[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - May 4, 2014
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun May 4 14:23:29 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, May 5
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10am Coordination Chemistry Flow Battery for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
12pm Strategy, Simulation, and Analytics for the Complex World of Education
12pm Personality and adaptiveness in a small-scale society
12:10pm Urbanization, land cover change, and the carbon cycle
12:30pm "Clean Energy in 2025: How policymakers and the private sector can drive the region's clean energy future”
1pm Mobile Applications for Improving Community Health Programs
4pm U.S. Air Pollution and Climate: Trends, Variability and Interactions
4pm Research-based principles for multimedia learning
4pm LP Statistical Science (Nonparametric Modeling, Exploratory Big Data Analysis)
4pm The Inequality Deflator: Interpersonal Comparisons without a Social Welfare Function- joint with Microeconomic
4pm A Taste of Justice
5pm O Brave New World! Entering an Age of Climate Change Beyond 400 ppm
5:30pm Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to Understand Ourselves
6pm The Historiography of Contemporary Architecture in the Gulf
6pm Alewife Reservation Constructed Wetland workshop
6:30pm 2014 MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Awards Celebration
7pm Internet, Security, and Power
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Tuesday, May 6
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8am Boston TechBreakfast: 1sqbox, Eventuosity, Downtyme, RedBerrRy, Track Runner
11am SEAS Design & Project Fair
12pm National Day of Action: No Killer Drones! No Spy Drones!
12:30pm Cheap smartphones, digital news and the world’s biggest election
1pm Big Data + Big Cities: Graph Signals of Urban Air Pollution
2pm The Gulf: Past, Present, and Future
2:30pm The Value of Corporate Culture
4pm CLAIRITY: An Air Quality Network for MIT's Campus
5pm The Adventures of a Cello: Public Lecture and Musical Performance
5:30pm Sustaining America's Food System: Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition
6pm Panel Discussion on Boston's Trees and Climate Change: How can the City and community work together to invest in trees to prepare for climate change, and improve overall quality of life?
6pm Sustainable Transportation: We can get there from here!
7pm How to Build A Habitable Planet
7:30pm Watery Widgets -- A Bazaar of Ideas
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Wednesday, May 7
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8am Using Demand-Side Management to Support Electricity Grids
12pm "Secure, Hold, Build" - What's the Impact of Building Infrastructure during Ongoing Evolution of Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic Conditions in Afghanistan
1:30pm Après-Ski: 10 visions to face climate change in mountain resorts
3pm SRECs: What You Need to Know
3:45pm Matt Huber, Professor of Climatology, Climate Dynamics, Impacts Prediction, University of New Hampshire, Institute of the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space
5:30pm Ore Sorting: Changing the economic outlook of hard rock mining (MOG Lecture Series)
6pm Pecha Kucha Boston
7pm "The Extreme Life of the Sea" Lecture and Book Signing
7pm Science in the News Lecture: In the Loop with Poop: Intestinal Microbes in Health and Immunity
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Thursday, May 8
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9am Interoperable Simulation Gaming for Strategic Infrastructure Systems Design
12pm Energy 101 Sessions - An Introduction to Oil and Gas
3pm "The Use of Prompt Photofision (PNPF) Technique in Nuclear Security”
4pm A New Understanding of Monsoon Depressions
4pm BIG DATA LECTURE SERIES: "The SAP HANA Platform" by Dr. Vishal Sikka
4:15pm Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China
5pm "Gaming in Color”
5pm President's Challenge Demo Day 2014
6pm "You Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves.”
6:30pm Engage your senses: Creating grace under pressure
7pm Volcanoes, Climate Change, and Migration
7pm 'The Ghosts In Our Machine' Boston Premiere
7pm Denmark - On Top of the Renewable World
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Friday, May 9
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2:30pm Center for Environmental Health Sciences 2014 Annual Poster Session
4pm Exploring Mars with the Curiosity Rover: The Search for Ancient Habitable Environments
5:30pm MIT D-Lab Spring Showcase & Open House
6pm Rights of Way Lecture Series: "There+Here: Transnationalism and Migration”
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Saturday, May 10
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8am 2014 Legatum Conference: Elements of Entrepreneurship
9am 8th Annual Youth Summit on Global Climate Change
12pm The Art of Science: Girls Day @ the MIT Museum
7pm Singing for the Planet
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Monday, May 12
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12pm The role of low-level convective heating in tropical weather and climate
12:10pm The terrestrial biosphere and air quality
2:30pm How Casinos Use Your Personal Data to Keep You Coming Back for More
3pm NSE Seminar: "Evolving Radiation Detection Challenges in Nuclear Safeguards and Security”
5:30pm Investing in Nature: Conservation and the Bottom Line
6:30pm Science by the Pint: Physical Modeling and High Performance Computing
7pm Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation
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Tuesday, May 13
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ACT | Resonating MIT - all day through Sunday, May 17
12:30 Does Size Matter? A Tale of Performing Welfare, Producing Bodies and Faking Identity
5pm 14th Annual Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture: Ice Sheets and Sea Level: Is the Long Tail Attached to a Dragon?
5:30pm Understanding Global Innovation Economies
5:30pm Technovation 2014 – Regional Pitch Night - MassTLC Education Foundation
6pm Noam Chomsky
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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
MIT at Flood Level
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/03/1296654/-MIT-at-Flood-Level
At the Harvard Divest Rally
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/30/1295899/-At-the-Harvard-Divest-Rally
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Monday, May 5
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Coordination Chemistry Flow Battery for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
Monday, May 5
10:00am to 11:00am
MIT, Building 2-105, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Steve Reece, Sun Catalyx
Chemistry in Industry Lecture
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Strategy, Simulation, and Analytics for the Complex World of Education
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
noon-1pm EST
webinar
RSVP at http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_050514/sturtevant-contardo-webinar-education-reform.html
Daniel J. Sturtevant, ESD PhD and MIT SDM Alumnus
Jeanne Contardo, PhD, Independent Education Consultant, Senior Advisor, Business-Higher Education Forum
Getting education policy right is essential if the United States wishes to improve its high standard of living, economic strength, and societal health. But even education reforms based on sound research and crafted by well-meaning experts have often failed.
This webinar will review some of the many systems-based reasons why education policy is notoriously difficult to get right. For example:
Policy is often crafted by committee in highly political and polarized environments.
Individuals rarely understand how the system operates, what policy innovations will lead to good outcomes, or even why successful interventions work.
Policymakers seldom agree on the system's purpose, how to prioritize conflicting goals, how to measure success, or what principles should guide their actions.
In short, policymakers do not use a rigorous, systems-based approach to address the complex technical, business, and socio-political challenge of educating all children for a better world.
This webinar's presenters have collaborated on projects with K-12 schools, colleges, foundations, and at all levels of the government and the military. They will discuss using system dynamics to help diverse stakeholders understand the education system and design and test policies using simulation modeling and demo the new Aligned Workforce Model, which examines how workforce outcomes would change if policies were implemented that emphasized workplace competencies such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and effective communication.
A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.
About the Speaker
Daniel J. Sturtevant, Ph.D., is an SDM alumnus and recent graduate of the MIT Engineering Systems Division doctoral program. His SDM master's thesis (conducted in partnership with Boeing) explored the 25-year decline in US-born engineering graduates despite their extremely high earning potential—a seemingly paradoxical violation of the law of supply and demand. Dr. Sturtevant has spent 15 years in the software field, where he built supercomputers, designed cryptosystems to prevent data theft, wrote Linux device drivers, and reverse-engineered computer hardware. He has built a variety of computer models applying system dynamics to explore educational questions and has worked with the Business-Higher Education Forum on several occasions to examine education problem of regional and national significance. He now works at Harvard Business School researching software architecture, its complexity, and its financial costs. He is also founding a startup, silverthread, Inc., focused on helping software development organizations reduce technical debt in large and long-lived systems. Dr. Sturtevant earned bachelor's degrees in computer engineering and political science from Lehigh University.
Jeanne B. Contardo, Ph.D., is a higher education expert who specializes in strategic planning, cross-sector partnership development (particularly with the business sector), research and policy analysis, and project management. In recent years, her work has focused on the development of unique tools and resources that can influence education change and workforce alignment, including online simulation models, information clearinghouses, and a policy series analyzing broad education trends in science, technology, engineering, and math. Dr. Contardo earned her Ph.D. in higher education policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has a master's degree in higher and post-secondary education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree (cum laude) in English from the University of Washington.
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Personality and adaptiveness in a small-scale society
Monday, May 5, 2014
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Harvard, Haller Hall (Room 102), 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Dr. Michael Gurven (Professor of Anthropology, University of California at Santa Barbara)
Abstract: Personality traits (i.e. behavioral syndrome or disposition) have now been documented in a large number of species, and account for substantial behavioral variation among individuals. How heritable variation in personality is generated and maintained in populations, however, remains a puzzle to evolutionary biologists. Despite the industry of personality research in humans, there have been relatively few tests of evolutionary hypotheses and none in small-scale societies experiencing high fertility and mortality. I present personality data from Tsimane forager-horticulturalists and test whether dispositional traits are related to fertility, health and other fitness-related outcomes. I also argue that a focus on personality differences can shed insight into small group social dynamics.
HEB Colloquium Series
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Urbanization, land cover change, and the carbon cycle
Monday, May 5, 2014
12:10 pm
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill, Jamaica Plain
Lucy Hutyra, Assistant Professor, Boston University
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"Clean Energy in 2025: How policymakers and the private sector can drive the region's clean energy future"
Monday, May 5, 2014
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Peter Rothstein, President, New England Clean Energy Council
ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar Series
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
Louisa_Lund at hks.harvard.edu
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Mobile Applications for Improving Community Health Programs
Monday, May 5, 2014
1:00pm to 2:30pm
Harvard, 60 Oxford Street, Room 330, Cambridge
Neal Lesh, Dimagi, Inc.
In this talk, Neal will reflect on lessons learned from 10 years of working on ICT solutions for health programs in low- and middle- income countries. The talk will cover a range of projects and health programs, but focus on CommCare, an open source web- and mobile- cloud product supported by Dimagi, Inc. CommCare is being used by thousands of community health workers in over 30 countries, by a wide range of partner including CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, and World Vision. The talk will present evidence evaluating how equipping community health workers with a mobile application can improve access, quality, experience, and accountability of care. The talk will also review many of the challenges and non-technology factors involved in deploying ICT solutions to help improve health programs in low- and middle- income countries.
Speaker Bio: Neal Lesh, MPH, PhD: Neal is the Chief Strategy Officer of Dimagi. He has been investigating and applying methods to develop easy-to-use tools to improve human performance for about the last 15 years.
Neal Lesh is a computer scientist with field experience in applying information technologies to help organizations address poverty in low-income regions. He has published and lectured extensively in data visualization, data mining, and automated planning and logistics. He has developed medical record and analysis systems for Partners in Health, the government of Rwanda, and a large AIDS treatment program in Tanzania, and worked with many other Universities and NGOs. He is coordinating a Harvard-funded research project in South Africa. He has earlier worked as Senior Scientist in the Computer Science Research Lab of Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs and has done the data system design and development for AIDS treatment for the Harvard PEPFAR program in Tanzania.
For the last five years, Neal has been working and often living in Africa working on a variety of data systems in projects in many countries and types of organizations. Neal has helped grow two small organizations, mentored a great number of students, and helped implement systems in the field. He also has helped to run several controlled studies of mobile health technology and promoted standards that have led to interoperability of systems produced by several organizations. Neal is now often called upon to speak at ‘mHealth’ events about the power of phone-based applications to address extreme poverty.
