[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - January 10, 2016
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Jan 10 10:33:53 PST 2016
Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston area that catch the editor's eye.
Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke at world.std.com
What I Do and Why I Do It: The Story of Energy (and Other) Events
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html
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Index
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Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings.
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Monday, January 11
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Workshops in Computational Science
10am Contemporary Geometric Beadwork: Open Source Innovation in an Ancient Field
10am Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Global Challenges of Water/Food Security
11am Magnetic Fusion Energy: A Vision for Getting There Sooner
1pm Confidential Research Information Management: Security and Privacy Key Concepts
6pm Designing Boston: City Hall + Plaza
6pm Boston New Technology January 2016 Product Showcase #BNT61
7pm Billions and Billions of Planets and the Red Dwarfs That (Mostly) Host Them
7pm The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
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Tuesday, January 12
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Workshops in Computational Science
10am Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Agriculture Systems in Tropical Zones
1pm Waste Management 101: Day 1
1:30pm Scientific Communication
6pm The Role of Business in Climate Change
6:30pm Passive House Massachusetts: Passive House: Zero to Sixty
6:30pm The Connected Soldier
7pm Georgetown Energy Prize Block Captain Kick-Off
8pm IAP Contra Dance: group theory set to live folk music
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Wednesday, January 13
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Workshops in Computational Science
10am Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Water Management for Food Security
12:30pm China's Housing Development Strategy in the "New Normal"
4pm Civics in a Distributed Society
6:30pm Oxfam America Hunger Banquet
7pm Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning
7pm Urban Planning Film Series: The Overnighters, by Jesse Moss
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Thursday, January 14
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8:30am Center for Future Technologies in Cancer Care: "New Directions in Cancer Care for Nonspecialists"
10am Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Water/Food Security for Smallhold Farms
11am SPARC: A Small Tokamak for Changing Climates
11am Displaying Data and Models on a Digital Globe
12pm 2016 – Cybercrime Reloaded: A Look Back and a Look Ahead
5:30pm Sustainability Made Real
6pm Free Talk: Affectiva - Emotion Recognition Software for Unity3D
6:30pm Architecture for Humanity Boston
6:30pm UNITE on the Maker Movement
7pm Neurologic: The Brain's Hidden Rationale Behind Our Irrational Behavior
7pm Addiction and the Changing Context of Treatment
7pm Lets Talk About School Gardens!
7pm Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum: What Does Paris Mean To You?
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Friday, January 15
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11am Protect Yourself from Internet Scams Workshop
1pm Knots and Numbers
1pm The Politics of Autopsy - Science, Politics, and Blood in Two Global Health Campaigns
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Saturday, January 16
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10am 2nd Annual Robot Race 5k: Build-a-Bot Info Session
1pm Come Bio Blitz at the Arnold Arboretum
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Sunday, January 17
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1:30pm Jimmy Tingle: Humor for Humanity at the Humanist Hub
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Tuesday, January 19
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3pm Connectomics and Psychopathology: A Tale of Many Regions
6pm Suffolk Downs Urban Design Workshop Kickoff Panel Discussion [Date Tentavie]
6pm ENET'S Business Incubators and Co-Working Expo
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com
Code for America's 2015 in Civic Tech
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/09/1467660/-Code-for-America-s-2015-in-Civic-Tech
Zero Net Energy - January 2016 edition
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/9/1467971/-Zero-Net-Energy-January-2016-edition#comment_58923257
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Monday, January 11
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Workshops in Computational Science
Harvard University, Northwest Building B1 Level
January 11 - 15
RSVP at http://computefest.seas.harvard.edu/workshops
All workshops are free and open to the public but advance registration is required.
Featuring hands-on instruction with expert instructors in tools such as Python, R, MATLAB, Tableau, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, deep learning and high-performance computing.
Schedule at http://computefest.seas.harvard.edu/workshops-2015
Questions? Email iacs-info at seas.harvard.edu
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Contemporary Geometric Beadwork: Open Source Innovation in an Ancient Field
Monday, January 11
10:00AM-11:00AM
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Kate McKinnon, Erik Demaine, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Martin Demaine, Technical Assistant, CSAIL
Kate McKinnon is bringing her intriguing wearable art project, Contemporary Geometric Beadwork, to MIT, and giving several lectures, a seminar, and two weeks of hands-on sessions. Explore the recent structural and design work in this ancient art, and learn how to apply this alluring type of modeling to your own ideas.
The scope of the project is explained in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uoCC9MJ2SM
Sponsor(s): Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
Contact: Kate McKinnon, kate at katemckinnon.com
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Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Global Challenges of Water/Food Security
Monday, January 11
10:00AM-11:30AM
MIT, Building E51-145, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
An overview of global food demands and supplies and how water, limits to crop productivity, and other drivers such as food prices, population, and changing demographics and dietary patterns are affecting food supplies. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. First of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
This seminar series will address a variety of global challenges around water and food security. Topics include limitations to water use in some selected large basins, surface water/groundwater interactions, the water-food-energy nexus, an overview of agricultural production systems in two agro-ecologic zones (tropical drylands and the wet humid tropics), and the linkage between food and nutrition security and health.
Presentation and discussion will be centered on technological, institutional, governance, and socio-economic constraints to small-holder productivity; water management challenges in the two agro-ecologic zones, and protection of natural resource systems in degraded agricultural landscapes. Specific topics will include irrigation and water conservation, drainage and flood control, irrigation value chains, and climate smart agriculture. The series is led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University. Prof. Madramootoo was Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill from 2005 to 2015.
This is a four-part series; attendees are welcome at any or all sessions.
Sponsor(s): Abdul Latif Jameel Worl Water and Food Sec Lab
Contact: Renee Robins, E70-1279, 617 324-6726, RROBINS at MIT.EDU
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Magnetic Fusion Energy: A Vision for Getting There Sooner
Monday, January 11
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 1-190, 33 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Earl Marmar, Head of Alcator Project
This talk will introduce the nuclear fusion option for base-load electricity production using magnetic confinement of high temperature hydrogenic plasma. Starting from the basics of plasma confinement and heating, and reprising a little of the scientific history, we will turn to recent potentially game-changing technology developments in high-field, high-temperature superconducting magnets, which promise a new path for faster and less costly development of this virtually inexhaustible, carbon-free energy supply
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Plasma Science and Fusion Center
For more information, contact: Paul Rivenberg
617-253-8101
info at psfc.mit.edu
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Confidential Research Information Management: Security and Privacy Key Concepts
Monday, January 11
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
MIT, Building E25-401, 45 Carleton street, Cambridge
Speaker(s): Micah Altman
This tutorial provides a framework for identifying and managing confidential information in research. It is most appropriate for mid-late career graduate students, faculty, and professional research staff who actively engage in the design/planning of research. The course will provide an overview of the major legal requirements governing confidential research data; and the core technological measures used to safeguard data. And it will provide an introduction to the statistical methods and software tools used to analyze and limit disclosure risks.
Failures of confidentiality threaten research integrity, reputation, legality, and funding. Every researcher in the social, behavioral and health sciences must understand how to manage confidential information in research. Successful management of confidential information is particularly challenging because it requires satisfying a combination of complex legal, statistical and technological constants. And the management of this information has grown increasingly challenging because of recent changes in the law, new forms of data collection, and advances in statistical methods for linking data.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Libraries
Contact: Kelly Hopkins (khopkins at mit.edu)
Web site: http://informatics.mit.edu/event/confidential-research-information-management-security-and-privacy-key-concepts
More info: 617-253-3044
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Designing Boston: City Hall + Plaza
Monday, January 11
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP at rsvp at architects.org
“ . . . a notable achievement in . . . the uses of monumentality and humanity in the best pattern of great city building. Old and New Boston are joined through an act of urban design that relates directly to the quality of the city and its life.”
—Ada Louise Huxtable on Boston’s new City Hall, The New York Times, mid-1960s
Boston City Hall and Plaza were intended to create an open and accessible place for government, an exuberant statement of democracy and civic life. Needless to say, that’s not the prevailing opinion today.
What can we learn from Boston City Hall’s early ambitions? January’s Designing Boston panel will focus on the building and plaza, and its original design and intent. The building was designed in the 1960s as a new space for citizens to engage with their government. The plaza was intended to provide a monumental gathering space and welcome all who pass through. What happened? How far have we strayed from the original goals? Is there an opportunity today to reset the clock?
Moderator
Michael Ross, attorney, Prince Lobel Tye
Panel
Michael McKinnell FAIA, co-founder, Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects, Inc.
Jean Carroon FAIA, principal, Goody Clancy
Mark Pasnik AIA, principal, over,under
Anita Berrizbeitia ASLA, professor and chair of the department of landscape architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
About the Designing Boston Series
This series provides a forum to discuss current trends and concerns in architecture and urban planning that may shape Boston’s future. Topics include designing for transportation, walkability, and climate change, and meeting housing demands of this growing city. Go to series page.
For those who qualify, 2.0 LUs are available
This program is supported by the BSA Foundation.
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Boston New Technology January 2016 Product Showcase #BNT61
Monday, January 11
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston_New_Technology/events/227801101/
Upon arrival, you must show a government issued, photo ID to Security and sign the attendee roster. Take an elevator to the 11th floor and walk through the glass doors. At our check-in desk, type in your first or last name, to print your name tag.
Free event! Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community! Each presenter gets 5 minutes for product demonstration and 5 minutes for Q&A.
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Billions and Billions of Planets and the Red Dwarfs That (Mostly) Host Them
Monday, January 11
7pm
The Burren, 247 Elm Street, Davis Square, Somerville
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The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
Monday, January 11, 2016
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes ERIC WEINER, bestselling author of The Geography of Bliss, for a discussion of his latest work, The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley.
About The Geography of Genius
Travel the world with Eric Weiner as he journeys from Athens to Silicon Valley—and throughout history, too—to show how creative genius flourishes in specific places at specific times.
In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. And, with his trademark insightful humor, he walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what inspired figures like Socrates, Michelangelo, and Leonardo remains. In these places, Weiner asks, “What was in the air, and can we bottle it?”
This link can be traced back through history: Darwin’s theory of evolution gelled while he was riding in a carriage. Freud did his best thinking at this favorite coffee house. Beethoven, like many geniuses, preferred long walks in the woods.
Sharp and provocative, The Geography of Genius redefines the argument about how genius came to be. His reevaluation of the importance of culture in nurturing creativity is an informed romp through history that will surely jumpstart a national conversation.
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Tuesday, January 12
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Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Agriculture Systems in Tropical Zones
Tuesday, January 12
10:00AM-11:30AM
MIT, Building E51-145, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
Agriculture production systems in two agro-ecologic zones: This seminar will describe agricultural production systems in the wet humid tropics and the arid/semi-arid tropics, including cropping patterns, nomadic systems, and soil resources. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. Second of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
This seminar series will address a variety of global challenges around water and food security. Topics include limitations to water use in some selected large basins, surface water/groundwater interactions, the water-food-energy nexus, an overview of agricultural production systems in two agro-ecologic zones (tropical drylands and the wet humid tropics), and the linkage between food and nutrition security and health.
Presentation and discussion will be centered on technological, institutional, governance, and socio-economic constraints to small-holder productivity; water management challenges in the two agro-ecologic zones, and protection of natural resource systems in degraded agricultural landscapes. Specific topics will include irrigation and water conservation, drainage and flood control, irrigation value chains, and climate smart agriculture. The series is led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University. Prof. Madramootoo was Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill from 2005 to 2015.
This is a four-part series; attendees are welcome at any or all sessions.
Sponsor(s): Abdul Latif Jameel Worl Water and Food Sec Lab
Contact: Renee Robins, E70-1279, 617 324-6726, RROBINS at MIT.EDU
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Waste Management 101: Day 1
Tuesday, January 12
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
MIT, Building 4-261, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Lectures from MIT researchers, staff, Casella, and more. RSVP here by Jan. 9: http://goo.gl/forms/7CkcSOoa7H
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Waste Alliance, GSC Funding Board
Contact: Abigail Regitsky (transwaste-execs at mit.edu)
Web site: http://student.mit.edu/searchiap/iap-9289af8f50ebf6b201510e4e36df00c1.html
More info: 4048089934
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Scientific Communication
Tuesday, January 12
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
MIT, Building 68-181, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Lauren Aguirre - Director of Digital Media at NOVA PBS
Diana Chien, PhD - Instructor/Manager at the MIT Biological Engineering Communication Lab
Meghan Jendrysik, PhD - Managing Editor at Elsevier
Nidhi Subbaraman, MS - Science and Technology Reporter at the Boston Globe
Careers in scientific communication strive to deliver scientific content in engaging formats to academic and lay audiences. Come hear how the four professionals on this panel craft the form and content of diverse media to achieve this end.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Biology
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The Role of Business in Climate Change
Tuesday, January 12
6:00 PM
Back Bay Social Club,, 867 Boylston Street , Boston
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Climate-Action-Business-Association-Meetup/events/226058490/
The Climate Action Business Association helps local businesses take targeted action on climate change. We are using this meetup to build a community of like-minded businesses to chat, make connections, and share ideas. Also, we will be polling our members to find a good time that works for everyone!
More information at cabaus.org org
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Passive House Massachusetts: Passive House: Zero to Sixty
Tuesday, January 12
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston
RSVP at http://www.architects.org/calendar
Nick Falkoff, founder of Auburndale Builders will describe will describe his experience with the design and construction of the first passive house his company is constructing, and will lead a facilitated discussion of the challenges of realizing your first Passive House. In addition to the expected steep learning curve, this project has a number of unusual features and challenges, including an unusually complex building design, a large and geographically diverse team, and high expectations for performance.
