[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - January 24, 2016
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Jan 24 10:45:41 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
---------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************
******
-------
Index
--------
******
Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings.
--------------------------
Monday, January 25
--------------------------
10am Contemporary Geometric Beadwork: Wearable Sewn Beadwork as a base to Model, Explore, and Animate Structure
11am Broadband Nanophotonic Devices: Controlling Thermal Radiation and Light Absorption for Energy, Information and Sensing Applications
1:30pm Our First Chance to Study the Atmosphere of a Rocky Exoplanet
5:30pm Dispatches from Paris: Reflecting on the Climate Talks with COP21 Attendees
5:30pm Gas Leaks Action Meeting
6:30pm The Opioid Crisis: Life-Saving Intervention & Prevention
7pm MIT Clean Energy Prize Ideas Mixer
---------------------------
Tuesday, January 26
---------------------------
10:30am Internet Security with Google for Students 50+
12pm Civic Technology and Community Science: Building a Model for Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making Processes
12pm Sustainability Education Committee: Bioregional Urbanism: Its Lens, and Project Context
12:30pm Preventing Gun Violence: Public Health Perspectives
1pm Film on the Nature of Democracy
5:30pm Exhibition Opening: Reflective by Reiko Yamada Featuring Vijay Iyer
5:30pm The Black Church Never Left the Outdoors: Eco-Justice and Environmentalism
6pm Boston Green Drinks - January Happy Hour
7pm 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
7pm January Hyperlocal News & Media Meetup at CCTV
-------------------------------
Wednesday, January 27
-------------------------------
8:30am MIT on Climate = Science + Action
9:30am Mobile Reading Marathon: Arabian Nights
12pm I Feel You: Music, Empathy, and Difference
6pm Research at EdX and Beyond
6:30pm Boston Ignite: Big Data
6:30pm General Assembly + Workbar Present: Intro to Boston’s Maker Community
7pm Urban Planning Film Series: Herman's House, by Angad Singh Bhalla
7pm Cambridge Forum: Infiltrating the Terrorist Network: Privacy vs. Freedom
----------------------------
Thursday, January 28
----------------------------
9am The State of Solar: Challenges and Opportunities in 2016
9:30am 7th Annual Agroforestry Symposium: The Future of Pollinators: Why Agroforestry Matters
11am Displaying Data and Models on a Digital Globe
12pm China in Latin America: Seeking a Path Toward Sustainable Development
2pm Request for Information: Clean Energy Programs for Low-Income Residents
4pm Commercializing Innovation: Russ Wilcox '89, MBA '95
4pm Machine Learning: Art or Science?
6pm Implementing the Smart City
6pm RPP Colloquium: Integral Human Development and the Moral Imagination: Implications for Religion, Development, and Peacebuilding
6:30pm Neuromarketing-palooza: Uncovering What Your Target Audience Is Feeling
7pm The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet
------------------------
Friday, January 29
------------------------
8am HBS Entertainment and Media Conference 2016
8:30am Can experimental evolution reveal anything about evolution outside the lab?
11am MIT Meeting on Quantitative Ecology
12pm Innovate Tufts - Design Thinking Workshop
2pm MIT Can Talk
4pm Natural and Unnatural Disasters: 3/11, Asbestos, and the Unmaking of Japan's Modern World
5pm Battling of God's Word: Indonesian Muslim Feminists Now
5pm Global Game Jam 2016
----------------------------
Saturday, January 30
----------------------------
9am Global Game Jam 2016
10am Maple Tree Tapping
-------------------------
Sunday, January 31
-------------------------
9am Global Game Jam 2016
--------------------------
Monday, February 1
--------------------------
11:30am Regulating Greed Over Time: An Important Lesson For Practical Recommender Systems
12pm Lunch Talk: Current Intelligence Politics in Germany and the Future of the Transatlantic Digital Dialogue
5:30pm Askwith Forum: The American Dream in Crisis: Can Education Restore Social Mobility?
7pm Start-up War Stories and Beer
---------------------------
Tuesday, February 2
---------------------------
8am Boston TechBreakfast: February 2016
12pm Engineering open production efficiency at scale
5:30pm Creativity and Entrepreneurship
6pm Art of Jazz: Form/Performance/Notes Opening Reception
6pm BASG Feb. 2: Buildings of the Future - How LEED and Living Buildings are Changing our Landscapes
7pm Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency
---------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************
My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com
World Game Notes: MOOCs, Global Displays, and Existing Technological Opportunities
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/17/1471115/-World-Game-Notes-MOOCs-Global-Displays-and-Existing-Technological-Opportunities
Sewer Socialism Works
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/23/1473948/-Sewer-Socialism-Works#comment_59153813
---------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************
--------------------------
Monday, January 25
--------------------------
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
-----------------------------------
Broadband Nanophotonic Devices: Controlling Thermal Radiation and Light Absorption for Energy, Information and Sensing Applications
Monday, January 25
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Boston University, PHO 339, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Light refreshments will be available at 10:45 pm outside of PHO 339
Abstract: Meeting increasing global demand for energy, especially in the developing world, while reducing carbon emissions remains one of the grand challenges of this century. Nanophotonic devices, by their small length scales, allow researchers to manipulate light and heat in unprecedented ways, enabling new possibilities for energy efficiency and generation to meet this challenge. In this talk, Raman will show how controlling the electromagnetic fields associated with thermal radiation and solar absorption using nanophotonic devices can fundamentally enable new technological capabilities for clean energy, by allowing us to better use both sunlight and an unexploited renewable thermodynamic resource: the cold of space. Moreover, Raman will show how researchers can better characterize the fundamental behavior of nanophotonic devices over a broad range of wavelengths to improve their capabilities in information and sensing applications.Air conditioning is a significant end-use of energy globally and a major driver of peak electricity demand. At night, electricity-free cooling below ambient air temperature has been demonstrated using a technique known as radiative cooling or night-sky cooling, where one uses a device exposed to the sky to radiatively emit heat to outer space through a transparency window in the atmosphere between 8-13 m. Raman will present results of the first experimental demonstration of daytime radiative cooling, where a sky-facing nanophotonic surface passively achieved a temperature of 5-10C below the ambient air temperature under direct sunlight. Raman will also discuss related work on using thermal nanophotonic approaches to passively maintain solar cells at lower temperatures, while maintaining their solar absorption, thereby improving their efficiency.
Raman will next present a nanophotonic light trapping theory that describes broadband light absorption enhancement in nanoscale solar cells. Conventional light trapping increases the path length of incident solar light in the active material, which improves efficiency and cost-effectiveness. He will show that, at the nanoscale, it is possible to exceed conventional limits on light trapping for all absorption regimes, and explain the mechanisms for this enhancement using a rigorous theory. More generally, understanding the broadband behavior of nanophotonic devices is important for not only energy, but also information and sensing applications. Thus, Raman will finally discuss a plasmonic and metamaterial band theory that allow us to rigorously model an important class of nanophotonic devices made of metallic or dispersive elements, over a broad range of wavelengths. This band theory further enables the development of a perturbation theory that can predict the performance of this class of devices in sensing and modulation device scenarios.
