[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - November 23, 2014
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Nov 23 12:30:38 PST 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
---------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************
Event Index - full Event Details available below the Index
———————————
Monday, November 24
———————————
8:30am Shaking It Up: How to Thrive in - and Change – the Research Ecosystem
11am Too Big To Fail or Too Hard to Remember: Lessons from the New Deal and the Triumph, Tragedy, and Lost Legacy of James M. Landis
12pm MASS Seminar - Giuseppe Torri (Harvard)
12pm Panel discussion: Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Obstacles and Possibilities
12pm Best Practices in Historical Ecology: Lessons from the Shark Toothed Weapons of the Gilbert Islands
12:15pm "Economics Inside the Grid: Smart Grids, Power Systems Engineering, and Emergent Markets”
2:30pm Imperfect Markets versus Imperfect Regulation in U.S. Electricity Generation
4:30pm Planets and Life: Welcome to the Anthropocene, The Human Palate for Energy, Land, and Water Under Global Change: What and Where are the Risks?
6pm Hope for a Livable Climate: The Promise of Restorative Grazing to Regenerate Soil and Reverse Global Warming
7pm regenarratives
8pm Nerd Nite November
———————————
Tuesday, November 25
———————————
12:30pm Unpacking open data: power, politics and the influence of infrastructures
12:30pm Ebola Update: Where Are We with Vaccines, U.S. Preparedness and the West African Crisis Presented in Collaboration with Reuters
3pm BCSEA Webinar: Renewable Fuels for Transport - Opportunities and Challenges
4pm Bike Lights, Camera, Action!
6pm Food on the Rails: The Golden Era of Railroad Dining
7pm Film Screening: ART21 "Secrets" (2014)
——————————
Friday, November 28
——————————
1-4pm Chain Reaction
——————————
Monday, December 1
——————————
12pm Financing Energy Innovation: Government Grants, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurs
12:15pm "Democracy and the Deep-Sea: Telepresence and Public Participation in Remote Environments”
4pm Health Insurance Plan Choice
4:30pm Planets and Life Series: Welcome to the Anthropocene, Panel: Whither the Earth: Hands off? Geoengineer? Or Biosphere 3?
6pm Theodore H. White Lecture with Mark Halperin & John Heilemann
6pm The old city and the sea-- Boston landmaking meets sea level rise
6:30pm Social Media Strategy Mapping
7pm Social Physics: from ideas to actions
———————————
Tuesday, December 2
———————————
10am Theodore H. White Seminar on Press and Politics: "Media, Campaigns, and 2016”
11:30am 3D Printing of tough and conducting hydrogel materials
12:15pm Responding to New Realities in the Middle East: Syria, Iraq, and ISIS
12:30pm The Eureka Myth: Creators, Innovators and Everyday Intellectual Property
12:30pm "Protecting the Global Commons: The Role of International Financial Institutions”
3:30pm xTalks: Book Release Celebration - Art of Insight in Science & Engineering
4pm Bio-mimetic Drones: From Collision Free to Collision Friendly
4:10pm Making Cities Work: The PerformanceStat Potential
4:30pm Climate and Thoreau
4:30pm Conditions of violence in Central America and their effects on emigration from that region
5pm How Tactile Cues Can Assist Navigation
5:30pm Clean Energy Prize Kickoff: NSTAR MIT Clean Energy Prize
6pm BASG: Re-use, Re-gift & Celebrate
6pm Nanoresearch: Swiss and American perspectives on academic-industrial collaboration
6:30pm The Resilient Farm and Homestead talk by Ben Falk
COGdesign: Community Outreach Group for Landscape Design
7pm Film Screening: ART21 "Fiction" (2014)
7pm Peace & PlanetNo Nukes! No Wars! No Warming! Boston Area Organizing Meeting
7:30pm Pretty Faces (FREE admission)
---------------------------------
*************************
My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com
Thrive Solar®
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345878/-Thrive-Solar
---------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************
———————————
Monday, November 24
———————————
Shaking It Up: How to Thrive in - and Change – the Research Ecosystem
Monday, November 24
8:30am - 6:30pm
webinar at http://www.digital-science.com/events/shaking-it-up-how-to-thrive-in-and-change-the-research-ecosystem
Shaking It Up is a one-day workshop on the changing state of the research ecosystem. The event is jointly sponsored by Digital Science, MIT, Harvard and Microsoft. Join us at Microsoft NERD on November 24th! #ShakingItUp14
**Did you know you can also tune into this event live? All you have to do is click here on the day of the event! Do save it to your bookmarks
Powerful forces shape how research is done; funding mechanisms, government mandates, academic administration and technology (hardware and software) represent key spokes that support the revolutions of research cycles. New players in the form of start-ups, grassroots organizations and visionaries are shaking up how research is done. How do these initiatives launch, grow and scale? The flora and fauna of the research ecosystem include scholars, libraries, universities, funders, governments and companies: how are the rules of interaction changing? What new dynamics and partnerships are emerging? Where are the opportunities for breakthroughs? In this workshop, we invite participants to share success stories and challenges of innovating in the research space. We aim to spark new connections and insights by investigating aspects of the research lifecycle through the multiple lenses of different players operating within the research ecosystem.
———————————————
Too Big To Fail or Too Hard to Remember: Lessons from the New Deal and the Triumph, Tragedy, and Lost Legacy of James M. Landis
WHEN Mon., Nov. 24, 2014, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School, Milstein East B, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Ethics, Humanities, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics
SPEAKER(S) Judge Jed Rakoff, South District of New York
Justin O'Brien, Edmond J. Safra Visiting Lab Fellow
Dan Coquillette, Charles Warren Visiting Professor of American Legal History, Harvard Law School
Todd Rakoff, Byrne Professor of Administrative Law, Harvard Law School
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO katy at ethics.harvard.edu
LINK http://ethics.harvard.edu/event/panel-discussion-james-m-landis
——————————————
MASS Seminar - Giuseppe Torri (Harvard)
Monday, November 24
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Giuseppe Torri (Harvard)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Atmospheric Science Seminars
For more information, contact: MASS organizing committee
mass at mit.edu
———————————————
Best Practices in Historical Ecology: Lessons from the Shark Toothed Weapons of the Gilbert Islands
Monday, November 24
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
BU, Building LSEB, Room 01, 24 Cummington Street, Boston
Boston University alum and faculty member in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology at Columbia University, Dr. Joshua Drew will be speaking about his current research.
Contact Wally Fulweiler
rwf at bu.edu
———————————————
Panel discussion: Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Obstacles and Possibilities
Monday, November 24
12pm-1:30pm
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Ric Redman, President & CEO, Summit Power Group, LLC
David Keith, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics (SEAS); Professor of Public Policy (HKS)
————————————————
"Economics Inside the Grid: Smart Grids, Power Systems Engineering, and Emergent Markets"
Monday, November 24
12:15PM - 2:00PM
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Canay Özden-Schilling, MIT, HASTS
STS Circle at Harvard
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts at hks.harvard.edu by Wednesday at 5PM the week before.
Contact Name: sts at hks.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2014-11-24-171500-2014-11-24-190000/sts-circle-harvard#sthash.xlWCdgxi.dpuf
—————————————————
Imperfect Markets versus Imperfect Regulation in U.S. Electricity Generation
Monday, November 24
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E62-450, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Steve Cicala (University of Chicago)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IO Workshop
For more information, contact: economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu
—————————————————
Expertise and Innovation in Art-Making: Trans-Disciplinary Exchanges between Artists and Scientists in 20th-Century North America
WHEN Mon., Nov. 24, 2014, 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262)
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Canada Program, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
SPEAKER(S) Jan Marontate, associate professor, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University; Francesca Bewer, research curator for conservation and technical studies programs, Harvard Art Museums
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/canada_program/seminars-0
—————————————————
Planets and Life: Welcome to the Anthropocene, The Human Palate for Energy, Land, and Water Under Global Change: What and Where are the Risks?
Monday, November 24
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
MIT, Building 2-105, 182 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Adam Schlosser (MIT)
Planets and Life: Human and Planetary Perspectives
Weekly lecture and discussion series exploring the co-evolution of the earth's natural systems and life
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2014/planets-life
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Lectures
For more information, contact: Vlada Stamenkovic
rinsan at mit.edu
—————————————————
Hope for a Livable Climate: The Promise of Restorative Grazing to Regenerate Soil and Reverse Global Warming
Monday, November 24
6 pm, Socializing and Refreshments, 7-9 pm, Presentations
University Lutheran Church, 66 Winthrop Street, Cambridge
Free and open to the public, donations requested.
An educational fundraiser to benefit two organizations on the forefront of ecological restoration and climate change, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
and the Africa Centre for Holistic Management, Zimbabwe
African Musical Entertainment
Program
Keynote: Precious Phiri, Africa Center for Holistic Management, “Life with the People Who Will Change Everything”
William Moomaw, Earthwatch and Tufts University, “Policy and How the World Turns”
Richard Teague, Texas A&M, “New Science on the Ground: Soils, Carbon and Climate”
Seth Itzkan, Planet-TECH Associates, “Envisioning a Restorative Future”
Adam Sacks, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, “Jumping Off a Cliff, Landing in a Lifeboat”
Precious Phiri is a Senior Facilitator at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) in Zimbabwe. Precious directs training for villages in the Hwange Communal Lands region that are implementing restorative grazing programs using Holistic Land and Livestock Management. This helps rural communities in Africa to reduce poverty, rebuild soils, and restore food and water security. This nature-based solution has been successfully used on different landscapes in Africa and the Americas. Precious was born and raised in one of the communities now implementing restorative grazing.
Sponsored by Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and Planet-TECH Associates
www.bio4climate.org
www.planet-tech.com
——————————————
regenarratives
Monday, November 24
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-070, Bartos Theatre, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Gabriel Kahan
Multi-screen, rapid consumption of content is opening up new ways to communicate and engage viewers, in particular youth. At the same time, the complexities of modern social dynamics require one to develop novel ways of thinking about the role of government. Creating content that is both informative and adaptable to the user is key if we are to engage youth in understanding and working with government to solve our most pressing issues.
Drawing upon his experience delivering new media content to millions of users in the developing world, Kahan engages in open-ended discussion with the audience about the need for repurposing the narrative form to educate, inspire, and identify the next big ideas for governance and civil society in the 21st century.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture
For more information, contact: Ilse Damkoehler
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu
———————————————
Nerd Nite November
Monday, November 24
8PM
Middlesex Lounge, 315 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, Cambridge
Cost: $5
November’s #NNBoston will be our last at the Middlesex. The past 4 or 5ish years have been a sweet and successful partnership. We wish the bar all the best as it changes format (and are open to suggestions for a new home if you’ve got ‘em). For this last hurrah at the lounge, join us as we celebrate our people, the rare birds who thrive in the space where intelligence, obsession, and social ineptitude meet.
