Northeast) of its Energy Vision(2050): A Pathway to a Modern, Sustainable, Low Carbon Economic and Environmental Future analysis and report will provide a provocative perspective to the long-term energy infrastructure conversation. ENE's analysis and report concludes that the best way to
meet the 2050 GHG reduction targets is to continue with aggressive energy efficiency programs, electrify the light vehicle and thermal sectors, increase renewable energy generation, and modernize the electric grid. Dan Sosland, President of ENE, and Dr. Abigail Adams, Director, ENE's Utility of the Future and Grid Modernization Initiative, will present ENE'sstudy.
[Note: ENE's presentation of EnergyVision(2050) will precede the New England Governors Energy Infrastructure panel.]
Free and open to the public with no advanced registration!
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Framing Architecture: Environment, Institutions, Practice
WHEN Fri., Apr. 11, 2014, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Conferences, Environmental Sciences, Humanities, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Ph.D. program in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning
SPEAKER(S) Michael J. Rawson, Catherine Ingraham, Kiel Moe, Lauren Benton, Felicity D. Scott, Daniel M. Abramson, Anthony Vidler, Magali Sarfatti Larson, Jay Wickersham
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
LINK cambridgetalks8.wordpress.com
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“Communication neuroscience: The listening, talking, and reading brain."
Friday, April 11, 2014
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
BU, Sargent College, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 220, Boston
Register by: 4/7/2014
Tyler Perrachione
Tyler will discuss his research in the Communication Neuroscience Research Laboratory (CNRLab) and help us answer the question “What has communication neuroscience done for us lately?”
Hosted by the Sargent College Faculty Support Committee.
Contact Name Jessica Kramer
Contact Email kramerj at bu.edu
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Healthcare in the future:Will advancing technology make doctors unemployed?
Friday, April 11, 2014
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (EDT)
hack/reduce, 275 Third Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/healthcare-in-the-futurewill-advancing-technology-make-doctors-unemployed-tickets-11187081863
Please join us in welcoming Maneesh Juneja to Boston for a great lunch time talk that will leave you with enough time to get back to your desk! Lunch will not be provided, but we encourage you to bring your own for the talk.
Join the debate on Twitter using the hashtag #docsoutofwork
Maneesh Juneja, Digital Health Futurist, will be speaking about how the convergence of advancing technologies, such as Big Data, The Internet of Things, Quantified Self & Wearable Tech could make doctors unemployed by the year 2025. He recently delivered this provocative & controversial talk at Anticipating 2025 in London, which triggered a discussion over social media on both sides of the Atlantic.
Schedule:
12:00pm - Intros and welcome
12:10pm-12:30pm - Maneesh's Talk
12:30-12:50 - Q&A
More information about Maneesh:
In 2013, he gave a talk at TEDx O’Porto on his radical vision of 7 billion Citizen Scientists, and also attended “FutureMed” at Silicon Valley's Singularity University. In 2012, he left the security of his career at GSK, to set up his own consultancy, MJ Analytics. Maneesh also founded the Health 2.0 London Chapter, which has become the UK’s largest health tech community.
In a career spanning 20 years, Maneesh has worked with data to improve decision-making across a number of industries. From supporting the Whitehall study at University College London, managing the Tesco database at DunnHumby, and most recently, working with the world’s largest U.S. health insurance claims databases at GSK R&D.
He is based in London, England. To learn more about Maneesh, visit maneeshjuneja.com or find him on twitter @maneeshjuneja.
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South Africa’s “Negotiated Revolution” and Mandela’s Legacy: A Conversation with Roelf Meyer and Tim Phillips
WHEN Fri., Apr. 11, 2014, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School, Hauser Hall 102
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S) Roelf Meyer, former chief negotiator for the African National Congress and former minister of constitutional development and Provincial Affairs, South Africa; Tim Phillips, co-founder of Beyond Conflict (formerly the Project on Justice in Times of Transition)
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO bhankes at law.harvard.edu
NOTE Join us for a discussion with Roelf Meyer and Tim Phillips on South Africa's remarkable “negotiated revolution” and its transition to a democratically elected government. What is Nelson Mandela’s legacy today? What lessons can leaders in current conflict situations learn from South Africa?
LINK http://www.pon.harvard.edu/events/south-africas-negotiated-revolution-and-mandelas-legacy-a-conversation-with-roelf-meyer-and-tim-phillips/
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Sparking Behavior Change to Create a Culture of Health
Friday, April 11
3:00pm - 4:00pm
MIT, Building E15, Bartos Auditorium, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Lori Melichar
Why do we reach for a cookie when we know an apple is better for us, even if we’re trying to lose weight? And, more to the point: What does it take to get us to reach for the apple instead? Find out what the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is learning about what it really takes to change people’s behavior. Drawing on ideas from the worlds of science, advertising, economics, social networking and design, Dr. Melichar will review major influence strategies and emerging research. At the end of her talk, she’d like to hear from you: What influences your behavior? What does it take to get you to change? And what innovative ideas do you have for motivating behavior change – in the arena of health, or otherwise?
Biography:
Lori Melichar is a labor economist and team director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), where she focuses on scouting cutting edge ideas across sectors with the potential to create a culture of health. Previously at the foundation she managed several programs to help create a well-trained health care workforce and was part of efforts to advance the science of quality improvement (QI) research and evaluation. Prior to joining RWJF in 2002 Melichar served with the National Institutes of Child Health and Development and the Demography of Inequality initiative at the University of Maryland Center on Population, Gender and Inequality. She also has worked at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals as a consultant and economic policy analyst and at the Project Hope Center for Health Affairs. Melichar holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park and a BA in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
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Towards Collaborative Learning At Scale
Friday, April 11
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Refreshments: 2:45 PM
MIT, Building 32-D463 (Star Conference Room), 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Marti Hearst , UC Berkeley
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have emerged as a new and provocative approach to education. MOOCs as initially deployed incorporate an innovative learning technique, at least compared to the standard computer science in-person classroom, consisting of sequences of very short lecture segments followed by student learning activities.
The education literature shows strong support for the pedagogical value of pausing to check student comprehension after short presentations of material, as the MOOC active learning exercises do. The literature also shows, though, that the effects are even stronger if students engage with the material in small groups before progressing to the next set of material. These benefits can include improving critical thinking skills, retention of learned information, interest in subject matter, and class morale. This practice is variously known as peer learning, collaborative learning, and cooperative learning, and has been studied both in the classroom and online in the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. However, it has never been studied at scale.
At the same time, MOOCs are not set up for real-time collaboration. In our research, we are putting the two ideas together, and are working towards the goal of improving retention and learning in MOOCs. This talk will discuss early-stage research into the incorporation of collaborative learning at scale, with the goal of incorporating it into MOOCs.
Joint work with Bjoern Hartmann, Armando Fox, Derrick Coetzee, and Taek Lim
Bio: Dr. Marti Hearst is a professor in the School of Information at UC Berkeley, with an affiliate appointment in the Computer Science Division. Her primary research interests are user interfaces for search engines, information visualization, natural language processing and, more recently, improving MOOCs. She was recently named a Fellow of the ACM, and has won two departmental Excellence in Teaching Awards. She is also known for the book Search User Interfaces and for the Flamenco project which advanced faceted navigation as a standard search technique, for lexico-syntactic patterns for ontology discovery (“Hearst patterns”), and the TextTiling discourse segmentation technique.
She received her BA, MS, and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and she was a Member of the Research Staff at Xerox PARC from 1994 to 1997. Prof. Hearst has served on the Advisory Council of NSF's CISE Directorate and is on the Web Board for CACM, is a member of the Usage Panel for the American Heritage Dictionary and is on the Edge.org panel of experts. Prof. Hearst is on the editorial board of ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction and was formerly on the boards of ACM Transactions on the Web, Computational Linguistics, ACM Transactions on Information Systems, and IEEE Intelligent Systems. Prof. Hearst has received an NSF CAREER award, an IBM Faculty Award, a Google Research Award, and an Okawa Foundation Research Grant.
