[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - April 17, 2016
gmoke
gmoke at world.std.com
Sat Apr 16 20:10:53 PDT 2016
Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater
Boston area that catch the editor's eye.
Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke at world.std.com
What I Do and Why I Do It: The Story of Energy (and Other) Events
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html
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Index
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Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings.
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Monday, April 18
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11:30am Accessing Data while Preserving Privacy
12pm Nuclear Energy: Obstacles and Possibilities
12pm Film screening: Palefaces
3pm Nukes and Water Webinar: Abusing our Waters: Nuclear Power Threats to Water and Ecosystems
4pm The Morris Loeb Lecture in Physics 2016 and The Black Hole Initiative Inauguration with Stephen Hawking
4pm Weighting Climate Change from Space
4pm Conversations in Kirkland: Mayor Annise Parker and Rapper Bun B
4pm It’s Our Money: Defending Financial Common Sense in a Collapsing New Deal Order
6pm Inhospitality: Borders and Border-Work at Europe's Doorsteps
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Tuesday, April 19
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8am Boston TechBreakfast: AMA XpertEye Inc, Code to Table, Inc., VQL, YooGloo Inc
12pm Media and Politics: What’s Next? – A Conversation with the Spring 2016 Joan Shorenstein Fellows
12pm Copyright Law Year in Review
12:30pm Building a Biomedical Information Commons
1pm A vertically-integrated approach to climate science: from measurements and machine learning to models and policy
2pm The Closest We Ever Came to Nuclear War?
4pm How to Tell a Story With Data: Tools of the Trade
4:30pm The Future of Energy Efficiency
4:30pm Panel Discussion: Refugees and migrants: the current crisis in Greece and Europe
5pm Efficient Buildings And Sustainable Urban Development Techmeeting
6pm The New Old Age: How the body ages and how to keep it young
6pm The Art & Science of Selling
6pm MIT NanoDay
6:30pm Challenges and Opportunities in High Level Renewable Energy Integration
7pm Questlove's somethingtofoodabout: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs
7pm A Legacy of Hope & Solutions for the 21st Century
7pm Editing the Genome: Now We Can. Should We?
7pm BASEA Movie Night at Kendall Square Cinema: Catching the Sun! (Area Premier)
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Wednesday, April 20
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7:30am April Boston Sustainability Breakfast
11:30am Harvard Chan School Sustainability Fair
11:45am The Future of Protein: Blending Markets and Food Technology to Solve Some of the World’s Biggest Problems
12pm Speaker Series: Bob Schieffer – Media Coverage of the Campaign
12pm The Anthropocene, African Aesthetics and the Politics of Form
12pm Sack Lunch Seminar (SLS): The Ocean, Arctic Sea Ice, and Climate
3:30pm New nanomaterials at the interface of structural biology and polymer science
4pm Cambridge Innovation Center Technology Showcase
4:10pm Paper Tigers, Hidden Dragons: Firms and the Political Economy of China’s Technological Development
4:30pm Urban Mobility in Clean, Green Cities
5pm The Elusive Demos: Democracy in the Digital Age
5pm Hannah Arendt: Thought Defying Evil
6:30pm Science by the Pint @ Cambridge Science Festival: Studying Marijuana
6:30pm Learning from the Central Park 5: Visions of American Criminal Justice Reform
7pm Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties
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Thursday, April 21
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11am Foodbetter Harvard
11am Sustainability at BU’s Earth Day Festival
11:45am The Future of the Conservative Political Agenda with Michael R. Strain
11:45am Transportation at MIT Seminar: How Uber is Changing the Transportation Landscape
12pm The Social Lives of Computer Models in Forestry Research
4pm Sustainable Electricity: A Generational Change in the Making
4pm Novel Climate, Novel Ecosystems: Effects of directional changes in precipitation amount and variability
4pm Climate Change Policy After Paris
4:15pm Panel on the Front National and the Rise of Populism in Europe
5:30pm USGBC Building Tech Forum 2016
6pm Alma Guillermoprieto: Making Art Out of Fright
6pm The Rainforest's Business: What can nature teach us about business and conservation?
7pm Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart
7pm Film Screening: 1971
7pm Thursday Socials with Green Cambridge!
7:30pm Space Station
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Friday, April 22
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8am Cambridge S.T.E.A.M. Forum
8:30am 2016 Forum on Future Cities: Bits & Bricks
10am Celebrate Earth Day at Fenway!