Talk 1 – “Romance for Nerds: an Introduction to the World’s Most Popular and Least Understood Genre” by Jennifer Webb
Porn for women? Tool of the patriarchy? What are those books with buff men and swooning ladies on the covers? Who reads them? And why? Romance fans, like comics geeks and fanboys/girls, are viewed with suspicion by mainstream culture. Jennifer pulls back the embossed covers and talks about the good, the bad, and the unrealistically attractive in the world of romance novels.
Jennifer is a librarian, life-long book nerd, fandom lurker, and pop culture aficionado. She may be found on Twitter at @eviltwinjen and Tumblr at eviltwinjen.tumblr.com.
Talk 2 – “The Art and Science of Simulated Soda” by Will Brierly
In recent years first person soda simulation has expanded to mass markets worldwide. From the beginning, Soda Drinker Pro has been the leading innovator in pushing the boundaries of this technology. This talk will cover the past, present, and future of simulated soda drinking technology and its broad societal impacts.
For the past 14 years Will Brierly has run Snowrunner Productions. He has worked with Grammy Award winning artists, Emmy Award winning TV shows, NY Times best selling authors, international government agencies, video games and more… He is also known for creating the first FPS (first person Soda drinking simulation) Soda Drinker Pro which has hundreds of thousands of players worldwide and has been featured on CNN, Mashable, Game Informer, Kotaku, Wall Street Journal, and hundreds of other media outlets.
Be there. Be square.
More information at http://boston.nerdnite.com/2014/11/18/nerd-nite-november/
———————————
Tuesday, November 25
———————————
Unpacking open data: power, politics and the influence of infrastructures
Tuesday, November 25
12:30 pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/11/davies#RSVP
Event will be webcast live on http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/11/davies at 12:30 pm.
Tim Davies, Berkman Affiliate
Countries, states & cities across the globe are embracing the idea of 'open data': establishing platforms, portals and projects to share government managed data online for re-use. Yet, right now, the anticipated civic impacts of open data rarely materialise, and the gap between the promise and the reality of open data remains wide. This talk, drawing on a series of empirical studies of open data around the world, will question the ways in which changing regimes around data can reconfigure power and politics, and will explore the limits of current practice. It will consider opportunities to re-imagine the open data project, not merely as one of placing datasets online, but as one that can positively reshape the knowledge infrastructures of civic life.
About Tim
Tim Davies is a social researcher with interests in civic participation and civic technologies. He has spent the last five years focussing on the development of the open government data landscape around the world, from his MSc work at the Oxford Internet Institute on Data and Democracy, the first major study of data.gov.uk, through to leading a 12-country study on the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries for the World Wide Web Foundation.
Tim is working on his PhD on the interaction of technical infrastructures and public policies in shaping the outcomes of open data initiatives in the Web Science Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Southampton, and was a 2013/14 fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society. He also co-directs Practical Participation, an independent consultancy working on participation, organisational change, community development and social technology, through which he recently led the development of the 360Giving standards for philanthropic open data in the UK.
Tim lives in Oxford, UK, blogs at timdavies.org.uk, and tweets as @timdavies.
———————————————
Ebola Update: Where Are We with Vaccines, U.S. Preparedness and the West African Crisis Presented in Collaboration with Reuters
WHEN Tue., Nov. 25, 2014, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE The Leadership Studio, HSPH and webcast
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard School of Public Health
SPEAKER(S) Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Michael VanRooyen, director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and Vice Chairman of Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine
Barry Bloom, former dean and professor, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health
Paul Biddinger, director of the HSPH Emergency Preparedness and Response Exercise Program and senior preparedness fellow
COST Free; RSVP to theforum at hsph.harvard.edu
CONTACT INFO theforum at hsph.harvard.edu
DETAILS The current Ebola crisis has taken the lives of more than 5,000 people so far in six countries, including the U.S., and has sickened thousands more. Global response and containment efforts have produced mixed results. This Forum event will explore the latest news on outbreaks, vaccine testing, treatment trials, hospital preparedness, funding efforts and lessons learned.
E-mail questions for the expert participants any time before or during the live webcast to theforum at hsph.harvard.edu. Or Tweet them to @ForumHSPH using #ebolaHSPHForum.
We'll also be conducting a live chat on The Forum's Ebola Update web page.
LINK http://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/ebola-update/
—————————————————
BCSEA Webinar: Renewable Fuels for Transport - Opportunities and Challenges
Tuesday, November 25
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
webinar
RSVP at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7343660514730745858
Renewables in Canada’s transport fuel mix have grown significantly in the last decade, on the shoulders of EU and US leadership.
Their position as a small but growing component of the fuel supply has brought with it the benefits of emission reductions and increased competition at the pump for consumers.
The growth has not been without challenge, however, both from the traditional fossil fuel sector and from critiques on the sustainability biofuels, either some or all. The technologies and feedstocks currently in commercial development are poised to drive the next phase in growth of second-generation biofuel use. This webinar will review the current status of renewable fuels for transport and address opportunities and challenges to their growth to 2020.
Fred Ghatala is a partner of Waterfall Group, a Vancouver-based consultancy on advanced biofuels and bioenergy.
From 2005 – 2011 he was with Canadian Bioenergy Corporation, which operated a nation-wide biofuel import and distribution business and developed first and second generation bioenergy projects, including a co-venture to construct Canada’s largest biodiesel facility (70MGY) in Alberta which commissioned in 2013.
He is currently the head of Canadian delegation to ISO 13065 ‘Sustainability Criteria for Bioenergy’, an international standard being developed for publication in 2015, and is the director for Carbon and Sustainability for the Western Canada Biodiesel Association.
See more at: http://www.bcsea.org/events/bcsea-webinar-renewable-fuels-for-transport-opportunities-challenges-to-growth
—————————————————
Bike Lights, Camera, Action!
Tuesday, November 25
4:00p–6:00p
MIT, Student Center Plaza/Front Steps, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
MIT PN2K will be having a bike lights dance party! This event is catered toward the existing cycling community; if you need bike lights, we will have a very limited number of bike lights for a heavily subsidized price ($15). Stop by for music, fun, friends, snacks, and to grab bike safety information from MIT PN2K as well as a map of the cycling routes and bike cages around MIT. Bike lights courtesy of Planet Bike.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free/Open to all
Sponsor(s): Phyo Nyi Nyi Kyaw, MIT
For more information, contact: Ye Yao
pn2kmit at mit.edu
————————————————
Food on the Rails: The Golden Era of Railroad Dining
Tuesday, November 25
6:00pm
Radcliffe Room, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Yard, 3 James Street, Cambridge
Jeri Quinzio
In roughly one hundred years – from the 1870s to the 1970s – dining on trains began, soared to great heights, and then fell to earth.
The founders of the first railroad companies cared more about hauling freight than feeding passengers. The only food available on trains in the mid-nineteenth century was whatever passengers brought aboard in their lunch baskets or managed to pick up at a brief station stop. It was hardly fine dining.
Seeing the business possibilities in offering long-distance passengers comforts such as beds, toilets, and meals, George Pullman and other pioneering railroaders like Georges Nagelmackers of Orient Express fame, transformed rail travel. Fine dining and wines became the norm for elite railroad travelers by the turn of the twentieth century. The foods served on railroads – from consommé to turbot to soufflé, always accompanied by champagne - equaled that of the finest restaurants, hotels, and steamships.
After World War II, as airline travel and automobiles became the preferred modes of travel, elegance gave way to economy. Canned and frozen foods, self-service, and quick meals and snacks became the norm. By the 1970s, the golden era of railroad dining had come grinding to a halt.
Food on the Rails traces the rise and fall of food on the rails from its rocky start to its glory days to its sad demise. Looking at the foods, the service, the rail station restaurants, the menus, they dining accommodations and more, Jeri Quinzio brings to life the history of cuisine and dining in railroad cars from the early days through today.
———————————————
Film Screening: ART21 "Secrets" (2014)
Tuesday, November 25
7:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building E15-070, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Join the List for a free screening to celebrate the newest season of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century", the award-winning documentary series that showcases contemporary art and artists.
The episode "Secrets" examines how artists make the invisible visible. What hidden elements persist in artists' work? Is it the artist's role to reveal them, or not? Featured in this episode is artist Trevor Paglen, who completed a residency project at the MIT in 2011 which culminated in the project "The Last Pictures"; discover the work of artists Elliot Hundley and Arlene Shechet, as well.
This event is part of ART21 Access '14, a worldwide initiative providing unprecedented access to contemporary artists through preview screenings of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century" Season 7. ART21 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a more creative place through the work and words of living artists.
Web site: http://listart.mit.edu/events-programs/film-screening-art21-art-twenty-first-century-secrets-2014
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): List Visual Arts Center, ART21
For more information, contact: Mark Linga
617-253-4680
listinfo at mit.edu
——————————
Friday, November 28
——————————
Chain Reaction
Friday, November 28
1 – 4 PM
MIT, Rockwell Cage Gymnasium, 120 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://mit.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event.aspx?id=364&cid=&p=1
Cost: Spectators: $15 at door/$12.50 presale for adults; $5 for children ages 5-17, students, seniors and MIT ID-holders.
Free for children under 5.
Spectator fee includes free same-day admission to the MIT Museum, open until 6:00 p.m.
What is the Friday After Thanksgiving Chain Reaction? A grand event that could only happen at MIT! Participants link their chain reaction devices together forming one mega chain reaction – set off at the end as the event's thrilling culmination.
More than 1,500 people attend this fun-for-all-ages "extreme" event!
Making a chain reaction allows people to explore their own creativity and see how their unique contraptions relate to a larger whole. No matter how unique the devices, inevitably, with a little string and duct tape, they all work together beautifully.
How does it work?
Join the fun as a spectator or, even better, as a participant! Participants must register in advance to create their own contraptions and bring them to Rockwell Cage on Friday, November 28. Artist and inventor Arthur Ganson, renowned chain reaction creator, will be on hand, along with local artist and MIT alumnus Jeff Lieberman, to help participants link their contraptions together and emcee the event.
Can anybody do it?
Of course! Participants range from Girl Scout troops to artists and engineers, from MIT clubs to high schools and family teams. Teams have come from as far away as Michigan and California!
——————————
Monday, December 1
——————————
Financing Energy Innovation: Government Grants, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurs
Monday, December 1
12pm-1:30pm
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Sabrina T. Howell, Harvard Environmental Economics Program Fellow and Harvard University Ph.D. Student
—————————————
"Democracy and the Deep-Sea: Telepresence and Public Participation in Remote Environments"
Monday, December 1
12:15PM - 2:00PM
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Zara Mirmalek, Harvard, STS Fellow
STS Circle at Harvard
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts at hks.harvard.edu by Wednesday at 5PM the week before.