For those who qualify, 1.5 LUs are available
To learn more about Passive House Massachusetts, visit architects.org/committees/passive-house-massachusetts
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The Connected Soldier
January 12
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
MIT Tang Center, E51-345, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP required at http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/the-connected-soldier/
Free for Members, $30 Non-Members, Free for Students & Sponsors
Those of us without a direct connection to the military do not regularly stop and consider that much of the technology that impacts our daily lives has its genesis in the military. Today's soldier is a walking network of systems, connectors, sensors and communications capabilities that define the concept of the internet of things. A well connected, well informed, lighter loaded soldier of the future means the internet will be part of a soldier’s uniform, as well as his weapons and other equipment. With everything active online, troops will be able to generate a complete picture of the battlefield down to the level of the individual soldier. Advances in soldier technology touch everything needed to protect ground troops - think power solutions, vision technologies, communications protocols, encryption, miniaturization, high bandwidth. And all of this is networked into the intelligent fabric of the soldiers uniform. Wearables, anyone?
The greater Boston community is fortunate in that many of these technologies are developed and integrated here as part of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center and the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center. And, the community has many strong defense contractors that develop technologies to improve the effectiveness of our freedom defenders. Join us for an evening of demonstrations and presentations while we explore the one of the most sophisticated networked systems of our time - the Connected Soldier.
Speaker
Jean-Louis “Dutch” DeGay has been at the U.S. Army’s Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) since 2000. While there he’s been a project officer/equipment specialist on numerous projects for the Marine Corps, Army and Special Operations communities ranging from personal protection to advanced soldier technologies to small combat unit operations. Before going to work at the NSRDEC, he was a Captain with 10 years of service in the United States Army with a number of assignments including: light, mechanized, airborne and special operations.
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Georgetown Energy Prize Block Captain Kick-Off
Tuesday, January 12
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
344 Broadway, 4th Floor Conference Room, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgetown-energy-prize-block-captain-kick-off-tickets-20125251168
Please join us to launch the 2016 outreach campaign for the Georgetown University Energy Prize. Block Captains, community members, and friends are invited at City Hall Annex for a meet-and-greet, idea share and brainstorm, and program training. Anyone who has helped with the Georgetown Prize or is interested in becoming more involved should join us at this special kick-off event. Bring your friends! Refreshments will be provided. Email Jessica at Outreach at CambridgeEnergyAlliance.org if you have any questions. If you are interested in the block captain role, please fill out this brief survey at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1p42sY8kriF89vALHh7W_3JjeLcM5LEraPcH0inYtdfQ/viewform
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IAP Contra Dance: group theory set to live folk music
Tuesday, January 12
8:00 PM - 10:30 PM
MIT, Student Ctr 4th floor, Building W20-407, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Contra dancing is a high-energy dance, directed by a caller and accompanied by exciting live folk music. It's easy to learn, and you'll get to twirl your partner and everyone else's!
Tonight's dance features live music by Audrey Knuth (fiddle), Jon Cannon (guitar), & Dave Cory (banjo).
Beginners welcome. No partner necessary.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free for MIT and Wellesley students. Optional suggested donation $5 other students, $8 general.
Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club (contra-request [at] mit [dot] edu)
Web site: http://mit.edu/fdc/contra
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Wednesday, January 13
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Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Water Management for Food Security
Wednesday, January 13
10:00AM-11:30AM
MIT, Building E51-145, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
How can we better manage water to increase food security? This seminar will address strategies such as new irrigation and drought protection technologies to boost food production in tropical drylands, and drainage water management systems. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. Third of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
This seminar series will address a variety of global challenges around water and food security. Topics include limitations to water use in some selected large basins, surface water/groundwater interactions, the water-food-energy nexus, an overview of agricultural production systems in two agro-ecologic zones (tropical drylands and the wet humid tropics), and the linkage between food and nutrition security and health.
Presentation and discussion will be centered on technological, institutional, governance, and socio-economic constraints to small-holder productivity; water management challenges in the two agro-ecologic zones, and protection of natural resource systems in degraded agricultural landscapes. Specific topics will include irrigation and water conservation, drainage and flood control, irrigation value chains, and climate smart agriculture. The series is led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University. Prof. Madramootoo was Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill from 2005 to 2015.
This is a four-part series; attendees are welcome at any or all sessions.
Sponsor(s): Abdul Latif Jameel Worl Water and Food Sec Lab
Contact: Renee Robins, E70-1279, 617 324-6726, RROBINS at MIT.EDU
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China's Housing Development Strategy in the "New Normal"
Wednesday, January 13
12:30p–2:00p
MIT, Building 9-427, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Please RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinas-housing-development-strategy-in-the-new-normal-with-dr-ting-
Speaker: Dr. Ting Shao
Please join us for a roundtable discussion with Dr. TING SHAO, a Tomorrow Foundation Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
As China has entered into a new development phase of "balanced transition" (also known as the "new normal"), the housing sector is facing tough challenges in maintaining the previous growth rate. In this turning point, the question of how to cultivate new development strategies for both the government and private sectors represents an urgent task. Dr. Shao's talk will focus on three issues:
1. How to understand the existing market situation;
2. How to evaluate housing policies; and
3. How to design a new strategy for stabilizing the real estate sector.
Dr. Shao obtained a Ph.D. degree in economics from Fudan University. He is a researcher on the housing market and land institution at the Development Research Center (DRC) of the State Council of China. Currently, he is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, studying the housing market, land institution, and economic growth of China. He participated in the publication of two books: Urban China: Toward Efficient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Urbanization and China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative Society, both by the World Bank Group.
Lunch will be provided.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact: Heather Mooney
617-417-1699
hmooney at mit.edu
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Civics in a Distributed Society
Wednesday, January 13
4:00-6:00 PM
New England Complex Systems Institute, 210 Broadway Suite 101, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.necsi.edu/events/upcomingevents.html
Livestream at https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c1l935h3gmp48r3t5144vnlu3is?hl=en
Join us next Wednesday for the first NECSI salon of the new year. The topic of discussion will be what civic engagement might look like in a decentralized society. How might models of distributed organization be applied to electoral systems, legislation, markets, and social norms?
This salon will include guest speakers from the MIT Center for Civic Media, an organization studying new technologies to foster community-based civic engagement and political action. Ethan Zuckerman is the center's director and principal investigator. Erhardt Graeff is a PhD researcher, sociologist, designer, and entrepreneur.
Sign up here. The salon will also be streamed online here.
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Oxfam America Hunger Banquet
Wednesday, January 13
6:30 PM
Hostelling International Boston, 19 Stuart Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oxfam-america-hunger-banquet-tickets-20457768737
Come join the volunteers of the Boston Oxfam Action Corps and see hunger in a whole new way.
The Oxfam America Hunger Banquet is a memorable, interactive event that brings hunger and poverty issues to life. After 40 years, this volunteer-led effort is still going strong—and has changed hundreds of thousands of lives.
When guests arrive at an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet, they draw tickets at random that assign each to a high-, middle-, or low-income tier—based on the latest statistics about poverty around the world. Each income level has a different experience. Join us in having this interactive meal and discussion about poverty, hunger, and inequality.
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Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning
Wednesday, January 13
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Harvard Book Store welcomes Yale University Professor of History and award-winning author TIMOTHY SNYDER for a discussion of his latest book, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning.
About Black Earth
In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first. Based on new sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think, and thus all the more terrifying.
The Holocaust began in a dark but accessible place, in Hitler's mind, with the thought that the elimination of Jews would restore balance to the planet and allow Germans to win the resources they desperately needed. Such a worldview could be realized only if Germany destroyed other states, so Hitler's aim was a colonial war in Europe itself. In the zones of statelessness, almost all Jews died. A few people, the righteous few, aided them, without support from institutions. Much of the new research in this book is devoted to understanding these extraordinary individuals. The almost insurmountable difficulties they faced only confirm the dangers of state destruction and ecological panic. These men and women should be emulated, but in similar circumstances few of us would do so.
By overlooking the lessons of the Holocaust, Snyder concludes, we have misunderstood modernity and endangered the future. The early twenty-first century is coming to resemble the early twentieth, as growing preoccupations with food and water accompany ideological challenges to global order. Our world is closer to Hitler's than we like to admit, and saving it requires us to see the Holocaust as it was -- and ourselves as we are. Groundbreaking, authoritative, and utterly absorbing, Black Earth reveals a Holocaust that is not only history but warning.
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Urban Planning Film Series: The Overnighters, by Jesse Moss
Wednesday, January 13
7:00PM-9:15PM
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Desperate, broken men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local pastor risks everything to help them. Winner, Special Jury Award for Intuitive Filmmaking: Documentary, 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
"Might bring tears to your eyes\ldots a blue-collar meditation on the meaning of community and the imperative of compassion.''---Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times.
Sponsor(s): Urban Studies and Planning
Contact: Ezra Glenn, 7-337, 617 253-2024, EGLENN at MIT.EDU
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Thursday, January 14
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Center for Future Technologies in Cancer Care: "New Directions in Cancer Care for Nonspecialists"
Thursday, January 14
8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
BU, Photonics Center, Room 906, 8 St. Mary's Street, Boston
Speakers: Dr. Sridhar Ramaswamy, Associate Professor of Medicine , Harvard Medical School, Tucker Gosnell Investigator, and Attending Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center; Dr. Lei Xu, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Sadhak Sengupta, Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Medicine; Dr. Wilson Wong, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University; and Dr. Li Tang, Immunobioengineering Lab, Koch Institute
More info: http://www.bu.edu/cftcc/events/2016-ndcc/
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=178065@17.calendar.bu.edu
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Water and Food Security Seminar Series: Water/Food Security for Smallhold Farms
Thursday, January 14
10:00AM-11:30AM
MIT, Building E51-145, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
This seminar addresses the technological and socio-economic constraints to water and food security for smallholder farmers. Topics include why smallholder farmers are slow to adopt new crop varieties, agronomic practices, and irrigation. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. Last of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
This seminar series will address a variety of global challenges around water and food security. Topics include limitations to water use in some selected large basins, surface water/groundwater interactions, the water-food-energy nexus, an overview of agricultural production systems in two agro-ecologic zones (tropical drylands and the wet humid tropics), and the linkage between food and nutrition security and health.
Presentation and discussion will be centered on technological, institutional, governance, and socio-economic constraints to small-holder productivity; water management challenges in the two agro-ecologic zones, and protection of natural resource systems in degraded agricultural landscapes. Specific topics will include irrigation and water conservation, drainage and flood control, irrigation value chains, and climate smart agriculture. The series is led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University. Prof. Madramootoo was Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill from 2005 to 2015.
This is a four-part series; attendees are welcome at any or all sessions.
Sponsor(s): Abdul Latif Jameel Worl Water and Food Sec Lab
Contact: Renee Robins, E70-1279, 617 324-6726, RROBINS at MIT.EDU
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SPARC: A Small Tokamak for Changing Climates
Thursday, January 14
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building NW17-218, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Brandon Sorbom, Zach Hartwig, Bob Mumgaard, Daniel Brunner
This talk will introduce the SPARC concept- a minimally-sized, viable tokamak designed to rapidly advance fusion energy by combining non-traditional funding, innovation strategies borrowed from modern high-tech ventures, and recent advances in high-temperature high-field superconductors.
Web site: http://www.psfc.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Plasma Science and Fusion Center
For more information, contact: Paul Rivenberg
617-253-8101
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Displaying Data and Models on a Digital Globe
Thursday, January 14
11:00AM-12:00PM
MIT, Building 54-1827, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Glenn Flierl, Professor of Oceanography
The Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences have been hosting a two foot diameter spherical display system. If you have data or interactive models you'd like to see visualized on the sphere, come to the sessions to learn how it can be done and to figure out better ways and how to present information using the iGlobe. Or try to make a compelling environmental movie using the sphere, an auxiliary screen, and sound. Or come if you'd just like to experiment with the way things look projected on a spherical surface.
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Contact: Glenn Flierl, 54-1626, 617-253-4692, glenn at lake.mit.edu
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2016 – Cybercrime Reloaded: A Look Back and a Look Ahead
Thursday, January 14
12:00 PM EST
Webinar at https://securityintelligence.com/events/cybercrimes-relentless-progress-in-2015-a-year-in-review/
As Q4 draws to a close, it is time for the annual review of what cybercrime has evolved into in the year past. Nowadays, it is no surprise to anyone in the know that cybercrime losses will top 2 trillion dollars by 2019, or that cybercrime costs the average U.S. firm $15 million a year. The reason for this rapid and relentless escalation is because the world is no longer dealing with hackers and thieves – rather, 2015 marks the true domination of the Internet by Eastern European mob organizations.
Join our live crimeware-focused session to learn about the methods and trends that shaped cybercrime in 2015, and find out what we expect to see in 2016.
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Sustainability Made Real
Thursday, January 14
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Harvard Business School, Aldrich 207, 60 Harvard Way, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainability-made-real-tickets-19809055418
Cost: $0 - $60
Sustainability has taken on a global importance few subjects ever will obtain. Lots of companies, both small and large, have Sustainability Initiatives. But, what do they really mean? What are companies really doing? Join us for an evening with leaders from around the world that are flying in to share their experience and insights with us.
From making products to packaging those products to discarding our products and packaging, choices we make every day have an impact on our economy, our environment and our future.
Our evening will be led by Bill Carter of Ashoka.
Bill is a former EPA official, McKinsey consultant, and now head of Ashoka’s, the non-profit agency leading social entrepreneurship and inspiring change makers around the world, work in Africa and head of their Sustainability efforts. Whether Bill is in Africa or helping leaders in Asia develop technologies that help all of us achieve our Sustainability goals, Bill’s vision and insight are well regarded and respected.
Joining Bill are experts from around the globe.