12pm MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) - Tobias Bischoff, Caltech
12pm Unions as Brokers of Transition from Authoritarian Rule: Insights from Tunisia
12:30pm Connectomics – Mapping the brain
3pm Robots in Our World: Uncertain, Incomplete and Unfamiliar
4pm Earth Day Talk - Professor Max Liboiron: Data Activism in Science and Technology
4pm Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties
6:15pm 2016 Emerson Green Gala
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Saturday April 23
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11:30am Earth Day Open House
12pm The Spring 2016 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
12pm Harvard, EAC Earth Day Festival
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Sunday, April 24
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6:30pm Science by the Pint @ Cambridge Science Festival: Gravitational Waves Unplugged
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Monday, April 25
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12pm MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) - Jessica Neu, JPL
12pm Cultivating Resilience with Heuristics and Systems Thinking: Lessons from New Industries
12pm Nuclear Energy: Obstacles and Possibilities
4pm Sanitation and Waste Management (Solid and Liquid) in Urban India: The Challenge and Opportunity for Entrepreneurs
4pm A Conversation on Conversation
4pm Spatial and Social Frictions in the City: Evidence from Yelp
4pm Book Talk: Unfinished Revolutions Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia after the Arab Spring
4:45pm The future of nuclear energy or the lament of a life long nuclear guy
5pm Film Screening of "Exit Zero: An Industrial Family Story”
5:30pm President's Challenge Demo Day
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Tuesday, April 26
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12pm Consequences of earlier springs for phenological overlap in and among plants, caribou, and muskoxen in Greenland
12pm Berkman Tuesday Luncheon Series featuring Susan Crawford, The John A. Reilly C
4pm Europe & the New Russia as seen from Northern Europe
4pm Design Thinking at the Intersection of Technology and Policy
4:30pm Designing with Water - by Jason Hellendrung, Sasaki Associates
6pm Environment and Health Effects of China's Industrial Growth
7pm “The Boy and the Beast” from award-winning director Mamoru Hosoda
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com
1947 Union Rules
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/04/13/1514554/-1947-Union-Rules
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Monday, April 18
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Accessing Data while Preserving Privacy
Monday, April 18
11:30am to 1:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin 119, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Georgios Kellaris, Harvard CRCS and Boston University
We initiate a formal research of the privacy-efficiency tradeoff of secure database systems. Such systems, such as CryptDB and Cipher-base, try to mitigate the high costs of full-fledged cryptographic solutions by relaxing the security guarantees they provide. We provide abstract models that capture the basic properties of these systems and identify their fundamental leakage channels. These models allow performing a generic and implementation independent investigation of the inherent tradeoffs between security and efficiency. In particular, this modeling allows us in some cases to devise generic reconstruction attacks where the server learns the secret attributes of every record stored in the database, pointing to inherent limitations of these models.
We present a new model of differentially private storage where differential privacy is preserved even against an attacker that controls the data and the queries made to it. We give a generic construction of differentially private storage that combines ORAM and differentially private sanitizers. We also provide efficient constructions and lower bounds for some specific query sets. We have implemented some of our algorithms, and report on their efficiency.
Authors: Georgios Kellaris with George Kollios, Kobbi Nissim, and Adam O’Neill
Speaker Bio:
Since September '15, I work as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at CRCS, Harvard University, and at Boston University. I received my Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2015), under the supervision of prof. Dimitris Papadias. My studies were supported by the Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowship Scheme. I hold a 4-year B.Sc. in Informatics and Telecommunications from the University of Athens (2006) and a 2-year M.Sc. degree in Digital Systems from the University of Piraeus (2008). From September '08 until November '09, I was a Research Associate at the Information Systems Laboratory, University of Piraeus under the supervision of prof. Yannis Theodoridis. On November '09 until July '10, I worked as a Research Fellow at the School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University (SMU) under the guidance of prof. Kyriakos Mouratidis. From July '12 to September '12, I worked as a Project Officer at the School of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, under the supervision of prof. Xiaokui Xiao. From June '14 until August '14 I was a Visiting Researcher at Boston University under the supervision of prof. George Kollios. My research interests include databases and differential privacy.
Center for Research on Computation and Society
Contact: Carol Harlow
Email: harlow at seas.harvard.edu
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Nuclear Energy: Obstacles and Possibilities
Monday, April 18
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Harvard, Malkin Penthouse, 4th Floor, Littauer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Matthew Bunn, Professor of Practice, Harvard Kennedy School, and Joseph Lassiter, Senior Fellow, Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management (Retired), Harvard Business School
HKS Energy Policy Seminar Series
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Film screening: Palefaces
Monday, April 18
12–1:30 pm
Harvard, Braun Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
Join the Harvard Divinity School Green Team for a film screening of "Polyfaces" a film about Joel Salatin and his Polyface Farm, which has been written about by Michael Pollan.