Contact Name: sts at hks.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2014-12-01-171500-2014-12-01-190000/sts-circle-harvard#sthash.s2eBce30.dpuf
————————————————
Health Insurance Plan Choice
Monday, December 1
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Jonathan Gruber (MIT)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Public Finance/Labor Workshop
For more information, contact: economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu
Editorial Comment: Jonathan Gruber has been in the news a bit lately. Could be an interesting discussion.
—————————————————
Planets and Life Series: Welcome to the Anthropocene, Panel: Whither the Earth: Hands off? Geoengineer? Or Biosphere 3?
Monday, December 1
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, 2-105 or MIT Museum?
Speaker: With Samuel Bowring (MIT), Daniel Schrag (Harvard), David Keith (Harvard)
Planets and Life: Human and Planetary Perspectives
Weekly lecture and discussion series exploring the co-evolution of the earth's natural systems and life
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2014/planets-life
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Lectures
For more information, contact: Vlada Stamenkovic
rinsan at mit.edu
————————————————
Theodore H. White Lecture with Mark Halperin & John Heilemann
WHEN Mon., Dec. 1, 2014, 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Institute of Politics
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://forum.iop.harvard.edu/content/theodore-h-white-lecture-mark-halperin-john-heilemann
————————————————
The old city and the sea-- Boston landmaking meets sea level rise
Monday, December 1
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-old-city-and-the-sea-boston-landmaking-meets-sea-level-rise-tickets-13955141203
Speakers: Nancy Seasholes and Julie Wormser, moderated by Mike Ross
Boston Living with Water (http://www.bostonlivingwithwater.org) is a website managed by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, The Boston Harbor Association and the Boston Society of Architects. Here you will find resources, educational forums and details on Boston’s international design competition, held from October 29, 2014 through June 2015.
————————————————
Social Media Strategy Mapping
Monday, December 1
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
General Assembly Boston, 51 Melcher Street, Boston
http://ga.co/c8I
Social media initiatives don’t start when you register a Facebook or Twitter account and start posting announcements, it begins much sooner. In this workshop, you’ll be taken through a seven-step framework for strategic mapping that will help guide your efforts to develop an actionable social media strategy.
You’ll learn how to structure your social media efforts, deploy your resources, and ultimately launch a social media campaign that is professional and provides results you’ll be able to interpret and understand.
Takeaways
Learn how to develop and implement a social media strategy.
Find out how to manage and adapt your strategy when working with big teams, small teams, or volunteers.
Be able to measure your social strategy.
Discover how to incorporate a social strategy into your other marketing.
Preparation: Please bring a laptop or pencil/paper to take notes (you will need to be able to draw diagrams). A smartphone/tablet camera is also recommended for taking pictures of the white board.
Organizer: General Assembly
Email: boston at generalassemb.ly
Website: http://www.generalassemb.ly
—————————————————
Social Physics: from ideas to actions
Thursday, December 11
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-054, Bartos Auditorium (MIT Room E15-054), 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Sandy Pentland
We live our lives in social networks...mostly face-to-face, but increasingly digital...and yet we don't know how to leverage these networks to make us smarter or more innovative. By combining sophisticated machine learning with `big data' gathered from wearables, cell phones and credit cards I have been able able to extract the patterns that drive innovation in our communities, companies, and cities, and by using feedback from mobiles, wearables, and the web I have show how we can enhance these patterns to improve our society. One of the big barriers to using this technology is privacy and security, and building on my 6 years co-leading discussions at Davos I have worked out a concrete way to increase innovation while at the same time enhancing personal privacy, and have tested this solution in `Living Labs' in both the US and Europe.
Professor Alex `Sandy' Pentland has helped create and direct MIT's Media Lab, and is a member of the Advisory Boards for Google, Nissan, Telefonica, the UN Secretary General, and the World Economic Forum. In 2012 Forbes named Sandy one of the 'seven most powerful data scientists in the world', along with Google founders and the CTO of the United States. He is among the most-cited computational scientists in the world, and a pioneer in computational social science, organizational engineering, wearable computing (Google Glass), image understanding, and modern biometrics. His most recent book is `Social Physics,' published by Penguin Press.
IEEE/ACM Joint Seminar Series
Exploring the edge of computing technology.
Web site: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/pentland.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): ACM & IEEE/CS
For more information, contact: Dorothy Curtis
617-253-0541
dcurtis at mit.edu
———————————
Tuesday, December 2
———————————
Theodore H. White Seminar on Press and Politics: "Media, Campaigns, and 2016”
WHEN Tue., Dec. 2, 2014, 9 – 10:30 a.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, Malkin Penthouse, Littauer Building, 4th Floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Jill Abramson, former executive editor of The New York Times; visiting lecturer, Harvard University
Kristen Soltis Anderson, IOP Fellow; co-founder, Echelon Insights
Mark Halperin, Theodore H. White Lecturer; managing editor, Bloomberg Politics
John Heilemann, Theodore H. White Lecturer; managing editor, Bloomberg Politics
David Rogers, Nyhan Prize winner; reporter, Politico
Alex S. Jones, moderator; director of the Shorenstein Center
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO tim_bailey at hks.harvard.edu, 617.495.8209
DETAILS Theodore H. White Seminar on Press and Politics: a panel discussion based on the topic of the Theodore H. White Lecture, "Optimism for a Change: Media, Campaigns and 2016".
LINK http://shorensteincenter.org/theodore-h-white-lecture-mark-halperin-john-heilemann/
—————————————————
3D Printing of tough and conducting hydrogel materials
Tuesday, December 2
11:30am to 12:30pm
Harvard, Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Marc in het Panhuis
Abstract: Additive fabrication techniques such as three-dimensional (3D) printing are receiving growing interest from a diverse range of fields due to their ability to quickly produce complex 3D objects. However, new applications of hydrogels such as soft robotics and cartilage tissue scaffolds require hydrogels with enhanced mechanical performance, which has stimulated an investigation into how hydrogels may be made electrically conducting, tougher and more enduring. Moreover, the parallel development of these materials and suitable 3D fabrication techniques has accelerated the advancement of many technologies including bionic implants, sensors, controlled release systems and soft robotics. The understanding of how to marry these recent advances in materials (e.g. tough and/or electrically conducting hydrogels) with manufacturing (3D printing of hydrogels) for the purpose of building smart hydrogel materials is incomplete. In this presentation, I will describe our approach to 3D printing tough materials consisting of ionic-covalent entanglement (ICE) gels consisting of ionically cross-linked and covalently cross-linked polymer networks. The crucial aspect to facilitate printing is that these gels can be prepared in a “one-pot” synthesis approach, which involves optimization of the rheological conditions. Using this approach we have developed a variety of tough (and conducting) hydrogel systems and fiber reinforced hydrogels that can be 3D printed in a single-step process. For example, composite materials could be fabricated by selectively 3D pattering a combination of alginate/acrylamide gel and an epoxy based UV-curable adhesive. Spatial control of fiber distribution within the digital models allowed for the fabrication of a series of materials with a spectrum of swelling behavior and mechanical properties with physical characteristics ranging from soft and wet to hard and dry. Finally, I will present our understanding of the mechanical and electrical behavior, and illustrate the potential applications of our materials by a number of prototypes, i.e. pressure sensor, artificial cartilage meniscus and a working valve.
Applied Mechanics Colloquia
Contact: LaShanda Banks
Email: lbanks at seas.harvard.edu
————————————————
Responding to New Realities in the Middle East: Syria, Iraq, and ISIS
WHEN Tue., Dec. 2, 2014, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, S050, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Law, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Weatherhead Center Fellows Program
SPEAKER(S) Amine Jaoui, WCFIA Fellow, former adviser, Office of the Prime Minister, UAE; Thomas O'Steen, WCFIA Fellow, colonel, US Army; Oliver Owcza, WCFIA Fellow, diplomat, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
————————————————
The Eureka Myth: Creators, Innovators and Everyday Intellectual Property
Tuesday, December 2
12:30 pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/12/silbey#RSVP
Event will be webcast live on http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2014/12/silbey at 12:30 pm.
Jessica Silbey, Suffolk University Law School
The book analyzes and elaborates upon a qualitative empirical study of artists, scientists, engineers, lawyers and businesspeople that investigates the motivations and mechanisms of creative and innovative activity in everyday professional life. Based on over fifty face-to-face interviews, the book centers on the stories told by interviewees describing how and why they create and innovate and whether or how IP law plays a role in their activities. The goal of the empirical project was to figure out how IP actually works in creative and innovative fields, as opposed to how we think or say it works (through formal law or legislative debate). Breaking new ground in its qualitative method examining the economic and cultural system of creative and innovative production, The Eureka Myth draws out new and surprising conclusions about the sometimes misinterpreted relationships between creativity, invention and intellectual property protections.
About Jessica Silbey
Professor Silbey's scholarship draws from her interdisciplinary background in the humanities and law. One of her interests is in intellectual property law, particularly in the investigation of "IP communities:" activities, groups and organizations with a particular creative or innovative focus. She studies the common and conflicting narratives within those communities in relation to intellectual property law and legal institutions that purport to regulate them. She is especially interested in the connections between cultural narratives of creation, discovery, incentive and labor and their legal counterparts in IP communities, statutes and legal cases. The empirical dimension of this project (conducting and analyzing interviews with artists, scientists and intellectual property professionals) will be published by Stanford University Press in 2014.
Another of her interests is in the interrelationship of law and film in legal practice and popular culture. Her research and writing in this area investigates how film and video are used as legal tools and how they become objects of legal analysis. A long-time interest since she was a graduate student in literature and film, her work explores questions such as: how does automated surveillance film become testimony in a court of law? How do cultural perceptions about film and video affect their evaluation by jurors, advocates and judges? How might legal actors and lay citizens mobilize the audiovisual technology of our twenty-first century to further the promises of our justice system? A current project in this area concerns ultrasound technology and the politics of reproductive choice.
Professor Silbey teaches courses in constitutional law and intellectual property.