Gary Chamness founder and CEO of Chamness Technologies: Gary is truly at the forefront of American innovation in the creation of compostable products including plates, bowls, and packaging solutions of all types. From his plant in CA, or in his headquarters in Iowa, Gary and his team are proving that sustainable solutions make money. Over the past 20 years, Gary’s other companies have progressively and efficiently mastered disposal of non-toxic waste, composting, dewatering, dredging, and land application solutions. Gary will share with us why brand name companies are now calling his company and what a difference sustainability can make for all of us.
Michihiko Iwamoto, CEO and founder of JEPLAN, is flying in from Japan to join us. JEPLAN Creates New Recycling Infrastructures & Management Systems that are forever impacting how the entire country of Japan approaches sustainability. Mr. Iwamoto spearheaded a decade long national effort in Japan that increased PET bottle recycling from 20% to 85%. Today his company is introducing a new generation of "total recycling" plants as older plants based on less efficient technology are retired. Just one of JEPLAN's initiatives has led to the recycling of four of the seven million cellphones that Japanese consumers discard every year. JEPLAN will build its first independently owned facility in 2017, whose purpose is to recycle cotton and plastic products into bio-ethanol. Michihiko will share with us what it takes to make sustainability solutions a business and a reality no matter where you are.
Leonard Parker founder of EnNovus Group. Leonard is a leader in the Sustainable Packaging World. Leonard’s EnNovus Group utilizes new technologies for carbon reduction through the implementation of a new sustainable technology, process systems, and the source reduction or elimination of plastics in packaging. Leonard is at the forefront of creating greener packaging systems through technology and innovations and will share how and with whom with us.
Agenda:
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.: Check-in, social hour, sandwiches and refreshments
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.: Discussion and Q+A
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Free Talk: Affectiva - Emotion Recognition Software for Unity3D
Thursday, January 14
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), 255 Main Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-talk-affectiva-emotion-recognition-software-for-unity3d-tickets-20005389659
Free Talk: Affectiva - Emotional Recognition Software for Unity3D with Mohammad Mavadati and Forest Hanford
A free talk from two seasoned innovators at Affectiva who will demo their game that uses emotion recognition technology! About the Presenters: Mohammad Mavadati, PhD Computer Vision Scientist, Affectiva Inc. Mohammad Mavadati is designing, building and utilizing scalable computer vision and machine learning tools to enable the automated analysis and recognition of emotions.
Forest Handford Games Evangelist, Affectiva Inc. Forest works as the Games Evangelist at Affectiva where he is working on bringing emotion-sensing capabilities to the Unity platform.
Playcrafting Boston is the place to see the newest independent games being built in Boston and network with the people who built them. Each month, we bring in some of our most successful local game devs to give free talks on game development, ideas and standards. Join us and gain insight as you meet new friends and network with game professionals from throughout our community. Hope to see you there!
For Attendees: You must register on Eventbrite.Gov ID is required to gain access to the Microsoft Building. Please include your first and last name when you RSVP. See you all there!
You must register on Eventbrite. Gov ID is required to gain access to the Microsoft Building. Pleaseinclude your first and last name when you RSVP.See you all there!
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Architecture for Humanity Boston
Thursday, January 14
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston
RSVP at http://www.architects.org/calendar
Design has the power to improve the world. Architecture for Humanity Boston serves communities in need by producing architectural and design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises. If you’re looking for a pro-bono challenge or a hands-on design opportunity for your resume, this may be the committee for you. You need not have design experience to get involved.
To learn more about Architecture for Humanity Boston, visit architects.org/committees/architecture-humanity-boston.
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UNITE on the Maker Movement
Thursday, January 14
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EST)
Cantina, 320 Congress Street, Boston
Cost: $0 - $16.82
Winter’s UNITE will focus on the Maker Movement. Our panel of experts will dive into what it takes to be a maker, drawing from the perspectives of multiple facets of the maker industry. Cantina’s Senior Vice President of Innovation, George White, will be moderating our panel discussion. Panelists include:
Anne Hathaway, Maker Innovation Program Manager at Etsy
Peter Zink, Lecturer and Research Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University
UNITE on the Maker Movement will be hosted by Cantina, located at 320 Congress Street. Join us for an evening of of networking and great design discussion!
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Neurologic: The Brain's Hidden Rationale Behind Our Irrational Behavior
Thursday, January 14
7:00pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner, Brookline
Eliezer J. Sternberg
NeuroLogic explores the brain’s internal system of reasoning and illuminates our most outlandish as well as our most stereotyped behaviors. From sleepwalking murderers, contagious yawning, and the brains of sports fans, to false memories, subliminal messages, and the secret of ticklishness, Dr. Eliezer Sternberg shows that there are patterns to the way we interpret the world—–patterns that fit the brain’s unique logic.
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Addiction and the Changing Context of Treatment
Thursday, January 14
7pm
First Church Unitarian, Jamaica Plain, 6 Eliot Street, JP
RSVP on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/444246825777213/
Most of us know someone impacted by addiction - perhaps for you it's a friend, family member, or even yourself. This widespread epidemic is hurting individuals, families and communities near and far.
But while many of us are aware of the skyrocketing trends in addiction and prescription drug abuse, *we're less aware of new breakthroughs in the scientific understanding of addiction and treatment.
Dr. Robin Barnes, M.D., is on the forefront of new research in this area. Robin has been a primary care physician treating people with addiction at the Cambridge Health Alliance for more than twenty years, and she shares her scientific knowledge and experience in a newly published book: Hijacked Brains: The Experience and Science of Chronic Addiction.
<http://act.ips-dc.org/site/R?i=oV1xQgAMXCMOpaPyXkri_Q>
On Thursday, January 14 at the JP Forum we'll hear from Robin and a panel of other distinguished guests with a range of experience on this topic:
MA State Representative Liz Malia (D-Jamaica Plain), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use
Honorable John E. McDonald, Jr., Boston Municipal Court, East Boston Drug Court Division
Windia Rodriguez, North East and Boston Regional Coordinator of Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR)
Henrietta Robin Barnes, M.D., JP resident, primary care physician, and author of the newly released *Hijacked Brains: The Experience and Science of Chronic Addiction*
Hope you can join us for what promises to be an informative and inspiring event.
RSVP here on Facebook http://act.ips-dc.org/site/R?i=opOlyjCgJ3XBKMI_0punfQ
Jamaica Plain Forum
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Lets Talk About School Gardens!
Thursday, January 14
7:00 PM
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-Area-Urban-Agriculture/events/227484151/?rv=ea1
We're back! After a brief hiatus during the Grove Kickstarter (check us out!), the Urban Agriculture Meet-Up returns. This time, let's talk about the importance of gardens in schools and their positive impact on children and communities. Gardens have been used in schools for well over a century, bringing a sense of environmental stewardship to children by creating positive experiences with nature, food, and our mentors. Today school gardens have taken a turn into the 21st century. With modern advancements in agricultural technology these "Learning Gardens" have opened the door for students to learn well past plant anatomy and cultivation techniques. S.T.E.M Curriculum is nurturing a nation of great thinkers that may improve our current outlook on the environment, our food and our culture.
Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and new attendees! There will be snacks, beer and good conversations so please join us and lets slow roast some food for thought.
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Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum: What Does Paris Mean To You?
Thursday, January 14
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
Location: First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist; 3 Church Street, Harvard Square
Big news from Paris. The largest assemblage of heads of state opened the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), which surpassed expectations to deliver the historic Paris Agreement ("L'accord de Paris") to globally reduce climate change and sent a signal to investors that the closing of the fossil fuel era has begun.
What was it like to be there, to witness history? Paris, so horribly stricken, received a lift in spirit from the promise of this agreement, negotiated and adopted by consensus in France's greatest city.
Quinton Zondervan was there, our January 14th BASEA Forum speaker, and will tell us what it was like and what the U.S. agreed to.
Zondervan sees carbon pricing, at the federal and state level, embodied in our nation's transition to the renewable energy economy envisioned in the accord. Locally, he will relate how the U.S. Congress's multi-year extension of the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is reinvigorating a successful solar deployment program in Cambridge.
Join us at the Boston Area Solar Energy Association Forum for a personal view of the global Paris Agreement from local climate activist Quinton Zondervan.
Quinton Zondervan is an entrepreneur, non-profit leader and dedicated community activist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In December 2015, as part of a delegation from the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), Quinton served as an official observer to the COP21 climate talks in Paris.
Two of his letters advocating for carbon pricing were published in the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Quinton cofounded and serves as the President and board chair of the Climate Action Business Association, Inc. and as President of Green Cambridge. He was a leader of the Net Zero buildings emissions zoning petition in Cambridge in 2013, and served the City Manager appointed year-long Getting to Net Zero Task Force, which produced a 25 year action plan, adopted by the City Council, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings in the city to zero as quickly as possible. Quinton is an active member of MIT Alumni for Climate Action Leadership. He currently works as a software consultant, and is the VP of Technology at internet start-up company eCare Vault, Inc. Quinton holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and two bachelor's degrees in the fields of mathematics and computer science from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Quinton lives in Cambridge with his wife and two children.
Please Join Us! Donations, membership and ClimateRide.org support BASEA.
The Boston Area Solar Energy Association - www.BASEA.org
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Friday, January 15
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Protect Yourself from Internet Scams Workshop
Friday, January 15
11:00AM
CCTV, 438 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
This presentation, hosted by the Living Well Network in collaboration with CCTV, will feature Cambridge Police Department detectives specializing in elder cyber-crime. The event, designed for residents over 55, will provide information to help you identify internet scams. To register, please contact Clodagh Drummey at 617 401 4005 or clodagh at cctvcambridge.org.
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Knots and Numbers
Friday, January 15
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
MIT, Building 4-270, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker(s): Haynes Miller
Algebraic topology attempts to extract discrete invariants from flexible geometric configurations. One of the most easily visualized type of topological object is a knot -- a closed loop in Euclidean space. Appearance of simplicity notwithstanding, knot theory has been an active area of study for the past 150 years, and especially in the past three decades. In this lecture we'll study fragments of knots known as tangles, and discover a rational number that serves as a complete invariant for a subclass of tangles called rational tangles. The verification will be by square-dance.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Mathematics, Department of
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The Politics of Autopsy - Science, Politics, and Blood in Two Global Health Campaigns
Friday, January 15
1:00p–3:00p
MIT, Building 4-237, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Ari Samsky
This talk looks at disruption and continuity in two health campaigns separated widely by geography and time: Rockefeller-led yellow fever control programs in Brazil of the 1930s and present-day industry-led drug donation programs for neglected tropical disease. The history of yellow fever control in Brazil articulates certain strange truths about tropical disease research and global public health. These biopolitical formations persists strongly (though sometimes in altered forms) in programs for tropical disease control taking place eighty years later. Drawing on archival and ethnographic work, this talk sketches these two epidemiological interventions and describes ways that they reinforce political-scientific "unspoken orthodoxies" of disease control.
Dr. Ari Samsky is a cultural anthropologist specializing in medical anthropology and social studies of science. He received a PhD from Princeton University in 2009. He has written extensively about the politics of international drug donation programs. His current research investigates the history of yellow fever control in Brazil in the 1930s.
GlobeMed Friday Seminar Series
The MIT chapter of GlobeMed is an undergraduate organization dedicated to grassroots global health efforts that make real and actionable impact around the world. In the spirit of this goal, we are launching our first ever seminar series this IAP, in conjunction with the MIT Global Health and Medical Humanities Initiative. For the second, third, and fourth Fridays of IAP, we will be hosting speakers from different fields who will discuss the state of their work in a particular sector of global health.
Web site: http://student.mit.edu/searchiap/iap-9289af8d507fac72015089380a9f0031.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): MIT GlobeMed, Global Health and Medical Humanities Initiative
For more information, contact:
Ankita Reddy
240.483.5263
areddy10 at mit.edu
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Saturday, January 16
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2nd Annual Robot Race 5k: Build-a-Bot Info Session
Saturday, January 16
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Vecna's Cambridge Research Lab, 36 Cambridge Park Dr, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-robot-race-5k-build-a-bot-info-session-tickets-19825475531
About the Robot Race Info Session This will be an interactive workshop with Vecna's lead engineers and roboticists. At this meeting, the Robot Race lead will discuss the rules of the event, reveal the course, and provide a list of robot kits that can help hobbyists and students get a head start on building their robots. A tour of our machine shop and demos of our robots will follow. About the Robot Race The Second Annual Robot Race will be held on Sunday, April 10, 2016 in Cambridge MA, near the Alewife T Station. The human course is a chip-timed 5k and the robot race is a 100 yard obstacle filled dash. Join us for prizes, food, raffles, and more! The Human 5K is a family-friendly 5K race for individuals, families and teams. Dress up as a robot or bring your unique gadgets and enhancements for special prizes. Register a robot for the Robot Race. Must have a driver (out of line-of-sight for part of the challenge) and a chaperone for the course. Drivers will be seated at the control center. Autonomous or teleoperated robots will complete an L-shaped course as quickly as possible. Robots will be required to receive a Dixie cup of confetti at the corner water stop. Robot categories and waves may be established based on the qualities of the entrants. Register for both the Human 5K and Robot Race on Active.com
Why Run All proceeds benefit Vecna Cares Charitable Trust [2], a non-profit that delivers technology for a sustainable and scalable healthcare delivery infrastructure in underserved areas around the world. The application of cutting edge innovations in solving today's biggest humanitarian challenges is central to the organization's mission. The Robot Race seeks to engage the community in understanding the power of technology in answering these challenges. Our landmark support of the Ebola response has been recognized by Time Magazine, The Brookings Institute, and Computerworld . Watch this video for more information about our projects at home and abroad. How you can get involved: Sponsor a project Sign up to run as a team Sign up to run as an individual Race a robot This is a unique way to show your support of healthy communities, global health, and STEM activities. We hope you can join us! Read the about last year's event on BetaBoston!