Neal holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Washington and a masters degree in global health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Center for Research on Computation and Society
Contact: Carol Harlow
Email: harlow at seas.harvard.edu
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U.S. Air Pollution and Climate: Trends, Variability and Interactions
Monday, May 5, 2014
4:00pm
Harvard, Haller Hall (Geo Museum 102), 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Dr. Arlene Fiore, Columbia University-Lamont
**Post-talk Reception to follow at Hoffman Lab 4th floor**
EPS Colloquium Series
Contact Name: Sabinna Cappo
scappo at fas.harvard.edu
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Research-based principles for multimedia learning
WHEN Mon., May 5, 2014, 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sever Hall 113, Harvard Yard
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Humanities, Information Technology, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching
SPEAKER(S) Richard E. Mayer, professor of psychology, UC Santa Barbara
COST Free and open to the public
NOTE How does cognitive science inform the design of lecture slides, textbook graphics, and online learning modules?
LINK http://hilt.harvard.edu/event/richard-e-mayer-uc-santa-barbara
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LP Statistical Science (Nonparametric Modeling, Exploratory Big Data Analysis)
Monday, May 05, 2014
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 32-D463, Star Conference Room, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Emanuel Parzen, Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University
Abstract: Statisticians in the 21st century can look forward to very bright futures for the discipline and profession of statistics by solving the important problem of teaching thousands statistical data scientist aspirants, what are the fundamental methods of statistical learning. We are developing a framework that unifies parametric and nonparametric models, frequentist and Bayesian inference, small data and big data, beginning courses that differ from traditional courses by teaching methods for simple data in ways that extend to complex high dimensional data (similar to the goal of teaching finite dimensional math in the notation that extend to Hilbert space). To accomplish the above, a theory, called LP STATISTICAL SCIENCE, is being developed by myself and Subhadeep (Deep) Mukhopadhyay (Temple University Fox School of Business). The theory is unifying because it applies to mixed data (variables which are discrete or continuous) and to population and sample distributions. It practices "plug-in estimation" computed for sample distributions by the same definitions used for population distributions.
LCSL Machine Learning Seminar Series
Web site: URL:http://lcsl.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free, Open to public
Tickets: N/A
Sponsor(s): Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Laboratory for Computational and Statistical Learning (LCSL) (a joint lab between MIT and the Italian Institute of Technology)
For more information, contact: Kathleen Sullivan
kdsulliv at mit.edu
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The Inequality Deflator: Interpersonal Comparisons without a Social Welfare Function- joint with Microeconomic Applications and Develoment
Monday, May 05, 2014
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Nathan Hendren (Harvard University)
Web site: http://economics.mit.edu/files/9707
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IO Workshop
For more information, contact: econ-cal at mit.edu
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A Taste of Justice
May 5, 2014
4–6 pm
Harvard Hall 202, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Come learn about (and eat) REAL FOOD! A panel of speakers will hold an interactive discussion of food-related issues such as sustainability, worker rights and animal welfare. Sponsored by Real Food for Harvard and the Food Literacy Project.
Panelists include:
Alex Lu, researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health who studies the effects of pesticides on human health and the environment - representing the SUSTAINABLE category
Alexis Fox, Massachusetts State Director of the Humane Society - representing the HUMANE category
Miriam Morales, founder of El Recreo Estate Coffee - representing the FAIR category
Jamie Cruz, owner of Springdell Farm in Littleton, MA - representing the LOCAL category
There will of course be lots of tasty *local* food from Boloco, When Pigs Fly, Q's Nuts, Veggie Planet, b.good, Taza Chocolate, and the Holistic!
Watch some highlights from some amazing student#sustainability projects happening across campus at http://t.co/Dwp0QK7gSm
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O Brave New World! Entering an Age of Climate Change Beyond 400 ppm
Monday, May 5, 2014
5:00pm
Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
with video commentary from: Al Gore, Former U.S. Vice President
moderated by: Daniel Schrag, Director, Harvard University Center for the Environment
A half century ago on a Hawaiian mountaintop, atmospheric chemist Charles David Keeling used what was then a pioneering technology to make precise measurements of atmospheric CO2. The resulting “Keeling Curve” has documented nearly 50 years of CO2 accumulation and fluctuation tied to seasonal cycles, and has had a profound and lasting impact on the study of global climate change.
Today, the research of Charles David Keeling’s son, geochemist Ralph Keeling, continues to expand our knowledge of the factors influencing climate change.
Contact Name: Lisa Matthews
matthew at fas.harvard.edu
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Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to Understand Ourselves
Monday, May 5
5:30pm
MIT, Building E14-310, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Jill Walker Rettberg
Selfies - With examples from her own work as well as from photobooths, older self-portraits, and entries from others’ diaries
Jill Walker Rettberg is Professor of Digital Culture at the University of Bergen in Norway. Her research centers on how we tell stories online, and she has published on electronic literature, digital art, blogging, games and selfies. She has written a research blog, jilltxt.net, since October 2000, and co-wrote the first academic paper on blogs in 2002. Her book Blogging was published in a second edition in 2014. In 2008 she co-edited an anthology of scholarly articles on World of Warcraft. Jill is currently writing a book on technologically mediated self-representations, from blogs and selfies to automated diaries and visualisations of data from wearable devices.
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The Historiography of Contemporary Architecture in the Gulf
Monday, May 05, 2014
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building 3-133, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Sumayah Al-Solaiman, Ibn Khaldun Fellow, MIT Professor, College of Design University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia
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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Alewife Reservation Constructed Wetland workshop
Monday, May 5
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Alewife Reservation Constructed Wedland, Alewife Station, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1011018
The newly-installed constructed wetland within the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Alewife Reservation was designed to reduce adverse water quality and quantity impacts of wet-weather stormwater discharges into the Little River while enhancing ecological diversity and functionality. Join tour guides Duke Bitsko and Miles Connors to learn about this impressive wetland system that was designed for stormwater separation and to meet the ecological and recreational objectives for the Alewife Brook.
More information at http://www.ecolandscaping.org
ela.info at comcast.net
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2014 MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Awards Celebration
Monday, May 5, 2014
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
MIT, Building 32, Room 123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-mit-ideas-global-challenge-awards-celebration-tickets-11072099949
Join us for MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Awards Celebration on Monday, May 5, an inspiring event that embodies MIT’s innovative humanitarian spirit. Since its founding in 2001, IDEAS has been a launch point for entrepreneurs and sustainable impact. We have awarded more than $600,000 to 104 teams to turn their ideas into reality. Those ideas are benefitting hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.
This year, more than 40 teams are working with communities around the world to develop solutions to challenges such as waste treatment, clean water, healthcare, education, disaster relief and much more.
Be part of the moment when their ideas come to life. Join us on Monday, May 5:
6:30 pm - Mix and Mingle with Teams
7:00 pm – The Awards Ceremony
8:30 pm – A Special Toast to Teams
To meet the teams in advance and to learn about the ideas they're working on, join us on Monday, April 28 at the Innovation Showcase (open to the public). Details here:http://globalchallenge.mit.edu/events/view/326
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Internet, Security, and Power
Monday, May 05, 2014
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, NE30, Broad Auditorium, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge
Speaker: Bruce Schneier
The Internet affects power, and power affects the Internet. And while we first thought that the Internet would empower the powerless, the reality is much more complicated. Both government and corporate power dominate today's Internet even as distributed groups gain in power. This talk examines the various ways power manifests itself in the Internet, and how security both allows the powerful to remain so while permitting the powerless to thrive as well. On the Internet, data equals power, and the dynamic between the various forces is the fundamental societal issue of the Information Age.
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 Thrive, as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter "Crypto-Gram" and his blog "Schneier on Security" are read by over 250,000 people. He has testified before Congress, is a frequent guest on television and radio, has served on several government committees, and is regularly quoted in the press. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, a program fellow at the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Advisory Board Member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Chief Technology Officer at Co3 Systems, Inc.
IEEE/ACM Joint Seminar Series
Exploring the edge of computing technology.
Web site: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/schneier.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): ACM & IEEE/CS
For more information, contact: Dorothy Curtis
dcurtis at csail.mit.edu
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Tuesday, May 6
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Boston TechBreakfast: 1sqbox, Eventuosity, Downtyme, RedBerrRy, Track Runner
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD - Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/155722872/
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 Boston TechBreakfast:
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!
1sqbox - Alexis Coates
Eventuosity - Justin Panzer
Downtyme - Barron Roth (Austin)
RedBerrRy : RedBerrRy - McKeever 'Mac' Conwell
The App Cauldron, Inc.: Track Runner - Sarah Fegert
~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words
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SEAS Design & Project Fair
WHEN Tue., May 6, 2014, 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
WHERe Harvard, Science Center Plaza Tent, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Exhibitions, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
COST Free and open to the public
NOTE We invite all to attend the annual showcase of our undergraduate and graduate design activities featuring student demonstrations, presentations, and prototypes. See how students at SEAS are applying their knowledge to solve real-world problems.
Meet us under the big white tent in the Science Center Plaza, and see what's new at SEAS this year!
LINK seas.harvard.edu
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National Day of Action: No Killer Drones! No Spy Drones!
Tuesday, May 6
Noon - 2:00 PM (rain date Wed at noon)
MIT Main Entrance, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Thousands of innocent people have been killed by U.S. drones. We will read the names of victims and speak out against the new forms of warfare and the surveillance state. We are gathering at MIT, a major center of drone research.
Spread the word and join us.
Eastern Massachusetts Anti-Drone Network, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, MIT Western Hemisphere Project, Boston United National Antiwar Coalition, South Asians for Global Justice, Alliance for a Secular & Democratic South Asia, and Mass. Global Action
Contact: <mailto:Info at justicewithpeace.org> Info at justicewithpeace.org, UJP:
(617) 383-4857
Editorial Comment: Figuring out the laws and customs for government, corporate, and civilian drone usage will become increasingly necessary as the technology quickly becomes available and affordable.
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Cheap smartphones, digital news and the world’s biggest election
May 6th, 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/2014/05/shah#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/05/shah at 12:30pm ET.
Hasit Shah, Nieman-Berkman Fellow in Journalism Innovation at Harvard & Senior Producer at BBC News in London
On June 1, 2014 the world’s biggest democracy, India, will have a new government, after an enormous, complex election taking place over several weeks. This is probably the country’s first proper ‘digital’ election, with Internet-based campaigning and journalism coming to the fore. Those who are connected will see a very different election to those that have gone before.
However, we have to remember that even at the most optimistic estimates, no more than a sixth of Indians have access to the Internet. That’s a billion people who are being left behind. But smartphones are getting cheaper and mobile internet connections are becoming more easily available. The new Internet users will demand content that won’t be in English, that doesn’t necessarily demand high levels of literacy and works well on basic devices with erratic connections.
Hasit, a Nieman-Berkman Fellow at Harvard and Senior Producer for BBC News in London, is researching models for digital news designed for this type of user and will speak about his findings.
About Hasit
Hasit Shah is a senior producer at BBC News in London. He is a 2014 Nieman-Berkman Fellow in Journalism Innovation at Harvard and he will study the rapid growth and development of digital media in India and its impact on journalism, society, popular culture, political discourse, the economy and public policy. He has worked in radio, TV and social media in the BBC newsroom and in foreign affairs, specializing in South Asia. He has covered major breaking news stories and events across the world, including the Mumbai attacks, riots in France, violence in Indian-administered Kashmir, the London bombings, regime change in Egypt and the earthquake in Japan.