Professor Silbey received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. and Ph.D. (Comparative Literature) from the University of Michigan. Before joining the faculty of Suffolk University Law School, Professor Silbey was a litigator at the law firm of Foley Hoag LLP in Boston. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Keeton on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and to the Honorable Levin Campbell on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
—————————————————
"Protecting the Global Commons: The Role of International Financial Institutions"
Tuesday, December 2
12:30PM - 2:00PM
Harvard, Bowie-Vernon Conference Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
with Naoko Ishii, Chairperson and CEO, Global Environmental Facility, the World Bank Group. Moderator: Susan Pharr. Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, and Director, WCFIA Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University
WCFIA Program on U.S.-Japan Relations Seminar
Contact Name: Shinju Fujihira
sfujihira at wcfia.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2014-12-02-173000-2014-12-02-190000/wcfia-program-us-japan-relations-seminar#sthash.2Vj69LVo.dpuf
—————————————————
xTalks: Book Release Celebration - Art of Insight in Science & Engineering
Tuesday, December 2,
3:30p–4:30p
MIT, Building 10-105, (Bush Room), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Sanjoy Mahajan
MIT Press author and ODL colleague Sanjoy Mahajan will discuss why we humans, to master the complexity of our world, need insight rather than precision. He'll also discuss the inspiration for publishing his book under a free license (CC-BY-NC-SA). Copies of Mahajan's books will be available for sale at 20% discount, as well as Vijay Kumar & Toru Iiyoshi's Opening Up Education, Peter Suber's Open Access, and others.
xTalks: Digital Discourses
xTalks 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/sanjoy-mahajan/
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
————————————————
Bio-mimetic Drones: From Collision Free to Collision Friendly
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Maxwell-Dworkin, Room G-115 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Dario Floreano, Ph.D., Director, Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, EPFL, Switzerland, Director, Swiss National Center of Robotics
Drones capable of flying in confined spaces without GPS signal offer amazing socio-economical opportunities, but also present great scientific and technological challenges. Dr. Floreano will start by describing recent work on collision-free flight by means of insect-inspired sensors and control. He will then argue for the need to make these drones collision-friendly and describe flying robots capable of surviving and exploiting collisions in order to explore extremely cluttered environments in poor visibility conditions. Dr. Floreano will conclude by describing ongoing work on foldable and shape-shifting drones for easy deployment and multi-modal locomotion in the air and on the ground.
Bio: Prof. Dario Floreano is Director of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL and Director of the Swiss National Center of Robotics. His research focuses on the convergence of biology, artificial intelligence, and robotics. He published more than 300 articles and four books on evolutionary robotics, bio-inspired artificial intelligence, and bio-mimetic flying robots with MIT Press and Springer Verlag. He has been a founding member of the World Economic Forum Council on robotics and smart devices, co-founder of the International Society of Artificial Life, Inc. (USA), and executive board member of the International Society for Neural Networks. His research and public engagement activities have resulted in three spin-offs: senseFly Ltd. producing drones for professional imaging, Flyability Ltd. producing drones for inspection, and RoboHub Inc., the world-largest, non-for-profit communication agency in robotics.
————————————————
Making Cities Work: The PerformanceStat Potential
WHEN Tue., Dec. 2, 2014, 4:10 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, 124 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance & Innovation
SPEAKER(S) Robert Behn, senior lecturer in public policy
Joseph A. Curtatone, mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts and senior fellow, Ash Center
Tony Saich, Ash Center Director and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO Will_Pfeffer at hks.harvard.edu
DETAILS Harvard Kennedy School Senior Lecturer Robert Behn and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone will discuss Behn’s new book The PerformanceStat Potential: A Leadership Strategy for Producing Results. The book explores the growth and prominence of PerformanceStat leadership strategy across so many jurisdictions and agencies in pursuit of improve government performance. With examples from three dozen government jurisdictions and public agencies, Behn explores the leadership behaviors of public officials who leverage the PerformanceStat strategy to promote economic independence, to eradicate urban blight, and to harness their institutions’ full capacity. In response, Mayor Curtatone, whose ground-breaking work on SomerStat in Somerville is highlighted in the book, will offer additional insights.
LINK http://www.ash.harvard.edu/Home/Challenges-to-Democracy/Events/Making-Cities-Work-The-PerformanceStat-Potential
————————————————————
Climate and Thoreau
Tuesday, December 2
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E19-623, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
Richard Primack, Professor of Biology
————————————————————
Conditions of violence in Central America and their effects on emigration from that region
Tuesday, December 2
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E40-464, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Louisa Reynolds, 2014-2015 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow
A session of the Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Inter-University Committee on International Migration
For more information, contact: Phiona Lovett
253-3848
phiona at mit.edu
———————————————
How Tactile Cues Can Assist Navigation
WHEN Tue., Dec. 2, 2014, 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Lynette A. Jones, senior research scientist, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-lynette-a-jones-lecture
——————————————
Clean Energy Prize Kickoff: NSTAR MIT Clean Energy Prize
Tuesday, December 2
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EST)
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, 63 Franklin Street 3rd Floor, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/clean-energy-prize-kickoff-boston-tickets-14403526335
The Clean Energy Prize and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) are happy to present: Clean Energy Prize Kickoff. Join us for an exciting evening where you'll have an opportunity to learn about the Clean Energy Prize and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, innovators, and professionals interested in tackling some of today's most important energy issues.
This is a great chance to share your clean energy ideas, technologies, or businesses, and to find out how you can get involved with the Prize. Don't miss the opportunity to develop the next game-changing clean energy startup!
Food and drink will be served!
Thank you to the event host, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and to the sponsors of the Clean Energy Prize, NSTAR, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Morrison & Foerster LLP, for helping make this event a reality.
————————————————
BASG: Re-use, Re-gift & Celebrate
Tuesday, December 2
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
Venture Cafe, Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway, 5th Floor, Cambridge
Visitors must comply with Venture Cafe attendance policies (see http://bit.ly/vc-credo for more details)
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/basg-re-use-re-gift-celebrate-december-2-2014-tickets-14131334201
Cost: $10-12
In partnership with Northbound Ventures, BASG presents: Re-use, Re-gift & Celebrate
Get in the sustainability spirit with December’s theme of Re-use and join fellow BASG members for a traditional yankee swap. Everyone is invited to bring a small item to exchange this month, so dust off that used copy of An Inconvenient Truth or reusable water bottle with your company’s logo on it for the party.
We’ll take inspiration from re-use leaders and our guest speakers for the evening:
Dina Gjertsen, Creator, Fixer Fair (LinkedIn)
Dina will talk about the The Repair Movement and coordinating creative ways to keep objects in use through repair. Fixer Fair is an event devoted to repairing things instead of recycling them. Dina usually finds herself at the intersection of the arts, technology, and community development. She has worked as a theater technician and lighting designer, for a STEM curriculum development company, at a science museum and as an online game designer. Originally a native of Long Island, NY, she graduated from Oberlin College in 1995 and moved to Greater Boston soon after. She currently works as a community event organizer in Somerville and for a family hackerspace. She is also currently organizing the Somerville Tool Library, a lending library for household tools.
Jason Marshall, Vice President - Retail, Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries (LinkedIn)
Jason will explain how a donation to Goodwill® creates opportunities for individuals in the community to access the career, family and financial support services necessary to succeed and keeps billions of pounds of clothing and household items out of landfills. Jason is responsible for Goodwill’s retail footprint in eastern and central Massachusetts as well as developing new employment opportunities for individuals with barriers to self-sufficiency.A seasoned executive with 20 years of experience in retail and workforce development, Jason was previously the executive vice president of retail and workforce development at Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Strayer University in Washington, D.C.
Carol Baroudi, Global Sustainability and Compliance, Arrow Electronics (LinkedIn)
At Arrow, Carol works to define and drive sustainability initiatives. Carol’s primary focus is sustainable electronics and its potential contribution toward overall sustainability goals, brand protection and enhancement. She works to support customers’ sustainability initiatives, including education, evangelizing and reporting. Carol is the lead-author of Green IT For Dummies, which gives organizations basic principles and guidance in moving toward sustainable IT, including basics of power management and what to consider in greening your data center. A best-selling author, Carol’s books have more than 7 million copies in print in more than 30 languages -including the first 11 editions of Internet For Dummies, Service Oriented Architecture for Dummies, Mastering COBOL, Internet Secrets, and Email For Dummies. Prior to joining Arrow, Carol worked as an industry analyst as Research Director of Sustainability and Green IT at Aberdeen Group, CEO of Baroudi Bloor International, and Vice President at Hurwitz Group. Carol holds a B.A. from Colgate University and a post baccalaureate certificate in Sustainable Development from the University of Massachusetts.
Brad McNamara, CEO & Co-founder, Frieght Farms (LinkedIn)
Brad will share how Freight Farms Inc. manufactures fully-operational farms from upcycled freight containers, transforming non-traditional growing spaces into year-round production centers for local, fresh produce. As a champion for sustainability and eco-friendly practices, Brad has deftly combined his business and marketing background to help bring his latest company, Freight Farms, to the world stage. He and his co-founder, Jon Friedman, have developed a product that allows any business or individual to grow a high-volume of fresh produce in any environment regardless of the climate. He has big expectations for the future, envisioning Freight Farms scattered across the globe making a dramatic impact on the way food is produced. Brad has an MBA and Masters in Environmental Science from Clark University.
---
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!
Our format for the evening begins with informal networking followed by quick introductions all round before several lightening-speed presentations from knowledgeable folks. Using a modified IGNITE-style format, our speakers share their experiences and then we open the discussion to the group.
We’ll end the discussion with time left for more networking and sharing info on other local events. Hope to see you there!
—————————————————
Nanoresearch: Swiss and American perspectives on academic-industrial collaboration
Tuesday, December 2
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
swissnex Boston, Consulate of Switzerland, 420 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/nanoresearch-swiss-and-american-perspectives-on-academic-industrial-collaboration-tickets-14460039367
Nanoscale science and engineering have brought impressive advancements to various industrial fields. International collaborations in R&D between academia and industry are essential drivers for the progress of this discipline.
On December 2, we invite you to meet world-class academic & industrial researchers and young entrepreneurs from Switzerland and the US.
Please join their presentations on nanomaterials and -fabrication, followed by a discussion and networking at swissnex Boston, the world’s first Science Consulate between MIT and Harvard. And feel free to forward this invitation in your academic & industrial networks.
Speakers
Ahmed Busnaiana, PhD, William Lincoln Smith Chair Professor in the College of Engineering and Director of NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing at Northeastern University
Felix Holzner, PhD, CEO & Co-Founder of SwissLitho AG, a startup from IBM Research Zurich, and creator of the smallest 3D earth map (Guinness World Record)
Efthimios Kaxiras, PhD, John Hasbrouck Van Vleck Professor of Pure and Applied Physics and Director of Institute for Applied Computational Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University
David J. Norris, PhD, Professor of Materials Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) and Director of the Optical Materials Engineering Laboratory at ETHZ.