Speaker Bio:Aaswath Raman is an Engineering Research Associate with the Ginzton Laboratory at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 2013, and his A.B. in Physics & Astronomy and M.S. in Computer Science from Harvard University in 2006. His research interests include nanophotonics, thermal science, solid-state devices and renewable energy systems. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Stanford Postdoctoral Research Award, and in 2011, the SPIE Green Photonics Award for his work on nanophotonic light trapping for solar cells, and the Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction from the Government of Alberta, Canada. In 2015, he received MIT Technology Reviews Innovator Under 35 (TR35) Award for being an Energy Pioneer.
ECE Seminar: Aaswath P. Raman Seminar
Faculty Host: Siddharth Ramachandran
More info: http://www.bu.edu/ece/files/2016/01/AaswathRamanFlyerMed-011.jpg
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=178754@17.calendar.bu.edu
-----------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------
Dispatches from Paris: Reflecting on the Climate Talks with COP21 Attendees
Monday, January 25
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
MIT, Building E51-315, 2 Amherst Sreet, Cambridge
Speaker(s): Panel Discussion. Panelists are listed in the description.
Join the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and the MIT Energy Initiative for Dispatches from Paris: Reflecting on the Climate Talks with COP21 Attendees.
In this informal panel discussion with members of the MIT community who participated as observers in the recent UN climate talks in Paris, we recap and reflect on the agreement that emerged from COP21, as well as hear first-hand accounts of the negotiation process and surrounding events. What were the outcomes of the meeting, and what do they mean for climate change? Who were key players in the negotiations, and what were the roles of non-governmental entities in the process?
Special Guests
Ellen Czaika Ph.D., Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Researcher on Sustainable Infrastructure Planning Systems
Michael Davidson, Ph.D. Candidate, Engineering Systems, Institute for Data, Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, ICF Fellow
Jessica Gordon Ph. D. Candidate, Environmental Policy and Planning, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Malaysia Sustainable Cities Program
Joseff Kolman, Bachelors of Science Candidate, Political Science and Physics
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative, Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Web site: http://mitei.mit.edu/calendar/dispatches-paris-reflecting-climate-talks-cop21-attendees
------------------------------------
Gas Leaks Action Meeting
Monday, January 25
5:30-8pm
Cambridge Main Library, Community Roomm 449 Broadway, Cambridge
Schedule: 5:30-6pm Refreshments and Conversation
6pm-8pm Working Meeting
More and more people are learning about the California gas leak filling the skies of LA with methane, but fewer know that the same thing, on a smaller scale, is happening on a street corner near you, your office, your kids' school… (see map)
These gas leaks affect our pocketbooks, our health, and the future of our planet. So Mothers Out Front here in Cambridge is in the middle of launching our campaign to stop those leaks. With all of us planning and working together, we see clear skies in our future.
Come be part of the solution. After our brainstorming and campaign planning meetings in November and earlier this month, in this meeting we'lll get down to the nitty gritty of to-do lists. Can you come with your calendars, ready to take on a task? A little help from a lot of people makes a huge difference. We need you!
Thank you. Really, thank you -- we know you have an inbox full of important emails. If you agree this one is worth a bit of your time, please join us Monday evening. Your involvement matters.
Cambridge Mothers Out Front Team
http://www.mothersoutfront.org/
Mothers Out Front, 30 Bow Street, Cambridge
------------------------------------
The Opioid Crisis: Life-Saving Intervention & Prevention
Monday, January 25
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Linda K. Paresky Conference Center, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-opioid-crisis-life-saving-intervention-prevention-tickets-20639191377
The Opioid Crisis: Life-Saving Intervention & Prevention January 25, 2016, 6:30-8pm Linda K. Paresky Conference Center, Simmons College The Student Nurses Association and Simmons School of Nursing and Health Sciences are hosting an important event addressing the opioid crisis Massachusetts and the country is facing. The number of deaths due to opioid overdoses is reaching staggering levels in Massachusetts and across the country. On average, nearly 4 people die each day in Massachusetts from opioid overdoses. Local detectives, including Detective Lt. Patrick Glynn and Detective Brian Coen, will speak about how the Quincy Police Department implemented a program to equip every Quincy police cruiser with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone (Narcan) and train officers to administer it. The Office of National Drug Control Policy named Detective Lt. Glynn one of seven Advocates for Action for his work heading up this first-in-the-nation program. Youll learn about its impact on Massachusetts and its influence across the country. The event will also cover safe medication prescribing and disposing practices. Finally, attendees will hear firsthand the powerful and tragic effect the opioid epidemic is having on families and communities. Space is limited, please register for this event to reserve your seat.
-------------------------------------
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!
---------------------------
Tuesday, January 26
---------------------------
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.
---------------------------------
Civic Technology and Community Science: Building a Model for Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making Processes
Tuesday, January 26
12pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/01/Dosemagen#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/01/Dosemagen at 12:00 pm.
Please join us to learn more about the important work that Berkman Fellow, Shannon Dosemagen, focuses on as the Executive Director of PublicLab.
A founder of Public Lab, Shannon is based in New Orleans and Cambridge (MA) as President and Executive Director of the non-profit. With a background in community organizing and education, Shannon has worked with environment and public health groups across the United States addressing our declining freshwater resources, coastal land loss and building participatory monitoring programs with communities neighboring industrial oil facilities and impacted by the BP oil spill. In her current work with Public Lab, Shannon seeks to infuse traditional organizing methods of the environmental sector with new media technologies and tools to create actionable outcomes. While at Berkman, Shannon will be thinking through issues of trust, legitimacy, security, verification and the use of community-collected data for the purpose of influencing policy around the environment and public health.
She has a MS in Anthropology and Nonprofit Management and has worked with nonprofits for over fifteen years. She is an Ashoka Fellow, a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program a recipient of the Claneil Foundation Emerging Leaders Fund and a past Loyola University Institute for Environmental Communications Fellow. Shannon serves on advisory boards, councils or committees for the National Parks Conservation Association, World Economic Forum, Citizen Science Association, the Louisiana Public Health Institute Healthy Communities Coalition, and the Louisiana Bar Association.
About Public Lab
Public Lab is a community where you can learn how to investigate environmental concerns. Using inexpensive DIY techniques, we seek to change how people see the world in environmental, social, and political terms.