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Big Data + Big Cities: Graph Signals of Urban Air Pollution
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Northeastern, 135 Shillman Hall, 115 Forsyth Street, Boston
Rishee Jain, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Urban Science and Progress, NYU
Abstract: Large amounts of data at a high degree of granularity (i.e., “big data”) such as energy and water usage, environmental emissions and human activity are rapidly becoming available for cities around the world. Urban informatics – applying “big data” analytics to the context of “big cities” – offers an incredible opportunity to understand, analyze, and improve how our cities develop and operate. Processing unstructured and high-dimensional data from urban systems will require combining expertise from the fields of signal processing, graph theory, and data science with the application domains of civil engineering, environmental science, and urban planning, among others. In this talk, we consider unstructured data sets from the urban built environment and propose how to represent them as a high-dimensional and geometrically structured graph signal. We illustrate the impact and merits of this approach by applying it to a pertinent sustainability and health issue in New York City – air pollution from the burning of heavy fuel oils in buildings.
Bio: Rishee is the Director's Post-doctoral Fellow at the Center for Urban Science + Progress, New York University. He received his PhD from Columbia University where he was an interdisciplinary fellow in the NSF IGERT: Solving Urbanization Challenges by Design program. He holds an MS from Columbia University in Civil Engineering and a BS from the University of Texas at Austin in Civil & Environmental Engineering. His research interests encompass sustainable urban infrastructure systems, smart buildings and data science.
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The Gulf: Past, Present, and Future
WHEN Tue., May 6, 2014, 2-4pm
WHERE Harvard, CMES, Room 102, 38 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Conferences, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Center for Middle Eastern Studies
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE CMES is pleased to present a roundtable workshop organized by Roger Owen. A discussion of the History of the ‘Khalig’ (Gulf) in terms of its ruling families, its trading practices, and of its place within the world of the Indian Ocean centered on Bombay - as well as the larger world beyond.
Gulf Past, May 6: 2-4 pm
Gulf Present, May 7: 10am-12pm
Gulf Future, May 7: 2-4 pm
Speakers include: Johan Mathew (UMass Amherst), Roger Owen (CMES), Bernadette Baird-Zars (Alarife Urban Assoc), Brian Tilley (Johns Hopkins), Michael Herb (Georgia State), Elsien van Pinxteren (CMES)
This workshop is a roundtable discussion and audience participation is encouraged.
LINK http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3670
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The Value of Corporate Culture
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Luigi Zingales (Chicago)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Organizational Economics
For more information, contact:
econ-cal at mit.edu
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What’s behind the 100 Kyr Asymmetrical Sawtooth Cycle?
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
3:00pm
Harvard, Haller Hall (Geo Museum 102), 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Dr. Wallace Broecker, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
**Post-talk Reception to follow at Geology Museum Interactive Area 4th floor**
ClimaTea Lecture
Contact Name: Sabinna Cappo
scappo at fas.harvard.edu
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CLAIRITY: An Air Quality Network for MIT's Campus
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 46-3002, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Course 1 Senior Capstone Class
In order to better understand the air we breathe, Course 1 seniors have designed and implemented a unique distributed sensor network to measure air quality across MIT's campus. At this event they will describe their project, introduce the public web portal, and provide a first look at air quality at MIT.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering
For more information, contact: Eben Cross
escross at mit.edu
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The Adventures of a Cello: Public Lecture and Musical Performance
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building E51-115, Wong Auditorium, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Followed by a Public Reception
Speaker: Carlos Prieto, SB '58
The internationally acclaimed cellist Carlos Prieto is the recipient of the 2014 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award, presented bienially by MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Prieto will give a lecture at MIT on May 6, 2014 entitled "The Adventures of a Cello," and will also perfom an excerpt from J.S. Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009.
2014 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award Lecture
Web site: bit.ly/MITCarlosPrieto
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
For more information, contact: Kierstin Wesolowski
617-715-5363
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Sustaining America's Food System: Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Harvard Hall, Room 104, 12 Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Gus Schumacher, Executive Vice President of Policy of Wholesome Wave; former Commissioner for Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and former Undersecretary of Agriculture for the U.S. government
Gus Schumacher is Executive Vice President of Policy of Wholesome Wave and Co-Founder with Michel Nischan and the late Michael Batterberry. Wholesome Wave programs improve the accessibility and affordability of healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables. These programs reach over 28 states, working with more than 60 community-based organizations who manage nearly 400 farm-to-retail venues, and impact more than 3,200 farmers.
Gus Schumacher served as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at USDA from 1997 to 2001, where he oversaw the Farm Service Agency, the Foreign Agricultural Service, and the Risk Management Agency. He was also President of the Commodity Credit Corporation. Prior to his appointment as Undersecretary, Schumacher served as Administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, worked as a senior agri-lender for the World Bank, and served as Commissioner of Food and Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After Harvard College, he studied at the London School of Economics and was a research associate in agribusiness at the Harvard Business School, working with Professor Ray A. Goldberg.
Schumacher was a member of the 21st Century Sustainable Agricultural Task Force of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2007, Schumacher, along with Cathy Bertini, former Director of the World Food Program and Professor Robert Thompson, Gardner Professor of Agricultural Economics at Illinois, oversaw the preparation of the Task Force Report of the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, titled “Modernizing America’s Food and Farm Policy: Vision for a New Direction”(2006).
Work is underway by this team to update their Food and Farm Policy Report in light of the pending new 2012 Farm Bill deliberations. Schumacher serves as the Contributing Agricultural Editor of Food Arts magazine. In addition to being the Executive Vice President of Policy at Wholesome Wave, he also serves on the Board of GrainPro, LLC of Concord, Massachusetts. On September 22, 2008, he was selected for the 20th Anniversary Food Arts award for outstanding service to the American food and farming system at a ceremony in New York City. In 2013, Schumacher was awarded a James Beard Leadership Foundation Award.
Sustainability and Environmental Management Lecture
http://ecojustice.net/2014-ENVRE145/20140506-Gus-Schumacher-Invitation.pdf
Contact Name: Tim Weiskel
tweiskel at gmail.com
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Panel Discussion on Boston's Trees and Climate Change: How can the City and community work together to invest in trees to prepare for climate change, and improve overall quality of life?
Tuesday, May 6
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Boston Public Library, McKim Building Entrance, Orientation Room 201-B,700 Bolyston Street, Boston
Register to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/panel-discussion-bostons-trees-and-climate-change-tickets-11466503621,
or email: info at bostonnatural.org or call 617-542-7696
Free and Open to the Public. Space is Limited,
Come learn about the value of Boston’s trees, recent research on Boston’s urban forest and changing climate, neighborhood tree efforts, the impacts of urban infrastructure, and what steps the city and community can take to grow a healthy city and prepare for climate change.
Part of Engage Greenovate Boston’s Meet-up Series on the City's Climate Action Plan, undergoing review this summer.
Panelists:
Peter del Tredici, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University and Arnold Arboretum
What We Can Do for the Trees
Lucy Hutyra, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environment, Boston University
Trees in Boston’s Urban Metabolism: Carbon sequestration, emissions control, where to plant in Boston
Joel Wool, Clean Water Action
Trees and the impact of utility gas leaks; tree planting in state energy efficiency efforts
Susan Labandibar, Founder of Southie Trees
What a neighborhood can do to invest in trees, engage residents, and work with developers to protect trees
Christine Poff, Boston Park Advocates and Franklin Park Coalition
The role of policy and advocacy in urban forestry; positive impacts of trees on public health and crime
Panel presentation followed by a brief Q+A session
Attendees can submit comments on Boston's tree policies to the City's Climate Action Plan, being revised this summer.
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Sustainable Transportation: We can get there from here!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
6 to 9 PM
The Venture Cafe - Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway, 5th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/may-6-basg-sustainable-transportation-we-can-get-there-from-here-tickets-11137050217
Cost: $10-$12
Come meet the folks making huge strides toward sustainable transportation:
Janie Katz-Christy, Founder and Director at Green Streets Initiative. Janie will talk about the Walk/Ride Day Corporate Challenge's impact and approach to encouraging mode shift.
Jackie Douglas, Executive Director LivableStreets Alliance.Jackie will talk about the shift towards driving-light and its impact on our city.
Ned Codd, Director of Project-Oriented Planning MassDOT. Ned will talk about GreenDOT - MassDOT's comprehensive environmental sustainability initiative, which is designed to integrate principles of sustainability into all aspects of the way that we plan, design, build and operate our transportation system through such policy measures as the Mode Shift Goal, which sets a target of tripling travel by walking, bicycling, and public transit by 2030.
Gary Rennie, EPA Region 1 & Northeast Diesel Collaborative. Gary will talk about EPA Partnerships: Reducing emissions and improving public health through innovative voluntary programs.
Alexis Bateman, Center for Transportation and Logistics at MIT. Alexis will talk about the Freight movement along global supply chains and their impacts to the environment and public health. She'll talk about some ongoing research and provide a quick overview of various initiatives to reduce negative externalities from global supply chains including emerging regulation, corporate responsibility, and industry collaborations.
Time is short and we all need to learn a boatload, fast. One of BASG's explicit goals is that we learn as much as we can from each other, where the very diversity of the group is one of our most valuable assets. Come join the discussion, or hang out and listen. Meet those folks working hard to do what you're trying to do and your paths have not yet crossed. We have a great time and really want to meet you!
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How to Build A Habitable Planet
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Main Library, 449 Broadway, Lecture Hall, Cambridge
Charles Langmuir, Harvard geochemist, presents a new edition of this classic text.
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Watery Widgets -- A Bazaar of Ideas
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
7:30p–10:00p
MIT, Building 13-Lobby, 105 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
Ideas and technologies presented by Terrascope students resulting from their year's study of issues related to global access to clean water.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Terrascope
For more information, contact: Aczel, Debra Gross
253-4074
daczel at mit.edu
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Wednesday, May 7
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Using Demand-Side Management to Support Electricity Grids
Wednesday, May 7
8am
webinar
RSVP at http://www.leonardo-energy.org/webinar/using-demand-side-management-support-electricity-grids
David Crossley (The Regulatory Assistance Project, IEA DSM Task 15)
Demand-side management measures can be used to support electricity grids by relieving network constraints and/or providing services for electricity network system operators.
This webinar will summarise the results from detailed case studies of 64 DSM grid support projects from 13 different countries around the world implemented between the early 1990s and 2008.
The webinar will cover the following topics:
identifying the value of a DSM grid support project to different categories of stakeholders;
evaluating and acquiring demand-side resources for grid support;
incorporating demand-side measures into grid planning;
the role of load control and smart metering in supporting electricity grids.
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"Secure, Hold, Build" - What's the Impact of Building Infrastructure during Ongoing Evolution of Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic Conditions in Afghanistan
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: BG Michael Wehr, US Army
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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Après-Ski: 10 visions to face climate change in mountain resorts
WHEN Wed., May 7, 2014, 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Swissnex Boston, 420 Broadway, Cambridge MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Swissnex and Harvard Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Porter Fox, writer and editor at Powder magazine and author of the new ski book "DEEP: The Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow"
Jean-Marie Schlaubitz, city councilor of Ormont-Dessus (Vaud, Switzerland), ski instructor and president of eco.villages Les Diablerets
Corinne Feuz, project manager eco.villages Les Diablerets
Dieter Dietz, associate professor EPFL, Design Studio on the Conception of Space, and director ALICE (Atelier on the Conception of Space)
Toshiko Mori, architect and professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design
and presentations from students at Harvard Graduate School of Design
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.eventbrite.com/e/apres-ski-10-visions-to-face-climate-change-in-mountain-resorts-tickets-11054128195
NOTE Tourism in Switzerland began with British mountaineers climbing the main peaks of the Bernese Alps in the early 19thcentury. Switzerland and especially its mountain villages have prospered ever since, thanks to the beautiful nature Switzerland offers to tourists from near and far. However, in recent years mountain resorts are struggling due to climate change and raising costs for infrastructure.
eco.villages in collaboration with the municipality of Les Diablerets in the Swiss Alps is tackling these challenges. A group of Harvard students from the Graduate School of Design under the leadership of Prof. Toshiko Mori was invited to study the topography and infrastructure of this mountain village. They are currently designing innovative alternatives for a sustainable future of the region. Renewable energy, water scarcity, eco-friendly winter and summer tourism, outflow of residents, rural design and other issues are being looked at by the students during the spring semester 2014.