Contact: Juho Kim, juhokim at csail.mit.edu
Relevant URL: http://groups.csail.mit.edu/uid/seminar.shtml
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Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: Responses to a Global Crisis
WHEN Fri., Apr. 11, 2014, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS South Building, room S250, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Humanities, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Weatherhead Center Fellows Program
SPEAKER(S) Anne Stetson, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights; Dan O'Bryant, Shared Hope International; Christopher Sage, WCFIA
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New England Anglican Studies Conference: Christianity and Capitalism
WHEN Fri., Apr. 11, 2014, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Divinity School, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Confeßrences, Religion
SPONSOR HDS Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship
CONTACT studentlife at hds.harvard.edu
NOTE The HDS Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship is pleased to announce the fourth annual NEAS Conference, an academic and ecumenical conference at Harvard Divinity School. This year's conference theme is "Christianity and Capitalism."
Five years after the worldwide financial crisis, two years after Occupy Wall Street, and in the midst of widespread movements challenging the global economic system, it is an urgent moment for Christians to ask: How should we, as Christians, relate to contemporary capitalism? How should contemporary "capitalism"—or capitalisms—be understood, economically, historically, and theologically? Are there fundamental conflicts between our current economic order and our identity as Christians? If so, what can, and should, we do about them—as individuals, congregations, and institutions? Such questions weigh particularly upon the ministers and lay leaders responsible for guiding the economic lives of Christian communities in a way that answers to the Gospel.
To engage with these issues, and to discern practical paths forward, is the purpose of "Christianity and Capitalism," the fourth annual Conference of the Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship at Harvard Divinity School. While we ask these questions from within the community of Anglicans, however, we recognize that they are equally imperative for all Christian ministry leaders and institutions. Our aim, therefore, is to convene an ecumenical conversation, inviting the contributions of other Christian traditions and drawing upon the resources of our own. Given the scope of the topic, we welcome papers taking a variety of approaches, including: theological engagements with economic questions, historical and contemporary studies of how Christian actors and ideas have interacted with the capitalist political economies, and practical proposals for how Christian leaders and institutions should move forward today. We hope especially to bring academic perspectives into dialogue with current and rising church leaders—ordained and lay—so that our theology might guide our practice, our practice our theology, and faithful witness to the Gospel guide both.
For more information, please visit the HDS Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship website.
LINK hdsepisc.org
COST: $30-$35
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Swiss Gaming Corner – Opening Reception
Friday, April 11, 2014
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT)
swissnex Boston, Consulate of Switzerland, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/swiss-gaming-corner-opening-reception-tickets-10981785817
swissnex Boston is hosting the SWISS GAMING CORNER – an exhibition of eight immersive games and installations incorporating virtual and augmented reality, designed by students of the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD). As a special treat Mario von Rickenbach will also present his award winning game KRAUTSCAPE, GDC Best in Play Winner 2013!
Program:
6.30 pm: Doors open – have fun meeting the designers and gaming in the Swiss Gaming Corner
7.30 pm: Welcome and Keynote by Jean-Pierre Greff, Director HEAD – Geneva University of Art and Design
7.45 pm: Pitches of the games from the Swiss Gaming Corner and Krautscape
8.30 pm: Networking reception and gaming
9.30 pm: Doors close
This event is free and open to the public. Drinks and food will be served throughout the evening. Registration requested.
Have questions about Swiss Gaming Corner – Opening Reception? Contact swissnex Boston
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Saturday, April 12
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TEDxHarvardLaw
On April 12, the Law & Social Change program, following up on the success of last year’s HLSpeaks event, will host its first TEDxHarvardLaw conference! A select group of student speakers will be chosen to present 5-15 minute talks that explain their perspective on using the law and other tools to create and support social change. Speakers may choose to ground their talks in their own experience, draw on lessons from history, and/or propose creative ways to be involved in social change.
Email Blake Strode blakestrode at gmail.com or Scott Hochbergsbhochberg at gmail.com with questions.
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New England Anglican Studies Conference: Christianity and Capitalism
WHEN Sat., Apr. 12, 2014, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Divinity School, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences, Religion
SPONSOR HDS Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship
CONTACT studentlife at hds.harvard.edu
NOTE The HDS Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship is pleased to announce the fourth annual NEAS Conference, an academic and ecumenical conference at Harvard Divinity School. This year's conference theme is "Christianity and Capitalism."
Five years after the worldwide financial crisis, two years after Occupy Wall Street, and in the midst of widespread movements challenging the global economic system, it is an urgent moment for Christians to ask: How should we, as Christians, relate to contemporary capitalism? How should contemporary "capitalism"—or capitalisms—be understood, economically, historically, and theologically? Are there fundamental conflicts between our current economic order and our identity as Christians? If so, what can, and should, we do about them—as individuals, congregations, and institutions? Such questions weigh particularly upon the ministers and lay leaders responsible for guiding the economic lives of Christian communities in a way that answers to the Gospel.
To engage with these issues, and to discern practical paths forward, is the purpose of "Christianity and Capitalism," the fourth annual Conference of the Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship at Harvard Divinity School. While we ask these questions from within the community of Anglicans, however, we recognize that they are equally imperative for all Christian ministry leaders and institutions. Our aim, therefore, is to convene an ecumenical conversation, inviting the contributions of other Christian traditions and drawing upon the resources of our own. Given the scope of the topic, we welcome papers taking a variety of approaches, including: theological engagements with economic questions, historical and contemporary studies of how Christian actors and ideas have interacted with the capitalist political economies, and practical proposals for how Christian leaders and institutions should move forward today. We hope especially to bring academic perspectives into dialogue with current and rising church leaders—ordained and lay—so that our theology might guide our practice, our practice our theology, and faithful witness to the Gospel guide both.
For more information, please visit the HDS Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship website.
LINK hdsepisc.org
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Boston FIRST Student Robotics Competition
8am - 4pm
Agganis Arena at Boston University, 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
More information at http://www.bostonfirst.org
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MIT Sloan Africa Innovate 2014: What's Your Big Idea?
Saturday, April 12, 2014
9:00 AM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
MIT Media Lab (E14, 6th Floor), 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-sloan-africa-innovate-2014-whats-your-big-idea-invited-guests-registration-10944432091
About the Sloan African Business Club
Our mission is to enlighten the MIT and greater North America community of Africa’s future promise while encouraging their investment in Africa. As a club, we strive to increase local awareness of MIT in Africa and to act as a resource to prospective students interested in attaining degrees from MIT Sloan. Finally, we aim to act as a catalyst in uniting all MIT alumni who are on the continent or interested in pursuing opportunities on the continent.
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The Business of Sustainability
Saturday, April 12, 2014
2:00 PM to 4:30 PM (EDT)
Northeastern University, 716 Columbus Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-business-of-sustainability-registration-10696693097
The Net Impact graduate student chapter of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business is proud to host "the Business of Sustainability." These afternoon sessions will feature speakers who have transformed their business models to be leaders of their industries, and how sustainability was crucial during that journey. We will discuss the impact of environmental and social responsibility issues, and how sustainability has become a norm for companies to succeed.
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On April 12, 2014, the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of MA joins us in a discussion exploring theenvironment and the economy. In the greater Boston area, the SBN is at the nexus of a new, resilient economy that will help Massachusetts withstand the coming challenges, from price spikes to extreme weather. What is the role of small business in building sustainable communities and how do companies participate in these initiatives?
Guest Speakers:
Susan Labandibar - SBN Board President and founder of Tech Networks
Joe Grafton - SBN Board Vice President, Director of Development & Community Engagement of the American Independent Business Alliance and founder of Somerville Local First
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Sunday, April 13
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Louise Bruyn - Reading from She Walked For All Of Us
Sunday, April 13, 2014
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Grace Episcopal Church, 76 Eldredge Street (on Church Street one block east of Center Street - Exit 17, Mass Pike), Newton Corner
Join Newton Dialogues on Peace and War for an evening with longtime Peace and Environmental Activist Louise Bruyn reading from her recently published book
"She Walked For All Of Us - One Woman's 1971 Protest Against an Illegal War".