--------------------------------
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
----------------------------------
Preventing Gun Violence: Public Health Perspectives
WHEN Tue., Jan. 26, 2016, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE The Leadership Studio, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston
SPEAKER(S) David Hemenway, professor of health policy and management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center
Felton Earls, Professor of Human Behavior and Development, Emeritus, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Professor of Social Medicine, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School
David King, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, and Chair, Harvard’s Bipartisan Program for Newly-Elected Members of Congress
Mike McLively, Staff Attorney, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
MODERATOR
Scott Malone, Editor-in-Charge, General News, Northeastern United States, Reuters
COST Free live webcast
TICKET INFO RSVP to attend live audience: theforum at hsph.harvard.edu
DETAILS This event will examine gun violence through a public health prism. Panelists will talk about patterns of violence, including social forces such as the grinding violence, crime and poverty that disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities. Panelists also will discuss President Obama’s recent announcements about gun violence prevention, prompted by a series of mass shootings as well as ongoing urban violence. And they will explore dynamics at state and Congressional levels that are impacting public safety measures now and moving forward.
LINK https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/preventing-gun-violence/
----------------------------------
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
---------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------
January Hyperlocal News & Media Meetup at CCTV
Tuesday, January 26
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Cambridge Community Television, 438 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cambridge Community Television is happy to host the 4th meeting for the Hyperlocal News & Media Meetup group on Tuesday, January 26th at 7pm. This quarterly meetup will be followed by a tour of CCTV. Meet people in the hyperlocal journalism field and learn more about what is happening in and around the greater Boston area. We will explore best practices in the local news/media, collaborations/partnership ideas, marketing tips and have a chance to build a stronger community media field!
The agenda for the night:
1. Show examples of work people are doing - people should come with questions if they are seeking any feedback re: production, story quality, etc.
2. Go around and share biggest hurdles and biggest successes from doing a local news show
3. Get a tour of CCTV
-------------------------------
Wednesday, January 27
-------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------
I Feel You: Music, Empathy, and Difference
WHEN Wed., Jan. 27, 2016, 12 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Music
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research
SPEAKER(S) Vijay Iyer, Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts, Harvard University
COST Free & open to the public
CONTACT INFO hutchevents at fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS A Q+A will follow the lecture.
LINK http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events-lectures/events/january-27-2016-1200pm/spring-colloquium-vijay-iyer
------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------
General Assembly + Workbar Present: Intro to Boston’s Maker Community
Wednesday, January 27
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
GA Boston, 51 Melcher Street, Boston
‘Intro to Boston’ is a series of events that highlight communities of thinkers and changemakers throughout the city of Boston. Each event will give a deep dive into a respective space. Through panel discussions and 1x1s with professionals in these communities you will learn all the ins and outs to break into a new industry. In January we will be introducing you to Boston’s Maker community!
About the Panelists
Jessica Muise, Member Services Manager, Artisan’s Asylum
Jessica Muise is an arts advocate, dance artist and educator. As Member Services Manager at Artisan’s Asylum, she is dedicated to helping people make what they imagine. She has always been drawn to creation as pedagogy which, as an act of transformation, helps us better understand each other and ourselves. She has a B.A. from New York University in transformative pedagogy and has a graduate certificate in dance education from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. An arts administration junkie, she has led development and infrastructure projects for Green Street Studios, the Boston Community Network Project, the Permaculture Institute of the Northeast, and National Choreography Month amongst others. Her dance company Intimations Dance has presented been at the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, First Night Boston, the Cambridge River Festival, Somerville’s ArtBeat and has been awarded the GreenWorks Residency and aMaSSiT mentoring lab at the Dance Complex. She has given talks and workshops on the arts and permaculture design for various organizations including KZNArts Link, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, TEDx NYU, Newton Community Education, Collective Motion Arts and MovingTarget Boston. Her work at Artisan’s Asylum focuses on programming, community development and volunteer management.
Ryan Habbyshaw, Creative Director & Co-Owner, Loyal Supply Co.
The creative force behind Loyal is Ryan Habbyshaw. With over ten years of design experience, Ryan created the Loyal Supply Co. branding. After spending four years working at product design firm IDEO, Ryan continues to design everyday, often with local manufacturers to produce Loyal’s own line of goods. He also works with other businesses, consulting on design and marketing. Ryan is always on the hunt for new and interesting products to feature in the store. He can be found in the workshop most days. His bench is always busy with projects and prototypes.
Website: https://generalassemb.ly/education/ga-workbar-present-intro-to-bostons-maker-community/boston/20551
General Assembly
Email: boston at generalassemb.ly
Website: http://www.generalassemb.ly
-------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
Cambridge Forum: Infiltrating the Terrorist Network: Privacy vs. Freedom
Wednesday, January 27
7:00 PM
FPC Parish House, 3 Church Street, Cambridge
Cambridge Forum welcomes GREG NOJEIM, director of the Freedom, Security, and Technology Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington, D.C, for a discussion on privacy protection in the digital age and anti-surveillance and intrusion by the U.S. government.
Cambridge Forums are free and open to the public.
Learn more at cambridgeforum.org
----------------------------
Thursday, January 28
----------------------------
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
--------------------------------------
7th Annual Agroforestry Symposium: The Future of Pollinators: Why Agroforestry Matters
Thursday, January 28
9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. (EST)
Bond Life Sciences Building, University of Missouri
Unable to attend in person?
Join us through live streaming: http://goo.gl/AjeQpG
Schedule of events:
http://centerforagroforestry.org/events/symposia.php
-----------------------------------
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
----------------------------------
China in Latin America: Seeking a Path Toward Sustainable Development
Thursday, January 28
12 pm
Tufts, Rabb room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Most talks will be streamed lived at Bit.ly/TuftsLunchLearn
Rebecca Ray
China is now the top trading partner for South America and the top lender for the entire Latin American region. But Latin America's recent commodity boom — led by Chinese demand and investment — accentuated the region’s environmental degradation and social conflicts. This talk will review the results of eight country studies on the environmental and social impacts of China in Latin America. It will focus on two questions: First, is China an independent driver of social and environmental change in the region? Second, do Chinese investors perform differently from other investors in Latin America?
----------------------------------
Request for Information: Clean Energy Programs for Low-Income Residents
Thursday, January 28
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, 63 Franklin Steet, 3rd Floor Boardroom, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/request-for-information-clean-energy-programs-for-low-income-residents-tickets-20633696943
MassCEC will hold a public meeting on January 28th from 2:00-4:00 pm to accept additional feedback in response to a recently released request for information from stakeholders with experience in energy programs that benefit low and moderate income consumers. MassCEC believes that input from knowledgeable stakeholders will play a critical role in developing comprehensive program solutions for increasing access to cost-saving clean energy technologies for Massachusetts low-income residents. As further detailed in the Request for Information (RFI) MassCEC is seeking input related to the design, execution, and evaluation of programs that benefit low and moderate income consumers including eligible technologies, defining eligible program participants, leveraged additional funding, and measurement and verification of projected savings.