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Come Bio Blitz at the Arnold Arboretum
Saturday, January 16
1:00–3:30pm
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain
Unseasonably warm weather in Boston has changed how plants and animals hunt, sleep, migrate, feed, reproduce and thrive in our environment. Come explore and investigate how life is adapting to our changing climate in the beautiful Arnold Arboretum this January. Bring your curiosity and a smart phone. We will be uploading our findings to citizen science platform iNaturalist during our (indoor) debrief immediately following our outdoor musings.
Free, no registration.
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Sunday, January 17
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Jimmy Tingle: Humor for Humanity at the Humanist Hub
Sunday, January 17
1:30 PM to 3:00 PM (EST)
The Humanist Hub, 30 John F. Kennedy Street, 4th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/jimmy-tingle-humor-for-humanity-at-the-humanist-hub-tickets-20475819728
Cost: $0 - $20
We're thrilled to host social & political humorist, actor, writer, and stand-up comic Jimmy Tingle for an exclusive talk at the Hub.
From 60 Minutes II, The Tonight Show and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, comedian Jimmy Tingle captures the sweet spot between Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. More than comic wit, Jimmy is so cheerfully intelligent he makes his audience optimistic in the face of reality.
"Humor for Humanity" is a new social enterprise founded by Jimmy Tingle that aspires to use entertainment for purposes beyond entertainment.
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Tuesday, January 19
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Connectomics and Psychopathology: A Tale of Many Regions
Tuesday, January 19
3-4 PM
MIT, Building 46-3002, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Deanna Barch, Ph.D.
Abstract: A growing body of research clearly indicates that both functional and structural connectivity within and between core brain systems is a critical determinant of cognitive and affective function in both health and disease. This talk will first briefly overview the state of the art methods for assessing human brain connectivity. Next this talk will illustrate the ways in which variation in brain connectivity relates to variation in cognitive and affective functions in healthy individuals, as well as how impairments in functional brain connectivity relate to impaired cognitive and affective function associated with risk for psychopathology and manifest illness.
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Suffolk Downs Urban Design Workshop Kickoff Panel Discussion [Date Tentavie]
January 19
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP at rsvp at architects.org
*TENTATIVE DATE* Please check architects.org/calendar and BSA Currents regularly for further information.
The Suffolk Downs Urban Design Workshop is the third in an ongoing series of Urban Design Workshopsorganized by the BSA Foundation. The workshops’ overall goal is to open up dialogue and stimulate thinking about the design potential of places with particularly significant and compelling opportunities.
The evening will include an introduction to the scope of and goals for the workshop, followed by a lively panel discussion moderated by Renée Loth, editor of ArchitectureBoston magazine. Suffolk Downs represents an opportunity to create a forward-looking 21st-century neighborhood that is equitable, diverse, environmentally aware, and in tune with shifting development trends.
This workshop will challenge two interdisciplinary design teams of architects, landscape architects, and urban designers—one led by David Gamble AIA of Gamble Associates and Shauna Gillies-Smith of Ground Inc., and the other led by Isabel Zempel and Nina Chase of Sasaki Associates, and Paul Lukez FAIA of Paul Lukez Architecture—to develop a collection of ideas for the area between Route 1A and the Blue Line T stations that are mindful of equity, environmental, development, and community considerations. We hope, too, that the workshop participants will benefit and learn from some of the substantial thinking already under way in the surrounding communities.
Prior Urban Design Workshops have focused attention on Beacon Yards and high-density housing along Dorchester Avenue in Boston. All follow a similar format of a public panel discussion, professional team charrettes, and public presentation of the teams’ ideas.
Moderator
Renée Loth, editor of ArchitectureBoston magazine
For more information about the events, contact Gretchen Schneider Rabinkin AIA, civic design director, at gschneider at architects.org.
The BSA Urban Design Workshops are supported by the BSA Foundation.
For those who qualify, 2.0 LUs are available
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ENET'S Business Incubators and Co-Working Expo
Tuesday, January 19
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (NERD), 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Cot: $0 - $10
RSVP at http://www.boston-enet.org/event-2017617
Like last year, the Boston Entrepreneurs' Network offers our annual Expo of accelerators, incubators, and co-working spaces who will showcase rapid development options to entrepreneurs in the Greater Boston Area. We at ENET hope that you will join us at our Expo this year!
The Expo will be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, 6-9 p.m. at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (NERD), 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA. The NERD is within easy walking distance of the Kendall Square Red Line T Station.
Beverages and pizza will be served. Last year, over 100 entrepreneurs attended the event and more than 20 incubators exhibited.
Each exhibitor will host a table with up to two representatives to answer your questions, distribute promotional materials and business cards. During the Expo, exhibitors will have up to 2 minutes to present their elevator pitch in front of the attendees.
Come and join us on January 19th for a great chance to meet New England’s leading entrepreneurial business incubators. In addition, you can network with other founders and participants who, like you, are on their way to the top!!
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, January 20
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Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, Forum on Data Privacy
Wednesday, January 20
8:30am
MIT, Building 32-123, Ray and Maria Stata Center, Kirsch Auditorium, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
RSVP required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/forum-on-data-privacy-convened-by-the-massachusetts-attorney-generals-office-tickets-19411752073
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to join with the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and TechNet to host a Forum on Data Privacy. The event takes place on Wednesday, Janauary 20, 2016, from 8:30 am until 12:00 pm, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ray and Maria Stat Center, Kirsch Auditorium, Room 32-123, in Cambridge, MA
Access to consumer data allows businesses to better serve their customers and to develop and deliver transformative products and services. However, unpredictable, unclear, or ineffectual privacy rules and protections threaten the trust, goodwill, and ultimately the investment necessary to support a robust, data-driven economy.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is committed to working with all stakeholders to promote innovation, competition, and consumer privacy. To inform our consideration of these important issues, the AG's office, Berkman Center, and our co-hosts invite participants to join us in shaping a new partnership with a candid exchange of ideas and concerns.
In advance of this meeting the AG's office is particularly interested in hearing your perspectives regarding the following issues.
Do innovative technologies and methods by which businesses collect, share, and use consumer data (e.g. Internet of Things, Big Data, mobile devices/applications, cloud computing) create privacy concerns or compliance challenges? If so, how could these concerns or challenges be resolved or overcome?
Is there a need for more definitive rules or guidance from government or self-regulatory bodies regarding the commercial collection, use, and protection of consumer data? If so, what rules or guidance should be put forth?
As experts on consumer privacy issues or as participants in data-driven businesses, are there problematic business practices you observe that threaten consumer privacy?
Could the Massachusetts Data Breach Notification Act (Mass. Gen. Law c. 93H) be amended to better promote consumer privacy in light of changing technologies? If so, how?
If you would like to respond, please reply in writing by Friday, December 11th to dataprivacy at state.ma.us.
We are currently in the process of developing a forum agenda and panel composition, which will be informed by responses to the questions above. If you are interested in participating or have recommendations for speakers, please contact Assistant Attorneys General Sara Cable (617.963.2827) or Mike Firestone (617.963.2027) or email dataprivacy at state.ma.us. RSVP information to follow.
Please note that all submissions may become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industry
Wednesday, January 20
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
MIT, Building 68-181, 31 Ames Street, Cambridge
David Salim, ImmunoGen, QC analyst
Peter Liu, Amgen, Engineer, Process development
Alison Williams, Pronutria, Director of corporate development
Darby Schmidt, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Principal scientist
Interested in science outside of academia? Come to the biotechnology and big pharma panel! We have scientists from different backgrounds in all different industry positions. Come hear about their day-to-day life and how they got to where they are now.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Biology
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Planning, Funding, and Implementing Transportation Projects in the Real World (or How It Really Works)
Wednesday, January 20
1:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building 9-450, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Eric Plosky, Kate Fichter
As a vital and complex element of any urban or regional environment, transportation infrastructure both affects and is affected by land use patterns, economic development policies, political power-brokering and environmental resources, and so offers a lens through which to study many of the choices and constraints available to today's planners. This seminar will offer a practice-oriented overview of the issues, players and trends most relevant to contemporary transportation planning, as taught by two MIT/DUSP alumni currently working in the field.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact: Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu
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Aging Brain Seminar Series: Dr. Bradley Hyman
Wednesday, January 20
2:00p–3:00p
MIT, Building 46-3310, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Bradley Hyman
Aging Brain Seminar Series
The Aging Brain Initiative is dedicated to conquering Alzheimer's disease and the dementias of aging through fundamental research into how the brain ages in health and in decline. This multidisciplinary, highly collaborative effort is spearheaded by the Picower Institute and the MIT School of Science. It brings together experts in neuroscience, bioengineering, biology, computer science, artificial intelligence, medicine, health economics and health policy. Their mission is to deliver the basic research that makes possible new tools, technologies and pharmaceuticals to address the challenges of brain aging, always with the aim of moving knowledge quickly from bench to bedside.
Coming Soon!
Web site: https://picower.mit.edu/cms/events/aging-brain-initiative-seminar-series-with-dr-bradley-hyman/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
For more information, contact: Najat Kessler
617-452-2485
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Urban Planning Film Series: Public Housing, by Fred Wiseman
Wednesday, January 20
7:00PM-9:15PM
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
This cinema-verite documentary captures daily life at the Ida B. Wells public housing development in Chicago. The film illustrates some of the experiences of people living in conditions of extreme poverty, including the work of the tenants council, street life, the role of police, job training, drug education, teenage mothers, dysfunctional families, elderly residents, nursery school, and after school teenage programs.
Sponsor(s): Urban Studies and Planning
Contact: Ezra Glenn, 7-337, 617 253-2024, EGLENN at MIT.EDU
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Thursday, January 21
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Displaying Data and Models on a Digital Globe
Thursday, January 21
11:00AM-12:00PM
MIT, Building 54-1827, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Glenn Flierl, Professor of Oceanography
The Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences have been hosting a two foot diameter spherical display system. If you have data or interactive models you'd like to see visualized on the sphere, come to the sessions to learn how it can be done and to figure out better ways and how to present information using the iGlobe. Or try to make a compelling environmental movie using the sphere, an auxiliary screen, and sound. Or come if you'd just like to experiment with the way things look projected on a spherical surface.
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Contact: Glenn Flierl, 54-1626, 617-253-4692, glenn at lake.mit.edu
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2016 CONNECT Symposium
Thursday, January 21
3:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EST)
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 600 Atlantic Avenue #100, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-connect-symposium-tickets-18575765615?aff=ebrowse
With a foundation of basic stability, families can earn living wage jobs and become financially resilient if they have the right tools: education, workforce skills, and financial capability. We will share research that documents the importance of this combination, and share lessons from our 3 year Workforce Innovations Fund Grant from the US Dept. of Labor. The new challenge is to meet the needs of both job seekers and employers.
The CONNECT Symposium is an annual forum for business and civic leaders, thought-leaders, policymakers and practitioners, elected officials, and other concerned individuals and institutions to examine best practices in helping families move from poverty to long-term economic stability. CONNECT is a multi-party agency based in Chelsea, MA.
The CONNECT Cocktail Reception, held immediately following the Symposium, is an important venue for building collaborative working relationships among individuals and organizations from the business, nonprofit, and public sectors involved in the work and mission of CONNECT.
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Private and Public Storytelling: How to Use Digital and Traditional Technologies for Social Change
WHEN Thu., Jan. 21, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Film, Humanities, Information Technology, Lecture, Social Sciences, Theater
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Office for the Arts at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Neal Baer
COST Free and open to the public; registration required
CONTACT INFO 617.495.8676
DETAILS Neal Baer EdM ’79, AM ’82, M ’95 is a pediatrician and television writer who combines his passion for medicine and storytelling to challenge audiences' views on a spectrum of social and political topics. His credits include the TV series “Under the Dome,” “ER” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” and he is the founder of Global Media Center for Social Impact, which uses new media to promote health initiatives around the world. Baer will discuss how compelling stories have the power to transform popular culture and catalyze social change in such areas as health, immigration, racial justice, America’s prison crisis, the environment, LGBT/gender equality, education, reproductive health and rights, and more.
LINK http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/event/wintersession2016-neal-baer?delta=0
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CODEGIRL Screening, Presented by Symantec
Thursday, January 21
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
SYMANTEC, 2 Canal Park. 5th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/codegirl-screening-presented-by-symantec-tickets-20549344643
Symantec invites you to attend a screening of CODEGIRL, a documentary by Lesley Chilcott, award-winning filmmaker, documentarian and producer, whose films include An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for Superman.
Join high school aged girls from around the world as they try to better their community through technology and collaboration in this thrilling, heartfelt documentary. By 2017, the app market will be valued at $77 Billion. Over 80% of these developers are male. The Technovation Challenge aims to change that by empowering girls worldwide to develop apps for an international competition. From rural Moldova to urban Brazil to suburban Massachusetts, CODEGIRL follows teams who dream of holding their own in the world’s fastest-growing industry. The winning team gets $10K to complete and release their app, but every girl discovers something valuable along the way.
Watch the OFFICIAL TRAILER at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRb5iel-3Ck
Come celebrate the opening of a new chapter in Symantec's Women Action Network in the new office in Cambridge. Bring your friends and family. Food and drink will be provided.
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Dying to Forget: Oil, Power, Palestine, and the Foundations of U.S. Policy in the Middle East
Thursday, January 21
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E40-496, Lucian Pye Conference Room, 1 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Irene L. Gendzier
Book talk and signing with author, Irene L. Gendzier, about her latest book, "Dying to Forget: Oil, Power, Palestine, and the Foundations of U.S. Policy in the Middle East."