1971 America has been at war in Vietnam for almost six years. The death toll is rising, both for the U.S., and for the “enemy." Louise Bruyn had enough! It was time to do something. What could one woman do that would make Congress take notice of her protest?? She decided to walk?from her home in Newton, Massachusetts to Washington,
D.C. to make her point. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and Representative Robert Drinan met her on the Capitol steps.
What a point she made! People all over the country rallied to support her. Finally, someone was saying what so many citizens wanted to, and had no idea how to, say "Stop this War!” This is her diary, day-by-day, detailing her struggles with fear, her encounters with people along the way, and the many wonderful people who opened their homes, encouraged her, and helped her on her way.
The presentation will be followed by discussion and copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Sponsored by Newton Dialogues on Peace and War
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Monday, April 14
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GSD Talks: Chris Reed, "Projective Ecologies”
WHEN Mon., Apr. 14, 2014, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Stubbins, Room 112, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Chris Reed
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE More information to come.
Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office two weeks in advance at 617.496.2414 or events at gsd.harvard.edu.
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/events/gsd-talks-chris-reed-projective-ecologies.html
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“Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know”
Monday April 14, 2014
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Tufts, ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
Peter W. Singer, Director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at The Brookings Institution
Charles Francis Adams Lecture Series
Peter W. Singer is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution. Singer’s focus is on changes in global security and technology. He is the author of Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, which pioneered the study of the new industry of private companies providing military services for hire, Children at War, the first book to explore the tragic rise of child soldier groups, Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century, which looked at the implications of robotics for war, politics, ethics, and law, and the new book Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Should Know, which has been recommended by sources as diverse as the US Army, US Navy, Washington Post, al Jazeera and Vice.
He has been named by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the “leading innovators in the nation,” by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential people in defense issues, and by Foreign Policy Magazine to their Top 100 Global Thinkers List. He served as coordinator of the Obama-08 campaign’s defense policy task force and on the US military’s Transformation Advisory Group, which helps visualize the future. He is a contributing editor to Popular Science magazine and led the Pentagon’s “NeXTech” project, exploring the implications of “gamechanging” technologies. The founder of a technology and entertainment consulting firm, NeoLuddite, he has advised the US military, FBI, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Legendary, Universal, HBO, and the video game series “Call of Duty,” the best-selling entertainment project in history.
Contact: Paulette Folkins
paulette.folkins at tufts.edu
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Nationalism, Sentimentality, and Judgment: Cultivating Sympathy in the Syrian Uprising, 2011-2013
Monday, April 14, 2014
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building 3-133, 33 Massachusetts Ave (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Lisa Wedeen, Professor of Political Science University of Chicago
Aga Khan Lecture Series
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/akpia/www/lecturescurrent.htm
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
For more information, contact: Jose Luis Arguello
253-1400
akpiarch at mit.edu
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Science by the Pint: Using Math to Answer Scientific Questions
WHEN Mon., Apr. 14, 2014, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE The Burren in Davis Square, 247 Elm Street, Somerville
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Science in the News
SPEAKER(S) Michael Brenner
CONTACT INFO sitnboston at gmail.com
NOTE “Using Math to Answer Scientific Questions: From bird beaks, droplet splashing to the science of cooking”
Meet a scientist over great brews and food! All are welcome! No prior knowledge necessary!
LINK http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/science-by-the-pint/
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Tuesday, April 15
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TARP: How the Most Unpopular Bill in History Became Law
WHEN Tue., Apr. 15, 2014, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bell Hall (5th Floor Belfer Building, HKS), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Larry C. Lavender, Republican Staff Director, House Financial Services Committee and James Segel, M-RCBG Senior Fellow
CONTACT INFO mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
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Can We Trust the Western Media's Coverage of Syria?
Tuesday, April 15
12 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Deborah Amos, international correspondent, covers the Middle East for National Public Radio.
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Bob Berkebile
Tuesday, April 15
12pm
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP at https://online.architects.org/bsassa/censsareqauth?p_url=evtssarsvp.display_page%3Fp_cust_id%3D__CUSTID__%26p_event_id%3D1268%26p_item_id%3DCTE_RSVP
BOB BERKEBILE FAIA OF BNIM is famous for being a co-founder of AIA-COTE, a founding member of USGBC, a writer and a leader of the team that helped recreate Greensburg, Kansas as the nation's first LEED Platinum community after the town had been completely demolished by a tornado. More recently, he and his firm have turned to not only designing but developing portions of the community he lives and works in, Kansas City, MO. View his description of his experiences in a presentation given at the OMEGA Institute.
Meetings are free and open to all, but RSVPs are required. Click HERE to attend, or visit the BSA calendar.
For more information on getting to BSA Space, including accessibility and parking, visitbsaspace.org/about.
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Ethereum: Freenet or Skynet?
April 15, 2014
12:30pm ET
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett Street, 2nd Floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/04/difilippi#RSVP
This event will be webcast live (on this page) at 12:30pm ET.
Primavera Di Filippi, Berkman Center Fellow
Ethereum is a contract validating and enforcing system based on a distributed public ledger (or blockchain) such as the one implemented by the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Yet, Ethereum also features an internal Turing-complete scripting language that can be used to encode advanced transaction types directly into the blockchain. This allows for the deployment of self-enforcing smart contracts (such as joint savings accounts, financial exchange markets, or even trust funds) as well as distributed autonomous organizations (DAOs) that subsist independently of any moral or legal entity. These algorithmical entities are both autonomous and self-sufficient: they charge users from the services they provide so as to pay others for the resources they need (e.g. bandwidth, cpu). Thus, once they have been created and deployed onto the blockchain, they no longer need (nor heed) their creators.
But if DAOs are independently operated — neither owned nor controlled by any given entity — who is actually in charge, responsible for, or accountable for their operations? And if their resources cannot be seized (because DAOs have full sovereignty over them), how can they be required to pay damages for their torts? This talk will analyse the interplay between distributed autonomous organizations and the law, with a view to explore the dangers and opportunities of Ethereum: could this new platform promote the establishment of an entirely decentralized society, or will its disruptive potential eventually be absorbed by the established system?
About Primavera
Primavera De Filippi is a postdoctoral researcher at the CERSA / CNRS / Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas). She is currently a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, where she is analyzing the challenges raised by distributed architectures and multimedia applications in the context of cloud computing and peer-to-peer networks.
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Asia's 21st Century: Risks and Opportunities
WHEN Tue., Apr. 15, 2014, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), 2nd Floor, CGIS Knafel, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University Asia Center
SPEAKER(S) Takehiko Nakao, president, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Moderator: Susan Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University
LINK http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/calendar/upcoming
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Challenges of Managing Post-Conflict Economies: Balancing Growth, Development, and Employment
WHEN Tue., Apr. 15, 2014, 3 – 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bell Hall (5th Floor Belfer Building, HKS), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government and the Center for International Development.
SPEAKER(S) Amara Konneh, finance minister of the government of the Republic of Liberia
CONTACT INFO mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
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"Science, Society and Education"
Tuesday, April 15
4:00PM to 6:00PM
Egan Research Center, Raytheon Amphitheatre, 120 Forsyth Street, Boston
Nobel Prize winner Sir Harold Kroto
A necessary condition for creativity in the sciences and the arts to flourish is a liberal/ democratic socio-political environment. In Europe this was manifested in the Enlightenment as Galileo, Copernicus and others laid the foundations for the evidence-based natural philosophy which signaled the birth of the Enlightenment.
The importance of intellectual and personal freedom for humanitarian advance is clearly manifested in the exponential success of the sciences in conquering many humanitarian problems from starvation and disease to the more obvious technologies that make modern life relatively pleasant for many – especially in the developed world. The down side has been the reckless thirst of a plethora of governments to exploit the vast powers of the sciences to construct ever more powerful destructive weapons.
Great thinkers from Kant to Russell, scientists from Einstein to Feynman and writers from Whitman to Shaw have repeatedly pointed to the importance of the doubt-based philosophy that is the crucial antidote to the stultifying effect of dogmas of all kinds. Indeed it is only doubt that leaves the road open for all advances in human endeavour.