----------------------------------
Commercializing Innovation: Russ Wilcox '89, MBA '95
Thursday, January 28
4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G125, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/commercializing-innovation-russ-wilcox-89-mba-95-tickets-20812328234
Science-based Startups: The Agony and the Ecstasy Part of the "Commercializing Innovation" speaker series. Learn more about technology commercialization and enjoy pizza while networking with other Harvard innovators. As part of our ongoing series, renowned entrepreneur Russ Wilcox will share insights from his experience founding E Ink and taking the company to a successful exit, including topics such as company formation, raising money, developing a product, and establishing partnerships. This event is intended for Harvard graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. Russ Wilcox '89, MBA '95, is an experienced founder and CEO who enjoys helping all kinds of startup companies. He was cofounder and CEO of E Ink and lived the entire venture cycle: seed formation, research, product development, expansion from $0 to $200 million in revenue, and sale of the company. Russ has closed numerous financings, including angel, venture, offshore, and strategic investments; and signed and lived with many kinds of partnerships and alliances. Russ has also worked with startups in software, hardware, science, printing, imaging, robotics, and energy. Most recently, he licensed technology to cofound a biotech startup for drug discovery in immuno-oncology.
----------------------------------
Machine Learning: Art or Science?
Thursday, January 28
4:00pm to 5:15pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G115, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Shivani Agarwal, Radcliffe Institute / Indian Institute of Science
The notion of machines that can learn has caught imaginations since the days of the early computer. In recent years, as we face burgeoning amounts of data around us that no human mind can process, machines that can learn to automatically find insights from such vast amounts of data have become a growing necessity. The field of machine learning is a modern marriage between computer science and statistics, and is the soul behind what is increasingly termed “data science”. But, is machine learning a science or an art? While I won’t answer the question fully, I’ll argue that with a scientific approach, machine learning is indeed a science, and a beautiful and powerful one at that: it has rigorous mathematics at its core, its judicious use allows us to make various kinds of impact on society, and its exploration together with other natural and social sciences allows us to uncover surprising natural and social phenomena. I’ll illustrate these ideas with examples from our work on foundations of supervised learning, applications in predicting anticancer drug response in patients, and connections with social sciences in understanding how we make choices.
Speaker Bio: Shivani Agarwal is the 2015-16 William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, where she is on leave from her position as Assistant Professor and Ramanujan Fellow at the Indian Institute of Science. She leads the Machine Learning and Learning Theory Group at the Indian Institute of Science and co-directed the Indo-US Joint Center for Advanced Research in Machine Learning, Game Theory and Optimization, and is an Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences and of the International Center for Theoretical Sciences. Prior to the Indian Institute of Science, she taught at MIT as a postdoctoral lecturer. She received her PhD in computer science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her bachelors degrees in computer science and mathematics as a Nehru Scholar at Trinity College, University of Cambridge and at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. Her research interests include foundational questions in machine learning, applications of machine learning in the life sciences, and connections between machine learning and other disciplines such as economics, operations research, and psychology.
Host: David Parkes
Contact: Mike Donohoe
Phone: 617-495-0871
Email: donohoe at seas.harvard.edu
---------------------------------
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).
---------------------------------
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
------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------
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.
------------------------
Friday, January 29
------------------------
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!
------------------------------
Can experimental evolution reveal anything about evolution outside the lab?
Friday, January 29
8:30AM TO 9:30AM
Harvard, HUCE Seminar Room, 24 Oxford Street 3rd floor, Cambridge
Andrew Murray, FAS-MCB
Hosted by Colleen Cavanaugh, Edward C. Jeffrey Professor of Biology. Coffee, tea and pastries will be served.
MSI Chalktalk
http://www.msi.harvard.edu/events/fridays.html
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-01-29-133000-2016-01-29-143000/msi-chalktalk#sthash.dgJ4aFMc.dpuf
-----------------------------
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
-----------------------------
Innovate Tufts - Design Thinking Workshop
Friday, January 29
12:00 PM to 6:00 PM (EST)
Tufts, Chase Center, Curtis Street, Medford
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/innovate-tufts-design-thinking-workshop-tickets-20636805240
Think Local, Act Local
On January 29th 2016, the Innovate Tufts Week will be kicking off with a bang! The first event we will be hosting is a Design Thinking workshop in collaboration with Frog Design.
During this event, participants will be introduced to the framework of design thinking and creative problem solving. Eight entrepreneurs and community activists will present their challenges and engage with participants to apply the framework to these real-world issues. Ranging from urban design for clean water in the Charles River to public health in India, the cases presented will resonate with individuals from any disciplinary field.
Our goal is to push the boundaries of your imagination. We hope to engage students and professionals alike to take action in their communities and to enact positive change from the bottom-up.
And no, you don't to have to be a designer, artist or programmer to be a design thinker.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE
----------------------------
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
-----------------------------
Natural and Unnatural Disasters: 3/11, Asbestos, and the Unmaking of Japan's Modern World
Friday, January 29
4:00PM TO 5:30PM
Harvard, Kang Room S050, Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
The Reischauer Institute Japan Forum and Weatherhead Center Program on U.S.-Japan Relations presents Brett L. Walker, Edwin O. Reischauer Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies, Harvard University & Regents Professor and Michael P. Malone Professor of History, Montana State University discusses, “Natural and Unnatural Disasters: 3/11, Asbestos, and the Unmaking of Japan's Modern World” as part of their special series on post-disaster Japan. Moderated by Ian J. Miller, Harvard University.
Contact Name: Yukari Swanson
yswanson at fas.harvard.edu
http://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/programs/calendar.php
----------------------------
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
----------------------------
Saturday, January 30
----------------------------
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
-------------------------------
Maple Tree Tapping
Saturday, January 30
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Tufts, President’s Lawn, 55 Professor's Row, Medford
In preparation for the 2016 Boil Down Festival, Groundwork Somerville will head over to Tufts on January 30th to tap the trees that we will be collecting sap from in the coming weeks. Come with friends, partners, or kids and learn about maple trees, sap, and the history of the Maple Syrup Project. You will be helping tap trees, and you might even get to taste a bit of sap!
Remember, sap is temperamental. So check back here, or keep an eye out on our facebook for updates on the details of this year’s tapping.
More at http://www.groundworksomerville.org/event/maple-tree-tapping/
-------------------------
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
--------------------------
Monday, February 1
--------------------------
Regulating Greed Over Time: An Important Lesson For Practical Recommender Systems
Monday, February 1
11:30am to 1:00pm
Havard, Maxwell Dworkin 119, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Cynthia Rudin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
There is an important aspect of practical recommender systems that we noticed while competing in the ICML Exploration-Exploitation 3 data mining competition. The goal of the competition was to build a better recommender system for Yahoo!'s Front Page, which provides personalized new article recommendations. The main strategy we used was to carefully control the balance between exploiting good articles and exploring new ones in the multi-armed bandit setting. This strategy was based on our observation that there were clear trends over time in the click-through-rates of the articles. At certain times, we should explore new articles more often, and at certain times, we should reduce exploration and just show the best articles available. This led to dramatic performance improvements.