Program
6 PM Doors open
6:30 PM Welcome address by Dr. Felix Moesner, CEO & Consul at swissnex Boston
6:35 PM Presentations
7:45 PM Reception & Networking
9:00 PM Doors closing
—————————————————
The Resilient Farm and Homestead talk by Ben Falk
COGdesign: Community Outreach Group for Landscape Design
Tuesday, December 2
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM (PST)
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-resilient-farm-and-homestead-talk-by-ben-falk-tickets-13915645069
Cost: $16.84 - $64.29
6:30 pm Reception and COGdesign Exhibit
7:30 pm The Resilient Farm and Homestead talk by Ben Falk
8:45 pm Book Signing
Author Ben Falk, a land designer and site developer, has seen his Vermont-based, permaculture-research farm draw national attention as a proven working model of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. Situated on a terraced hillside overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland, Falk's farm is an array of fruiting plants, ducks, nuts, fuelwood, hedges, earth-inspired buildings, and even rice paddies.
———————————————
Film Screening: ART21 "Fiction" (2014)
Tuesday, December 2
7:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building E15-070, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Join the List for a free screening to celebrate the newest season of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century", the award-winning documentary series that showcases contemporary art and artists.
The episode "Fiction" examines how artists tell compelling stories. How do artists disrupt everyday reality in the service of revealing subtler truths? This episode features artists who explore the virtues of ambiguity, mix genres, and merge aesthetic disciplines to discern not simply what stories mean, but how and why they come to have meaning.
Featured in this episode is artist and MIT Professor Emerita Joan Jonas, who will be representing the US in the 2015 Venice Biennale; the List and Director Paul Ha are organizing the exhibition. "Fiction" also highlights the work of artists Katharina Grosse and Omer Fast.
This event is part of ART21 Access '14, a worldwide initiative providing unprecedented access to contemporary artists through preview screenings of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century" Season 7. ART21 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a more creative place through the work and words of living artists.
Web site: http://listart.mit.edu/events-programs/film-screening-art21-art-twent
y-first-century-secrets-2014
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): List Visual Arts Center, ART21
For more information, contact: Mark Linga
617-253-4680
listinfo at mit.edu
———————————————
Peace & PlanetNo Nukes! No Wars! No Warming! Boston Area Organizing Meeting
Tuesday, December 2
7:00 pm
encuentro 5 9A Hamilton Place, Boston (across from Park Street T)
RSVP http://goo.gl/forms/3Z1GIhTeGI
Joseph Gerson, American Friends Service Committee
Elaine Scarry, Harvard University, author, Thermonuclear Monarchy
Organizing around Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference on April 27 at the UN and has planned events from April 24 on.
The United States, U.K., Russia, China and France long ago signed onto a commitment to negotiate the elimination of their nuclear weapons, but after 44 years this group has yet to hold its first meeting.
April 27, 2015 is when the nations of the world meet at the UN to determine what -- if anything -- can be done to compel the U.S. and other nuclear weapons states to adhere to their commitments.
Contact: Massachusetts Peace Action
info at masspeaceaction.org, 617-354-2169
—————————————
Pretty Faces (FREE admission)
Tuesday, December 2
7:30p
MIT, Building 26-100, Access Via 60 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Pretty faces is an all female ski film featuring the best athletes from around the world in celebration of playing outside, pushing the sport of skiing and living up to our fullest potential as a supportive community. Inspired by the desire to offer young girls role models and inspiration to play outside, this film aims to capture all the girl stoke from the pioneers who have paved the way to the "never-evers" who will continue to define what it means to ski like a girl.
Web site: http://lsc.mit.edu/schedule/2014.4q/desc-prettyfaces.shtml
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): LSC, MITOC, Graduate Women at MIT (GWAMIT)
For more information, contact: MIT Lecture Series Committee
617-253-3791
lsc at mit.edu
*****************
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
*****************
————————————
Wednesday, December 3
————————————
Winter Investor Roundtable – McCarter & English Entrepreneurs Series at Cambridge Innovation Center
Wednesday, December 3
9:30 am - 11:30 am
Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway, 5th Floor, Havana Training Room, Cambridge
RSVP at https://mccarterenglishwinterinvestortable2014.eventbrite.com
Prominent Boston investors will discuss the current investment climate, recent trends, and what they look for in potential investments.
Panelists:
Jo Tango from Kepha Partners (http://www.kephapartners.com/about-kepha-partners.php)
Graham Brooks from .406 Ventures (http://www.406ventures.com/team/7-graham_brooks)
James Geshwiler from Common Angels (http://commonangels.com/our-team/management/james-geshwiler/)
Moderator:
David Sorin, McCarter & English (http://www.mccarter.com/David-J-Sorin/)
Doors will open for networking at 9:30am.
This program is part of McCarter & English’s ongoing series at CIC on legal and business topics for entrepreneurs and emerging companies. Programs are held once or twice each month and are open to members of the CIC and their guests, as well as to the greater Boston entrepreneurial community. Contact: Benjamin Hron, 617-449-6584, bhron at mccarter.com, @HronEsq
About the McCarter & English Venture Capital and Early Stage and Emerging Companies Group
McCarter’s Emerging Companies Group is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build and finance their businesses. The group is composed of tech-savvy lawyers who have helped build, grow, sell and take public companies across the full spectrum of businesses, including Internet, software, medical devices, new media, life sciences, cleantech, healthcare, consumer products, biotechnology, retail, e-commerce, entertainment, financial services, insurance and telecom.
McCarter & English
Phone: 617.449.6500
Website: www.mccarter.com
————————————————
Nanotechnology in the Development of Future Nano electronics
Wednesday, December 3
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 34-401, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Light lunch at 11:30am
Speaker: Dr. Meyya Meyyappan, NASA
Carrier transport in vacuum is the fastest and vacuum devices are inherently radiation resistant. We have developed nanoscale vacuum transistors by entirely using silicon technology and the devices have the potential for THz electronics. This talk will also cover our recent efforts in flexible electronics.
Meyya Meyyappan is Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. His research interests include carbon nanotubes, graphene, and various inorganic nanowires, their growth and characterization, and application development in chemical and biosensors, instrumentation, electronics and optoelectronics. He is a Fellow of IEEE, MRS, AVS, ECS and AIChE.
MTL Seminar Series
Web site: http://www.mtl.mit.edu/seminars/fall2014.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact: Valerie DiNardo
253-9328
valeried at mit.edu
——————————————
Meeting Tomorrow’s Energy Challenges: Why Technology will Define our Energy Future
WHEN Wed., Dec. 3, 2014, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Harvard Environmental Economics Program is co-sponsoring the talk with the Consortium for Energy Policy Research at Harvard University.
SPEAKER(S) Francesco Starace, CEO and general manager, Enel Group
LINK http://heep.hks.harvard.edu/event/meeting-tomorrow’s-energy-challenges-why-technology-will-define-our-energy-future-mr
——————————————
Mass-independent Sulfur Isotope Fractionation During Photochemistry of Sulfur Dioxide
Wednesday, December 3
1:00p–2:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Andrew Richard Whitehill
Thesis Defense
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Cost: N/A
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Lectures
For more information, contact: Roberta Allard
617-253-3381
—————————————
Radcliffe Institute Fellow's Presentation Series—How a Language Was Born: Cognitive, Linguistic, and Social Factors That Led to the Creation of Nicaraguan Sign Language
WHEN Wed., Dec. 3, 2014, 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Ann Senghas, Radcliffe Institute Mary I. Bunting Institute Fellow and Barnard College
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-ann-senghas-fellow-presentation
——————————————
"Learning by Doing in Solar Photovoltaic Installations"
Wednesday, December 3
4:10PM - 5:30PM
Harvard, L-382 (3rd Floor Littauer Building), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
with Kenneth Gillingham, Yale University
Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/news-events/event-calendar
————————————————
"Deep Learning"
Wednesday, December 3
4:15p–5:45p
MIT, Building 34-101, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Geoff Hinton, University of Toronto
Abstract: I will give a brief history of deep learning explaining what it is,what kinds of task it should be good for and why it was largely abandoned in the 1990's. I will then describe how ideas from statistical physics were used to make deep learning work much better on small datasets. Finally I will describe how deep learning is now used by Google for speech recognition and object recognition and how it may soon be used for machine translation.
Biographical Sketch: Geoffrey Hinton received his BA in experimental psychology from Cambridge in 1970 and his PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Edinburgh in 1978. He spent five years as a faculty member in the Computer Science department at Carnegie-Mellon University. He then became a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and moved to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. He spent three years from 1998 until 2001 setting up the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at University College London and then returned to the University of Toronto. Since 2013, he hasbeen splitting his time between the University of Toronto and Google.
Geoffrey Hinton is a fellow of the Royal Society, an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a former president of the Cognitive Science Society. He was awarded the first David E. Rumelhart prize (2001), the IJCAI award for research excellence (2005) and the Killam prize for Engineering (2012).
CSAIL Dertouzos Distinguished Lecture Series 2014-2015
Web site: https://calendar.csail.mit.edu/events/143675
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): CSAIL
For more information, contact: Laura Moses
617-253-0145
lmoses at csail.mit.edu
————————————————
What can floating an airplane across the Pacific Ocean on 15,000 plastic bottles tell you about the world’s garbage patches?”
Wednesday December 3
5:00 - 6:00 PM (refreshments at 4:30PM)
MIT, Building E51-325, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://goo.gl/forms/BbLpk4kv02
Marcus Eriksen, PhD, Director of Research & Co-Founder, 5 Gyres Institute
Abstract: Our “Throw Away” culture has trashed our oceans with plastic to the tune of 270,000 metric tons from 5.25 trillion particles. A majority of what we eat, drink, or use in contemporary society comes packaged in petroleum-based plastic – a material designed to last forever, yet used for products that we throw away after a single use. Unable to adequately deal with our plastic garbage, much of our everyday plastics flow out to sea. The lifecycle of plastic in the ocean is a sinister journey from macro to microplastic, sorption of persistent pollutants, and cycling through marine food webs through ingestion, filter-feeding, and entanglement.
During this talk, I will present results from field studies on the current state of the science of plastic marine pollution, including results from our upcoming global estimate of total plastic abundance – the first of its kind. With a focus on solutions, I will discuss how our freshwater research discovered microbeads, which led to legislative victories within one year of publication.
Solutions will be hard-won, and include design innovations to improve the recyclability and recovery rates of products, and a commitment from industry to abandon products that do not measure up. Recommendations on how to address growing problems associated with plastic marine pollution will be discussed from engineering and business perspectives. We welcome academic audience members from all sectors including science, engineering, business and policy.