Prof. Mori and her students will present and discuss their studio results with the panelists and the audience.
LINK https://www.eventbrite.com/e/apres-ski-10-visions-to-face-climate-change-in-mountain-resorts-tickets-11054128195
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SRECs: What You Need to Know
Wednesday, May 7
3PM - 6PM
Renewable Sales, 35 Jeffrey Avenue, Holliston, MA
RSVP at http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50231/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=77182
Michael Judge, Associate Manager of the Massachusetts RPS Programs for the MA Department of Energy Resources will present
an overview of the new SREC program,
the future for SRECs versus feed-in tariffs
what's going on with net-metering.
Michael Judge is the Associate Manager of the Massachusetts RPS Programs and has managed the state’s RPS Solar Carve-Out Program since 2010. In this role, Michael carries out most of the day-to-day administrative duties related to the RPS programs, fields questions related to the programs, provides market participants with up to date information, and assists in the drafting of program regulations, guidelines, reports, and other related studies. Prior to his time at DOER, he worked at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center on the implementation and administration of their solar rebate programs. Michael is a graduate of UMass Amherst.
Energy and building professionals with a stake in the MA SREC program
Agenda:
3-3:30PM - Networking/reception
3:30-5:30PM - Speaking Program, Q&A
5:30-6:00PM - Networking/reception
Light refreshments will be served
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Matt Huber, Professor of Climatology, Climate Dynamics, Impacts Prediction, University of New Hampshire, Institute of the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
MIT, Building 54-915, Green Building Lecture Room (the tallest building on campus)
A reception in Building 54, Room 923 precedes the talk.
EAPS Department Lecture
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.
Sponsored by the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, MIT.
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Ore Sorting: Changing the economic outlook of hard rock mining (MOG Lecture Series)
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
5:30p–7:00p
MIT, Building 66-154, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Joe Lessard
Ore Sorting: Changing the economic outlook of hard rock mining with declining head grades and rising production costs
Several factors contribute to an often bleak outlook for mining and mineral processing projects in the current market: rising energy costs, falling ore body head grades, and lower profit margins on added value products have all made it more difficult to operate economically. Ore sorting is a class of technologies that offers potential solutions to these problems by identifying the metal values in a run-of-mine stream and separating the stones containing valuable mineralization from barren stones. This separation reduces the amount of material that must be processed to produce a given amount of value added metal, which has significant impact on the total mine and plant economics. To date, ore sorting has been studied extensively and several technologies have been identified as suitable for industrial application; however, very little quantitative discussion has been made about the impact of these technologies. Dual-energy X-ray transmission has been used to sort ore from different mines, and an analysis identifying the economic impact of these results is presented. Significant energy savings in milling have been realized, and capital and operating cost advantages to using ore sorting have been identified.
Joe is a Project Engineer with Orchard Material Technology, a mineral processing consulting firm in North Andover, MA.
Web site: http://www.mitmog.org/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Mining, Oil and Gas Club
For more information, contact: Miguel Andres Paredes
officersMOG at mit.edu
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Pecha Kucha Boston
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT)
Doors at 6pm. Talks at 7pm.
OBERON, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/pecha-kucha-boston-tickets-11465885773
Come see 8 inspiring talks on Art , Design , Technlogy and Artisanal Chocolate making. PechaKucha Nights are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, holiday snaps -- just about anything, really -- in the PechaKucha 20x20 format. (20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and you talk along to the images.)
Presentations by:
Jeff Bartell- http://dxboston.com/speaker/jeff-bartell/
William Brierly- http://sodadrinkerpro.com/
Dave Schlafman- http://cloudkid.com/
Eric Gulliver- http://thenonfictioncartel.com/
Kelvy Bird http://www.kelvybird.com/
Jenny Wolahan- Small and Casual Productions
Spindler confections- http://spindlerconfections.com/
Edwina Portocarrero http://obm.media.mit.edu
http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/boston
http://tinyurl.com/mudwdtn
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"The Extreme Life of the Sea" Lecture and Book Signing
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
7:00pm
Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Drawing on his newest book, The Extreme Life of the Sea, marine scientist Stephen Palumbi will explore the spectacular life forms, such as blind zombie worms, ageless jellyfish, and the unicorn-like narwhal, that thrive at the ocean’s most brutal limits. From the icy Arctic to boiling hydrothermal vents and pitch-dark trenches, Palumbi looks at extreme habitats and considers how humans may be driving dramatic changes to the ocean’s ecosystem.
Free and open to the public
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php
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Science in the News Lecture: In the Loop with Poop: Intestinal Microbes in Health and Immunity
WHEN Wed., May 7, 2014, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall (B23), Malinckrodt Chemistry Lab, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Science in the News
SPEAKER(S) Chris Garris
CONTACT INFO sitnboston at gmail.com
NOTE Come hear a Ph.D. student give an engaging and accessible lecture on his or her cutting-edge research. No prior knowledge necessary! Free refreshments!
LINK http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/seminar-series/
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Thursday, May 8
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Interoperable Simulation Gaming for Strategic Infrastructure Systems Design
Thursday, May 8, 2014
9am
MIT, Building 3-370, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Dissertation Defense of Paul Grogan
Committee: O. de Weck (chair), D. Frey, D. Rhodes, J. Sussman, J. Williams
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Energy 101 Sessions - An Introduction to Oil and Gas
Thursday, May 08, 2014
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building E51-325, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Carlos Zarama
Since 1850 oil has been a vital part of the modern world development. It is very common to perceived the oil and gas as granted. But, do we really know how the industry works? This presentation will review the basic concepts related to the oil and gas industry, from upstream to downstream.
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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"The Use of Prompt Photofision (PNPF) Technique in Nuclear Security"
Thursday, May 08, 2014
3:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building 24-115, Access Via 60 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Areg Danagoulian, Passport Systems
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Nuclear Science and Engineering
For more information, contact: Valerie Censabella
253-5456
censabel at mit.edu
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A New Understanding of Monsoon Depressions
Thursday, May 8, 2014
4:00pm
Harvard, Haller Hall (Geo Museum 102), 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
William Boos, Yale University
Environmental Science & Engineering Seminar
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BIG DATA LECTURE SERIES: "The SAP HANA Platform" by Dr. Vishal Sikka
Thursday, May 08, 2014
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 32-G449, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Vishal Sikka
SAP HANA is a pioneering, and one of the best performing, in-memory data platforms designed from the ground up to heavily exploit modern hardware capabilities, including SIMD, and large memory and CPU footprints. Dr. Sikka will speak about the evolution of SAP HANA - growing from a core data platform into a comprehensive enterprise application platform.
Bio: Dr. Vishal Sikka is a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG leading all SAP products and innovation. Sikka has global responsibility for development and delivery of all products across SAP's product portfolio including Applications, Analytics, Cloud, Database & Technology and Mobile. Sikka has led the development and delivery of SAP's breakthrough in-memory platform, SAP HANA, and he continues to drive HANA as the foundation and platform for SAP's entire portfolio as well as the company's broader ecosystem of customers, partners and developers. He also oversees SAP's technology platform, partnerships, customer co-innovation & development, SAP Ventures, and incubation of emerging businesses. He has global responsibility for research and academic and government relations. Sikka holds a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University in California, and his experience includes research in artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, programming languages and models, and information management and integration.
MIT BIG DATA LECTURE SERIES
Talks will feature distinguished individuals from academia, industry and government including pre-eminent people from all the sub-fields of computer science that have something to say about data, data processing and analytics, as well as people from organizations that are consumers of Big Data from both industry and government.
Web site: http://bigdata.csail.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Big Data Initiative at CSAIL
For more information, contact: Susana Kevorkova
617-324-8424
skevorkova at csail.mit.edu
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Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China
WHEN Thu., May 8, 2014, 4:15 – 5:45 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S153, Harvard University
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Special Presentation
SPEAKER(S) Rowena He, Lecturer, Government Department, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO lkluz at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE Twenty-five years ago, in the spring of 1989, millions of citizens across China took to the streets in a nationwide movement against government corruption and authoritarian rule. What began with widespread hope for political reform ended with the People's Liberation Army firing on unarmed citizens in Beijing. This presentation is based on Dr. He's newly published book, which interweaves her own experiences with the accounts of three student leaders exiled from China in the aftermath of the military crackdown in June 1989.
LINK http://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/event/rowena-he
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"Gaming in Color"
Thursday, May 08, 2014
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building E14-633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Philip Jones
Gaming in Color is a full length documentary of the story of the queer gaming community, gaymer culture and events, and the rise of LGBTQ themes in video games. A lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer gamer has a higher chance of being mistreated in an online social game. Diverse queer themes in storylines and characters are still mostly an anomaly in the mainstream video game industry. Gaming In Color explores how the community culture is shifting and the industry is diversifying, helping with queer visibility and acceptance of an LGBTQ presence.
CMS/W Colloquium Series
Web site: http://cmsw.mit.edu/event/philip-jones-gaming-color/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, MIT Game Lab
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cmsw at mit.edu
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President's Challenge Demo Day 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Harvard Innovation Lab, 125 Western Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/presidents-challenge-demo-day-2014-tickets-6231373205
We are pleased to invite you to the President’s Challenge Demo Day here at the i-lab. The President's Challenge encouraged students from across Harvard to apply their knowledge and come up with creative solutions to the world's most pressing problems. In March, ten finalist teams were announced and awarded a seed grant of $5,000 and support from the i-lab, which includes mentoring, workshops and workspace. At Demo Day these ten finalist teams will showcase their efforts and progress in making a social impact on the world around them.
We hope you can attend and meet the students to speak with them in person about their ideas and plans.
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"You Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves.”
Thursday, May 8
6p.
Boston Public Library: Central Library, Commonwealth Salon.
Hiawatha Bray.
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Engage your senses: Creating grace under pressure
Thursday, May 8, 2014
6:30-8:00 PM
Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston
Reserve your seat by sending an email torsvp at architects.org with "Lincoln Bridge 5/8" in the subject line.
The event is free but seats are limited.
Meet one of the designers of the Leonard P. Zakim Bridge, Miguel Rosales AIA (then of Wallace Floyd Associates), president and principal designer of Rosales & Partners, and Peter Jones, Lincoln Advance Interior Design Manager, for an open Q&A on merging rich heritage with modern design. The discussion will be moderated by BSA past-president, Audrey O'Hagan AIA, principal at Audrey O'Hagan Architects.
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Volcanoes, Climate Change, and Migration
Thursday, May 8
7 pm
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Christian Tryon, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University
Modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated in eastern Africa, but they expanded at the expense of Neanderthals and other ancient hominid populations. What was the reason for their global colonization? Recent data from the area surrounding Africa's Lake Victoria (the largest tropical lake in the world) suggest that the study of volcanic eruptions, climate change, and technological innovation may reveal what fueled human dispersals westward across the tropical African continent some 50,000 years ago.