Irene L. Gendzier presents incontrovertible evidence that oil politics played a significant role in the founding of Israel, the policy then adopted by the United States toward Palestinians, and subsequent U.S. involvement in the region. Consulting declassified U.S. government sources, as well as papers in the H.S. Truman Library, she uncovers little-known features of U.S. involvement in the region, including significant exchanges in the winter and spring of 1948 between the director of the Oil and Gas Division of the Interior Department and the representative of the Jewish Agency in the United States, months before Israel's independence and recognition by President Truman.
About the Author:
Irene L. Gendzier is professor emerita in the Department of Political Science at Boston University. She is also the author of "Notes from the Minefield: United States Intervention in Lebanon and the Middle East" and "Frantz Fanon: A Critical Study", and she is a coeditor, with Richard Falk and Robert Lifton, of "Crimes of War: Iraq."
Books will be available for sale at the event
Refreshments served
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cis/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact:
617-253-8306
lkerwin at mit.edu
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Innovation in Transportation Series
Thursday, January 21
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Venture Cafe – Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, 5th floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19ZSmBnmcInxZhUjyahrevaMunOeifqtM6yb05FvUcjk/viewform
What new things can be done to get us moving in Kendall Square?
We need your brain power and innovations to solve Kendall’s transportation challenges. How can we use technology to tell us about Red Line train arrivals, capacity on the cars? How can we communicate about other options when Red Line is down? What are the top ten apps for transit through Kendall? How do we use commuter rail corridors more efficiently? Please join us, we need you!
Hosted by Venture Café Foundation and Kendall Square Association in partnership with MassDOT.
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Committee on Resilient Environments: CORE Pecha Kucha
JANUARY 21
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston
RSVP at http://www.architects.org/calendar
As our sea levels rise, our storms strengthen, and global climate change impacts our urban environments, the architecture and planning industries must respond with resilient solutions and adaptive environments. The Committee on Resilient Environments (CORE) seeks to better understand the problems we face and the many strategies we can employ for a more resilient future.
Come kickoff the New Year with us during a resiliency pecha kucha night.
Members will give short rapid-fire presentations on projects and work related to urban resilience. If you would like to present, please let us know in your RSVP email.
To learn more about the Committee on Resilient Environments, visit architects.org/committees/committee-resilient-environments-core
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Suffolk Downs Urban Design Workshop Proposal Presentations [Date Tentative]
January 21
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP at rsvp at architects.org
*TENTATIVE DATE* Please watch architects.org/calendar and BSA Currents for further information.
The Suffolk Downs Urban Design Workshop is the third in an ongoing series of Urban Design Workshopsorganized by the BSA Foundation. The workshops’ overall goal is to open up dialogue and stimulate thinking about the design potential of places with particularly significant and compelling opportunities.
Suffolk Downs represents an opportunity to create a forward-looking 21st-century neighborhood that is equitable, diverse, environmentally aware, and in tune with shifting development trends.
The evening will include public presentations from the two interdisciplinary design teams: one led by David Gamble AIA of Gamble Associates and Shauna Gillies-Smith of Ground Inc., and the other led by Isabel Zempel and Nina Chase of Sasaki Associates, and Paul Lukez FAIA of Paul Lukez Architecture. Their challenge was to develop a collection of ideas for the area between Route 1A and the Blue Line T stations that are mindful of equity, environmental, development, and community considerations.
Prior Urban Design Workshops have focused attention on Beacon Yards and high-density housing along Dorchester Avenue in Boston. All follow a similar format of a public panel discussion, professional team charrettes, and public presentation of the teams’ ideas.
For more information about the events, contact Gretchen Schneider Rabinkin AIA, civic design director, at gschneider at architects.org.
The BSA Urban Design Workshops are supported by the BSA Foundation.
For those who qualify, 2.0 LUs are available
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Boston Talks Happy Hour: The Future of Food
Thursday, January 21
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
WGBH, 1 Guest Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-talks-happy-hour-the-future-of-food-tickets-19360509806
Cost: $11.54
The future of food is on the menu.
A Smarter Happy Hour
Grab your friends and join us for WGBH’s take on happy hour—inspiring conversation plus wine and local craft brews for $5 a glass. Hear from and connect with local experts in a variety of fields while enjoying the great company of your neighbors from Boston and beyond. Each event combines short speaking programs, drinks, and a chance for you to join the conversation.
Meet the Host
Edgar runs WGBH's Curiosity Desk, where he digs a little deeper into topics in the news, explores the off-beat, and searches for answers to questions posed by the world around us. His radio features can be heard on 89.7 WGBH's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and his television features can be seen on WGBH's Greater Boston. Follow him on Twitter @ebherwick3.
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Sweating the Small Stuff: The Fun and Fear of Near-Earth Asteroids
Thursday, January 21
7:30 pm
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge
Jose-Luis Galache, CfA
The explosion of an asteroid over Russia in 2013 caught by hundreds of dashcams, and the perennial reminder of the dinosaurs' demise due to an earlier, and bigger, asteroid impact, serve to illustrate the fear that asteroids may inspire in us. But near-Earth asteroids, our closest neighbors in the Solar System, also offer hitherto unimagined opportunities for exploration and resource harvesting. They might even be the stepping stones we require to seed the solar system with space colonies. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, located at the CfA, is on the front line of asteroid discoveries and is vital to the research of asteroid scientists the world over. We'll explore its inner workings and how it contributes to both the fun and fear of near-Earth asteroids.
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Friday January 22
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The Future of Computation in Science and Engineering: "BRAIN + MACHINES"
Friday January 22
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST
Harvard, Science Center Hall B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebvv64nr261f5f27&llr=odyvocsab
This year's symposium on the Future of Computation in Science and Engineering will focus on the converging fields of neuroscience and computer science/machine learning. BRAIN + MACHINES will bring together machine learning experts, neuroscientists, academic researchers, and scholars across several fields to discuss what we can learn from the study of structure and function in the brain and efforts to reverse-engineer the brain. The implications of replacing the human brain with machines and the related benefits and risks for society will be considered. Other topics to be explored will include how treatments for brain-related problems are being developed through better understanding of the brain led by advances in technology and computation.
Contact: Sheila Coveney
Institute for Applied Computational Science, Harvard University
617-384-9091
computefest at seas.harvard.edu
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IAP Lecture - The Role of Science and Technology in the Conservation of North Atlantic Right Whales
Friday, January 22
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Mark Baumgartner, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Why do microscopic plants in the sunlit surface ocean eat one another? How can we preserve the natural whale population? What lives at sea-floor hydrothermal vents, and how? Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reveal the extreme diversity of living organisms in the ocean. We will discuss recent advances in marine biology and ecology using modern tools from gene sequencing to the latest in underwater vehicles. Lectures take place in MIT Building 54 room 915, noon-1 pm unless otherwise noted.
EAPS IAP Lecture Series 2016: Life in the Ocean
Web site: https://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2016/iap-lecture-series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Vicki McKenna
617 253 3380
vsm at mit.edu
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Machine learning and computational pathology for data-driven cancer diagnostics
Friday, January 22
1:00p
McGovern Auditorium, in Whitehead Institute, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge
Speaker: Andrew Beck, MD PhD, Assistant Professor; Director, Cancer Research Institute Bioinformatics ; Director, Molecular Epidemiology Research Lab, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
2nd talk in the series, "The next generation of AI and systems thinking in biology and medicine"
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Biology
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Saturday, January 23
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Botany Blast: Observing Nature for Citizen Science
Saturday, January 23
9:30am -10:30am
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain
Join Margaret Kosmala, PhD, to learn about her work in ecology, studying the dynamics of natural systems from local to continental scales. Her new online Citizen Science project, found at http://seasonspotter.org, is a fun way to help study the impacts of changing climates by spotting seasonal features of plants. Kosmala’s work is particularly focused on how natural systems respond to human actions, such as climate change, accidental introduction of exotic species, fragmentation, and active management. Come learn about using long-term and large data sets, novel technologies, and the power of citizen science to understand how life works. If you have a laptop or tablet, please bring it to class.
Fee Free, but registration requested
Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.
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Transformational Technologies of Tomorrow: Converging AI, Big Data and Robotics
Saturday, January 23
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), Havana Conference Room, 5th Floor, One Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/transformational-technologies-of-tomorrow-converging-ai-big-data-and-robotics-tickets-20046972033
Panel & Speakers: 1. Suchit Jain, Dassault Systemes 2. Ashish Nadkarni, IDC
IIT AGNE invites you to the third event in the run up to Leadership Conference 2016, with the theme Leading transformation for a better tomorrow: Technologies that lift the human spirit. Today we google the question that just popped in our head using Siri, set our thermostat using a smartphone and book a ride to the airport on Uber, as Roomba cleans our living room floors. What about dreaming of living in a Smart home equipped with smart appliances, going to the office or on vacation in a driverless car, playing with a smart basketball and riding on a bike with a Smart helmet, monitoring the health of your elderly parents or family while you are on a business trip, and infusing fashion with smart technology embedded in a dress?
Technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, IoT and Robotics are no longer exclusive to the purview of research labs or capital intensive manufacturing environment. Increasingly, tools and knowledge based on the ideas in these domains are becoming common place and fundamentally transforming our lives, the nature of our work, our thinking and our work schedules as well. The sharing economy based on these technologies, pioneered by companies like AirBnB and Uber, has opened up a whole host of options for us as producers and consumers. How is the landscape changing within these domains of knowledge? How are they enhancing our understanding of ourselves, our society and the different environments we function in? How is technology impacting us as individuals, our workplaces and society as a whole? At the same time as new solutions and technologies are harnessed to relieve our pain points, we are facing a different set of challenges arising out of these applications. Explore these new frontiers with our panel on Jan 23rd, 2016.
Please register to attend an exciting discussion. What: Panel Discussion on the Convergence of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Robotics technologies and implications When: 23rd January 2016, 2.00-4.00 PM Where: Havana Conference Room, , 5th Floor, Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142 Registration: Free of cost RSVP:PLEASE REGISATER FOR RSVP AS ADMISSION WILL REQUIRE A PHOTO ID DUE TO BUILDING SECURITY.
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Monday, January 25
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Contemporary Geometric Beadwork: Wearable Sewn Beadwork as a base to Model, Explore, and Animate Structure
Monday, January 25
10:00AM-12:00PM
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Kate McKinnon, Erik Demaine, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Martin Demaine, Technical Assistant, CSAIL
Kate McKinnon is bringing her intriguing wearable art project, Contemporary Geometric Beadwork, to MIT, and giving several lectures, a seminar, and two weeks of hands-on sessions. Explore the recent structural and design work in this ancient art, and learn how to apply this alluring type of modeling to your own ideas.
The scope of the project is explained in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uoCC9MJ2SM
Sponsor(s): Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
Contact: Kate McKinnon, kate at katemckinnon.com
Contemporary Geometric Beadwork-Lecture
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Our First Chance to Study the Atmosphere of a Rocky Exoplanet
Monday, January 25
1:30PM-2:30PM
MIT, Building 6-120, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Dr. Zach Berta-Thompson - Postdoctoral Fellow
Learn about the Earth-size planet we discovered around a nearby red dwarf and what it means for the search for life outside the Solar System.
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MIT Clean Energy Prize Ideas Mixer
Monday, January 25
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-clean-energy-prize-ideas-mixer-tickets-20565230157
The MIT Clean Energy Prize is the nation's largest clean energy-focused innovation competition. With over $200,000 in prizes, we can help bring your novel prototype or business plan to sucessful launch! Join the CEP leadership team at Greentown Labs, a unique clean energy prototyping and idea space in Somerville, for a chance to meet like-minded students, engage veteran energy entrepreneurs, and form teams to compete for the Clean Energy Prize.
The event is free. Food and drinks will be provided!
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Tuesday, January 26
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Internet Security with Google for Students 50+
Tueday, January 26
10:30 to 12:30
Cambridge Community Television, 438 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
In this class, a Google representative will cover the basics of how to safeguard your privacy online. You’ll learn how to keep the bad guys out, how to keep evil software at bay, and how to not fall for tricks and scams. We’ll discuss password best practices and how to navigate privacy settings on popular sites. We’ll also explore the ways companies track you online and how to limit data collected about you.
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Sustainability Education Committee: Bioregional Urbanism: Its Lens, and Project Context
Tuesday, January 26
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston
RSVP at http://www.architects.org/calendar
According to the Global Footprint Network, key physical resources are being consumed by people about 1.5 times faster than the Earth can renew them. Earthos Institute's Bioregional Urbanism methodology is an eight step iterative process proposed to move regional populations of people back to sustainable self sufficiency, defined as: “One Planet Living.” It seeks to re-connect global science and fact-finding to policy and design in the interest of true sustainability. Significantly different from LEED, Sustainable Sites, STARS, and other methods, Bioregional Urbanism generates actual metrics regarding regional resources and support for an emerging “Budgeted Consumption Economy.” This session will explore the meaning and potential design guidance that can be provided through application of the “Bioregional Lens."
For those who qualify, 1.5 LUs/HSW are available
To learn more about the Sustainability Education Committee, visit architects.org/committees/sustainability-education-committee
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Film on the Nature of Democracy
Tuesday, January 26
1:00p–2:30p
MIT, Building E51-151, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Abhijit Banerjee, MIT
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Economics IAP
For more information, contact: economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu
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Exhibition Opening: Reflective by Reiko Yamada Featuring Vijay Iyer
WHEN Tue., Jan. 26, 2016, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, Byerly Hall, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 8 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Exhibitions, Music
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Join us for an opening reception with composer and sound artist Reiko Yamada RI '16 and acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, and Harvard professor Vijay Iyer
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS Radcliffe Institute fellow Reiko Yamada RI ’16, an independent composer and sound artist, created Reflective, a series of interactive sound art installations based on the aesthetic concept of imperfection in human life. It is an exploration of various media and interactive features to create a deeper engagement with the audience.