About the Speaker: Marcus Eriksen is the Director of Research and co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute. He received his Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Southern California in 2003, months before embarking on a 2000-mile, 5-month journey down the Mississippi River on a homemade raft. His experience on the river led to a career studying the ecological impacts of marine plastic pollution, which has included expeditions sailing 35,000 miles through all 5 subtropical gyres to discover new garbage patches of plastic pollution in the Southern Hemisphere. Still rafting, his most recent adventure sent him and a colleague across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii on JUNK a homemade raft floating on 15,000 plastic bottles and a Cessina airplane fuselage as a cabin. The journey, 2,600 miles in 88 days, drew widespread awareness to the work of the 5 Gyres Institute. His first book, titled “My River Home” (Beacon Press, 2007) chronicled his Mississippi River experience paralleled with his tour as a Marine in the 1991 Gulf War. The experience of war, sailing across the gyres with diverse crews, and long rafting voyages, have led to a strong conservation ethic worth fighting for. Today, Dr. Eriksen continues to drive marine conservation through scientific research, activism, and education on the plague of plastic waste on land and sea.
Contact: Neha Mehta
nehamehta at mit.edu
——————————————
Urban Infrastructures for Public Health: Conversation on Civic Tech
Wednesday, December 3
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EST)
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/urban-infrastructures-for-public-health-conversation-on-civic-tech-registration-14024514701
This Conversation on Civic Tech aims to explore how a city can take an innovative look at public health. While data and technology play a key role in tracking the flu and assisting collaboration among researchers and physicians, technology can also be a useful tool in driving wellness and even economic growth in Boston.
In October, Microsoft was honored to host the second annual Hacking Pediatrics event. The range of innovative ideas that came out of the event was inspiring: from end-to-end childhood vaccine management to accurate, rapid fabrication of custom tracheostomy tubes for children to better ways to manage asthma and monitor use of inhalers. How can we apply the creativity, collaboration and innovation that all come together at a hackathon to public health?
At the fourth in the series of conversations on Civic Tech, we plan to address the following questions:
How does city infrastructure – signage and bike paths – enable public health and wellness?
What role does public health play in the innovation economy in Boston through job creation and industry innovation?
How can collection and analysis of data improve services for citizens and patients?
What technology exists today to collect, analyze or visualize public health data? And what other technologies do we need?
We are bringing together people from various parts of the public and private communities to spark the conversation and then invite the attendees to engage in the discussion. Speaker list will be added as names are confirmed.
——————————————
Time, Space, and Reading the Visual in the Graphic Novel
WHEN Wed., Dec. 3, 2014, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Barker Center 133, 12 Quincy Street Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture, Poetry/Prose, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Cognitive Theory and the Arts, Mahindra Humanities Center
SPEAKER(S) Hillary Chute, English Department, University of Chicago
COST Free and open to the public
DETAILS Seating is limited.
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/cognitive-theory-and-arts
———————————
Thursday, December 4
———————————
A Conversation with Composer/Instrumentalist David Amram
WHEN Thu., Dec. 4, 2014, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Farkas Hall Studio, 10-12 Holyoke Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Concerts, Humanities, Lecture, Music
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Learning From Performers, Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) David Amram
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO 617.495.8676
DETAILS Composer of more than 100 orchestral and chamber music works, two operas, many scores for Broadway theater and film—including the classic scores for the films “Splendor in The Grass” and “The Manchurian Candidate,” as well as the landmark 1959 documentary “Pull My Daisy,” narrated by novelist Jack Kerouac—David Amram will discuss his career during a conversation moderated by Mark Olson, Interim Director of Harvard Bands.
LINK http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/lfp/details.php?ID=45168
—————————————
Human-like Singing and Talking Machines: Flexible Speech Synthesis in Karaoke, Anime, Smart Phones, Video Games, Digital Signage, TV and Radio Programs
Thursday, December 4
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Refreshments: 3:45 PM
MIT, Building 32-G449 (Patil/Kiva Room), Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Keiichi Tokuda , Nagoya Institute of Technology
This talk will give an overview of statistical approach to flexible speech synthesis. For constructing human-like talking machines, speech synthesis systems are required to have an ability to generate speech with arbitrary speaker's voice, various speaking styles in different languages, varying emphasis and focus, and/or emotional expressions. The main advantage of the statistical approach is that such flexibility can easily be realized using mathematically well-defined algorithms. In this talk, the system architecture is outlined and then recent results and demos will be presented.
Keiichi Tokuda is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Nagoya Institute of Technology and currently he is visiting Google on sabbatical. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh. He was an Invited Researcher at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), formally known as the ATR Spoken Language Communication Research Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan from 2000 to 2013, and was a Visiting Researcher at Carnegie Mellon University from 2001 to 2002. He has been working on statistical parametric speech synthesis after he proposed an algorithm for speech parameter generation from HMM in 1995. He received six paper awards and two achievement awards. He is an IEEE Fellow and an ISCA Fellow.
This CSAIL SEMINAR SERIES, organized in cooperation with the Siri team at Apple, invites leading researchers in HLT to give lectures that introduce the fundamentals of spoken language systems, assess the current state of the art, outline challenges, and speculate on how they can be met. Lectures occur 2-3 times per semester and should be accessible to undergraduates with some technical background.
Contact: Marcia G. Davidson, 617-253-3049, marcia at csail.mit.edu
—————————————————
“Progress Towards Ignition on the National Ignition Facility"
Thursday, December 4
4:00 pm
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Refreshments @ 3:30 pm in 8-329 (NOTE ROOM CHANGE)
Omar Hurricane, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Ignition has been a long sought-after goal needed to make fusion energy a viable alternative energy source, but ignition has yet to be achieved. For an inertially confined fusion (ICF) plasma to ignite, the plasma must be very well confined and very hot to generate extremely high pressures needed for self-heating – achieving this state is not easy!
In this talk, we will discuss the technology, science, and progress towards ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Northern California. We will cover the some of the setbacks encountered during the progress of the research at NIF, but also cover the great advances that have been made.
In particular, we will cover the recent work using the new “high-foot” pulse-shape implosion that presently holds the record for fusion performance. High-foot implosions are the first facility based fusion experiments to generate more energy from fusion than was invested in the fusion fuel and demonstrate significant yield amplifications from alpha-particle self-heating.
More at: http://web.mit.edu/physics/events/colloquia.html#sthash.7jJHnRB5.dpuf
—————————————————
What are the causes of rising CH4 concentrations in the atmosphere?
Thursday, December 4
4:15p–5:15p
MIT, Building 48-316, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Steven C. Wofsy, Harvard University
Environmental Sciences Seminar Series
Join us for a weekly series of environmental topics by MIT faculty and students, as well as guest lecturers from around the globe.
Weekly seminar series hosted on Thursdays in Parsons Laboratory.
Faculty Hosts--Professors Heald and Kroll
Web site: https://sites.google.com/site/parsonsseminars/home
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Parsons Lab, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Parsons Laboratory
For more information, contact: Rebecca Fowler
617-253-7101
ceed at mit.edu
————————————————
Strategic Partners in Cleantech Discussion #3: How to Pitch to Strategic Partners
Greentown Labs
Thursday, December 4
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EST)
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
Networking: 5:30PM – 6:30PM
Panel Discussion: 6:30 PM– 7:30PM
Networking to follow
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/strategic-partners-in-cleantech-discussion-3-how-to-pitch-to-strategic-partners-tickets-14383398131
Confirmed panelists include:
Henrik Holland, Venture Principal at Shell Technology Ventures (moderator)
Makarand Joshi, Director of Energy Management Platform, Strategy, and Innovation, Schneider Electric
Bob Caspe, CEO, IEC Partners
Nadav Efraty, CEO, Desalitech
Qichao Hu, CEO, SolidEnergy Systems
This is the third installment of a five-part speaker series sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Our previous panels featured a discussion on Corporate Strategic Partners versus Venture Capitalists and IP and legal considerations in dealmaking with strategic partners.
The goal of the speaker series is to educate the start-up community about the benefits, drawbacks and challenges of various types of strategic partnerships.
Our panel series will educate startups about viable sources of funding and strategies to acquire funding for their business. Funding is a challenge that every startup faces so we believe every early stage clean energy startup will find value in this panel series.
Future panels will include topics such as How to Fundraise with Family Offices and Partnerships with Municipalities.
————————————————
Flash Forum: Warrior Princess
Thursday, December 4
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
C. Walsh Theatre, Suffolk University, 55 Temple Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/flash-forum-warrior-princess-tickets-13702595833
Speaker: Kristin Beck (author, Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming Out Transgender)
Moderator: Elif Armbruster (Associate Professor of English, Suffolk University)
As a 20-year veteran Navy SEAL, Christopher Beck was hailed as a hero, serving on thirteen deployments and ultimately earning a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. But Chris’s biggest battle was coming to terms with the fact that she was really a woman. Now known as Kristin, Beck opens up about her life in a field of masculinity while struggling to acknowledge and accept her true gender. Suffolk English Professor Elif Armbruster helps Beck present her true story, a profile of finding the courage to be herself.
———————————————
TechHub Boston Demo Night - December 2014
Thursday, December 4
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall, 306 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/techhub-boston-demo-night-december-2014-tickets-13552091671
Demo Night is a chance to see what the top StartUps are working on, these are the people that are changing the future of business & tech! Come by and chat with this exciting community group while enjoying free beer and preztels at Harpoon, Boston's best brewery (in our minds).
Each startup has 5 minutes to demo their product in front of a live audience, it's not a pitch but an opportunity for each company to explain (and show) what they have been working on. After each Demo there is live Q&A with the audience.
After the Demo, stick around for a pint and more networking.
Location - Harpoon Brewery Beer Hall & Event Room
6:30 - Doors open
7:00 - Grab some food & drink while listening to presenters demo
8:00 - Networking
9:00 - Continue into the Beer Hall
Interested in demoing your product @ TechHub Demo Night? Get in touch at simon.towers at techhub.com
—————————————
Farmed Seaweed: The Next Great Sustainable Seafood?
Thursday, December 4
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Simons IMAX Theatre New England Aquarium, 1 Aquarium Wharf, Boston
RSVP at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=105509&view=Detail
Matt Thompson, aquaculture project lead, Conservation Department, New England Aquarium, and 2013 John H. Cunningham Award Winner
“Is seaweed the next kale?” asked an article promoting seaweed as a health food, but what of its potential as a sustainable seafood? Seaweed farming is one of the largest segments of the global aquaculture industry, which includes a small but growing US contingent. Seaweeds have the potential to be farmed with few environmental impacts and inputs, but they have received little attention in the sustainable seafood movement and aren’t commonly found on US dinner plates.