We have reached a watershed in that the human race now confronts a set of crises significantly more serious than any previously. These threats can only be overcome by an open minded liberal education of the next generation of young people.
Before the name "Science" was coined it had another name, "Natural Philosophy" which more adequately describes its primary place in the spectrum of human culture. More important than any other aspect is the fact that Natural Philosophy is the only philosophical construct we have devised to determine Truth with any degree of reliability. As such it should be a primary ethical focus for the education of every child, student and citizen so at the very least they can decide whether what they are being told is actually true. This is also a strong intellectual basis for fostering creativity. For a truly humanitarian global society to evolve, equality of opportunity and personal freedom will be necessary for all young people whatever their race, colour, nationality and most importantly sex.
Bio: Sir Harold Kroto, FRS is the English chemist who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley. Kroto is the Francis Eppes Professor of Chemistry at the Florida State University, which he joined in 2004. Prior to that, he spent a large part of his career at the University of Sussex, where he now holds an emeritus professorship.
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Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: Current and Looming Problems
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E51-095, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Professor Jennifer Leaning of the Harvard School of Public Health
A session of the Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Inter-University Committee on International Migration
For more information, contact: Phiona Lovett
253-3848
phiona at mit.edu
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A Conversation with Ambassador Nabeela Al-Mulla
WHEN Tue., Apr. 15, 2014, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, Allison Dining Room, Fifth Floor Taubman Building, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Ambassador Nabeela Al-Mulla, permanent representative of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations and former ambassador of the State of Kuwait, and Professor Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
NOTE Amb. Al-Mulla will discuss Iran's nuclear program and the economic and political relations between Kuwait, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and the European Union.
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6347/conversation_with_ambassador_nabeela_almulla.html
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Combatting the Climate Crisis: the Path from Science to Action
Tuesday, April 15
5:00PM-6:30PM
MIT, Building E51-345, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Followed by informal reception in Bush Room (10-105, 6:30PM-7:30PM)
Speaker: Dr. James Hansen
We are thrilled that our sixth and final Climate Change Speaker Series talk will be delivered by world famous climate scientist and prominent advocate of global warming intervention, Dr. James Hansen. Dr. Hansen will discuss the climate realities confronting us as the 21st century unfolds, and the opportunities for MIT students to rise to meet them. Following the talk, an informal reception will be held in the Bush Room (10-105, 6.30-7.30pm). We are most grateful for the generous cosponsoring support of this event by the MIT Earth System Initiative.
Dr. Hansen, formerly Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (a position from which he retired to “focus more on climate activism”), is Adjunct Professor and at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, where he directs a program in Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions. Dr. Hansen is well known for his 1988 testimony on climate change to Congress that helped raise broad awareness of global warming. As one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people on Earth in 2006, Dr. Hansen is one of the world’s most prominent advocates of public and political action against climate change.
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"What's the Public for Public Social Science?"
Tuesday, April 15
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Harvard, Tsai Lecture Hall, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
Craig Calhoun
Director, London School of Economics and Political Science
With Panelists:
David Armitage, Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of History
Michèle Lamont, Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies
Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology
Moderated by:
Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies
Craig Calhoun is Director of the London School of Economics. He is a social scientist whose work connects sociology to culture, communication, politics, philosophy and economics. He took up his post in September 2012, having left the United States where he was University Professor at New York University, director of the Institute for Public Knowledge, and President of the Social Science Research Council. He co-founded, with Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at LSE, the NYLON programme, which brings together graduate students from New York and London for cooperative research programs. Professor Calhoun earned a D.Phil. in History and Sociology at Oxford University and a Master's in Social Anthropology at Manchester. He is the author of several books including Nations Matter, Critical Social Theory, Neither Gods Nor Emperors, and most recently, The Roots of Radicalism (University of Chicago Press, 2012).
This event is organized by the Program on Science, Technology, and Society, at the Harvard Kennedy School and co-sponsored by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Graduate School of Design, and the Harvard University Center for the Environment. For more information on Science, Technology, and Society events at Harvard University, please visit: www.ksg.harvard.edu/sts/. This lecture and discussion is free and open to the public.
Contact: Lisa Matthews, Assistant Director of Events and Communications, Harvard University Center for the Environment
24 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
lisa_matthews at harvard.edu
p. 617-495-8883
f. 617-496-0425
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Boston New Technology April 2014 Product Showcase #BNT40
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
WeWork (South Station), 745 Atlantic Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston_New_Technology/events/174095882/
Join us in the lobby and check in to print your name tag.
Free event! Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community! Each presenter gets 5 minutes for product demonstration and 5 minutes for Questions & Answers. Please follow @BostonNewTech and use the #BNT40 hashtag in social media posts: details here.
Products / Presenters:
Details to be added shortly, but the lineup is:
1. Mario Berruti / CookRadar
2. Ramon Andino / Zopaf
3. Maximilian Alexander / ShoutHub
4. Paul Henderson / CourseKicker
5. Dan Siegel / Sourceful
6. Mory Bahar / Personal Remedies
7. Ken Smith / Rejjee
8. Matteo Alampi / Sonical
Agenda:
6:00 to 6:30 - Networking
6:30 to 6:40 - Announcements
6:40 to 7:45 - Presentations, Questions & Answers
7:45 to 9:00 - Networking on the 3rd floor with WeWork providing complementary refreshments
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Swiss Creativity Night
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT)
swissnex Boston, Consulate of Switzerland, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
In conjunction with the Swiss Gaming Corner swissnex Boston presents Faceshift and Apelab’s Mimicry.
Program:
6.30 pm: Doors open – have fun gaming in the Swiss Gaming Corner
7.00 pm: Welcome and presentation of Faceshift by Thibaut Weise and Mimicry by Emilie Tappolet from Apelab
8.00 pm: Q & A
8.30 pm: Networking reception and more gaming in the Swiss Gaming Corner
9.30 pm: Doors close
About Faceshift
Faceshift’s software analyzes the face motions of an actor, and describes them as a mixture of basic expressions, plus head orientation and gaze. This description is then used to animate virtual characters for use in movie or game production. We have astonishing real time tracking and a high quality offline post-processing in a single, convenient application.
Faceshift’s customers come from the television, movie, commercials, and game production, where faceshift is employed for virtual production, post-production, and content creation. Faceshift also supports live streaming, which lead to a fast adoption by artists using it for interactive installations.
About Mimicry
Mimicry is a playful installation displaying a series of computer graphics paintings. As someone approaches the screen, the painting come to life and reacts to the viewer’s expressions.
After participating at swissnex San Francisco Gamegazer exhibit during GDC, Mimicry was invited by Pro Helveti, to show its new interactive painting and other projects during Tokyo Game Show 2013 at the swiss game booth.
The painting shows a romantic landscape with which the spectator can interact by using the expressions on his face to modulate the weather and environment.
Mimicry was produced through a collaboration between the Media Design of the Design Master program at Geneva University of Art and Design – Geneva, the Computer Graphics and Geometry Laboratory (LGG) at EPFL and Faceshift AG.
A first version of Mimicry was exhibited in the Swiss Game Lounge at the House of Switzerland United Kingdom 2012.
This event is free and open to the public. Drinks and food will be served throughout the evening. Registration requested.
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Sustainable Real Estate - Startup Financing for Sustainable Housing
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
7:00 PM
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/EntreTechForum/events/143820302/
Is It Affordable and How to Build in a New Real Estate Environment
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Expecto Patronum: Lessons from Harry Potter for Social Justice Organizing
WHEN Tue., Apr. 15, 2014, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sperry Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Religion
SPONSOR HDS Religious NONEs and HUUMS
CONTACT studentlife at hds.harvard.edu
NOTE What can social justice organizers learn from the Harry Potter series?
Author and trainer Chris Crass has worked for two decades in transformative social organizing—leading anti-racist work in white communities and feminist work with men. Join Chris in an exploration of Hermione's feminist leadership, the Voldemort principle of systemic oppression, and how to break free from it by organizing like the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army.