As it turns out, the observation we made in the Yahoo! data is in fact pervasive in settings where recommender systems are currently used. This observation is simply that certain times are more important than others for correct recommendations to be made. This affects the way exploration and exploitation (greed) should change in our algorithms over time. We thus formalize a setting where regulating greed over time can be provably beneficial. This is captured through regret bounds and leads to principled algorithms. The end result is a framework for bandit-style recommender systems in which certain times are more important than others for making a correct decision.
If time permits, I will discuss a separate project, which is an approach to decision tree (rule list) learning. This new method does not have the disadvantage of greedy splitting and pruning that haunts decision tree algorithms. It yields sparse logical models in a computationally efficient way. It is a fierce competitor for decision tree methods on a wide variety of problems, and it is more principled.The work on multi-armed bandits is joint work with Stefano Traca, Ed Su, and Ta Chiraphadhanakul.
The work on decision lists is joint with Hongyu Yang and Margo Seltzer.
Speaker Bio: Cynthia Rudin is an associate professor of statistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology associated with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Sloan School of Management, and directs the Prediction Analysis Lab. Her interests are in machine learning, data mining, applied statistics, and knowledge discovery (Big Data). Her application areas are in energy grid reliability, healthcare, and computational criminology. Previously, Prof. Rudin was an associate research scientist at the Center for Computational Learning Systems at Columbia University, and prior to that, an NSF postdoctoral research fellow at NYU. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University at Buffalo where she received the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior Award in Sciences and Mathematics, and three separate outstanding senior awards from the departments of physics, music, and mathematics. She received a PhD in applied and computational mathematics from Princeton University. She is the recipient of the 2013 INFORMS Innovative Applications in Analytics Award, an NSF CAREER award, was named as one of the "Top 40 Under 40" by Poets and Quants in 2015, and was named by Businessinsider.com as one of the 12 most impressive professors at MIT in 2015. Her work has been featured in Businessweek, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Times of London, Fox News (Fox & Friends), the Toronto Star, WIRED Science, U.S. News and World Report, Slashdot, CIO magazine, Boston Public Radio, and on the cover of IEEE Computer. She is presently the chair of the INFORMS Data Mining Section, and currently serves on committees for DARPA, the National Academy of Sciences, the US Department of Justice, and the American Statistical Association.
Center for Research on Computation and Society
Contact: Carol Harlow
Email: harlow at seas.harvard.edu
----------------------------------
Lunch Talk: Current Intelligence Politics in Germany and the Future of the Transatlantic Digital Dialogue
Monday, February 1
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Boston University, Pardee School of Global Studies, 121 Bay State Road (1st floor), Boston
Open to BU community and others with a research interest in the topic.
RSVP at: http://www.bu.edu/european/news/calendar/?eid=178762
Lunch provided.
Speaker(s): Dr. Thorsten M. Wetzling, Prof. Joseph Wippl
The Boston Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany and the Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University cordially invite you to a discussion and Luncheon with Dr. Thorsten M. Wetzling, Leader of the Privacy Project at the Berlin-based think tank Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, on Current Intelligence Politics in Germany and the Future of the Transatlantic Digital Dialogue. Moderated by Joseph Wippl, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer.
After two years of berwachungsdebatte (surveillance debate) in Germany and halfway through the NSA-inquiry committee within the German Bundestag, the German government has now begun to discuss ideas on how to reform the current intelligence laws and oversight regime. The presentation sets the scene for understanding post-Snowden, post-Paris intelligence politics in Germany. Next, it introduces the main findings of a recent study on the oversight regime for German SIGINT activities including its main policy recommendations. Finally, the presentation assesses the future of US-German security cooperation against the backdrop of the Safe Harbor decision of the European Court of Justice.
More info: http://www.bu.edu/european/news/calendar/?eid=178762
RSVP at: http://www.bu.edu/european/news/calendar/?eid=178762
Contact organization: Center for the Study of Europe
Phone : 617-358-0919
Contact name: Elizabeth Amrien
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=178783@17.calendar.bu.edu
------------------------------
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
-----------------------------------
Start-up War Stories and Beer
Monday, February 1
7:00 PM
The Field Pub, 20 Prospect Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-war-stories-and-beer-at-the-field-pub-in-central-sq-tickets-20795351456
Boston Entrepreneurs and Advanced Degrees (B.E.A.D) cordially invites you to join us for drinks and some networking. Please come and share war stories from your current venture, ideas for new ventures, and the latest Boston startup news.
---------------------------
Tuesday, February 2
---------------------------
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!
------------------------------------
Engineering open production efficiency at scale
Tuesday, February 2
12:00 pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/02/Halfaker#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/02/Halfaker at 12:00 pm.
Wikipedia, largely used a synecdoche for open production generally, is a large, complex, distributed system that needs to solve a set of "open problems" efficiently in order to thrive. In this talk, I'll use the metaphor of biology as a "living system" to discuss the relationship between subsystem efficiency and the overall health of Wikipedia. Specifically, I'll describe Wikipedia's quality control subsystem and some trade-offs that were made in order to make this system efficient through the introduction of subjective algorithms and human computation. Finally, I'll use critiques waged by feminist HCI to argue for a new strategy for increasing the adaptive capacity of this subsystem and speak generally about improving the practice of applying subjective algorithms in social spaces. Live demo included!
About Aaron
Aaron Halfaker is an American computer scientist who is an employee of the Wikimedia Foundation. Halfaker earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the GroupLens research lab at the University of Minnesota in 2013. He is known for his research on Wikipedia and the decrease in the number of active editors of the site. He has said that Wikipedia began a "decline phase" around 2007 and has continued to decline since then. Halfaker has also studied automated accounts on Wikipedia, known as "bots", and the way they affect new contributors to the site. He has developed a tool for Wikipedia editing called "Snuggle", the goal of which is to eliminate vandalism and spam, and to also highlight constructive contributions by new editors. He has also built an artificial intelligence engine for Wikipedia to use to identify vandalism.
------------------------------------
Creativity and Entrepreneurship
WHEN Tue., Feb. 2, 2016, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Room 128, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Classes/Workshops, Humanities, Lecture, Music
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ludics Seminar, Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) Panos Panay, BerkleeICE (Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship).
CONTACT INFO rapti at fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Panos Panay, founding managing director of Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (BerkleeICE) will be discussing the role of play and games at the intersection of of creativity, music, technology, entrepreneurship, and business.
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/ludics
------------------------------------
Art of Jazz: Form/Performance/Notes Opening Reception
WHEN Tue., Feb. 2, 2016, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, 102 Mt Auburn Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African and African American Art
SPEAKER(S) n/a
COST Free
TICKET INFO No Tickets Required
CONTACT INFO thecoopergallery at fas.harvard.edu
Phone: 617-496-5777
DETAILS On View 3 Feb to 8 May 2016
“Art of Jazz: Form/Performance/Notes,” a stunning new three-part exhibition at The Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art held in collaboration with the Harvard Art Museums, explores the interaction between jazz music and the visual arts. With more than 70 pieces ranging from early jazz age objects to mid- century jazz ephemera to contemporary works by established African American artists, the exhibition explores the beginnings of jazz and traces how it was embraced internationally as an art form, a social movement and musical iconography for Black expression.