This installation is unique in that its material is drawn from recordings of the acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, and Harvard professor Vijay Iyer. The sound material, improvised and recorded in collaboration with Reiko Yamada, has been digitally processed and programmed specifically for the exhibition.
Reflective explores the relationship among decisions, actions, and results. The movements of a visitor in the intimate, darkened gallery space is detected by motion capture sensors, which alter the sound quality of the precomposed piece, making the experience more disturbing or pleasant. Each visitor experiences a unique version of the piece, which is four minutes long.
This site-specific installation has been shown in several locations around the world: France, Argentina, Mississippi, and now Cambridge, Massachusetts.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2016-reflective-exhibition
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The Black Church Never Left the Outdoors: Eco-Justice and Environmentalism
Tuesday, January 26
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
BU, School of Theology, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Room STH Community Center, basement, Boston
Speaker(s): Dianne Glave and Kapya John Kaoma (STH '10)
This is the spring 2016 School of Theology Lowell event and is part of the School of Theology theme for this year and next: Power, Privilege, and Prophetic Witness.
African Americans have a connection to and understanding of nature, rooted in Africa and going back generations in the United States. Theology, history, and contemporary experience can be traced through environmental activism in and through the church. Dianne Glave, Coordinator of Diversity Development with the Western Pennsylvania United Methodist Church Conference Center, will begin the discussion and Rev. Dr. Kapya John Kaoma (STH '10) will be her discussion partner. This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Lowell Institute. Reception following.
We hope you will join Glave and Kaoma as we attempt to see deeply into African American and pan-African traditions of earth care.
Registration not required but appreciated. Email Jaclyn Jones, jkjones at bu.edu, to register.
Contact organization: School of Theology Development & Alumni Relations
Phone : 617-353-8972
Contact name: Jaclyn Jones
Contact email: jkjones at bu.edu
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=177586@17.calendar.bu.edu
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Boston Green Drinks - January Happy Hour
Tuesday, January 26
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Scholars, 25 School Street, Boston
RSVP http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-green-drinks-january-happy-hour-tickets-20478188814
Join the conversation with sustainability professionals and hobbyists. Enjoy a drink and build your connection with our green community!
Boston Green Drinks builds a community of sustainably-minded Bostonians, provides a forum for exchange of sustainability career resources, and serves as a central point of information about emerging green issues. We support the exchange of ideas and resources about sustainable energy, environment, food, health, education.
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Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections): A History of the Religious Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage
Tuesday, January 26
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes Boston University professor STEPHEN PROTHERO, bestselling author of Religious Literacy and God Is Not One, for a discussion of his latest book, Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections): A History of the Religious Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage.
About Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections)
In this timely, carefully reasoned social history of the United States, Stephen Prothero places today’s heated culture wars within the context of a centuries-long struggle of right versus left and religious versus secular to reveal how, ultimately, liberals always win.
Though they may seem to be dividing the country irreparably, today’s heated cultural and political battles between right and left, Progressives and Tea Party, religious and secular are far from unprecedented. In this engaging and important work, Stephen Prothero reframes the current debate, viewing it as the latest in a number of flashpoints that have shaped our national identity. Prothero takes us on a lively tour through time, bringing into focus the election of 1800, which pitted Calvinists and Federalists against Jeffersonians and “infidels;” the Protestants’ campaign against Catholics in the mid-nineteenth century; the anti-Mormon crusade of the Victorian era; the fundamentalist-modernist debates of the 1920s; the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s; and the current crusade against Islam.
As Prothero makes clear, our culture wars have always been religious wars, progressing through the same stages of conservative reaction to liberal victory that eventually benefit all Americans. Drawing on his impressive depth of knowledge and detailed research, he explains how competing religious beliefs have continually molded our political, economic, and sociological discourse and reveals how the conflicts which separate us today, like those that came before, are actually the byproduct of our struggle to come to terms with inclusiveness and ideals of “Americanness.” To explore these battles, he reminds us, is to look into the soul of America—and perhaps find essential answers to the questions that beset us.
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Wednesday, January 27
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MIT on Climate = Science + Action
Wednesday, January 27
8:30a–5:30p
MIT, Building 32-123, Stata Center, Kirsch Auditorium, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
A Symposium Presented by the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Co-sponsored by the Lorenz Center and the Houghton Fund
Speaker: Multiple MIT faculty
Touching on everything from the essentials of planetary climate through the complexities of Earth's climate system to the challenges of finding the will to act on our knowledge to address current climate change, the symposium features talks and discussion by faculty experts from across the spectrum of climate research at MIT, and keynote speakers Marcia McNutt (Editor-in-Chief of Science) and Justin Gillis (Environmental Science Writer for The New York Times).
Web site: https://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/2016/climate-symposium
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Kurt Sternlof
(617) 253-6895
kurtster at mit.edu
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Mobile Reading Marathon: Arabian Nights
Wednesday, January 27
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
MIT, Multiple Locations, Cambridge
Speaker(s): Diana Henderson
Participants will read selections from "The Arabian Nights" in 4 locations on campus.
Participants are welcome to any or all sessions throughout the day.
09:30AM-11:00AM 14E-304
11:00AM-01:00PM Lobby 10
01:00PM-03:00PM 1-236
03:00PM-05:00PM 7-338
Tweet as you participate: #ArabianNights
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Literature Section
Contact: Susan Wiedner (swiedner at mit.edu)
Web site: http://lit.mit.edu/event/mobile-reading-marathon-arabian-nights-2/
More info: 258-5629
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Research at EdX and Beyond
Wednesday, January 27
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
edX Office, 141 Portland Street, Floor 9, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Open-edX-Boston/events/227699952/
Piotr Mitros, edX Chief Scientist will talk about research using Open edX.
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Boston Ignite: Big Data
Wednesday, January 27
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-ignite-big-data-tickets-19824106436
Enlighten us, but make it quick Ignite is a series of events held in cities across the world and it's back in Boston. Presenters get 20 slides, which automatically advance every 15 seconds. The result is an evening of fast and fun presentations which each last just 5 minutes. Big Data Ignite Boston: Big Data is back. Join us for our second evening at the District Hall to connect with the big data community and hear from those who havesurvived, thrived, or died in a data-driven world.
Call for Participation
Do you have something interesting to share about data? A big idea to share? A story waiting to be heard?
Submit your presentation to the call for participation.
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Urban Planning Film Series: Herman's House, by Angad Singh Bhalla
Wednesday, January 27
7:00PM-9:15PM
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Herman Wallace may be the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement in the United States---he's spent more than 40 years in a 6-by-9-foot cell in Louisiana. Imprisoned in 1967 for a robbery he admits, he was subsequently sentenced to life for a killing he vehemently denies. Herman's House is a moving account of the remarkable expression his struggle found in an unusual project proposed by artist Jackie Sumell.
Sponsor(s): Urban Studies and Planning
Contact: Ezra Glenn, 7-337, 617 253-2024, EGLENN at MIT.EDU
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Thursday, January 28
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The State of Solar: Challenges and Opportunities in 2016
Thursday, January 28
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
NonProfit Center, 89 South Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-state-of-solar-challenges-and-opportunities-in-2016-tickets-20516830392
Cost $10 –$50
Join SEBANE for an engaging discussion and networking opportunity on the challenges and opportunities facing the solar industry. The event will feature an appearance by Senator Benjamin Downing, who will be presented with SEBANE’s first Leadership Award for the Senator’s vision and leadership. This will be followed by a panel discussion on solar policy, market perspectives from industry leaders, and a regional and national overview of the current state of solar development.
We look forward to seeing on you on the 28th!
Agenda
9:00-9:15 a.m. | Introduction by Bill Stillinger, Chairman, SEBANE and President, PV Squared
9:15-9:45 a.m. | Award presentation to Senator Ben Downing (D-Pittsfield)
10:00-11:00 a.m. | Panel discussion featuring Larry Aller (invited); Dan Berwick, Executive Vice President of Business Development, Borrego Solar (invited); Janet Besser, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, Northeast Clean Energy Council; Sean Garren, Northeast Regional Manager, Vote Solar; and David O'Connor, Senior Vice President, ML Strategies
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | Networking reception with coffee and light refreshments
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Displaying Data and Models on a Digital Globe
Thursday, January 28
11:00AM-12:00PM
MIT, Building 54-1827, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Glenn Flierl, Professor of Oceanography
The Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences have been hosting a two foot diameter spherical display system. If you have data or interactive models you'd like to see visualized on the sphere, come to the sessions to learn how it can be done and to figure out better ways and how to present information using the iGlobe. Or try to make a compelling environmental movie using the sphere, an auxiliary screen, and sound. Or come if you'd just like to experiment with the way things look projected on a spherical surface.
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Contact: Glenn Flierl, 54-1626, 617-253-4692, glenn at lake.mit.edu
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Implementing the Smart City
Thursday, January 28
6:00 PM
The MEME Design, 288 Norfolk Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Evenings-at-TheMEME/events/227297594/
Go around to the back (or loading dock) entrance. Our office is not accessible from the front entrance. Climb up the stairs to the top (5th) floor. There will be signs pointing the way. Street parking is available along Hampshire St.
The Smart City is not just an abstract vision of urban utopia; it is here, and it is here to stay. The grand promise is that the Internet of Things will help us iron out inefficiencies, using insights generated from Big Data to transform urban life. It promises to improve quality of life and manage the complex systems that make up the city's infrastructure. But what does that actually mean?
THE MEME invites you to an evening of conversation where we will look at how the Smart City is being created, piece by piece, to address the real challenges of life in the city. Join experienced leaders in the field as they discuss how they are researching, developing, and implementing new technology that will change the way we experience urban spaces.
Don’t miss out on the fourth event in THE MEME’s Internet of Things series. We have three speakers confirmed for the panel: Kristopher Carter (the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics), Jutta Friedrichs (Soofa), and Nicola Palmarini (IBM Accessibility / IBM Research).
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RPP Colloquium: Integral Human Development and the Moral Imagination: Implications for Religion, Development, and Peacebuilding
Thu., Jan. 28
6 – 8:30 p.m.
Harvard, Sperry Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
Religions and the Practice of Peace Colloquium Series
R. Scott Appleby, PhD, professor of history and Marilyn Keough Dean of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, is author or editor of more than 15 books, including The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation; The Fundamentalism Project; Peacebuilding: Catholic Theology, Ethics, and Praxis; and, most recently, The Oxford Handbook of Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding.
Integral Human Development (IHD), a concept articulated in Roman Catholic social teaching and resonant in other religious and secular traditions, levels a serious critique at narrowly technical and secular global efforts to build peace, eradicate poverty and provide basic human needs such as health care and education to underdeveloped societies. Reading IHD through the lens of Lederach’s rendering of the moral imagination allows us to envision and elaborate a sustainable partnership between professional development actors, peacebuilders, and religious communities. The talk will unpack and defend this argument.
The event will be moderated by HDS Dean David N. Hempton, Alonzo L. McDonald Family Professor of Evangelical Theological Studies and John Lord O'Brian Professor of Divinity.
Space is limited. RSVP is required. Check back for RSVP info.
Launched by HDS Dean David N. Hempton in 2014, this monthly public series convenes a cross-disciplinary RPP Working Group of faculty, experts, graduate students, and alumni from across Harvard’s Schools and the local area to explore topics and cases in religions and the practice of peace. A diverse array of scholars, leaders, and religious peacebuilders are invited to present and engage with the RPP Working Group and general audience. A light dinner is served and a brief reception follows the program.
Join RPP’s mailing list and visit the RPP Initiative at http://hds.harvard.edu/faculty-research/programs-and-centers/religions-and-the-practice-of-peace
Gazette Classification: Lecture, Religion
Sponsor: Religions and the Practice of Peace Initiative
Contact: Liz Lee-Hood
Source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d115684100
January 28
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Neuromarketing-palooza: Uncovering What Your Target Audience Is Feeling
Thursday, January 28
6:30 PM
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-Neuromarketing-Meetup/events/226827015/
Emotions are the number one influencer of attention, perception, memory, human behavior and decision-making. And to that end, our featured speaker will be Gabi Zijderveld, VP of Marketing and Product Strategy at Affectiva (http://www.affectiva.com/), leaders in emotion analytics and insights. Gabi will be giving a demo of their technology, which delivers insights into people’s emotional engagement with anything from websites to brands, advertising, movie trailers and TV programs.
Making 'Em Click
In addition, we'll be covering the most effective methods for writing headlines that get more clicks. Headlines are everywhere we look online, whether in websites, blogs, articles, Tweets or emails. We'll be doing a deep-dive into the psychology of why people can't resist clicking on certain headlines yet ignore others. Learn to write irresistible headlines that drive attention, clicks and traffic.
The event is free, and so is the pizza.
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The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet
Thursday, January 28
7:00 PM
(Doors at 6:30)
WorkBar, 45 Prospect Street., First Floor, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store and The Baffler welcome Slate correspondant JUSTIN PETERS and editor-in-chief of The Baffler JOHN SUMMERS for a discussion of Peters' book The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet, a smart, lively history of the Internet free culture movement and its larger effects on society—and the life and shocking suicide of Aaron Swartz, a founding developer of Reddit and Creative Commons.
About The Idealist
Aaron Swartz was a zealous young advocate for the free exchange of information and creative content online. He committed suicide in 2013 after being indicted by the government for illegally downloading millions of academic articles from a nonprofit online database. From the age of fifteen, when Swartz, a computer prodigy, worked with Lawrence Lessig to launch Creative Commons, to his years as a fighter for copyright reform and open information, to his work leading the protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), to his posthumous status as a cultural icon, Swartz’s life was inextricably connected to the free culture movement. Now Justin Peters examines Swartz’s life in the context of 200 years of struggle over the control of information.