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, April 16
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Local Food Networking at Something GUD Somerville
North Shore Local Foods Initiative
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
8:30 AM to 9:30 AM (EDT)
14 Tyler St., Somerville
Come celebrate the start of Spring (and boy don't we need it!) with your Local Food community in Something GUD's brand new space!
Colin Davis, who spoke at our Quarterly Meeting in December of 2013, is the founder and owner of Something Gud, a Boston area food distribution company that connects local, sustainable food producers directly with the consumer through an easy and affordable online ordering system. In Colin's own words: "We want Something Gud to be easier. We've done the research. We've found the best local, small businsses who treat their employees like family, believe in sustainable practices, and make the highest quality products. The best part? We'll deliver it all to your door. With a couple of clicks, you can make a change that will save you time, cut your carbon footprint, and invest in local/family businesses."
This new space in Somerville will not only house Something Gud, but also two fantastic local food businesses: a coffee roaster called Barismo, and a brewery called Aeuronaut. We may even be able to sample some of their delicious wares!
A special thanks to Colin Davis, Founder and Owner of Something Gud and everyone at Barismo and Aeronaut!
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Massachusetts Climate Change Youth Forum
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
8:30 AM to 12:00 PM (EDT)
EPA Region 1, Leighton Hall, 5 Post Office Square, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/massachusetts-climate-change-youth-forum-tickets-10299699679
The Massachusetts Climate Change Youth Forum encourages high school and college students to educate themselves on environmental issues and inspires them to be the next generation of youth leaders. The Forum is designed to advance the knowledge and perspective of Massachusetts’ high school and college students with interactive roundtable discussions on local relevant topics.
The critical factor for a sustainable future is in preparing the next generation to understand and value the interconnectedness of environmental responsibility, social equity and economic development. The Forum empowers, encourages and mobilizes Massachusetts’ high school and college students to be local Thought-Leaders for positive impact.
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America and the World in the Age of Obama
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Fred Kaplan, Slate Magazine
SSP Wednesday Seminar
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Security Studies Program
For more information, contact:
617-253-7529
valeriet at mit.edu
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The Roots of Educational Inequality
WHEN Wed., Apr. 16, 2014, 12 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Hutchins Center for African and African American Research
SPEAKER(S) Erika Kitzmiller, assistant clinical professor, School of Education, Drexel University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO hutchevents at fas.harvard.edu
617.495.3611
NOTE A Q+A will follow the lecture. Feel free to bring a lunch.
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From the Maple Spring to the Charter of Values: Quebec Politics in An Age of Cynicism and Hope
WHEN Wed., Apr. 16, 2014, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bowie Vernon Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Canada Program
SPEAKER(S) Ethan Cox, journalist and political analyst from Montreal
COST Free and open to the public; RSVP to jremes at wcfia.harvard.edu
NOTE This event will be chaired by Professor Jacob Remes, the 2013-14 William Lyon Mackenzie King Research Fellow at the WCFIA Canada Program. A light lunch will be available - please register for this event with Prof. Remes. jremes at wcfia.harvard.edu.the Canada Seminar examines Canadian social, economic, cultural, and political issues in their domestic and international dimensions. Presentations are made by public figures, scholars, artists, and experts in various fields to provide Harvard faculty and students, and the broader community, a look at Canadian scholarly and public life. It seeks to enhance the understanding of one of the United States' closest allies and largest trading partners, and to provide a forum for the lively exchange of ideas on a wide range of issues. Because Canada and the United States must respond to similar economic and social challenges with distinctly different frameworks and historical legacies, the study of Canadian issues offers rich opportunities for scholars engaged in comparative studies. The seminar has presented numerous distinguished speakers including Canadian Supreme Court Justice Madame Rosalie Abella; political philosophers, Charles Taylor and Will Kymlicka; Matthew Teitelbaum, director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario; and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Honorable Bob Rae. In 2013–2014, George Elliott Clarke, professor of English at the University of Toronto, joins the Canada Program as the William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies and Canada Seminar Chair.
LINK http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/canada_program/seminars-0
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"Images of Mind"
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
1:30p–3:00p
MIT, Building W20-202, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: MIT Professor John Gabrieli
For the inaugural Division of Student Life Speaker Series on April 16, MIT Professor John Gabrieli will be speaking on "Images of Mind". Prof. Gabrieli is very popular teacher, renowned lecturer, and world class researcher at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. He will discuss recent research into understanding the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the human brain. This event is open to the entire MIT community. Talk @ 1:30, followed by Meet & Greet & Eat @ 2:30. RSVPs are requested to dsl-speaker-series at mit.edu.
The DSL Speaker Series will feature top professionals, from outside and inside MIT, who can share the research and professional experience relative to education and student development. There will be 3-4 talks per year and each will be followed by an informal "meet & greet" with colleagues and the featured speaker.
Web site: http://studentlife.mit.edu/dsl-sponsored-events
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): Division of Student Life
For more information, contact: Bob Ferrara
617-253-7495
rferrara at mit.edu
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Forging a Non-Violent Mass Movement: Economic Shocks and Organizational Innovations in India's Struggle for Democracy
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Saumitra Jha (Stanford GSB)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Development Economics Workshop
For more information, contact:
econ-cal at mit.edu
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Ice Sheet Melt, Sea Level and Storms
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
3:45p–5:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Refreshments, 3:45 pm, Ida Green Lounge
Speaker: Jim Hansen -- Columbia University
EAPS Department Lecture Series
Weekly talks given by leading thinkers in the areas of geology, geophysics, geobiology, geochemistry, meteorology, oceanography, climatology, and planetary science.
All are welcome.
If you have any questions regarding the lecture, please contact Jennifer DiNisco at 617.253.2127 or jdinisco at mit.edu. Reservations not required.
Web site:http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2014/spring_DLS_Hansen
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Jen DiNisco
617-253-2127
jdinisco at mit.edu
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“New Platforms for the Efficient Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Fuel”
April 16, 2014
4:00 PM
BC, Merkert 130
Professor Joel Rosenthal, University of Delaware
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Environmental Inspections in India
WHEN Wed., Apr. 16, 2014, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Environmental Economics Program
SPEAKER(S) Rohini Pande, Harvard University
LINK http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k96249
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Thursday, April 17
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Sustainability: Systems and Solutions
April 17, 2014
8am - 4:30pm
UMass Lowell Conference Center
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-massachusetts-sustainable-communities-and-campuses-conference-tickets-9732436981
Cost: $45 - $75
Our 2014 conference is in Lowell, the fourth largest city in Massachusetts, a "green community", and world famous revitalized mill city. Learn from government, business, education, and nonprofit stakeholders from across the Commonwealth who share best practices in sustainable development.
www.MaSustainableCommunities.com
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Health Consequences of Hydrofracturing: The Known and Unkown
April 17, 2014
12pm
Tufts, 10 Upper Campus Rd, Tisch College, Rabb Room, Medford
RSVP at https://healthconsequenceshydrofracturing.eventbrite.com
Reynold Panettieri, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Director of the Airways Biology Institute; Deputy Director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Panettieri will be speaking live from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Panettieri directs the Airways Biology Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. His interests are in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate airway smooth muscle cell growth and the immunobiology of airway smooth muscle. Consequences of increases in airway smooth muscle growth promote the development of irreversible airflow obstruction and airway remodeling seen in subjects with chronic severe asthma. Dr. Panettieri's lab also focuses on cytosolic signaling pathways that mediate gene expression and alter myocyte function.
Dr. Panettieri also serves as the Deputy Director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology. He directs the human exposure chamber that defines the molecular mechanisms regulating ozone- and particulate matter-induced airway hyperresponsiveness.
In parallel with his basic science interests, Dr. Panettieri currently directs the comprehensive clinical program for the care of patients with asthma and is actively involved in clinical investigations focused on the management of asthma and COPD.
In addition to his research and clinical interests, Dr. Panettieri served as chairperson of the NIH Lung Cellular, Molecular, and Immunobiology Study Section, is a member of the NIH Distinguished Editorial Panel and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians.