In an effort to gain a fuller understanding of farmed seaweed, Matt applied for the 2013 John H. Cunningham Award, a professional development program for Aquarium staff to further their knowledge in a particular area. His finding swill be shared during this talk; he will focus on the sustainability of seaweed farming, including recent visits to US and Chinese seaweed farms, and in doing so, ask how we embrace seaweed as a sustainable seafood.
——————————
Friday, December 5
——————————
MassHack Winter 2014
MassHack
Friday, December 5, 2014 at 8:00 AM - Sunday, December 7, 2014 at 6:00 PM (EST)
Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/masshack-winter-2014-tickets-9325108651
Hackathons are all about innovation. Innovation fuels the economy and helps solve some of the day’s greatest challenges. We need more innovation and to help drive this we are creating one of the largest community driven hackathon.
Developed to be able to bring competitive teams of one-to-six developers into a structured 48-hour applications development environment, MassHack brings the best of the Left Coast’s hackathons together with the venture capital and academic communities of the Right Coast. The Boston metropolitan area has long been home to cool and creative companies, and now we have a world-class competition to challenge the best and brightest.
————————————————
Quantification of emissions from various sectors in the oil and gas industry: methane and cohorts
Friday, December 5
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Harvard, Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Scott Herndon
Speaker Bio: http://www.aerodyne.com/employees/scott-c-herndon
Atmospheric Sciences Seminar
Email: rcommane at seas.harvard.edu
————————————————
Sustainable Development in Asia
Friday, December 5
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM (EST)
Tufts, Cabot 703, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainable-development-in-asia-tickets-14208823975
Nathan Perry, Assistant Professor at Colorado Mesa University
Sara Hsu, Assistant Professor at SUNY New Paltz
The authors will discuss their recent book series examining sustainable development in six countries in Asia, including China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. They will explore various social, economic, and environmental regulations and practices related to issues of biodiversity, income inequality, healthcare, and water pollution and consumption. The authors will review progress in these areas and compare each pair of countries to highlight policy recommendations.
Lunch will be served. Please RSVP
———————————————
Winter Bike Festival
Friday, December 5
2:00p–6:00p
W20-First floor, 76 Vassar Street, Cambridge
MIT PN2K will be having a winter bike festival! This event is catered toward the cycling community; free basic bicycle repairs and tune ups courtesy of Bike Boom to get your bikes in good condition for riding in the winter. If you need bike lights, we will have a very limited number of bike lights for a heavily subsidized price ($15). Stop by for music, fun, friends, snacks, and to grab bike safety information from MIT PN2K as well as a map of the cycling routes and bike cages around MIT. Additional tips for cycling in the winter will be provided. Bike lights courtesy of Planet Bike. A chance to win free tire valve lights for stopping by!
Open to: the general public
Cost: $0
Sponsor(s): Phyo Nyi Nyi Kyaw, MIT
For more information, contact: Ye Yao
pn2kmit-officers at mit.edu
———————————————
MIT Trashion Show
Friday, December 5
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
MIT Museum, Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Participate in a night of sustainable fashion and enjoy creations from unconventional materials by student designers.
https://www.facebook.com/MITrashion
———————————————
"Climate Change, Local Adaptation, and Arctic Plant Communities”
Friday, December 5
6:45 pm.
Harvard, Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Dr. Gaius R. Shaver, Senior Scientist, The Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory
More information at http://www.rhodora.org/meetings/upcomingmeetings.html
——————————————
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
Friday, December 5
7:00 PM
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cost: $5
Walter Isaacson
—————————————
Playing For The Planet
Friday, December 5
7:00 pm
The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/playing-for-the-planet-improvisors-against-climate-change-tickets-13841288667
Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors
The tenth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert showcases master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare evening of pan-cultural improvisation, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include Nima Janmohammadi, a contemporary master of Persian classical music; Triarky, a brilliant jazz “power trio” featuring violinist Mimi Rabson and the electric tuba of David Harris; and the Hindustani classical singing of Warren Senders, with George Ruckert & Amit Kavthekar. The music begins at For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
“Playing For The Planet: Improvisors Against Climate Change” is the tenth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural concerts conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
———————————
Saturday, December 6
———————————
Underwater Robotics
Saturday, December 6
Main presentation 10:00-11:00 a.m. + hands-on activity booths afterward
MIT Kresge Auditorium 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Presented by MIT Marine Robotics Team
FREE! Open to all elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as their parents and teachers
No preregistration required, but seating is limited— first come, first seated
Map & parking info at edgerton.mit.edu/scienceonsaturday Any questions? Email Dr. Todd H. Rider, thor at mit.edu
—————————————
Artisan’s Asylum Winter Open Studios
Saturday, December 6 - Monday, December 8
12pm - 4pm
Artisan's Asylum Inc, 10 Tyler Street, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/artisans-asylum-winter-open-studios-tickets-14451156799
Artisan’s Asylum, now one of the largest collaborative maker/art/hacker-spaces in the USA, is holding its third annual Winter Open Studios on December 6th and 7th. Dozens of makers, crafters, jewelers, engineers and artists will participate. Tour workshops and studios, observe demos, and purchase unique artwork. Sign up for classes. Take a peek at welding demos, robotics shops and jewelry classes. See what everyone’s talking about.
——————————
Monday, December 8
——————————
MASS Seminar - Zhiming Kuang (Harvard)
Monday, December 8, 2014
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Zhiming Kuang
MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar
The MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) is a student-run weekly seminar series within PAOC. Seminar topics include all research concerning the atmosphere and climate, but also talks about e.g. societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars usually take place on Monday from 12-1pm followed by a lunch with graduate students. Besides the seminar, individual meetings with professors, post-docs, and students are arranged. The seminar series is run by graduate students and is intended mainly for students to interact with individuals outside the department, but faculty and post docs certainly participate.
Web site: http://eaps-www.mit.edu/paoc/events/calendars/mass
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Atmospheric Science Seminars
For more information, contact: MASS organizing committee
mass at mit.edu
———————————————
Industrial Urbanism in Africa
Monday, December 8, 2014
12:00p–2:00p
MIT, Building 9-450, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Calestous Juma
Africa is one of the fastest urbanizing regions in the world. This population shift is associated with rising prospects for urban industrial development. However, it also creates new challenges for land use planning and regulations. This lecture explores the
implications of rapid technological advancement for industrial urbanism in Africa. Using the case of Lagos in Nigeria, it focuses on how technological leapfrogging is likely to create new opportunities for more integrated land use planning approaches in African cities. The lecture outlines regulatory and human resource development strategies needed for African cities to effectively harness emerging technological opportunities for sustainable urban development and the extent to which technological leapfrogging is creating new opportunities for adopting more integrated land use planning.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact: Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu
———————————————
Planets and Life - Human and Planetary Perspectives
Monday, December 8
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
———————————————
Sweet Talk: A Lecture by Kara Walker
WHEN Mon., Dec. 8, 2014, 4:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Kara Walker, artist
COST Free and open to the public; registration required
TICKET WEB LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-kara-walker-lecture
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-kara-walker-lecture
——————————————
Fuzzy Beliefs and Preferences: We All Have Them What Should We Do About Them?
December 8
7pm – 8pm
The Burren in Davis Square
Dr Casper Hare
SITN’s Science by the Pint is a chance to interact directly with research scientists. The featured scientists will give a brief intro to her work, and take a few questions before mingling from table to table with other member of her group to chat with you.
Contact http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/science-by-the-pint/
———————————————
Gustav Metzger's Dome(s) Project
Monday, December 8
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-070, Bartos Theatre, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Daniela Perez & Patrick Charpenel
Patrick Charpenel and Daniela Perez will introduce the life and work of the artist Gustav Metzger and expand on one of the artist's most recent proposals regarding the construction and long-term activation of spaces for social change. This project explores questions regarding the environment, climate change, architecture, humanity, biodiversity, consciousness, natural resources, science, technology, food, sustainability, the future, and art, among other topics.
The aim of the lecture is to share Gustav Metzger's project in Mexico with the MIT community at large in order to openly discuss the deep urgency and obligation to act in regard to environmental challenges facing the world today, and the passion that collectively-uniting many strengths-can be harnessed to promote a more sustainable future. The lecture is a platform for conversation that aims to bring together the intellectual and creative strengths that individuals from a variety of departments at MIT can use to explore the role of art in society, commonly described by Gustav Metzger as the path of "ethics into aesthetics."
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture
For more information, contact:
Ilse Damkoehler
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu
———————————
Tuesday, December 9
———————————
Boston TechBreakfast: Moodsnap, and More!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD - Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/155723092/
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!
Moodsnap - David Blutenthal
~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words
———————————————
American Association of Port Authorities President to Deliver Talk at Volpe
Tuesday, December 9
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Volpe, The National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP to Ellen Bell, director of Strategic Initiatives for Research and Innovation, at ellen.bell at dot.gov
Webinar https://volpe-events.webex.com/mw0401l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=volpe-events
Kurt J. Nagle, President and Chief Executive Officer for the American Association of Port Authorities
Kurt Nagle has over 30 years of experience in Washington, D.C., related to seaports and international trade. Since 1995, Nagle has served as president and chief executive officer for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). Nagle began working at AAPA, the alliance of the leading public port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, in 1985.
Prior to joining AAPA, Nagle was director of International Trade for the National Coal Association and Assistant Secretary for the Coal Exporters Association.
Previously, he worked in the Office of International Economic Research at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Nagle serves on the Executive Committee of the Propeller Club of the United States and is a former commissioner of PIANC, the International Navigation Congress.
——————————————
"iBiology: New Opportunities for Learning Biology through the Internet"
Tuesday, December 9
4:00 pm
Harvard, Pfizer Lecture Hall, B23, Mallinckrodt, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
with Ron Vale, Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Molecular Pharmacology, the University of California, San Francisco; Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Winner of the 2012 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award
Dudley Herschbach Teacher/Scientist Lecture
——————————————
Animal Psychology
Tuesday, December 9
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E19-623, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
Laurel Braitman, author, Animal Madness
More information at https://ksj.mit.edu/seminars/
——————————————
Food Product Development Considerations Workshop
Tuesday, December 9 and 10
6-9pm
196 Quincy Street, Dorchester
Learn from HAACP-expert Amanda Kinchla, of UMASS Food Science Department, as she helps guide you through concept, process, food safety, and product launch. Register for CropCircle Kitchen's 2-day, content-filled course.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/product-development-considerations-beyond-the-concept-tickets-13270154389
Do you want to better understand the food safety principles behind your process? Do you need help with product development for your current or future food product?
This 2-day course will cover the following topics:
Principals of Food Safety
The Product Development Process
Cycle to Creating a New Food Product
Product Development Process (including business strategy, product testing,product launch)
HACCP Plan requirements and/or Low-acid & Acidified certification
Determining formula, process and packaging for a safe food system
Process Validation requirements
Label Regulations, product claims, ingredient statements and nutrition facts
Operational capabilities and Quality Controls
———————————————
The Bee: A Natural History
Tuesday, December 9
7:00PM - 8:30PM
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Cost: $10 (Students: email to register for free.)