In vivid, accessible prose, The Idealist situates Swartz in the context of other "data moralists" past and present, from lexicographer Noah Webster to ebook pioneer Michael Hart to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. In the process, the book explores the history of copyright statutes and the public domain; examines archivists’ ongoing quest to build the “library of the future”; and charts the rise of open access, copyleft, and other ideologies that have come to challenge protectionist IP policies. Peters also breaks down the government’s case against Swartz and explains how we reached the point where federally funded academic research came to be considered private property, and downloading that material in bulk came to be considered a federal crime.
The Idealist is an important investigation of the fate of the digital commons in an increasingly corporatized Internet, and an essential look at the impact of the free culture movement on our daily lives and on generations to come.
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Friday, January 29
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HBS Entertainment and Media Conference 2016
Friday, January 29
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM (EST)
Harvard Business School, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/hbs-entertainment-and-media-conference-2016-tickets-19894477919
Cost: $32.64 - $64.29
Entertainment and Media: The Future of Entertainment
Our annual conference brings together hundreds of HBS and Harvard University students, alumni, faculty, business leaders, and community members to hear from industry leaders. The conference features keynote addresses and panel discussions with senior business and creative executives from the industry’s leading corporations and investors.
Confirmed speakers include executives from:
Capitol Records
Centerview
CNN
Governor's Ball
HBO
LiveNation
Morgan Stanley
NBC/Universal
Seed & Spark
STX
... and more to come!
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MIT Meeting on Quantitative Ecology
Friday, January 29
11:00a–6:00p
MIT, Building 4-349, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Organizers: Jeff Gore & Serguei Saavedra
This first meeting has the intention to build a network of researchers/labs located in the Boston area working in the field of quantitative/theoretical ecology. This meeting will allow presenters and attendees to introduce their research, exchange ideas, and explore potential avenues of collaboration.
Speakers: Otto Cordero (MIT), Elizabeth Crone (Tufts), Mick Follows (MIT), Jeff Gore (MIT),
Tarik Gouhier (Northeastern), Kirill Korolev (Boston University), Pankaj Mehta (Boston University), Babak Momeni (Boston College), Peter Morin (Rutgers), Michael Neubert (Woods Hole), Martin Polz (MIT), Daniel Rothman (MIT), Serguei Saavedra (MIT), Alvaro Sanchez (Harvard), Benjamin Wolfe (Tufts), Elizabeth Wolkovich (Harvard)
Attendance is free but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: Send name & affiliation to mit.qe.meeting at gmail.com Please mention if you would like to present a poster.
Open to: MIT and Participating Affiliated Instititutions
Cost: 0
Tickets: Send name & affiliation to mit.qe.meeting at gmail.com
Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering
For more information, contact: MIT Meeting on Quantitative Ecology
617-258-8685
mit.qe.meeting at gmail.com
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MIT Can Talk
Friday, January 29
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
MIT, MIT Museum, Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
After a week of preparing, MIT students compete to become a champion orator. Hear their 5-minute pitches and decide for yourself who deserves the laurel wreath!
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free with Museum admission
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
Contact: Jennifer Novotney (museuminfo at mit.edu)
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/~tleng/www/mitcantalk/about.html
More info: 617-253-5927
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Battling of God's Word: Indonesian Muslim Feminists Now
Friday, January 29
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
BU, 121 Bay State Road, Boston
Speaker(s): Nelly van Doorn-Harder Department for the Study of Religions at Wake Forest College
Texts and strategies Muslim feminists in Indonesia use to counter radical-minded Muslim discourses about the rights and role of women.
Contact organization: CURA
Phone : 617-353-9050
Contact name: Arlene Brennan
Contact email: cura at bu.edu
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=177669@17.calendar.bu.edu
----------------------------
Global Game Jam 2016
Friday, January 29
5p - 11:45p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32-124 & 32-144, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world's largest game jam event taking place around the world at physical locations. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today's heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games - it is very universal. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a 48 hour development cycle. The GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.
Web site: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-game-jam-2016-at-mit-tickets-19781298396
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-game-jam-2016-at-mit-tickets-19781298396
This event occurs daily at 5:00p - 11:45p through January 29, 2016, and also on January 31, 2016 at 9:00a - 6:00p and January 30, 2016 at 9:00a - 11:45p.
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, MIT Game Lab
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cmsw at mit.edu
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Saturday, January 30
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Global Game Jam 2016
Saturday, January 30
9:00a–11:45p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32-124 & 32-144, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world's largest game jam event taking place around the world at physical locations. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today's heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games - it is very universal. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a 48 hour development cycle. The GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.
Web site: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-game-jam-2016-at-mit-tickets-19781298396
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-game-jam-2016-at-mit-tickets-19781298396
This event occurs daily at 5:00p - 11:45p through January 29, 2016, and also on January 31, 2016 at 9:00a - 6:00p and January 30, 2016 at 9:00a - 11:45p.
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, MIT Game Lab
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cmsw at mit.edu
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Sunday, January 31
-------------------------
Global Game Jam 2016
Sunday, January 31
9:00a–11:45p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32-124 & 32-144, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world's largest game jam event taking place around the world at physical locations. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today's heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games - it is very universal. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a 48 hour development cycle. The GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.
Web site: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-game-jam-2016-at-mit-tickets-19781298396
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-game-jam-2016-at-mit-tickets-19781298396
This event occurs daily at 5:00p - 11:45p through January 29, 2016, and also on January 31, 2016 at 9:00a - 6:00p and January 30, 2016 at 9:00a - 11:45p.
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, MIT Game Lab
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cmsw at mit.edu
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Monday, February 1
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Askwith Forum: The American Dream in Crisis: Can Education Restore Social Mobility?
Monday, February 1
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Harvard, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
Moderator: Paul Reville, Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration, HGSE
Speaker: Robert D. Putnam, Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; author, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis
Discussants:
Roland G. Fryer, Jr., Professor of Education, HGSE; Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University
Meira Levinson, Professor of Education, HGSE
The American Dream of equal opportunity is being threatened. A growing gap between kids from the upper third and the lower third of the social hierarchy poses serious economic, social, political, and moral challenges. In this Askwith Forum, Putnam shares insights from Our Kids, his groundbreaking examination of this new American crisis, and our speakers consider what educators can do to help restore some measure of social mobility in our society.
Type of Event: Discussion, Diversity & Equity, Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
Program/Department: Alumni, AskWith Forum
Building/Room: Askwith Hall
Contact Name: Roger Falcon
Contact Email: askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu
Contact Phone: 617-384-9968
Sponsoring Organization/Department: Harvard Graduate School of Education
Registration Required: No
Admission Fee: This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP Required: No
Gazette Classification: Education
Source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d116016607
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Tuesday, February 2
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Boston TechBreakfast: February 2016
Tuesday, February 2
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD - Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA (map)
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!
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BASG Feb. 2: Buildings of the Future - How LEED and Living Buildings are Changing our Landscapes
Tuesday, February 2
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EST)
Cambridge Innovation Center, Venture Cafe - 5th Floor, One Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/basg-feb-2-buildings-of-the-future-how-leed-and-living-buildings-are-changing-our-landscapes-tickets-20309089032
Cost: $10 - $12
From cool roofs to smart glass, architects, engineers, scientists, and industrial innovators have been pushing the envelope for over two decades to build healthier, more efficient, and environmentally sustainable buildings. Today, green construction and renovation continue to trend high as a pursuit of real estate owners and community planners, who recognize the social and economic advantages of utilizing materials and design elements that minimize energy, water, and toxin impacts, while maximizing renewable natural resources for lighting, HVAC, and fixtures.
We are thrilled to have the U.S. Green Building Council Massachusetts Chapter and Living Building Challenge Boston Collaborative as our co-hosts for the evening. These organizations are at the forefront of changing the landscape with their certification criteria and programs for building better, smarter environments inside and out.
Our speakers representing these organizations will be Grey Lee, Executive Director of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter and Shawn Hesse, emersion DESIGN lead and co-facilitator of the Living Building Challenge Boston Collaborative.
Grey Lee, Executive Director, LEED AP BD&C
Grey is the chief facilitator of the US Green Building Council community in Massachusetts, serving as executive director since October 2012. He manages the organization's daily activities and leads the Chapter in achieving its mission. He has a keen interest in helping the broader community of stakeholders recognize how green buildings support and resolve many environmental, social justice, and sustainability issues. By connecting more people to the benefits of green buildings, we will be able to see a groundswell of support to change policy and change market preferences toward better buildings and urban planning. Grey has a background in commercial brokerage, real estate finance, and community engagement. He serves on the boards of two other community organizations in the Boston area and is very active with the Green Catamount alumni network of the University of Vermont. He lives in Harvard Square, Cambridge.
Shawn Hesse, NCARB, LEED® AP BD+C, O+M, LFA, Regenerative Practitioner™
Shawn leads emersion DESIGN’s Cambridge office, and focuses his work on integrating sustainability into design, planning, and policy decisions for clients ranging from fortune 500 companies to universities, cultural, and civic institutions. He has designed and consulted on some of the greenest buildings in the country including Net Zero energy projects, and LEED Platinum Certified projects. He has consulted with universities, large corporations, and cities on sustainability and climate change planning efforts, and has crafted policies for cities and universities across the US to promote green building, green jobs, carbon reduction, and resiliency.
As the first USGBC Faculty in Ohio, and one of three in Massachusetts, Shawn is part of an elite group to be recognized and trained by the USGBC, and has educated more than 3,800 people about LEED and sustainability. As a Living Building Challenge Ambassador and Facilitator for the Boston area, Shawn also provides training for organizations interested in pursuing the Living Building Challenge – the most stringent and ambitious sustainability rating system. He is an active volunteer with the USGBC, serving on a LEED Technical Working Group to write social equity into future versions of LEED, and serves on the national board of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, working to improve social justice in the built environment.
Join us and our co-hosts, USGBC of Massachusetts and The Living Building Boston Collaborative for this enlightening and beautiful presentation of the spaces and places that comprise our future environments. -- Carol, Holly, Tilly
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Wednesday, February 3
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Innovative Polymers for Printable Photocells: Multiscale Theory for Materials Design
Wed., Feb. 3, 2016
4 p.m.
Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
In a talk that touches on ways to harvest sunlight with novel polymer photocells, Milner will explain how theory is critically important to understanding the hybrid nature of these materials.
Gazette Classification: Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science
Organization/Sponsor: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Speaker(s): Scott Milner, 2015-2016 Radcliffe Institute Fellow; theoretical physicist and the William H. Joyce Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
Cost: Free and open to the public
Contact Info: events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
More info: http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2016-scott-milner-fellow-presentation
Contact email: events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
Source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d117208847
---------------------------------
Uncharted Waters? Novel ecosystems in the marine environment
Wednesday, February 3
4:00PM
Harvard, Geo Museum 102, 24 Oxford Street 1st Floor, Cambridge
Ecological Systems in the Anthropocene Series Lecture featuring panelists:
JEREMY JACKSON
Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, and Ritter Professor of Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Senior Scientist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
TREVOR BRANCH
Associate Professor, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington
JOHN PANDOLFI
ARC Professorial Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia
Moderated By: MARY O'CONNOR
Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology and Associate Director, Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia
Since the retreat of glaciers poleward over 10,000 years ago, humans have left an ever increasing fingerprint on ecological systems across the globe. The environment is now dominated by people—approximately 1/3 of land area has been transformed for human use and 1/4 of global productivity diverted to human consumption. While concepts such as wilderness attempt to escape this reality, there is virtually no habitat on earth devoid of some sign of humans influence on the globe—be it chemical, thermal, or a missing or introduced species. Today, this imprint is so pronounced that scientists are actively debating naming a new geological epoch demarcated by the sign of humans on the earth system itself: the Anthropocene.
In the shadow of this debate, the HUCE seminar series "Ecological Systems in the Anthropocene" will examine the future of social-environmental systems in a globe heavily impacted by humans. Each year the series will present a set of speakers and events (e.g., seminars, panels, debates) focused on one perspective under this theme.
The theme for the first year is "Novel ecosystems, novel climates: Is today’s environment unprecedented?"
Contact Name: Erin Harleman
eharleman at fas.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/esa-panel#sthash.EbJhuT7r.dpuf
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Does the Environment Still Matter? Daily Temperature and Income in the United States
Wednesday, February 3
4:15PM TO 5:30PM
Harvard, Littauer 382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Tatyana Deryugina, University of Illinois, and Solomon Hsiang, University of California, Berkeley
Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/5340
For further information, contact Professor Stavins (617-495-1820), Professor Weitzman (617-495-5133), or the course assistant, Jason Chapman (617-496-8054).
Contact Name: Bryan J. Galcik
bryan_galcik at hks.harvard.edu
------------------------------------
The CRISPR Catch-22: An Innovation Series Event
February 3
5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge
Pre-Registration is required at http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/the-crispr-catch-22-an-innovation-series-event/
$20 Members, $45 Non-Members, Free for Students
CRISPR / Cas9 is a 3-year-old technology that is groundbreaking, controversial and developing fast.
MIT Technology Review called it the ‘biggest biotech discovery of the century’. The technology makes gene-editing simple, affordable and precise. Right now, scientists are exploring the potential of the technology to cure a host of human diseases. Other potential groundbreaking research is being done in insects (to eradicate malaria) and animals.
But, with all of this promise, comes an ethical Catch-22.
As recently as December 2015, the International Summit on Human Gene Editing came up with some guidelines attempting to draw a line in the sand on the bioethical questions related to this technology.