This event is co-sponsored by Upstate NY Society for Risk Analysis Webinar Series and Tufts Institute of the Environment as part of the "Scientific Studies on Impacts of Natural Gas Extraction from Marcellus Shale on Water Resources." The event will start promptly at noon, so please arrive early.
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Energy 101: Chapter 11 in the Energy Sector
Thursday, April 17, 2014
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building E51-325, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Always a controversial topic, the lecture will explore the topic with specific relation to the energy industry.
Energy 101 Series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact: MIT Energy Club
energyclub at mit.edu
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"New insights into the formation of methane at both low and high temperatures using stable isotopes"
Thursday, April 17, 2014
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Harvard, Haller Hall, Geo Museum 102, 24 Oxford Street, 1st Floor, Cambridge
Daniel Stolper, Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences,
Daniel Stolper is currently a geobiology graduate student in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech. He earned his A.B. from Harvard University in 2008 in Earth and Planetary Sciences. Daniel is interested in the application of geochemical tools to the study of both modern and ancient geobiological processes.
Methane is a critical greenhouse gas, energy resource, and product of microbial metabolisms. Despite its importance in the carbon cycle, distinguishing the sources of methane in natural systems is challenging due to gas migration and potentially overlapping chemical and isotopic characteristics of biogenic and thermogenic sources. Knowledge of the formation temperatures of methane would help distinguish biogenic and thermogenic methane in nature; however, formation temperatures of naturally occurring methane are generally unknown. I will present results of a new geothermometer that can be used to measure methane formation temperatures. It is based on the measurement of rare, multiply substituted (‘clumped’) methane isotopologues (13CH3D and 12CH2D2), the abundances of which are functions of temperature for isotopically equilibrated systems. I will describe the calibration of this clumped isotope geothermometer and present measurements from a range of experimental and natural thermogenic and biogenic gases. These results suggest that clumped-isotope-based temperatures generally represent formation temperatures for natural samples. This was not necessarily an expected result: It has implications for our understanding of the chemistry of how methane forms in nature and the sources of methane in various environments, and it can be used to test various methane formation models.
Geobiology Seminar
Contact Name: Sabinna Cappo
scappo at fas.harvard.edu
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The Consolidation of Strategic Communications in the United States, 1950–1975
WHEN Thu., Apr. 17, 2014, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR International Security Program
SPEAKER(S) Daniel Volmar, research fellow, International Security Program; Ph.D. candidate, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6331/consolidation_of_strategic_communications_in_the_united_states_19501975.html
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Anaerobic Digestion Panel
April 17
2:00 to 4:00 pm
City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e938xo9d86717d1b&c
With the Commonwealth’s organics waste ban going into effect, entities that generate more than a ton of organics per week will need to find alternative ways to dispose of the material. The panel of experts will discuss the factors to consider for implementing an anaerobic digestion facility. Co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the City of Cambridge.
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The Arab World: After the Spring ... Before the Storm?
WHEN Thu., Apr. 17, 2014, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Allison Dining Room, 5th Floor Taubman Building, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Mohamad Al-Ississ, Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar, Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
NOTE Mohamad Al-Ississ, Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar, Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, will discuss public opinion in the Arab World three years after the Spring. This event will be moderated by Ishac Diwan, lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School.
In the short term, polarization is a key challenge threatening the very basic fabric of Arab societies. However, little is known about the issues that Arab societies are polarized about, and the axes along which fault lines are drawn. These questions will be addressed using recent public opinion data from the region. He will also discuss the short and long term challenges facing the region.
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6351/mohamad_alississ.html
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Network Neighborhoods and the Dispersion of Social Ties
Thursday, April 17, 2014
4:15p–5:15p
MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Jon Kleinberg
ORC Spring Seminar Series
The OR Center organizes a seminar series each year in which prominent OR professionals from around the world are invited to present topics in operations research. We have been privileged to have speakers from business and industry as well as from academia throughout the years. For a list of past distinguished speakers and their seminar topics, please visit our Seminar Archives.
ORC Spring Seminar Series
Seminar reception immediately following the talk.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/orc/www/seminars/seminars.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Operations Research Center
For more information, contact:
Swati Gupta, Nathan Kallus, Maokai Lin
617-253-6185
swatig at mit.edu, kallus at mit.edu, lmk at mit.edu
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Religion and World Politics: Connections and Collisions
WHEN Thu., Apr. 17, 2014, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Belfer, Weil Town Hall, Lobby Level, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Bryan Hehir, Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, HKS
NOTE Frontline with Faculty Series: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/hauser/news-events/upcoming-events
LINK http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/hauser/news-events/upcoming-events/20140417
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"The Long and Winding Road to Clean Energy"
Thursday, April 17, 2014
5:00pm
Harvard Law School, Austin Hall North, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Jeff Bingaman, Distinguished Fellow, Stanford Law School; former Senator of New Mexico and chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Jeff Bingaman served in the U.S. Senate 1982-2013 and was chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural resources Committee from 2001-2002, and again from 2007 until the end of his term in the 112th Congress. In the 109th Congress, Bingaman played a major role in the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the first comprehensive energy bill to become law in 13 years. He was the lead sponsor of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which required a historic increase in vehicle fuel economy, boosted homegrown biofuels, and mandated the most sweeping energy efficiency legislation ever to be put into law. Bingaman served on the Senate Finance Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure. He was also a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a senior member of the Joint Economic Committee. Before being elected to the Senate, Bingaman was elected New Mexico attorney general. The former New Mexico Senator has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and law degree from Stanford (JD ’68).
Future of Energy
http://environment.harvard.edu/events/future/video
Contact Name: Lisa Matthews
matthew at fas.harvard.edu
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Feminism and Democratization after the Arab Spring
Thursday, April 17, 2014
5:00p–6:30p
MIT, Building 3-133, 33 Massachusetts Ave (Rear), Cambridge
McMillan Stewart lecture series on women in the developing world.
Is democracy good for women? If so, why? Is it because of some intrinsic features of democracy as a political system that makes it best suited for the attainment of women's full citizenship and gender equality? Or is it because of mobilizations that take place during democratic transitions or democratization episodes, which may lead to women's empowerment, albeit given the presence of other factors and forces? And what are those factors and forces that result in successful, women-friendly democratic transitions and consolidation?
The presentation is part of an ongoing, larger project comparing the Arab Spring to other instances of mass social protest leading to major political change and new constitutions. The focus is on Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, which I compare with each other and with other "third wave" democratizations - southern Europe, Latin America, southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and South Africa. Similarities and differences across the three countries are examined, with updates on developments in each country, and implications for theory, policy, and politics.
Valentine M. Moghadam joined Northeastern University in Boston as Director of the International Affairs Program, and Professor of Sociology, in January 2012.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Women's and Gender Studies
For more information, contact:
The Friendly WGS Staff
617-253-8844
wgs at mit.edu
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Green Justice Coalition Energy Efficiency Summit
Thursday, April 17th
Doors open at 5:30pm for snacks. The program will start at 6pm and end at 7pm.
SEIU Local 615, 26 West Street, 3rd Floor, Boston
RSVPs welcome: https://www.facebook.com/events/432849103525137/
Join BostonCAN in celebrating the power of linking environmental, labor, and social justice movements. Learn about the recent victories and upcoming goals of the Green Justice Coalition on April 17th at the Energy Efficiency Summit!
You'll hear residents, organizers, representatives of the utility companies, and others speak on the benefits of energy efficiency for making our low- and moderate-income neighborhoods more resilient in the face of climate change and volatile energy prices.
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Starr Forum: Junk Food and the Modern Mind
Thursday, April 17, 2014
5:30p–7:00p
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Capt Joseph Hibbeln, Rachel V Gow, Lynn C Todman
Experts discuss the research and the global implications of the modern American diet.