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'The Ghosts In Our Machine' Boston Premiere
Thursday, May 8, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge
$12 General Admission; $10 Student or Senior
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-ghosts-in-our-machine-documentary-screening-hosted-by-neavs-tickets-11139473465
Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/240291346157742/
The award-winning animal documentary 'The Ghosts In Our Machine' is a compassionate and hopeful film making waves in both the animal community and general public around the world. Following the screening will be a Q&A with director Liz Marshall and photographer Jo-Anne McArthur!
'Ghosts' tells the story of the myriad ways humans exploit animals. By following the sensitive and heartfelt lens of acclaimed animal photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, the film offers an artistic balance of beauty without denying the reality of the animals' lives. Liz Marshall skillfully portrays a hopeful landscape of alternatives by following McArthur as she enters the worlds and souls of animals caught in the "machine" of modern life or rescued to sanctuary.
Because it is a special one-night community screening, advance tickets are only being sold online. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the theatre the night of the screening.
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Denmark - On Top of the Renewable World
Thursday, May 8
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
Come and learn how Denmark has managed integration of renewable energy into their power grid and what their plans are for the future.
A few countries have already run up against a limit - 20 to 25 per cent of annual electric energy from fluctuating renewables - where useful energy at times must be curtailed, spilled or exported. Yet, Denmark plans to expand beyond 50%. How?
Denmark has become the leader in teaching the world what must be done to transition complex energy systems into the renewable energy age. The have been working, experimenting, planning and implementing renewable energy solutions for decades, gaining experience and developing simulation and modelling tools along the way. Now their expertise directs European Union infrastructure management and they have forged close links with China to advise their future needs.
Denmark leads. Will we follow, or at least learn?
Ambrose Spencer describes himself as a technician and independent researcher. BASEA Forum attendees know Ambrose as a passionate and knowledgeable participant, who always manages to provide a deep, detailed perspective on a dizzying array of technical and policy matters. Raised in Cambridge, his life trajectory has exemplified the technical (MIT, Draper Labs, electronics, instrumentation...) and social (MASSCAP, interfaith organizing, Cambridge Sustainable Housing...) concerns that are defining strengths of this region. His current work, including the Danish study, continues to mark his commitment to acting locally, including uncovering pathways to zero carbon for our region, cracking the code on efficiency in small multifamily housing, community wind ownership models and more. We are delighted to host a BASEA Forum featuring Ambrose and some results from his relentless and committed research.
Editorial Comment: Ambrose is an old and dear friend who has been studying these issues for over 30 years. He is a deep student of renewable energy with an original point of view informed by his experience in working with low income communities. What he has to say needs to be heard.
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Friday, May 9
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Center for Environmental Health Sciences 2014 Annual Poster Session
Friday, May 9, 2014
2:30pm – 5:30pm
MIT, Morss Hall, Walker Memorial Building, 142 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
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Exploring Mars with the Curiosity Rover: The Search for Ancient Habitable Environments
Friday, May 09, 2014
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: John Grotzinger, Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech
Fine-grained sedimentary rocks, at Gale crater, Mars, represent an ancient lake and preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a Martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy. This aqueous environment was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species. C, H, O, S, and P were measured directly as key biogenic elements, and by inference N is assumed to have been available. The environment likely had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars.
Reception to follow the talk in the Ida Green Lounge, Green Building 54-923
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Allison Provaire
617-253-2127
provaire at mit.edu
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MIT D-Lab Spring Showcase & Open House
Friday, May 09, 2014
5:30p–7:00p
MIT, Building N51-3rd floor, 275 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Final summary presentations and working demos from the growing MIT D-Lab family of classes. Presentations from D-Lab: Design, D-Lab: Dissemination WASH, D-Lab: Energy, Developing World Prosthetics, and D-Lab: Education. Come see how MIT students are developing technologies that make an impact on our world!
Web site: http://d-lab.mit.edu/news/d-lab-spring-showcase-open-house
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): D-Lab
For more information, contact: Nancy Adams
d-lab at mit.edu
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Rights of Way Lecture Series: "There+Here: Transnationalism and Migration"
Friday, May 9
6:00 pm
BSA Space, 90 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP by emailing rsvp at architects.org with "Migration 5/9" in the subject line.
Laura Kurgan, director of the Spatial Information Design Lab (SIDL) at Columbia University, discuss the phenomenon of transnational networks. Global populations are increasingly on the move. Unprecedented numbers of migrants are leaving their home countries for economic, political, and environmental reasons.
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Saturday, May 10
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2014 Legatum Conference: Elements of Entrepreneurship
Saturday, May 10, 2014
8:00a–4:30p
MIT, Building E14, Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-legatum-conference-elements-of-entrepreneurship-registration-10439393507
Cost: $45-$85
Join us to learn from entrepreneurs working in agri-business in Africa, energy production in Asia, technology ventures in Latin America, and a new surge of innovation in the Persian Gulf. Network with peers, potential partners, investors, and industry experts. Take advantage of the opportunity to discuss both the strategic and tactical aspects of entrepreneurial endeavors in developing countries.
Web site: http://legatum.mit.edu/conference/conference2014
Open to: the general public
Tickets: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-legatum-conference-elements-of-entrepreneurship-registration-10439393507
Sponsor(s): Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
For more information, contact: Agnes Hunsicker
617-324-1875
legatum at mit.edu
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8th Annual Youth Summit on Global Climate Change
Saturday, May 10
9:00am-3:00pm
MIT, Building 32, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.acespace.org/youthcan2014
Come to the 8th Annual Youth Summit on Global Warming hosted by The Technology and Culture Forum and organized by the Boston Latin School's Youth Climate Action Network (YouthCAN) and co-sponsored with ACE (Alliance for Climate Education). The day will be filled with informative and fun workshops, free food and prizes. Last year's summit was a big success and this year's promises to be even better!
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The Art of Science: Girls Day @ the MIT Museum
Saturday, May 10, 2014
12:00p–4:00p
N51, MIT Museum, Building N51, 275 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Encourage young women to tap into their inner engineer with a day of science-themed activities at the MIT Museum!
Hands-on demonstrations will be held from noon until 4pm in the MIT Museum galleries for visitors. Participants will have an opportunity to spend time designing, creating and building. Meet MIT scientists and engineers from a variety of fields and ask them about what it's like to be a female scientist!
Web site:https://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar/GS%20Day%20May-10-2014.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free with Museum admission
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact: Faith Dukes
617.253.9607
dukes at mit.edu
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Singing for the Planet
Saturday, May 10
7:00 pm
Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.warrensenders.com/journal/?page_id=7088
Cost: $20-25
Deepti Navaratna / Dean Stevens / Gabrielle Agachiko
Three Of New England's Most Creative Singers Join Voices Against Climate Change
On Saturday, May 10, three singers from diverse musical traditions will join together to draw attention to the global climate crisis. Featured artists are: singer-songwriter Dean Stevens, South Indian classical vocalist Deepti Navaratna, and the brilliantly innovative jazz vocalist Gabrielle Agachiko. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Tickets are $25; $20 students/seniors. All proceeds will go to the environmental organization www.350MA.org. For information, please call 781-396-0734, visit Singing For The Planet€ on Facebook, or go to the event website.
“Singing For The Planet” is the ninth concert in the “Playing For The Planet” series, conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe. While Stevens, Agachiko and Navaratna sing in different languages and genres, all are virtuoso performers sharing the core values of expression, emotion and honesty. And, of course, all three artists and their accompanists are committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes. It’ll be an evening of great vocal music, full of exquisite melody, rhythm, emotion and expression — from three singers who are genuine masters of their craft.
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Monday, May 12
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The role of low-level convective heating in tropical weather and climate
Monday, May 12
12pm-1pm
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Courtney Schumacher (Texas A&M)
The heating associated with precipitating convective systems in the tropics is a fundamental driver of the large-scale circulation.
MASS Seminar
Web site: http://eaps-www.mit.edu/paoc/events/calendars/mass
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): MIT Atmospheric Science Seminars
For more information, contact: MASS organizing committee
mass at mit.edu
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The terrestrial biosphere and air quality
May 12, 2014
12:10 pm
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill, Jamaica Plain
Daniel Jacob, Vasco McCoy Family Professor, SEAS
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How Casinos Use Your Personal Data to Keep You Coming Back for More
WHEN Mon., May 12, 2014, 2:30 – 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, K354, at 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Ethics, Information Technology, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Technology in Government and Topics in Privacy
SPEAKER(S) Adam Tanner, Harvard; John Acres, CEO, Acres 4.0
NOTE Starting in the late 1990s, a former Harvard Business School professor becomes the driving force behind the casino company Caesars, making it a widely admired engine of data collection. Boosted by vast banks of computers, Caesars today knows the names of the vast majority of their clients, exactly what they spend, where they like to spend it, how often they come, and many other characteristics. How do they gather this data and how do they use it?
The first half of the talk previews findings from Adam Tanner’s upcoming book “What Stays in Vegas: The World of Personal Data –Lifeblood of Big Business –and the End of Privacy as We Know It.” In the second half, legendary slot machine developer John Acres will outline how the casino games of the future will need to incorporate ever more personal information to make them compelling to people who grew up in the Internet era.
Bio: Adam Tanner is a fellow at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. Details about his book are at www.whatstaysinvegas.us.
John Acres is a Las Vegas inventor and entrepreneur who has transformed modern day casino games. He created the first system that allowed casinos to track gamblers on slot machines; devised modern progressive jackpots in which prizes rise over time; and a system of instant bonuses, all features that are a staple of modern games. He is CEO of Acres 4.0, developing the enxt generation of casino games.
LINK http://dataprivacylab.org/TIP/index.html
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NSE Seminar: "Evolving Radiation Detection Challenges in Nuclear Safeguards and Security"
Monday, May 12, 2014
3:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building 24-121, access via 60 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Shaheen Azim Dewji, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Nuclear Science and Engineering
For more information, contact: Valerie Censabella
253-5456
censabel at mit.edu
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Investing in Nature: Conservation and the Bottom Line
Monday, May 12
Reception 5:30 p.m.; panel 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, Roberts Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston
Cost: $25
How can environmentally sound investment provide competitive economic and ecological return for businesses and for society? Can market-based solutions create a stronger economy and a healthier environment?
Speakers will include: Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy and author of Nature’s Fortune; and Howard Stevenson of Harvard Business School.
Click here to buy tickets to our May 12 event: https://support.nature.org/site/Ticketing?view=Tickets&id=5101
See more at: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/massachusetts/explore/ma-future-of-nature.xml#sthash.g35IZGrm.dpuf
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Science by the Pint: Physical Modeling and High Performance Computing
Monday, May 12, 2014
6:30 PM
The Burren, 247 Elm Street, Somerville
Dr. Cris Cecka
“N-Bodies: What astrophysics, protein folding, machine learning, and statistics have in common and what it means for the future of computing. ”
For those who've never been, Science by the Pint is an event sponsored by an organization of Harvard graduate students called Science in the News. In between their sleepless hours of hard work at Harvard Med School, they bring cutting edge scientific research to the public in a fun and informal format. The event goes like this:
The main speaker gives a short 5-10 minute talk (not a full length lecture) about their research, then answers general questions from the audience.
The team of colleagues comes around to individual tables and spends one-on-one time answering questions over food and refreshments.
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Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation
Monday, May 12, 2014
7:00 PM
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cost: $5 tickets
Michael Pollan
Harvard Book Store welcomes bestselling author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma MICHAEL POLLAN for a discussion of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, new to paperback.
In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements—fire, water, air, and earth—to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer.