On February 3 we’ll take a look at the gene-editing landscape with some of the thought leaders in this space to tackle questions such as:
How soon can we capitalize on these opportunities to solve major healthcare problems of the society?
What is the scope of problems we can really solve?
How serious are the concerns relating to ‘unethical’ use of the technology, and do we need to explicitly regulate them?
Speakers
George J. Annas, JD, MPH, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and Director, Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights, BU School of Public Health, School of Medicine, and School of Law
George Church, Ph.D, Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard and MIT
Bill Lundberg, Chief Scientific Officer, CRISPR Therapeutics
Andrés Treviño, Author of "Andy & Sofia" and spokesman for stem cell research
Moderator: Antonio Regalado, Senior Editor for Biomedicine, MIT Technology Review
Event Schedule
5:30 - 6:00 Registration, Networking & Light Snacks
6:00 - 8:00 Program
8:00 - 9:00 More Networking
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Native Plant Gardens: Learning by Example
Wednesday, February 3
7 to 8:30pm
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
A free lecture by Carolyn Summers , author of "Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East", presented by Grow Native Mass at the Cambridge Public Library
Landscaping with native plants is becoming the rule rather than the exception, but good examples can be hard to find. Come for a visual tour of some truly instructive native plant gardens, large and small, public and private. A diversity of styles, ranging from formal to naturalistic, will illustrate the usage of native plants in both residential and public landscapes. Our tour will travel from Sara Stein’s Garden in Pound Ridge, NY, to the New World Garden designed by Larry Weaner, to the High Line in NYC, and include many others along the way. Accompanied by design and how-to tips, this talk will be valuable for everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned professionals.
Carolyn Summers is author of Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East and an adjunct professor at Go Native U, a joint project of Westchester Community College and The Native Plant Center. She and her husband recently opened their country home, Flying Trillium Gardens and Preserve, for public tours and to showcase the importance of native plants to all landscapes.
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Spring Generator Dinner: IDEAS Global Challenge
Wednesday, February 3
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-674, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Working on a project to help underserved communities? Need funding?
Want to recruit new members for your IDEAS Global Challenge team?
Want to get involved, but don't yet have an idea?
Join us for dinner. Pitch an idea. Find a team.
This is one of the best venues to find a team to join, pitch your idea to woo and recruit teammates, or pitch your skills to get hired onto a team. With the final chance to submit a Scope Statement just a few weeks away (Feb 18, 2016), get started at this event!
Learn more about the IDEAS Global Challenge here: http://globalchallenge.mit.edu.
Web site: http://globalchallenge.mit.edu/events/view/441
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free, but please RSVP
Tickets: Eventbrite
Sponsor(s): IDEAS Global Challenge, Graduate Student Life Grants, MIT Public Service Center
For more information, contact: Keely Swan
globalchallenge at mit.edu
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Thursday, February 4
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Genetics and Genomics of Autoimmune Diseases
WHEN Thursday, February 4, 2016, 11am – 12pm
WHERE Minot Room, Countway Library, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston
SPEAKER NAME Soumya Raychaudhuri, MD, PhD
SPEAKER TITLE Associate Professor of Medicine
SPEAKER INSTITUTION Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital
SERIES/EVENT TITLE BIG Seminar
SPONSOR HMS Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics PhD Program
SPEAKER WEBSITE http://immunogenomics.hms.harvard.edu/people.html
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Household Workers Unite! A Conversation between Scholars and Activists
WHEN Thu., Feb. 4, 2016, 4:15 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Moderator: Rakesh Khurana, dean of Harvard College and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Harvard Business School
Lydia Edwards, Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers
Premilla Nadasen, Department of History, Barnard College
Monique Nguyen, MataHari
Natalicia Tracy, Brazilian Worker Center
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS In a talk which touches on the significance of domestic worker organizing, historian Premilla Nadasen, the author of “Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Movement,” will be joined by leaders of three organizations whose work led to the passage of the Massachusetts Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2014. Panelists will consider transformations in the occupation of household labor including the shift from a largely African American to immigrant workforce, the different historical contexts for domestic worker organizing, as well as lessons that current organizers and advocates can learn from earlier periods of activism.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2016-household-workers-unite-conversation
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EnergyBar!
Thursday, February 4
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/energybar-registration-15734106135
About EnergyBar: EnergyBar is a monthly event devoted to helping people in clean technology meet and discuss innovations in energy technology. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and ‘friends of cleantech,’ are invited to attend, meet colleagues, and expand our growing regional clean technology community.
Light appetizers and drinks will be served starting at 5:30 pm
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Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
The Civic Series
Thursday, February 4
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Workbar Cambridge, 45 Prospect Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-tickets-20397212612
The public debate about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is fierce.
Supporters say that GMOs hold great promise for a fast-changing world: food can be made more bountiful and easier to grow and transport. GMOs could be a vital part of the solution to an ever-increasing global population, world hunger, and climate change.
However, critics say that the unintended risks of GMOs could outweigh these benefits: GMOs pose unknown human health and environmental side effects, and there are concerns about the fact that some GM seeds are subject to intellectual property rights owned by corporations.
Join us to get your questions answered about the science and politics of GMOs, and to form your opinion on this controversial subject.
How are GMOs different than selective breeding methods used by indigenous tribes for centuries?
What is the scientific consensus of the health and environmental impacts?
Why have European countries banned GMOs, while the US hasn't?
Why are people against limiting or labeling GMOs?
Speaker:
Prof. Parke Wilde is an Associate Professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, where he teaches and writes about U.S. food policy.
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Cybersecurity from China’s Perspective
Thursday, February 4
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
The Mary Baker Eddy Library, 200 Massachussets Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/cybersecurity-from-chinas-perspective-tickets-20490920896
Livestream at http://csmonitor.com/world/passcode
Last year proved to be an active one for cybersecuirty. In an attempt to curb an increasing number of cyberattcks, Washington and Beijing met this past September to discuss potential solutions for peace. An agreement was reached, though some experts were quick to point out flaws.
If past trends continue, there is little reason to think that cyber threats in 2016 will be any less numerous. But despite these concerns, the agreement between Washington and Beijing could prove to be a positive step toward thwarting commercial hacking, said Ellen Nakashima, national security reporter at The Washington Post.
Will Beijing really be able to hold up its end of the deal? Can China rein in its hackers? Will China and the West forge rules of engagement in the Digital Age?
Join Passcode and The Mary Baker Eddy Library for a discussion that will address these questions and shed light on the status of cyber relations between the US and China.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for networking. The Mapparium will be open and will include an exclusive presentation related to the event. This event is free and open to the public and will be live streamed on csmonitor.com/world/passcode.
Panel: Adam Segal, Director, Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program, the Council on Foreign Relations
Michael Sulmeyer, Director, Cyber Security Project, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School
Moderated by Mike Farrell, Editor, Passcode
Follow the conversation on Twitter via the hashtag #CSMChina and follow us @csmpasscode.
By registering for the event, you are also signing up for Passcode's email newsletter to receive related coverage and analysis. If you wish to unsubscribe, you may do so at any time.
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Friday, February 5
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MIT Breaking the Mold Conference
Friday, February 5
9:00 AM
MIT, Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-breaking-the-mold-conference-feb-5-2016-tickets-20663491058
Cost: $26.88–$47.78
Breaking the Mold is an initiative aimed at creating a safe space for open dialogue about unconscious biases, with the expressed purpose of helping participants develop approaches to managing these biases in the classroom, workplace and board room.
This year, we are are focused on structural biases - recognising that unconscious biases have been built into the policies that organisations design. We ask: what is our accountability as "principled, innovative leaders who improve the world" (MIT's Sloan's mission) in building and sustaining organisations that are wholly inclusive and allow employees to bring their true selves to work?
The February conference (agenda) explores what cutting edge academic research is saying about building diverse organisations and their impact on the bottom line.
Breaking the Mold is an initiative sponsored by the Sloan Women in Management and supported by other affinity clubs (e.g. Sloan LGBT, Black Business Students Association, Hispanic Students Association) as well as the Student Senate, Student Life Office and MIT Office of the Dean for Graduate Education.
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Film screening: How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?
Friday, February 5
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-screening-how-much-does-your-building-weigh-mr-foster-tickets-18136305177
Cost: $8 - $12
Born in Manchester, England, on the wrong side of the tracks, Norman Foster rose from a humble working-class background to become one of the premier Modern architects of our time. Beautifully filmed in more than 10 countries and homing in on his most iconic works—including London’s Swiss Re Tower, New York City’s Hearst Building, Berlin’s Reichstag, Beijing Airport’s International Terminal, and the breathtaking Millau Viaduct over the Gorges du Tarn in France—How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? features Norman Foster, Anthony Caro, Buckminster Fuller, Paul Goldberger, Cai Guo-Qiang, Anish Kapoor, Richard Long, Richard Rogers, Richard Serra, Deyan Sudjic, and more.
This screening is part of the BSA Space Film Series covering a variety of design topics. Complimentary refreshments and popcorn will be served.
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Monday, February 8
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Webinar: The Importance of (Big) Data for Healthcare Safety-Net Organizations
Monday, February 8
12:00p–1:00p
Webinar at https://sdm.mit.edu/the-importance-of-big-data-for-healthcare-safety-net-organizations/
Speaker: David Hartzband, DSc, Research Affiliate, MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center
Big data holds great promise for understanding the successes and failures of systems in a wide range of industries. This webinar will explore the use of big data in the healthcare system, with specific reference to a multiyear project that deployed Hadoop-based analytics at 33 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers with approximately 1.3 million patients.
The project analyzed five years of data to assess data quality and its impact on care and found that:
reporting of specific conditions was often lower than expected given known estimates for the US population;
the rates of obesity and heart disease as reported appeared especially low; and
these apparent data errors made identifying comorbidities problematic.
The speaker will explore possible system causes for these results, including:
a structural misalignment of electronic health records with actual health center practices;
impediments to proper reporting caused by sociocultural and organizational contexts; and
poor-quality data.
A Q&A will follow the presentation. We invite you to join us!
The MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series, sponsored by the System Design & Management (SDM) program, features research conducted by SDM faculty, alumni, students, and industry partners. The series is designed to disseminate information on how to employ systems thinking to address engineering, management, and socio-political components of complex challenges. Recordings and slides from prior SDM webinars can be accessed at sdm.mit.edu/news-and-events/webinars/.
Web site: https://sdm.mit.edu/the-importance-of-big-data-for-healthcare-safety-net-organizations/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to all
Tickets: See url above
Sponsor(s): Engineering Systems Division, MIT System Design & Management
For more information, contact: Lois Slavin
lslavin at mit.edu
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From doom and gloom to hope: Innovations in ocean science and policy
Monday, February 8
6 – 7 p.m.
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
OEB Prather Lecture
Gazette Classification: Lecture, Science
Organization/Sponsor: Co-sponsored by Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and the Harvard Museum of Natural History
Speaker(s): The Honorable Jane Lubchenco, Oregon State University, Dept. of State's First U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean
More info: http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/news_events/seminars.html
Contact organization: Co-sponsored by Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and the Harvard Museum of Natural History
Source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d117147177
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Writers Speak: Colm Tóibín in Conversation with Claire Messud
WHEN Mon., Feb. 8, 2016, 6 p.m.
WHERE Menschel Hall, Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Poetry/Prose, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard
SPEAKER(S) Colm Tóibín, author of "The Master" (2004), "Brooklyn" (2009), and "Nora Webster" (2014)
Claire Messud, novelist and senior lecturer in English, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO humcentr at fas.harvard.edu
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/colm-tóib%C3%ADn-conversation-claire-messud
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Using Intelligent Algorithms to Design Intelligent Algorithms
Monday, February 8
7pm
The Burren, 247 Elm Street, Davis Square, Somerville
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Tuesday, February 9
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Forensic DNA Testing: Why Are There Still Bumps in the Road?
Tuesday, February 9
5 p.m.
Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
The use of DNA for the analysis of biological evidence has had a positive and permanent effect on all forensic testing. However, hurdles remain as the intersection between science and law has not significantly improved and continues to challenge forensic science practitioners and lawyers representing both sides of criminal cases. This talk with review current scientific and laboratory challenges and discuss the issues encountered when forensic scientists, lawyers, and judges all try to “do the right thing” together.
Gazette Classification: Law, Lecture, Science, Social Sciences
Organization/Sponsor: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Speaker(s): Robin W. Cotton, associate professor and director, Biomedical Forensic Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine
Cost: Free and open to the public
Contact Info: events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
More info: http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2016-robin-w-cotton-lecture
Contact organization: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Contact email: events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
Source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d117208882
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Opportunity
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Special Holiday Offer
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The Ultimate Really "Green Gift"
Pearl's Premium Ultra Low Maintenance Lawn Seed
Truly Unique, Innovative & Amazing
Winner of MassChallenge Prize & Boston Museum of Science Award
An Eco-friendly grass that needs mowing only once per month!
Needs 1/4 the water of other grass. Guaranteed to sprout.
Stays green year round without toxic lawn chemicals.
12 inch roots sequester 4x the carbon to lessen climate change.
No need to tear up the lawn, plant right over existing grass.
5# bag covers 800 -1000 sq.ft. People, Pet, Pond & Planet Friendly TM
WWW.PearlsPremium.com. Put in Code "Holiday" for 20% off,
(offer good til December 31, 2015) tel# 508-653-0800 Jackson Madnick
A portion of your purchase helps us support the important work of Habitat for Humanity
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Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!
Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.
For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
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HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
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Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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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!
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu
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Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area: http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
MIT Events: http://events.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://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
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/
Cambridge Civic Journal: http://www.rwinters.com
Cambridge Happenings: http://cambridgehappenings.org
Cambridge Community Calendar: https://www.cctvcambridge.org/calendar
Boston Events Insider: http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/
More information about the Act-MA
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