Speakers:
Capt Joseph Hibbeln, MD, is Lead Clinical Investigator, Unit on Nutrition in Psychiatry, NIAAA, Washington DC; & a Commander in the United States Public Health Service. A psychiatrist & lipid biochemist by training, Dr Hibbeln is now one of the world's leading experts on the importance of dietary fats for human brain development & function. Dr Hibbeln received a BA with special honors from the University of Chicago and an MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Rachel V Gow is currently working as a Guest Researcher in the Section of Nutritional Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health. Her main research interests are in the role of brain selective nutrients such as omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids &
neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD & conduct disorder related behaviors. Dr Gow completed a PhD in the department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
Lynn C Todman is currently a visiting scholar in the Center for International Studies at MIT. Dr Todman's areas of interest include urban poverty, social exclusion, community development, & the social determinants of health & mental health. Dr Todman earned a BA from Wellesley College and a Master's in City Planning & a PhD in Urban & Regional Planning at MIT
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cis/eventposter_041714.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact: starrforum at mit.edu
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Leading Between the Vines (film presentation and lecture)
Thursday, April 17
6 PM
Boston University School of Theology, Room B19, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Terry Theise, Author, Filmmaker, & James Beard Award-Winning wine importer
Presented in conjunction with MET ML 641, Anthropology of Food
Barbara Rotger, Gastronomy Program Coordinator
brotger at bu.edu
T 617-358-6916
F 617-353-4130
Gastronomy Program, Metropolitan College, Boston University, 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 111, Boston MA 02215
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Traffic Advisory Speaker Series: "City Models/Three Perspectives"
Thursday, April 17
6:00 pm
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP to rsvp at architects.org with "Traffic 4/17" in the subject line
Jerry Dobrovolny, director of transportation for the City of Vancouver, British Columbia; Harriet Tregoning, director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Phillip Washington, general manager of Denver's Regional Transportation District, draw from their own regional insights to present three multiscale perspectives on transportation development.
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What Happened in Ukraine?
Thursday, April 17, 2014
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 275 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Daren Acemoglu and Gerald Easter
TalkBack360
Recent events in Ukraine and Crimea have stunned the world as we witness the greatest conflict in Eastern Europe since the Cold War. Discuss what led to the current situation with MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, co-author of Why Nations Fail, and Boston College political scientist Gerald Easter, author of Capital, Coercion, and Post-Communist States. What factors contributed to the civil unrest in Ukraine, and how did its proximity to, and relationship with, Russia influence the uprising in Ukraine's capital?
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/talkback.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact: Andrew Hong
617.324.7313
andhong at mit.edu
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A 3D Mixer: Networking, Cocktails and Conversation
Thursday, April 17, 2014
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
Kingston Station, 25 Kingston Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-3d-mixer-networking-cocktails-and-conversation-tickets-11080988535
Sustain for the Future and the Babson Energy and Environmental Club have teamed up to bring you an evening of Networking, Cocktails and Conversation with renowned leader in Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Asheen Phansey. Asheen will be sharing his wisdom, work and enlightening you on:
“The 3D experience: How 3D Printing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things are Revolutionizing Sustainable Innovation”
This event is open to all, and best of all, it's free to attend.
Asheen Phansey is the global head of Sustainable Innovation Lab at Dassault Systèmes (3DS), the $3B software company that provides businesses and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations, where he is responsible for leading and executing the vision and strategy for sustainability apps and solutions. Asheen is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Babson College teaching sustainable business where his innovative curricula have received press in BusinessWeek and The Economist. Asheen holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Babson, and is certified in bio-inspired design from the Biomimicry Institute.
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Where Is Our Collective Imagination?
WHEN Thu., Apr. 17, 2014, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Teddy Cruz
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE **This scheduled lecture by Teddy Cruz, in the Alumni Insights series, was rescheduled due to a weather-related flight cancellation in February. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.**
As the global city has become the primary site of economic consumption and display in the last years of economic boom, marginal neighborhoods of these power centers have remained sites for cultural production through the adaptation and retrofit of sites whose configuration is due to discriminatory zoning and economic development practices. Noting the need in such praxis for artistic interpretation and political representation, Teddy Cruz engages this space of intervention at the US-Mexico border to produce a specific political language for new interpretations of housing, infrastructure, property, and citizenship. Teddy Cruz has exhibited nationally and internationally, including the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale and “Small Scale, Big Change,” at MoMA in New York. A professor in public culture and urbanism at UC San Diego, Cruz is founding co-director of the Center for Urban Ecologies and Blum Cross-Border Initiative, and leads the Civic Innovation Lab for the City of San Diego.
The Alumni Insights lecture series, co-hosted with GSD Development and Alumni Relations, was created to recognize the work of Harvard GSD alumni and give students an opportunity to hear about the diverse careers and achievements of the school’s graduates.
Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office two weeks in advance at 617 496 2414 or events at gsd.harvard.edu
LINK www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/alumni-insights-teddy-cruz.html
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Bidder 70
Thursday, April 17
6:40; film starts promptly 7pm
243 Broadway, Cambridge - corner of Broadway and Windsor, entrance on Windsor
In 2008, as the US government tried to gift the energy and mining industries thousands of acres of pristine Utah wilderness via a widely disputed federal auction, college student Tim DeChristopher decided to monkey-wrench the process.
Bidding $1.7 million, he won 22,000 acres with no intention to drill. For this astonishing (and successful) act of civil disobedience he was sent to federal prison.
*Bidder 70* tells the story of this peaceful warrior whose patriotism and willingness to sacrifice have ignited the climate justice movement.
"Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul." Edward Abbbey
"At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like. In these times of a morally bankrupt government that has sold out its principles, this is what patriotism looks like. With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow… " Tim DeChristopher
"...without the slightest tinge of manipulation, Bidder 70 convinces us that these people really do care about the fate of humankind and that we're entrapped in a legal system that is, environmentally speaking, still set on driving us off a cliff." Kalvin Henely, Slant Magazine
"A film everyone needs to see, even if you think you're well-informed about political issues, environmentalism, and global climate change." Ashland Independent Film Festival
"Tim's trial was pushed back 6 times over two years and was fraught with maddening plot twists. The judge refused to let Tim use the Necessity Defense or let the jury know crucial facts, including that the auction was illegal." Think Progress
"Sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.” Tim DeCristopher
Tidbits from the pen of Henry David Thoreau:
"A common and natural result of an undue respect of law is, that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all, marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences..."
"Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward."
"Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice."
"What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook."
"[Slavery] exists wherever men are bought and sold, wherever a man allows himself to be made a mere thing or a tool, and surrenders his inalienable rights of reason and conscience. Indeed, this slavery is more complete than that which enslaves the body alone.... I never yet met with, or heard of, a judge who was not a slave of this kind, and so the finest and most unfailing weapon of injustice. He fetches a slightly higher price than the black men only because he is a more valuable slave."
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundation under them."
Please join us for a stimulating night out; bring your friends!
*free film & free door prizes
[donations are encouraged]
*feel free to bring your own snacks and soft drinks - no alcohol allowed
"You can't legislate good will - that comes through education." Malcolm X
UPandOUT film series - see http://rule19.org/videos
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Shambhavi Dandikar, lec-dem on Kathak Dance
Thursday, April 17, 2014
7:30p
14W-111, Killian Hall, Hayden Library Building, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): Music and Theater Arts
For more information, contact: Clarise Snyder
mta-request at mit.edu
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Friday, April 18
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Cambridge Science Festival
April 18-27
For events and other information, visit http://www.cambridgesciencefestival.org
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Ceremony of Remembrance for Officer Sean A. Collier
Friday, April 18, 2014
9:30a–10:30a
MIT, Tent on North Court
The MIT community will gather to remember Officer Collier on Friday, April 18. All are welcome.