Each section of Cooked tracks Pollan’s effort to master a single classic recipe using one of the four elements. A North Carolina barbecue pit master tutors him in the primal magic of fire; aChez Panisse–trained cook schools him in the art of braising; a celebrated baker teaches him how air transforms grain and water into a fragrant loaf of bread; and finally, several mad-genius“fermentos” (a tribe that includes brewers, cheese makers, and all kinds of picklers) reveal how fungi and bacteria can perform the most amazing alchemies of all. The reader learns alongsidePollan, but the lessons move beyond the practical to become an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships. Cooking, above all, connects us.
The effects of not cooking are similarly far reaching. Relying upon corporations to process our food means we consume large quantities of fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an essential link to the natural world; and weaken our relationships with family and friends. In fact, Cooked argues, taking back control of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life.
More information at http://www.harvard.com/event/michael_pollan/
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Tuesday, May 13
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Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - Sunday, May 17
ACT | Resonating MIT
All day
Various Locations
Amplifying Sonic Atmospheres, featuring student work from MIT courses 4.373 and 21M.351, visiting artists Stephen Vitiello and Scanner, and the Either/Or ensemble.
The MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) and the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) present Resonating MIT, the culmination of a semester-long interdisciplinary collaboration that deploys sonic interventions to amplify unexplored spatial atmospheres on MIT's historic campus. A series of performances, installations, and a mobile-ready website and app provide gateways to critical spatial inquiries using sound from the past, present, and the speculative future of the Institute. Engaging artistic, architectural, sonic engineering, and research practices, Resonating MIT proposes that listening and resonating are unique methods for understanding space and place, and using art as a catalyzer to amplify transdisciplinary exchange. This week of extra-ocular, sensorial exploration will feature new works produced by MIT students from the Spring 2014 class 4.373 Sound Installations and Sonic Interventions and the works of CAST visiting artists Stephen Vitiello and Robin Rimbaud, aka Scanner, as well as compositions by students from the class 21M.351 Music Composition performed by the avant-garde visiting artist ensemble Either/Or.
For a full list of events, visit the event website: http://bit.ly/1nM1488
Web site: http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/events/projects/resonating-mit/
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
This event occurs daily through May 17, 2014.
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, Center for Art, Science & Technology, Music and Theater Arts
For more information, contact: Laura Anca Chichisan
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu
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Does Size Matter? A Tale of Performing Welfare, Producing Bodies and Faking Identity
May 13, 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/2014/05/jayaram#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/05/jayaram at 12:30pm ET.
Malavika Jayaram, Berkman Fellow
Big Data doesn’t get much bigger than India’s identity project. The world’s largest biometric database - currently consisting of almost 600 million enrolled - seduces with promises of inclusion, legitimacy and visibility. By locating this techno-utopian vision within the larger surveillance state that a unique identifier facilitates, Malavika will describe the ‘welfare industrial complex’ that imagines the poor as the next emerging market. She will highlight the risks of the body as password, of implementing e-governance in a legal vacuum, and of digitization reinforcing existing inequalities. The export of technologies of control - once they have been tested on a massive population that has little agency and limited ability to withhold consent - transforms this project from a site of local activism to one with global repercussions. By offering a perspective that is somewhat different from the traditional western focus of privacy, she hopes to generate a more inclusive discourse about what it means to be autonomous and empowered in the face of paternalistic development projects. She will highlight, in particular, the varied ways in which the project is already being subverted and re-purposed, in ways that are humorous and poignant.
About Malavika
Malavika is a Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, focusing on privacy, identity and free expression. She is also a Fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, and the author of the India chapter for the Data Protection & Privacy volume in the Getting the Deal Done series. Malavika is one of 10 Indian lawyers in The International Who's Who of Internet e-Commerce & Data Protection Lawyers directory. In August 2013, she was voted one of India’s leading lawyers - one of only 8 women to be featured in the “40 under 45” survey conducted by Law Business Research, London. In a different life, she spent 8 years in London, practicing law with global firm Allen & Overy in the Communications, Media & Technology group, and as VP and Technology Counsel at Citigroup. She is working on a PhD about the development of a privacy jurisprudence and discourse in India, viewed partly through the lens of the Indian biometric ID project.
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14th Annual Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture: Ice Sheets and Sea Level: Is the Long Tail Attached to a Dragon?
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
5:00p–6:00p
MIT, Building E15-070, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Reception to follow lecture at 6:15 in the Ida Green Lounge, 54-923.
Speaker: Dr. Richard Alley
Dr. Richard Alley is an Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. His research interests focus on glaciology, sea level change and abrupt climate change, and he frequently discusses earth sciences on major media outlets, including NPR, BBC and PBS. He is widely credited with showing that the earth has experienced abrupt climate change in the past, and likely will again, based on his meticulous study of ice cores from Greenland and West Antarctica.
The Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture Series
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2014/henry_kendall_lecture
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Center for Global Change Science, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Audrey Resutek
617-324-1494
globalchange at mit.edu
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Understanding Global Innovation Economies
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
5:30p–7:00p
MIT, Building 34-101, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP at: bit.ly/1oPNDFv
Speaker: Professor Fiona Murray, Associate Dean of Innovation and Dr. Phil Budden, Senior Lecturer & Former British Consul General
This workshop is geared to MIT students that will be doing research, teaching and industry internships abroad and will provide an understanding of the role of innovation-driven entrepreneurship in development of vibrant regional economies.
It will take as its starting point the innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems (IDEA Ecosystems) that lie at the heart of many successful regions such as Silicon Valley, Boston/Cambridge, London's TechCity and Singapore, and examine the perspective of five critical stakeholders: entrepreneurs, risk capital providers, universities, government, and corporations. Students will then be prepared to view their region through this lens, understanding not only the inner-workings of their internship organization but the larger ecosystem within which it exists.
Web site: http://misti.mit.edu/how-bring-entrepreneurship-thinking-you-organization
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MISTI, MIT Innovation Initiative
For more information, contact: David Dolev
ddolev at mit.edu
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Technovation 2014 – Regional Pitch Night - MassTLC Education Foundation
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
5:30 PM to 8:30
Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/technovation-2014-regional-pitch-night-tickets-11303219233
Come out to the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge and celebrate the locally-made apps submitted for the Technovation Challenge!
Up to 7 teams will be presenting their pitches, vying for for the local Technovation crown!
ALL registered teams are welcome to set up their posterboards and show off their apps prior to the pitch contest. The first hour of the event is devoted to all teams showing off their work in a gallery style presentation!
Teachers can sign up their teams for the gallery when registering.
All teams who take part in the posterboard gallery will be considered in the pre-selection process.The pre-selection process determines which teams will pitch to the judges on the night of the event, but the selections will not be announced until the night of the event.
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Noam Chomsky
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Main Library, 449 Broadway, Lecture Hall, Cambridge
Join a discussion with Noam Chomsky on the driving forces of foreign policy.
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, May 14
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III-nitride Nanowires & Heterostructures: Growth & Optical Properties on Nanoscale
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 34-401, Grier Rooms combined, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Xiang Zhou, MTL Doctoral Dissertation Seminar
III-nitride nanowires are promising candidates for electronic and optoelectronic applications due to their dislocation-free structures and potential for direct integration with silicon. Meanwhile, material quality and effective band engineering inside such nanowires are crucial for device design and fabrication. In this talk, I will first demonstrate effective control over GaN nanowire size, growth rate and structural quality through careful choice of metal seed particles. Next, challenges for understanding band engineering in III-nitride nanowire heterostructures are addressed through direct nanoscale correlation of optical properties to doping, alloying and quantum confined effects. These results highlight that controlling defect formation and understanding their effects on materials properties are particularly important for developing functional devices based on nanostructured materials.
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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xTalks: Kalyan Veeramachaneni on Big Data
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
2:30p–3:30p
MIT, Building 32-155, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Kalyan Veeramachaneni
Kalyan Veeramachaneni will talk about his work identifying and harnessing sources of data for MOOC Data Science.
Dr. Veeramachaneni is a research scientist at CSAIL and Research Project Leadear in ALFA group: Anyscale Learning For All. His research interests are with building statistical models that enable extraction of information from large amounts of data.
To enable knowledge discovery from heterogeneous data sources Veeramachaneni is interested in building large scale integrative efficient computation platforms. Currently, he is leading multiple projects focused on knowledge discovery and data science for education (MOOCs), medicine and energy.
xTalks: Digital Discourses
This 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.
Web site: http://odl.mit.edu/events/kalyan-veeramachaneni-where-art-thou-big-data-identifying-harnessing-sources-of-data-for-mooc-data-science/
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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Bill Dietrich -- University of California, Berkeley
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
3:45p–5:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Refreshments, 3:45 pm, Ida Green Lounge
EAPS Department Lecture Series
Weekly talks given by leading thinkers in the areas of geology, geophysics, geobiology, geochemistry, meteorology, oceanography, climatology, and planetary science.
Web site:http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2014/spring_DLS_Dietrich
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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Aging Successfully - "What's Best for You? Where, Why, What, When and Who?
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
4:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building E51-Wong Auditorium, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Experts Discuss Factors To Consider That Will Support Aging Successfully
A collaborative project of MIT's Medical Department, Age Lab and Women's League, the 2014 Catherine N. Stratton Aging Successfully Lecture will bring together a distinguished panel of specialists at the forefront of effective care, technology and advocacy for us as we age.
The WHAT for many will be focused on the venue - WHERE. Like planning a trip, a key factor is deciding where you want to go. Along the way multiple decisions will need to be made - WHEN, HOW and WITH WHOM. Using the vacation planning analogy: will it be a "Staycation" enhancing services and supports at home? Or, will it be an adventure taking us to a different place or places? Our panel of experts will help us consider the factors and issues involved in the process of finding what's best for us as we age.
The moderator for the lecture is William M. Kettyle, MD, Director of MIT's Medical Department. Rounding out the panel are three specialists in different aspects of aging: John R. Anderson, MD, Chief of Geriatric Medicine at Mt. Auburn Hospital; Lisa A. D'Ambrosio, PhD, Age Lab at MIT Research Scientist; and Susan Lewin, MSW, LICSW, Geriatric Care Manager at Generations, All About Elders.
A question and answer period will follow the presentations.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Women's League
For more information, contact: Sis de Bordenave
617-253-3656
wleague at mit.edu
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A Nuclear Weapons Free World? History and Prospects
Wednesday, May 14
7:00pm
Harvard, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S-050, Cambridge
Lawrence Wittner will focus on the history of the world nuclear disarmament movement and its efficacy in curbing the nuclear arms race and preventing nuclear war. Not only has nuclear war been averted since 1945, but over three-quarters of the world’s nuclear weapons have been destroyed and the vast majority of the world’s nations have chosen to forgo developing nuclear weapons. The explanation for these developments lies primarily in a massive public campaign to curb the nuclear arms race and avert nuclear war. Now that even former and current government officials have come around to supporting the creation of a nuclear weapons-free world, public pressure could provide the crucial factor in bringing it to fruition. Wittner is Professor of History emeritus at the State University of New York/Albany and author of the three-part The Struggle Against the Bomb, and an abbreviated version, Confronting the Bomb, which will be available for sale at the event. He serves on the national board of Peace Action, the largest grassroots peace organization in the United States.
Elaine Scarry is the Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University. Scarry is the author of eight books, most recently Thermonuclear Monarchy. In this book, she contends that nuclear weapons eliminate the citizenry and the legislature from the sphere of decision-making about war. She, therefore, believes that nuclear weapons are unconstitutional and a violation of the human social contract. She describes two provisions of the constitution that can be used by citizens to require the United States to disarm.