Please Join us at the Cooper Gallery for our opening reception on this wonderful new exhibition!
LINK www.coopergalleryhc.org
-----------------------------------
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
-------------------------------
Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency
Tuesday, February 2
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
This event is free; no tickets are required.
Harvard Book Store and Mass Humanities welcome political historian and author of Nixon’s Shadow: The History of an Image DAVID GREENBERG for a discussion of his latest book, Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency.
About Republic of Spin
In Republic of Spin—a vibrant history covering more than one hundred years of politics—historian David Greenberg recounts the rise of the White House spin machine, from Teddy Roosevelt to Barack Obama. His sweeping, startling narrative takes us behind the scenes to see how the tools and techniques of image making and message craft work. We meet Woodrow Wilson convening the first White House press conference, Franklin Roosevelt huddling with his private pollsters, Ronald Reagan’s aides crafting his nightly news sound bites, and George W. Bush staging his “Mission Accomplished” photo-op. We meet, too, the backstage visionaries who pioneered new ways of gauging public opinion and mastering the media—figures like George Cortelyou, TR’s brilliantly efficient press manager; 1920s ad whiz Bruce Barton; Robert Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower’s canny TV coach; and of course the key spinmeisters of our own times, from Roger Ailes to David Axelrod.
Greenberg also examines the profound debates Americans have waged over the effect of spin on our politics. Does spin help our leaders manipulate the citizenry? Or does it allow them to engage us more fully in the democratic project? Exploring the ideas of the century’s most incisive political critics, from Walter Lippmann and H. L. Mencken to Hannah Arendt and Stephen Colbert, Republic of Spin illuminates both the power of spin and its limitations—its capacity not only to mislead but also to lead.
Praise
“From Teddy Roosevelt to Barack Obama, David Greenberg has written a brilliant, fast-moving narrative history of the leaders who have defined the modern American presidency. More than that, Republic of Spin shows that behind the power to persuade is the power to inform—and also to mislead.” —Bob Woodward, associate editor of The Washington Post
More at http://www.harvard.com/event/david_greenberg/
*****************
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
*****************
------------------------------
Wednesday, February 3
------------------------------
DEAN'S SYMPOSIUM - Beyond Ferguson: Social Injustice and the Health of the Public
Wednesday, February 3
8:15 AM - 2:35 PM
Boston University, 72 East Concord Street, Room Hiebert Lounge, Boston
RSVP at RSVP at: http://www.bu.edu/sph/news-events/signature-events/deans-symposia/2016-deans-symposia-schedule/beyond-ferguson-social-injustice-and-the-health-of-the-public/
Featured speakers: Cornell Williams Brooks, President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Mary Bassett, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. #BUSPH40 #BUSPHSymposia
More info: http://www.bu.edu/sph/news-events/signature-events/deans-symposia/2016-deans-symposia-schedule/beyond-ferguson-social-injustice-and-the-health-of-the-public/
RSVP at: http://www.bu.edu/sph/news-events/signature-events/deans-symposia/2016-deans-symposia-schedule/beyond-ferguson-social-injustice-and-the-health-of-the-public/
Contact organization: SPH Dean's Office
Contact name: Megan Keating
Contact email: keatingm at bu.edu
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=178600@17.calendar.bu.edu
------------------------------------
Bob Schieffer - The Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
12:00-1:00pm
Harvard, Malkin Penthouse, Littauer Building, 4th Floor, 15 Eliot Street, Cambrdige
Bob Schieffer has been a reporter for more than half a century and was a part of CBS News for 46 years. He is one of the few reporters in Washington to have covered all four of the major beats: the Pentagon, the White House, Congress and the State Department. Schieffer anchored the Saturday edition of the “CBS Evening News” for 23 years, became the network’s chief Washington correspondent in 1982 and was named the anchor and moderator of “Face the Nation” in 1991. Within these roles he has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon and moderated three presidential debates. Throughout his career Schieffer has written four books, won numerous awards and covered every presidential race and nominating convention since 1972. He will be in residence at the Shorenstein Center on a visiting basis for three semesters, throughout the 2016 election season. During his time on campus Schieffer will meet with students and faculty, speak at various events for the Harvard community and participate in Shorenstein Center activities.
----------------------------------
Teaching Polymers the Meaning of Life and Nanographene Quantum Confinement
Wednesday, February 03
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
MIT, Building 56-114, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
SEMINAR 3:30 PM REFRESHMENTS 3:00 PM
Speaker(s): Prof. Felix R. Fischer (University of California/Berkeley)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM)
Contact: Gregory Sands (ppsm-www at mit.edu)
Web site: http://polymerscience.mit.edu/?page_id=2905
More info: (617) 253-0949
------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------
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
-------------------------------
Cambridge Forum: Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
Wednesday, February 3
7:00 PM
FPC Meetinghouse, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Cambridge Forums are free and open to the public.
Cambridge Forum welcomes renowned media scholar SHERRY TURKLE for a discussion of her latest book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.
About Reclaiming Conversation
We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.
Preeminent author and researcher Sherry Turkle has been studying digital culture for over thirty years. Long an enthusiast for its possibilities, here she investigates a troubling consequence: at work, at home, in politics, and in love, we find ways around conversation, tempted by the possibilities of a text or an email in which we don’t have to look, listen, or reveal ourselves.
We develop a taste for what mere connection offers. The dinner table falls silent as children compete with phones for their parents’ attention. Friends learn strategies to keep conversations going when only a few people are looking up from their phones. At work, we retreat to our screens although it is conversation at the water cooler that increases not only productivity but commitment to work. Online, we only want to share opinions that our followers will agree with—a politics that shies away from the real conflicts and solutions of the public square.
The case for conversation begins with the necessary conversations of solitude and self-reflection. They are endangered: these days, always connected, we see loneliness as a problem that technology should solve. Afraid of being alone, we rely on other people to give us a sense of ourselves, and our capacity for empathy and relationship suffers. We see the costs of the flight from conversation everywhere: conversation is the cornerstone for democracy and in business it is good for the bottom line. In the private sphere, it builds empathy, friendship, love, learning, and productivity.
But there is good news: we are resilient. Conversation cures.
Based on five years of research and interviews in homes, schools, and the workplace, Turkle argues that we have come to a better understanding of where our technology can and cannot take us and that the time is right to reclaim conversation. The most human—and humanizing—thing that we do.
The virtues of person-to-person conversation are timeless, and our most basic technology, talk, responds to our modern challenges. We have everything we need to start, we have each other.