PRESENTATION OF THE FLAGS
MIT Police-Cambridge Police Joint Honor Guard
NATIONAL ANTHEM
Performed by Lt. Pauline Wells, Cambridge Police Department
SPEAKERS
Israel Ruiz SM '01, MIT Executive Vice President and Treasurer
John DiFava, Director, Facilities Operations and Security and Chief, MIT Police
The Honorable David Maher, Mayor of the City of Cambridge
Sara E. Ferry '11, G, MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Jay Perault, Deputy Chief, MIT Police
J. Meejin Yoon, Associate Professor, MIT Department of Architecture
BENEDICTION by Robert M. Randolph, Chaplain to the Institute
MUSIC PERFORMED by the MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble, featuring John Harbison, Institute Professor
Open to: MIT community and friends of the Institute
Cost: n/a
Tickets: n/a
Sponsor(s): Information Center
For more information, contact: Institute Events
617-253-4795
info-events at mit.edu
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Capital in the Twenty-First Century
WHEN Fri., Apr. 18, 2014, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Weil Town Hall (First Floor Belfer Building, HKS), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Thomas Piketty, professor of economics, Paris School of Economics
COST Free and open to the public; RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
NOTE Lunch will be served.
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"Time to React" a book talk
Friday, April 18, 2014
1:30p–3:00p
MIT, Building E40-496, Lucian Pye Conference Room, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Heidi Hardt, Ken Oye
"Time to React: The Efficiency of International Organizations in Crisis Response"
A book talk with author Heidi Hardt, University of Texas-Arlington.
Moderated by Ken Oye, MIT
About the book: The speed with which international organizations respond to crises affects prospects for sustainable peace, but scholars have yet to understand why some organizations take longer than others to do so. Building on interview evidence from 50 ambassadors across four leading organizations, this manuscript identifies a key explanation for variation: differences in informal institutional cultures. In particular, unspoken rules and social networks among decision-makers at organization's peace and security committees dictate the pace of proceedings. This book examines the dominant role of informal relations and rules in crisis decision-making and delimits the impact of an organization's affluence.
Free and open to the public
Books will be sold at the event
Web site: http://www.amazon.com/Time-React-Efficiency-International-Organizations/dp/019933711X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1383751846&sr=8-2&keywords=%22time+to+react%22
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact: rochoa at mit.edu
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xTalks: Breslow & DeBoer on National Differences in an International Classroom
Friday, April 18, 2014
2:00p–3:00p
MIT, Building 4-237, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Lori Breslow & Jennifer DeBoer
xTalks: Digital Discourses
The xTalks series provides a forum to facilitate awareness, deep understanding and transference of educational innovations at MIT and elsewhere. We hope to foster a community of educators, researchers, and technologists engaged in developing and supporting effective learning experiences through online learning environments and other digital technologies.
The virtual classrooms of open online courses include students from a vast array of backgrounds. These students are individually unique, but they are also nested within unique social, economic, political, and educational contexts in different countries. In this presentation, we highlight interesting systematic differences in performance and behaviors for students and countries with different characteristics such as language, internet availability, and income.
Dr. Lori Breslow is the director of the Teaching and Learning Lab at MIT, as well as senior lecturer at Sloan. Dr Jennifer DeBoer is post-doctoral associate for education research at TLL.
Web site: http://odl.mit.edu/events/lori-breslow-jennifer-deboer-national-differences-in-an-internationl-classroom/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): OEIT- Office of Educational Innovation and Technology
For more information, contact: Molly Ruggles
617-324-9185
ruggles at mit.edu
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ACT | Public Space? Lost & Found Symposium
Friday, April 18, 2014
2:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building E14-633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
The MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) and the MIT Center for Art, Science and Technology (CAST) present Public Space? Lost & Found, a two-day symposium and accompanying exhibition to celebrate the living legacy of artist and educator Antoni Muntadas and collectively redefine ideas of public space and its multiple functions. Convening scholars, artists, architects, and planners from MIT and beyond, the symposium will engage contemporary critical discourses and practices on public space.
2:00 pm | Opening remarks by Adele Santos (Dean of the School of Architecture + Planning, MIT)
2:30 pm | Panel 1: Private Public Spaces: Cultural Identity and Context
Speakers: Ina Blom (Oslo University), Antoni Muntadas (ACT, MIT), Nestor Garcia Canclini (Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico City)
Respondents: Doris Sommer (Cultural Agents, Harvard), Ana Maria Leon (HTC, MIT)
Moderator: Meejin Yoon (Architecture, MIT)
5:00 pm | Panel 2: Reclaiming Public Space/Surveillance and Control
Speakers: Teddy Cruz (UCSD), Marjetica Potrc (HFBK, Hamburg), Krzysztof Wodiczko (GSD, Harvard).
Respondents: Jane Hutton and Adrian Blackwell (GSD, Harvard)
Moderator: Catherine D'Ignazio (Media Lab, MIT)
7:00 - 9:00 pm | Exhibition Opening Reception
Takes place on the first floor gallery of the E14 Media Lab Complex.
Web site: http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/events/public-programs/public-space-symposium/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: http://bit.ly/K3IXtd
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, Department of Architecture, School of Architecture and Planning, Arts at MIT
For more information, contact: Laura Anca Chichisan
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu
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Opportunity
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Online Collaborative Explorations focusing on "Scientific and Political Change"
April-May 2014
Collaborative Explorations (CEs) are an extension of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and related approaches to education in which participants shape their own directions of inquiry in response to a scenario in which the problems are not well defined. The online CEs consist of live 60-minute sessions each week for a month and exchanges on a private community between sessions. The format is designed to address the needs of onlne learners who want to:
participate for shorter periods than a semester-long MOOC
dig deeper, make "thicker" connections with other learners
connect topics with their own interests
learn without needing credits or badges for MOOC completion.
In short, online CEs are "moderately open online collaborative learning."
Schedule:
April: Preparing people to be informed participants in political
debates about science, technology, and social change
May: Science-policy connections to improve responses to extreme
climatic events
Day and time is set to suit the people who register.
Open to the public--please spread the word.
For more information and link for registering:http://collabex.wikispaces.com
Organized in collaboration with UMass Boston's Science in a Changing World graduate track: http://www.cct.umb.edu/sicw
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Share an opportunity to take part in a fun project, One Day on Earth: Your Day. Your City. Your Future, a multi-city participatory media-creation event. On April 26th, 2014, hundreds of filmmakers, non-profit organizations, and inspired citizens in 11 U.S. city-regions will document stories that they believe most affect the future of their city.
The idea is to have people, organizations, and groups across the Boston region film on the same day within a 24-hour duration (on Saturday, April 26, 2014) to tell their stories. Video stories submitted to One Day in Boston will result in a 90 minute film — a localized version of One Day on Earth. Video submissions not included in the 90 minute piece will feature in a geo-tagged film archive featuring the people, stories, and events of Greater Boston. Participation is voluntary. You can make your own film, partner with a videographer/film-maker, or reach out to Cecily Taylor, producer of the Boston project at Cecily.Tyler at onedayonearth.org.
It is a great way to document stories about our lives, our families, our organizations, our communities, and our city. We encourage you to get involved and participate to showcase our city. You can learn more about this project by clicking on the following links:
One Sheet and Press Kit: http://yourdayyourcity.org/boston/2014/03/01/press-kit/
One Day in Boston - participate: http://onedayinboston.org/#participate
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/605133916238534/
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Climate Stories Project
http://www.climatestoriesproject.org
What's your Climate Story?
Climate Stories Project is a forum that gives a voice to the emotional and personal impacts that climate change is having on our lives. Often, we only discuss climate change from the impersonal perspective of science or the contentious realm of politics. Today, more and more of us are feeling the effects of climate change on an personal level. Climate Stories Project allows people from around the world to share their stories and to engage with climate change in a personal, direct way.
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Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!
Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.
For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home
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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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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 http://thesprouts.org/
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
MIT Events: http://events.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events/calendar/
Harvard Events: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/
Harvard Environment: http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
Sustainability at Harvard: http://green.harvard.edu/events
Mass Climate Action: http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/
Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/
Microsoft NERD Center: http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
Startup and Entrepreneurial Events: http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/calendar
High Tech Events: http://harddatafactory.com/Johnny_Monsarrat/index.html
Cambridge Civic Journal: http://www.rwinters.com
Cambridge Happenings: http://cambridgehappenings.org
Boston Area Computer User Groups: http://www.bugc.org/
Arts and Cultural Events List: http://aacel.blogspot.com/
Boston Events Insider: http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/
Nerdnite: http://boston.nerdnite.com/
More information about the Act-MA
mailing list