Sponsors: Massachusetts Peace Action and Democratic Socialists of America
Contact: info at masspeaceaction.org, 617-354-2169
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MIT $100K Launch Competition Finale
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT)
MIT, Kresge Auditorium. 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-100k-launch-competition-finale-tickets-11333333305
Keynote Speaker: Maxwell Krohn, Co-Founder & CTO of OKCupid
The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition is a year-long educational experience designed to encourage students and researchers in the MIT community to act on their talent, ideas and energy to produce tomorrow’s leading firms. Now in its 21st year as a student organization within the MIT School of Engineering, the Competition has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and business startup services to outstanding teams of student entrepreneurs who submitted business plans for new ventures showing significant business potential. The refinement process of the Competition, its network of mentors, investors and potential partners, and the cash prizes awarded have helped many of these teams to act on their dreams and build their own companies and fortunes.
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Deciding on Divestment from Fossil Fuels: From Congregations to Kitchen Tables
Wednesday, May 14
7-9 PM
Hancock Church, 1912 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington
From religious congregations to universities to kitchen tables nationwide, people are debating divestment. Burning fossil fuels is the largest single contributor to human-caused climate change. If it's wrong to disrupt the planet's life systems, is it wrong to profit from such destruction? Should we get rid of our investments in the fossil fuel industry?
Join us for a thought provoking forum to address these questions:
What are the moral and financial reasons to divest from coal, oil and natural gas investments?
Is fossil fuel divestment an effective strategy to address climate change?
What are the financial implications of divestment?
What should institutions and individuals take into account when considering divestment?
How can investment in energy efficiency, renewables and green solution companies be a wise choice that will lead to a clean energy future?
Presenters
Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, General Minister and President of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ. Jim authored the UCC Synod's move to divest.
Chuck Collins, Senior Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies. Chuck is co-coordinator ofwww.divestinvest.org, a portal for individuals and philanthropic organizations divesting from the fossil fuel sector.
Leslie Samuelrich, President, Green Century Capital Management. Leslie's firm is in the forefront of profitable fossil free investing. She oversees Green Century's shareholder resolution program.
Cindy Davidson, Unitarian Universalist Ministry for the Earth Board Member. Cindy is active in UU Divest, and GreenFaith, and educates congregations about socially responsible investing, including shareholder advocacy.
Suggested donation is $10.
For more information, please email: Fran Ludwig at fran at mipandl.org
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Key Issues: Election 2014
WHEN Wed., May 14, 2014, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE First Parish in Cambridge, 3 Church Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Cambridge Forum
SPEAKER(S) Keith Bentele, U Mass Boston
Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Harvard
Melissa F. Weiner, Holy Cross
COST FREE
CONTACT INFO 617-495-2727, director at cambridgeforum.org
NOTE What are the key issues of concern to the new generation of millennial voters? Panelists explore some of the fundamental questions newly elected representatives will have to address: poverty and inequality, tax policy and the social safety net, and education reform and propose research- and experience-based policy solutions in an effort to overcome the ideological divisions that derail so much political debate.
LINK www.cambridgeforum.org
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Thursday, May 15
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Climate Action Liaison Coalition's event:
"Building a New Economy to Stop Climate Change" Brought to you by CALC
Thursday, May 15, 2014
1:30pm - 4:00pm
University of Massachusetts, Ryan Hall,100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-a-new-economy-to-stop-climate-change-brought-to-you-by-calc-tickets-11243071329
At SBN's 25th Annual Sustainable Business Conference on May 15, 2014, please join CALC in continuing the conversation on climate change at the afternoon Local, Green and Fair Workshops, at UMass Boston. The Climate Action Liaison Coalition (CALC) and Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts invite you to join sustainable business leaders who are working to leverage their business to take targeted action against climate change.
Climate Action Liaison Coalition’s afternoon workshop, titled Building a New Economy to Stop Climate Change, aims to bring together leading minds from government officials, business leaders, and community stakeholders for a conversation on building the new economy.
The workshop will begin with a brief presentation and panel outlining the intersection of social justice, the economy and climate change. Our opening session will set the stage for an "open space" format where participants will set their own agenda. Gathered into small groups, participants will focus on programs ideas that they share for building a new economy. We hope that you can join us for what should be a collaborative conversation!
Speakers Include:
Quinton Zondervan, Executive Director of Climate Action Liaison Coalition
Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator for Environmental Protection Agency
Chuck Collins, Senior Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies
Aisha Shillingford, Director of Organizing, Racial & Economic Justice Initiative for New Economy Coalition
This event is open to the public. Please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-a-new-economy-to-stop-climate-change-brought-to-you-by-calc-tickets-11243071329 for more information.
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Race To Solar
Thursday, May 15
6 PM to 8 PM
Curtis Hall, 20 South Street, Jamaica Plain
Through the Race to Solar program, eligible nonprofits can acquire a solar electric energy system for their school, house of worship, food pantry, community center, or other building owned by their nonprofit organization.
A solar investor will own, repair and insure the panels, selling the green electricity back to your nonprofit at a rate typically lower than the organization currently pays the utility company.
The Race to Solar will help 40 nonprofits get solar installed, totaling 1 megawatt of clean, renewable energy in our communities. Through reducing the sales and marketing costs for the installer, HEET has secured a great rate and contract with SunBug Solar.
To qualify for the program your nonprofit must:
1. Participate in NSTAR’s Direct Install energy upgrade in your nonprofit.
The no-cost energy evaluation can be scheduled at your convenience. The assessor will create a report of the potential work for you to choose from. The work is 70% rebated and the remainder can be paid with a zero interest 12 month loan. The work lowers the electricity bill by 30% on average.
2. Persuade 5 small local businesses to get a no-cost energy evaluation.
This work helps your whole community become more sustainable both economically and environmentally. HEET will assist you in signing up the businesses.
3. Join a free energy-tracking online site.
Tracking with wegowise will help you quantify your savings and can help you spot future problems with your plumbing or heating systems before the problems become catastrophic.
To learn more about the program, attend a Race to Solar Workshop. Please RSVP for one of the following workshops, as refreshments and food will be provided:
Carpenter’s Center, 750 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, Tuesday, May 20th, 6 PM to 8 PM
For more information about the program contact info at HEETma.org, call 617-HEET (4338)-350, or http://www.heetma.org/race-to-solar/
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Conversation About Food
Thursday, May 15
6:30-8:30 pm
EARTHOS Innovation Center, 1310 Broadway Suite 103, Somerville
This second of seven curated evening events will focus on food.
‘"If everyone agreed to become vegetarian, leaving little or nothing for livestock, the present 1.4 billion hectares of arable land (3.5 billion acres) would support about 10 billion people,"—E.O. Wilson
The 3.5 billion acres would ... feed 10 billion vegetarians, but would only feed 2.5 billion U.S. omnivores...’
—livescience.com
More information at http://www.earthos-institute.us/INITIATIVES_of_earthos-institute/Earthos_CONVERSATIONS.html
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Building the Future Spacesuit
WHEN Thu., May 15, 2014, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Phillips Auditorium, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
SPEAKER(S) Dava Newman
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO pubaffairs at cfa.harvard.edu, 617.495.7461
NOTE Russia, the U.S., and newcomer China all have ambitious plans for the human conquest of space. Their future destinations: the Moon, an asteroid, and eventually Mars. But 21st century exploration demands 21st century spacesuits. Come see what MIT professor Dava Newman has designed - the spacesuit of the future. Combining fashion and functionality, it provides astronauts new flexibility and range of motion. This is the end of the bulky moon look!
LINK http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/publicevents
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Human Impacts Boston: Putting Some Steam into Climate Change Innovation
Thursday, May 15
8pm
Goethe-Institut,170 Beacon Street, Boston
RSVP at http://humanimpactsboston.bpt.me
In the U.S., there is an urgent need for improved education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEAM education is necessary for our country to remain a leader in the global marketplace, but more importantly, this focused education is imperative to our changing planet. Climate change has already given rise to many devastating alterations to our climate system and will continue to drastically change the world that we all know. In order to mitigate and adapt to climate change, we need to foster leaders and innovators. We need to encourage "big-thinkers" who are well versed in science and technology, who are capable of dreaming big AND designing tangible solutions to issues surrounding energy use, agriculture, sea level rise, and increased extreme weather events.
The Human Impacts Institute is traveling to Boston, Massachusetts where we will host an evening event dedicated to examining education for a changing climate. Join us for an evening of engaging discussion from a diversity of Boston's community leaders and thinkers and thought-provoking performances from local artists dedicated to shedding some light on environmental and educational issues.
Speakers include:
Brian Swett, Chief, Environment & Energy at City of Boston
Susan Israel, The Energy Necklace Project
Hannah Sevian, Associate Professor of Chemistry at U-Mass Boston
Georg Maue, First Secretary of Climate and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Xiao Xiao, Pianist and Technologist of the MIT Media Lab
David Wang, In-house Rocket Scientist at NuVu
Inspirational live performances from:
Xiao Xiao, Pianist and Technologist of the MIT Media Lab
Jimmy M. Hughes, Electronic Musician
This salon is the fifth in a creative communication series in partnership with the Transatlantic Climate Bridge of the German Embassy. As leaders in renewable energy, Germany has a lot of knowledge to share regarding successful energy policies and communication efforts. So far we have held salons in New York City, Atlanta, D.C., and Miami where we have highlighted Germany's efforts in solar technology and politics.
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Friday, May 16
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Urbanization, Land Cover Change, and the Carbon Cycle
Friday, May 16, 2014
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Harvard, Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Lucy Hutyra
Speaker Bio:
http://people.bu.edu/lrhutyra/
Environmental Science and Engineering Seminars
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Europe’s New Frontlines: How the Ukraine Crisis Changes Strategic Thinking in Germany and Beyond
WHEN Fri., May 16, 2014, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, S050, Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Transatlantic Relations Seminar, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
SPEAKER(S) Stefan Kornelius, foreign policy editor, Süddeutsche Zeitung
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO atownes at wcfia.harvard.edu
NOTE This event is co-sponsored by the Boston Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany.
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Saturday May 17
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Sustainable House of Worship Workshop
Saturday May 17
8:30 AM - 1 PM
South Church, 41 Central Street, Andover
Doors open at 8:30 am, the program will start promptly at 9:00 am.
A modest fee of $10 fee can be paid at the door
Registration: to register online at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e956puzfbc6e8ff4&llr=evkqo7bab
Would your congregation like to lower its utility bills? Do you want to do your part in decreasing your use of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming? Are you interested in learning more about solar energy?
MIP&L's Sustainable House of Worship (SHOW) workshop covers all this and more, walking you through crucial questions that will give you a comprehensive view of your house of worship's energy use and the best opportunities for energy and cost savings.
In this half-day session you will learn:
How to track your energy use, cost, and carbon footprint
How to implement no-cost/low-cost projects that will have a big impact on your electricity and heating bills
How to evaluate energy-using equipment and systems to determine whether they should be updated
How to take advantage of incentives, rebates and financial help available through utility companies
How to get solar panels with no upfront cost
Who should attend: Parishes are encouraged to send two members from their environment committee, property committee, or other leadership team. Other interested members are welcome! Please forward this information to anyone in your congregation who might be interested.
For more information please contact Bill Schroeder at bill at mipandl.org
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A Window on Eternity: Exploring Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park
Saturday, May 17, 2014
12:00pm - 6:00pm
Harvard, Haller Hall and Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=17
Located in central Mozambique, the Gorongosa National Park is home to an extraordinary diversity of ecosystems and wildlife. Established in 1960, Gorongosa was nearly destroyed during Mozambique’s civil war. Thanks to a public-private partnership created in 2004 by the government of Mozambique and the U.S.-based Carr Foundation, the park is successfully restoring its wildlife populations and also developing economic opportunities for its local community.