Noah Wilson-Rich, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, The Best Bees Company
Bees are crucial to the reproduction and diversity of flowering plants, and the economic contributions of these irreplaceable insects measure in the tens of billions of dollars each year. Yet bees are dying at an alarming rate, threatening food supplies and ecosystems around the world. In this natural history talk, Noah Wilson-Rich will provide a window into the vitally important role that bees play in the life of our planet. He will speak about the human–bee relationship through time; explain a bit about bee evolution, ecology, and physiology; and share his holistic approach to bee health and how you can help bee populations.
http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu
An Arnold Arboretum Lecture for Adults
Contact Name: Pam Thompson
pam_thompson at harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2014-12-10-000000-2014-12-10-013000/bee-natural-history#sthash.ViNjsEDA.dpuf
—————————————
Wednesday, December 10
—————————————
6.811: Principles and Practice of Assistive Technology Final Project Showcase
Wednesday, December 10
3:00p
MIT, Building 32-044, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP: http://bit.ly/ppat_showcase
6.811: Principles and Practice of Assistive Technology (PPAT) is a 12-unit, interdisciplinary, project-based course in which small teams of students work closely with a person with a disability in the Cambridge area to develop a practical product or solution that helps them live more independently. During the term, each team meets with its client, iterates through multiple prototypes, and learns about the complexities of designing assistive technology (AT) for people with disabilities. The course also includes lectures on principles of successful AT design, perspectives from people with disabilities and AT makers and users, design processes and human factors, and social, economic, and ethical perspectives on disability.
PPAT was founded, taught, and championed by Professor Seth Teller, who conceived of the course and taught it from 2011 to 2013. We are very proud to be offering PPAT once again in Fall 2014.
Web site: http://bit.ly/ppat_showcase
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Assistive Technology Club
For more information, contact: William Li
assistivetech-contact at mit.edu
————————————————
D-Lab Fall Showcase and Open House
Wednesday, December 10
4:00p–6:00p
MIT, Building N51-3rd floor
Speaker: D-Lab students
D-Lab challenges talented students to use their math, science, engineering, social science, and business skills to tackle a broad range of global poverty issues. Come see how our students are making an impact!
D-Lab students from the five fall courses offered will be presenting!
D-Lab: Development
D-Lab: Schools
D-Lab: Supply Chains
D-Lab: Waste
Design for Scale
Development Ventures
To kick things off, students will give brief presentations. Attendees will then be able to view all the working prototypes on display throughout the D-Lab space! All welcome.
Web site: http://d-lab.mit.edu/node/1045
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): D-Lab
For more information, contact: Nancy Adams
nadam at mit.edu
————————————————
Mass Innovation Nights #MIN69
December 10
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
Each month, ten companies bring new products to Mass Innovation Nights and the social media community turns out to blog, tweet, post pictures & video, add product mentions to LinkedIn & Facebook, and otherwise help spread the word. These live events allow companies to show off Massachusetts-based innovation. In the last four years, Mass Innovation Nights have helped to:
Launch more than 650 products
Connect dozens of job seekers and hiring managers
Profile dozens of local experts
Launch a wave of Innovation Nights events around the world (coming soon)
Registration and networking begin at 6:00 pm and presentations begin at 7:00 pm. Innovation Nights are held once a month on-site at various venues that donate their space to further the cause of local innovation.
Website: http://mass.innovationnights.com/
Organizer: Mass Innovation Nights
Website: http://mass.innovationnights.com/
—————————————————
Food Product Development Considerations Workshop
Wednesday, December 10
6-9pm
196 Quincy Street, Dorchester
Learn from HAACP-expert Amanda Kinchla, of UMASS Food Science Department, as she helps guide you through concept, process, food safety, and product launch. Register for CropCircle Kitchen's 2-day, content-filled course.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/product-development-considerations-beyond-the-concept-tickets-13270154389
Do you want to better understand the food safety principles behind your process? Do you need help with product development for your current or future food product?
This 2-day course will cover the following topics:
Principals of Food Safety
The Product Development Process
Cycle to Creating a New Food Product
Product Development Process (including business strategy, product testing,product launch)
HACCP Plan requirements and/or Low-acid & Acidified certification
Determining formula, process and packaging for a safe food system
Process Validation requirements
Label Regulations, product claims, ingredient statements and nutrition facts
Operational capabilities and Quality Controls
—————————————
Christ Actually: Jesus in the 21st Century
Wednesday, December 10
7pm
First Parish in Cambridge, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Award-winning author James Carroll discusses his new book, Christ Actually: The Son of God for The Secular Age. Carroll asks what can we believe about—and how can we believe in—Jesus in the post-20th century world of wars and Holocaust and the drift from religion that followed? Answering his own question, Carroll revisits Christ’s crucial identity as a Jew. What can the ordinary humanness of the Christ figure mean to the 21st century? How can Christ, who is no Christian himself, transcend Christianity to speak
More information at http://www.cambridgeforum.org/to people in today’s world?
———————————————
The Bee: A Natural History
WHEN Tue., Dec. 9, 2014, 7 – 8:15 p.m.
WHERE Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Arnold Arboretum
SPEAKER(S) Noah Wilson-Rich, founder and chief scientific officer, The Best Bees Company
COST $10 (students can email to register for free)
TICKET WEB LINK https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1385&DayPlannerDate=12/9/2014
CONTACT INFO adulted at arnarb.harvard.edu, 617.384.5277
DETAILS Bees are crucial to the reproduction and diversity of flowering plants, and the economic contributions of these irreplaceable insects measure in the tens of billions of dollars each year. Yet bees are dying at an alarming rate, threatening food supplies and ecosystems around the world. In this natural history talk, Noah Wilson-Rich will provide a window into the vitally important role that bees play in the life of our planet. He will speak about the human–bee relationship through time; explain a bit about bee evolution, ecology, and physiology; and share his holistic approach to bee health and how you can help bee populations
LINK arboretum.harvard.edu
———————————————
Syria, Iraq and ISIS: Understanding the New War and How the Peace Movement should Respond
Wednesday, December 10
7:00pm
Friends Meeting House, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge
$5 donation requested
Prof. Elaine Hagopian on understanding the war
Activist views on the peace movement's response
Discussion on what to do next
The US announced early in November that troop deployment in the war against ISIS will be doubled from 1500 to 3000 -- although they are supposedly not "boots on the ground." Meanwhile, thousands of air sorties have been flown and the Obama administration is again asking Congress for billions to fund a new war. But US allies are reluctant to commit resources, Turkey regards the Kurds as the greater threat and Saudi Arabia is privately providing ISIS aid. The US is battling to overthrow Assad in Syria while also fighting his enemy. Contacts are made with Iran -- but we don't really want to coordinate efforts. Beheadings rouse demands for action.
The US claims its only goal is to defeat ISIS but the long term goal has not changed: regime change in Syria and continued domination over the region made unstable by years of US intervention. The prospect of a long and escalating war confronts us. What is our message in this complex and contradictory situation?
Elaine Hagopian, professor emeritus of sociology at Simmons College, will provide background and context on Syria, referencing Palestine and Iraq. Cole Harrison, executive director of Mass Peace Action, and Marilyn Levin, co-coordinator of United National Antiwar Coalition, will offer different views on the peace movement's response.
Elaine Hagopian is a retired professor of sociology from Simmons College, Boston. She served as visiting professor of sociology at the American University in Beirut, and as a distinguished Lecturer at the American University of Cairo. She was awarded two Fulbright Hays Faculty research grants to do research in France and the Arab region. She served with UNCIEF in the United Arab Emirates; and as part of a UNESCO team to do a feasibility study for a Palestine Open University. Her publications focus on Arab regional issues and on Arab-Americans; her article "Bashar Assad's Missed Opportunity: Syria's Pandoran Box" appeared in Counterpunch in June 2011.
Sponsored by United for Justice with Peace
info at justicewithpeace.org
617 383 4857
************
--------------
Opportunity
--------------
************
The Boston Network for International Development (BNID) maintains a website (BNID.org) that serves as a clearing-house for information on organizations, events, and jobs related to international development in the Boston area. BNID has played an important auxiliary role in fostering international development activities in the Boston area, as witnessed by the expanding content of the site and a significant growth in the number of users.
The website contains:
A calendar of Boston area events and volunteer opportunities related to International Development
- http://www.bnid.org/events
A jobs board that includes both internships and full time positions related to International Development that is updated daily - http://www.bnid.org/jobs
A directory and descriptions of more than 250 Boston-area organizations - http://www.bnid.org/organizations
Also, please sign up for our weekly newsletter (we promise only one email per week) to get the most up-to-date information on new job and internship opportunities -www.bnid.org/sign-up
The website is completely free for students and our goal is to help connect students who are interested in international development with many of the worthwhile organizations in the area.
Please feel free to email our organization at info at bnid.org if you have any questions!
———————————
SOMERVILLE ROVING ART EVENTS BUS
We are looking for folks to help us program our new M.U.S.C.R.A.T. Bus (Multi Use Somerville Community Roving Art Transport).
About the MUSCRAT
The city of Somerville, led by the Somerville Arts Council, has bought an old school bus, which has been transformed into a Multi Use Somerville Community Roving Art Transport (M.U.S.C.R.A.T). We anticipate that the inside will be used to conduct roaming art classes, performance art or dance, while the outside could be used to screen films or host concerts. The intent for our M.U.S.C.R.A.T. is to create a flexible roving catalyst for creation.
Perhaps you'd like to…
create a comix workshop for youth in an underserved area; this might take place at Mystic River Housing, for example
produce a dance performance in or around the bus in an unlikely location
host a public craft night inside the bus
We look forward to hearing your ideas!
Official Call
For more details and the official call to Producers, go here: http://somervilleartscouncil.org/muscrat
Rachel Strutt, Program Manager, Somerville Arts Council
p: 617.625.6600, x2985 f: 617.666.4325
www.somervilleartscouncil.org
Visit Nibble, a blog about food & culture at
www.somervilleartscouncil.org/nibble
——————————
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
—————————————
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.
———————————
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
---------------------
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).
---------------------
Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
-----------------------
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.)
*********
-----------
Resource
-----------
*********
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
--------------------------------------------------
Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
---------------------------------------
Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
----------------------
Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu
------------------------
Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
********************************************
-----------------------------------------------------
Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area: http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
MIT Events: http://events.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://mitenergyclub.org/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/
Startup and Entrepreneurial Events: http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/
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