Learn more at cambridgeforum.org.
-------------------------------
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.
----------------------------------
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
---------------------------------
Homeplace Under Fire
Wednesday, February
7:30 pm-9:00 pm
Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street, Arlington
Tickets at http://www.regenttheatre.com/details/sneak_preview_of_homeplace_under_fire_presented_by_farm_aid
Cost: $10 (recommended donation)
Homeplace Under Fire is the story of the frontline, grassroots work of American farm advocates and their thirty-year fight to keep family farmers on the land.
The Farm Crisis of the 1980s drove hundreds of thousands of family farmers into foreclosure. Yet, out of that crisis arose a legion of farm advocates who have refused to stand idly by and watch their way of life go up in flames.
Ordinary Americans taught themselves extraordinary skills. As fellow farmers, farm wives, and rural leaders, they studied laws and regulations, started hotlines, answered farmers’ calls from their kitchen tables, counseled their neighbors, and went toe-to-toe with lenders – giving their all to keep neighbors on their land.
Homeplace Under Fire celebrates these advocates and their remarkable work. Thousands of farmers are alive and on their land today because of them. As Willie Nelson says in the film, these advocates are the best of America.
Directed by Charles D. Thompson and produced by Farm Aid in cooperation with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.
RUNTIME: Approximately 40 mins, followed by a brief panel discussion and Q&A with Charles Thompson, Farm Aid representatives, and more.
This event is open to the public--all are welcome! A suggested donation of $10 per ticket will support Farm Aid’s work to bring the film to a larger audience. Reserve your tickets online now!
----------------------------
Thursday, February 4
----------------------------
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
---------------------------------
Geospatial Innovation and Environmental Applications: The Geo Career Path
Thursday, February 4
12 pm
Tufts, Rabb room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Most talks will be streamed lived at Bit.ly/TuftsLunchLearn
Michael Terner
With the full emergence of the cloud, open source technologies and the imperative to get GIS and mapping applications onto mobile devices the entire geospatial industry is going through a wave of innovation. This talk will describe the current technological and market conditions behind this innovation while presenting several environmentally oriented case studies, including the development of the Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT) developed for the Western Governors' Association (WGA). The talk will conclude by discussing how the new technologies are influencing career development and hiring for geospatial jobs.
---------------------------------
The Soul of Anime, and How Japanese Manga and Music Defy Zombie Capitalism
Thursday, February 4
3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Harvard University Lamont Library, Forum Room , 11 Quincy Street. Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-soul-of-anime-and-how-japanese-manga-and-music-defy-zombie-capitalism-tickets-20016971300
Guest speaker: Ian Condry, Professor, Global Studies and Languages, MIT
How did American publishers’ response to junk science in the 1950s contribute to Japanese animation’s current dominance in TV cartoon broadcasts worldwide? The story of Japanese popular culture demonstrates some of the keys to developing more inclusive forms of capitalism, an important issue in today’s era of worsening income inequality. Japanese anime, manga, and music offer lessons for understanding how new industries emerge from communities of shared participation. Put simply, we can learn from the contrast between zombie capitalism, in which the past devours the future, and cyborg capitalism, which centers on a symbiosis between technology and community.
Ian Condry is a cultural anthropologist and Professor of Global Studies and Languages at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of two books, The Soul of Anime and Hip-Hop Japan, both of which explore ethnographically how cultural movements go global. He is founder and co-director of the Creative Communities Initiative at MIT which uses fieldwork at the intersections of online and offline worlds to offer new solutions to old problems (ccimit.mit.edu).
--------------------------------
Climate Nationalism: Understanding Public Opinion on Climate Change in China
Thursday, February 4
3:30pm to 4:45pm
Harvard, Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
John Chung-En Liu, postdoctoral fellow, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
Abstract
This talk will draw data from surveys, discussions on Weibo (China’s Twitter), and books to provide a snapshot of how the Chinese public understands and discusses climate change. Overall, we have found that while there is little doubt on climate science, Chinese citizens have only weak awareness and knowledge of climate change. Climate change is also low on the popular policy agenda. We especially observe that nationalism is a powerful lens to understand climate change: on the one hand, it can spur rapid responses in the name of national development; on the other hand, it can also frame climate change alarmism as a western conspiracy. As a result, the politics and science of climate change are always intertwined in China. The Chinese case suggests that taking local contexts into account is essential when communicating climate change to the public.
http://chinaproject.harvard.edu/event/climate-nationalism-understanding-public-opinion-climate-change-china
---------------------------------
Starr Forum: Africian Repats
Thursday, February 4
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E14-648, Media Lab Silverman Skyline Room, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Panel discussion featuring Claude Grunitzky, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of TRUE AFRICA, and other guests
CIS Starr Forum
A public events series on pressing issues in international affairs, sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies.
Please contact us at starrforum at mit.edu if you need accessibility accommodations
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
starrforum at mit.edu
---------------------------------
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
---------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
Architecture Lecture: Fred Turner, The Politics of Interactivity in Cold War America
Thursday, February 4
6:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building 7-429, Long Lounge, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
MIT Architecture Lecture Series
Part of the Spring 2016 Architecture and Computation Group Lecture Series.
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, Computation
For more information, contact: Hannah Loomis
617-253-7494
hloomis at mit.edu
--------------------------------
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
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.
--------------------------------
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.
------------------------
Friday, February 5
-----------------------
HMS Academy Medical Education Grand Rounds - Culture, Climate, and Our Community: The intersection of the generations
Friday, February 5
7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
Harvard Medical School, Tosteson Medical Education Center (TMEC) Rm.250, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ec03de0r3f7f2977&oseq=&c=&ch=
Overview: There are 4 generations practicing medicine today. Who are they, who defines them, and why does it matter? Everyone says that generations differ; is this true, and what would make generations differ? While it may be hard to disentangle all the reasons that generations appear to differ, there are 3 processes that seem to be important: 1. Lifecycle effects ( in age); 2. Period effects (seminal events); and 3. Cohort effects (major events that happen as the cohort comes of age). Each generation has its own cultural norms that vary within and across generations. Individuals may experience the culture of another generation as more or less congenial. As we each consider our own culture as "normal," we may cause others to experience us as biased and judgmental. Such experiences and perceptions affect education in medicine. In this session, we will consider education and professional development through multiple lenses: culture, the way of life of a group of people determined by their common values; climate…
-------------------------------
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.
----------------------------------
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.
----------------------------
Saturday, February 6
----------------------------
Harvard Ed Portal First Anniversary Celebration and Open House
Saturday, February 6
1-4 pm
Harvard Ed Portal 224 Western Avenue, Allston
Join Harvard Ed Portal for our first anniversary celebration and open house. Take a tour, learn about the Ed Portal’s free membership benefits, connect with friends and neighbors, get a glimpse of our various offerings, and enjoy exciting activities for all ages. Whether it’s your first time at the Ed Portal or you’re already a member, we hope to see you there!