In his new book, A Window on Eternity: A Biologist’s Walk through Gorongosa National Park, Harvard Professor Edward O. Wilson examines the near destruction and rebirth of Gorongosa and describes through prose—and photographs by Piotr Naskrecki—why Gorongosa is one of the most unique places on Earth. Pre-signed copies of A Window on Eternity will be available for purchase in the museum store.
The day’s events will highlight the history and biodiversity of Gorongosa through film, a new exhibition by nature photographer and entomologist Piotr Naskrecki, and a special conversation with Edward O. Wilson, Piotr Naskrecki, and Gregory Carr, President of the Carr Foundation.
All events are free and open to the public
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AND LOCATIONS
12:00 Noon: Film Screening, Haller Hall
Africa: The Future (UK, 2013, 60 min.)
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, this episode of BBC's groundbreaking six-part series on the wildlife and landscapes of Africa highlights key conservation projects and local efforts aimed at protecting this continent's most threatened species. The film features the restoration of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. Produced by Kate Broome. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
1:30–3:00 pm: Film Screening, Haller Hall
Africa's Lost Eden (USA, 2010, 50 min.)
Journey with National Geographic to Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park and learn about the conservation efforts that are protecting the animals and landscapes of this extraordinary site. Directed and produced by James Byrne. Due to the nature of its content and images, this film is not recommended for children. Introduced by Gregory Carr, President of the Carr Foundation and the Gorongosa Restoration Project. Q&A with Gregory Carr follows the screening. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
3:30–4:30 pm: Film Screening, Haller Hall
The Guide (USA, 2013, 40 min.)
The Guide is a coming-of-age tale set against the restoration of a war-torn national park in Mozambique. Raised near Gorongosa National Park, young Tonga Torcida dreams of becoming a tour guide. But when he meets famed biologist Edward O. Wilson, his new view of the world around him—and his future—places him at a crossroads. Directed by Jessica Yu. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
5:00–6:00 pm: Special Presentation, Geological Lecture Hall
Africa’s Greatest Wildlife Restoration Story: The History and Future of Gorongosa National Park
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Edward O. Wilson (Author, University Research Professor, Emeritus, Harvard University); Piotr Naskrecki (Photographer, Associate in Entomology, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology); and Gregory C. Carr (President, Carr Foundation and the Gorongosa Restoration Project)
Advance registration required. A reception for registered attendees follows the program (co-sponsored by the Harvard University Chapter of Sigma Xi).
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php
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Sunday, May 18
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Boston Enviro-Film Festival
Sunday, May 18
We've got a film for you!
Across 4 venues in Boston, the Boston Environmental Film Festival brings the latest films on current environmental successes, struggles, actions and animations along with investigations about energy and the sheer beauty of the natural world.
More information at http://www.bostonenvironmentalfilmfest.com
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Tuesday, May 20
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You, me, and my computer
May 20, 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/2014/05/mccarthy#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/05/mccarthy at 12:30pm ET.
with Lauren McCarthy, artist and programmer
Can we use technology to help us be more human? To smile more, to touch and to listen to each other? What if a computer could understand and make decisions about our social relationships better than we could ourselves? Would our interactions be improved by computationally determining what to do and say? What happens if we crowdsource our dating lives and actually find love? This is a discussion of attempts to understand these questions through an artistic practice involving hacking, design and self-experimentation.
About Lauren
Lauren McCarthy is an artist and programmer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is adjunct faculty at RISD and NYU ITP, a researcher in resident at ITP, and recently a resident at Eyebeam. She holds an MFA from UCLA and a BS Computer Science and BS Art and Design from MIT. Her work explores the structures and systems of social interactions, identity, and self-representation, and the potential for technology to mediate, manipulate, and evolve these interactions. She is fascinated by the slightly uncomfortable moments when patterns are shifted, expectations are broken, and participants become aware of the system.
At Sosolimited and Small Design Firm, Lauren has worked on installations for the London Eye, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, IBM, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello. She has also worked at Oblong Industries, Continuum and the MIT Media Lab.
Her artwork has been shown in a variety of contexts, including the Conflux Festival, SIGGRAPH, LACMA, the Japan Media Arts Festival, Share Festival, File Festival, the WIRED Store, and probably to you without you knowing it at some point while interacting with her.
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Book Launch: The Social Machine
May 20th, 2014 at 6:00pm ET
Harvard Law School
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2014/05/socialmachine#RSVP
Judith Donath, Berkman Center Fellow
Online, interface designs fashion people's appearance, shape their communication and influence their behavior. Can we see another’s face or do we know each other only by name? Do our words disappear forever once they leave the screen or are they permanently archived, amassing a history of our views and reactions? Are we aware of how public or private our surroundings are?
In “The Social Machine”, Judith Donath addresses topics such visualizing conversations and networks; portraying identity with data and history; delineating public and private space, and bringing the online world's open sociability into the face to face world. “The Social Machine” is a manifesto for balancing legibility, social responsibility and innovation -- and a manual for designing radically new environments for social interaction.
About Judith Donath
Judith synthesizes knowledge from urban design, evolutionary biology and cognitive science to design innovative interfaces for on-line communities and virtual identities. A Harvard Berkman Faculty Fellow and formerly director of the MIT Media Lab's Sociable Media Group, she is known internationally for her writing on identity, interface design, and social communication. She is the creator of many pioneering online social applications; her work and that of the Sociable Media Group have been shown in museums and galleries worldwide. Her current research focuses on how we signal identity in both mediated and face-to-face interactions, and she is working on a book about how the economics of honesty shape our world.
She received her doctoral and master's degrees in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT and her bachelor's degree in History from Yale University.
Links:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/social-machine
http://vivatropolis.org/judith/
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Race To Solar
Tuesday, May 20
6 PM to 8 PM
Carpenter’s Center, 750 Dorchester Avenue, Boston
Through the Race to Solar program, eligible nonprofits can acquire a solar electric energy system for their school, house of worship, food pantry, community center, or other building owned by their nonprofit organization.
A solar investor will own, repair and insure the panels, selling the green electricity back to your nonprofit at a rate typically lower than the organization currently pays the utility company.
The Race to Solar will help 40 nonprofits get solar installed, totaling 1 megawatt of clean, renewable energy in our communities. Through reducing the sales and marketing costs for the installer, HEET has secured a great rate and contract with SunBug Solar.
To qualify for the program your nonprofit must:
1. Participate in NSTAR’s Direct Install energy upgrade in your nonprofit.
The no-cost energy evaluation can be scheduled at your convenience. The assessor will create a report of the potential work for you to choose from. The work is 70% rebated and the remainder can be paid with a zero interest 12 month loan. The work lowers the electricity bill by 30% on average.
2. Persuade 5 small local businesses to get a no-cost energy evaluation.
This work helps your whole community become more sustainable both economically and environmentally. HEET will assist you in signing up the businesses.
3. Join a free energy-tracking online site.
Tracking with wegowise will help you quantify your savings and can help you spot future problems with your plumbing or heating systems before the problems become catastrophic.
To learn more about the program, attend a Race to Solar Workshop. Please RSVP for one of the following workshops, as refreshments and food will be provided:
For more information about the program contact info at HEETma.org, call 617-HEET (4338)-350, or http://www.heetma.org/race-to-solar/
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Boston Quantified Self Show&Tell #BQS16 (NERD)
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Microsoft NERD New England Research & Development Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/BostonQS/events/170552132/
Cost: $7.00/per person
Please come join us on Tuesday, May 20th for another fun night of self-tracking presentations, sharing ideas, and showing tools. If you are self-tracking in any way -- health stats, biofeedback, life-logging, mood monitoring, biometrics, athletics, etc. -- come and share your methods, results and insights.
We're happy to hosted by our friends at Microsoft. Be sure to RSVP early to grab your spot! Come to meet new people, check out new hands-on gadgets and tools, enjoy healthy food, and learn from personal stories.
6:00 - 7:00 pm DEMO HOUR & SOCIAL TIME
Are you a toolmaker? Come demo your self-tracking gadget, app, project or idea that you're working on and share with others in our "science fair for adults." If you are making something useful for self-trackers – software, hardware, web services, or data standards – please demo it in this workshop portion of the Show&Tell. Want to participate in Demo Hour? Please let us know when you RSVP or contact Vincent at vmcphillip at gmail dot com for a spot.
7:00 - 8:00 pm IGNITE SHOW&TELLS
If you'd like to talk about your personal self-tracking story, please let us know in your RSVP or contact Joshua at joshuakot at gmail dot com, so we can discuss your topic. In your talk, you should answer the three prime questions: What did you do? How did you do it? What did you learn?
8:00 - 9:00 pm MORE SOCIAL TIME & NETWORKING
Talk to the speakers, chat with new and old friends, ask other people what they're tracking, and generally hang out and have a great time.
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Wednesday, May 21
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"Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government."
Wednesday, May 21
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Harvard, Fainsod Room (Littauer 324), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Discussion with Aneesh Chopra, former (and first) U.S. Chief Technology Officer. Co-sponsored with the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government.
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Thursday, May 22
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MA Food Day planning meeting
May 22nd
6:00-7:00
Downtown Crossing 62 Summer Street, 2nd Floor, Boston
RSVP: rose.arruda at state.ma.us
MA Food Day is October 24
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Saturday, May 24
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Boston’s Urban Forest Urban Orchards Bicycle Tour
Saturday, May 24
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Roxbury and Jamaica Plain
Meeting location TBA
Boston is full of urban orchards, but do you know where they are? Come join a leisurely bike ride through Jamaica Plain and Roxbury to discover apple, pear, cherry and plum trees. Bring your bike and helmet, water and a snack. Registration required by contacting 617-542-7696 or iinfo at bostonnatural.org
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Opportunity
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Intern with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate!
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (BLC) is a nonprofit based in the Cambridge, MA area. Our mission is to mobilize the biosphere to restore ecosystems and reverse global warming.
Education, public information campaigns, organizing, scientific investigation, collaboration with like-minded organizations, research and policy development are all elements of our strategy.
Background: Soils are the largest terrestrial carbon sink on the planet. Restoring the complex ecology of soils is the only way to safely and quickly remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the ground, where it’s desperately needed to regenerate the health of billions of acres of degraded lands. Restoring carbon to soils and regenerating ecosystems are how we can restore a healthy hydrologic cycle and cool local and planetary climates safely, naturally, and in time to ensure a livable climate now and in the future.
Our Work: immediate plans include
Organizing the First International Biodiversity, Soil Carbon and Climate Week, October 31-November 9, 2014, and a kick-off conference in the Boston area, “Mobilizing the Biosphere to Reverse Global Warming: A Biodiversity, Water, Soil Carbon and Climate Conference – and Call to Action” to expand the mainstream climate conversation to include the power of biology, and to help initiate intensive worldwide efforts to return atmospheric carbon to the soils.
Coordination of a global fund to directly assist local farmers and herders in learning and applying carbon farming approaches that not only benefit the climate, but improve the health and productivity of the land and the people who depend on it.
Collaboration with individuals and organizations on addressing eco-restoration and the regeneration of water and carbon cycles; such projects may include application of practices such as Holistic Management for restoration of billions of acres of degraded grasslands, reforestation of exploited forest areas, and restoring ocean food chains.
Please contact Helen D. Silver, helen.silver at bio4climate.org for further information.
781-316-1710
Bio4climate.org
SharedHarvestCSA.com
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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