More at http://edportal.harvard.edu/calendar/upcoming?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EdPortal_Email_012116%20(1)
--------------------------
Monday, February 8
--------------------------
MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS)
Monday, February 8
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Keith Seitter (AMS)
MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar [MASS] is an EAPS student-run weekly seminar series. Topics include research concerning atmospheric science, and climate. The seminars usually take place on Mondays in 54-915 from 12.00-1pm. 2015/2016 co-ordinators: Marianna Linz (mlinz at mit.edu), John Agard (jvagard at mit.edu), and Dan Rothernberg (darothen at mit.edu).
Web site: http://bit.ly/1P33yOq
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Marianna Linz
617-253-2127
mlinz at mit.edu
------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
The Paris Climate Deal: An Inside Account of How it Happened
Monday, February 8
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Boston University, Metcalf Trustee Center, One Silber Way, Boston
The Paris Climate Deal: An Inside Account of How it Happened, will feature Amb. Laurence Tubiana, Frances special representative for the December 2015 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Paris (COP21). This event will take place from 4 to 5:30 pm on Feb. 8 at One Silber Way, 9th floor. It is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.
More info: http://www.bu.edu/pardee/the-paris-climate-deal-an-inside-account-of-how-it-happened/
Source: http://www.bu.edu/calendar/?uid=176970@17.calendar.bu.edu
-------------------------------
The Devil is Here in These Hills: West Virginia's Coal Miners and Their Battle for Freedom
WHEN Mon., Feb. 8, 2016, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 2036 B, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Labor and Worklife Program; Harvard Trade Union Program
SPEAKER(S) James Green, author and professor of history emeritus, University of Massachusetts Boston;
Karl Klare, professor, Northeastern Law School;
Linda Kaboolian, senior research fellow, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School
COST free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO john_trumpbour at harvard.edu; 617-495-9265
DETAILS James Green discusses his new book on the deadly labor struggles in West Virginia, work that is also featured on the PBS series "The American Experience." He will be joined by panelists Karl Klare and Linda Kaboolian.
LINK http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/htup/2016/forum/0208%20James%20Green%20Forum.pdf
--------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
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
--------------------------------
Boston New Technology February 2016 Product Showcase #BNT62
Monday, February 8
6:00 PM
IBM Innovation Center, 1 Rogers Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston_New_Technology/events/228108911/
Take the elevator to the second floor and look for our check-in table. Type your first or last name on our screen to print your name tag.
Free event! Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community!
Each presenter gets 5 minutes for product demonstration and 5 minutes for Questions & Answers.
--------------------------------
Architecture Lecture: Jan Haeraets, Terrace Gardens in Mughal Kashmir
Monday, February 8
6:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building 3-133, 33 Massachusetts Avenue (Rear), Cambridge
MIT Architecture Lecture Series
Part of the Spring 2016 Architecture and Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture Lecture Series.
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Department of Architecture
For more information, contact: Jose Luis Arguello
(617) 253-1400
jlar at mit.edu
--------------------------------
Using Intelligent Algorithms to Design Intelligent Algorithms
Monday, February 8
7pm
The Burren, 247 Elm Street, Davis Square, Somerville
---------------------------
Tuesday, February 9
---------------------------
Walter V. Robinson, Boston Globe
Tuesday, February 9
12:00-1:00pm
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Walter V. “Robby” Robinson is editor at large for The Boston Globe. Robinson led the Spotlight Team’s investigation that uncovered the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal. The story of the investigation was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Spotlight, in which Robinson is played by Michael Keaton. Robinson has been city editor, metro editor, White House correspondent and foreign correspondent. He has reported for the Globe from 48 states and more than 30 countries.
---------------------------------
The Present & Future of Automated Driving: Technology, Policy and the Human Factor
Tuesday, February 9
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
MIT, Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, W16, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-present-future-of-automated-driving-technology-policy-and-the-human-factor-tickets-20902056614
Please join us in welcoming Mark Rosekind, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), for a discussion with Bryan Reimer, Associate Director, New England University Regional Transportation Center and Research Scientist, MIT AgeLab, onThe Present and Future of Automated Driving: Technology, Policy and the Human Factor. This event isfreeand open to the public.If interested, please RSVP using the green "Register" button above. We are NOT able to provide parking for this event.
----------------------------------
Controversy! A Reporter's Perspective on Global Climate and Energy Debates: with Coral Davenport
Tuesday, February 9
4:00-5:30pm
Harvard, Littauer 230, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
A seminar and discussion with Coral Davenport, Energy & Environment Correspondent, The New York Times. One of the most respected and prolific reporters on this beat, Davenport covers Obama’s climate initiatives, the Paris COP21 Climate Accord, ADD—in other words, all things energy, environment & climate. She has recently traveled to Greenland and the Marshall Islands to see the impact of climate change firsthand.
----------------------------------
Migrants' Rights in the UN Human Rights Committee
Tuesday, February 09
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker(s): Gerald Neuman, Co-Director of the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School
A session of the Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
Contact: Phiona Lovett (phiona at mit.edu)
More info: 253-3848
--------------------------------
Making Good Energy Choices: The Role of Energy Systems Analysis
Tuesday, February 9
4:45p–5:45p
MIT, Building 4-270, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Professor Sally M. Benson, Co-Director, Precourt Institute for Energy and Director, Global Climate and Energy Project, Stanford University
Driven by concerns about global warming, air pollution, and energy security, the world is beginning a century-long transition to a decarbonized energy system. Building blocks for decarbonization include dramatic efficiency improvements, renewable energy, electrification, nuclear power, natural gas as a substitute for coal, and carbon capture and storage. Given the long-term nature of the energy transition, the question becomes, how do we make good energy choices? Energy systems analysis can augment economic analysis and provide additional perspectives for answering questions such as:
Is storing renewable energy in batteries a good idea and which batteries are best?
How fast can the PV industry grow before it consumes more energy than it produces?
What's better, a battery electric vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle?
For new technologies, what aspects need to improve the most: efficiency, lifetime, materials, or cost?
This talk will provide examples of the important role energy systems analysis plays in revealing good energy choices.
Reception to follow.
Web site: http://mitei.mit.edu/calendar/making-good-energy-choices-role-energy-systems-analysis
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
---------------------------------
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
************
--------------
Opportunity
--------------
************
Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!
Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.
For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home
---------------------
Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
---------------------
Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
-----------------------
HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
*********
-----------
Resource
-----------
*********
Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org
--------------------------------------------------
Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
---------------------------------------
Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
----------------------
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!
---------------------
Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu
------------------------
Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
********************************************
-----------------------------------------------------
Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area: http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
MIT Events: http://events.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://mitenergyclub.org/calendar
Harvard Events: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/
Harvard Environment: http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
Sustainability at Harvard: http://green.harvard.edu/events
Mass Climate Action: http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar
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
More information about the Act-MA
mailing list