"Polyface Farm" is led by the "world's most innovative farmer." -TIME
More at: http://green.harvard.edu/events/film-screening-polyfaces#sthash.oag98LOQ.dpuf
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Nukes and Water Webinar: Abusing our Waters: Nuclear Power Threats to Water and Ecosystems
Monday, April 18
3pm Eastern (noon Pacific, 1pm Mountain, 2pm Central)
Webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/261501622406515970
RSVP at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/261501622406515970
This webinar is Part 4 in our #NuclearIsDirty Project series.
Power plants are the largest abusers of water resources in the U.S., consuming trillions of gallons of water per day. Nuclear reactors are the most water-intensive form of power generation, consuming even more water than coal, per unit of energy generated. In many cases, a single power plant consumes more water than an entire major city, such as Atlanta or New York City.
This abuse of rivers, lakes and oceans is one of nuclear power's most overlooked problems in relation to climate change. Not only is nuclear unsustainable, it is inconsistent with societal needs in the face of a warming climate. Problems of water scarcity, declining fish populations, and fragile aquatic ecosystems are all made worse by the extraordinary amounts of water consumed by nuclear reactors.
Three leading activists will shed light on the impacts nuclear power plants have on rivers, lakes, oceans, and drinking water resources (speaker bios below):
Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear
Sara Barczak of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE)
Tim Judson of Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Please invite your colleagues and share it with friends and contacts on social media!
The presentations will be followed by Q&A and discussions. The webinar will be recorded and posted online, for those who are unable to attend the webinar. If you are unable to view the webinar on your computer, but would like to listen in for audio only, please contact dianed at nirs.org for a conference call phone number and code.
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The Morris Loeb Lecture in Physics 2016 and The Black Hole Initiative Inauguration with Stephen Hawking
WHEN Mon., Apr. 18, 2016, 4 p.m.
WHERE Various locations will broadcast the event
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Physics Department
SPEAKER(S) Stephen W. Hawking
DETAILS You can watch the simultaneous broadcast of the lecture at one of the following locations. Seats will be free and open to the public on a first-come-first-seated basis.
Emerson Hall 105, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Sever Hall 113, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Science Center Hall D, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Jefferson 250, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Geological Museum 100, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Northwest Building B103, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge
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Weighting Climate Change from Space
Monday, April 18
4:00PM
Harvard, Haller Hall, Geo Museum 102, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
with Dr. Isabella Velicogna, University of California, Irvine
Abstract: In this talk I will present geophysical applications of time-variable gravity from the GRACE satellite mission in ice sheet mass balance and high latitude water cycle. Over ice sheets, GRACE has provided precise measurements of change in mass since 2002 on a monthly basis. The data show that the mass loss has been increasing with time and spreading around Greenland. We find an excellent agreement between GRACE results and estimates from satellite interferometry, altimetry and regional climate models. In Antarctica, the mass loss is more localized but accelerating as well, and we detect large snowfall events in East Antarctica that have been used to evaluate regional atmospheric climate models. The GRACE data remain affected by residual uncertainties in glacial isostatic adjustment, but progress has been made to reduce them and this does not affect the rate of change in mass loss. We have also been able to survey all glaciers and ice caps from outside Greenland and Antarctica using GRACE to get a complete mass budget for land ice. We used GRACE derived mass fluxes from the ice sheets, glaciers and ice caps and land water mass to calculate their contribution to regional sea level variations (or sea level fingerprints, SLF). To evaluate the SLF, we compare them with ocean bottom pressure measurements and for the first time we show that we can detect the SLF signature. We also find an excellent agreement with the sea level variation calculated from satellite altimetry minus Argos floats. In the high arctic, the GRACE data are used to close the water budget and estimate changes in total water storage, which is instrumental for evaluating its impact on ecosystems and precipitation from reanalysis data. We will end the presentation with a discussion of follow-on missions to GRACE for the coming decades.
**Post-talk Reception to follow in Hoffman 4th floor lounge**
EPS Colloquium Series
Contact Name: Sabinna Cappo
scappo at fas.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-18-200000/eps-colloquium-series#sthash.i7jdrAVR.dpuf
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Conversations in Kirkland: Mayor Annise Parker and Rapper Bun B
WHEN Mon., Apr. 18, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Kirkland JCR, 95 Dunster Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops
SPEAKER(S) Annise Parker, mayor of Houston, TX
Bun B, rapper
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It’s Our Money: Defending Financial Common Sense in a Collapsing New Deal Order
WHEN Mon., Apr. 18, 2016, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Robinson Hall, Lower Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Lecture, Research study, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Charles Warren Center
SPEAKER(S) Rebecca Marchiel, assistant professor of history at the University of Mississippi
LINK http://warrencenter.fas.harvard.edu
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Inhospitality: Borders and Border-Work at Europe's Doorsteps
WHEN Mon., Apr. 18, 2016, 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262)
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Law, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Seminar on Cultural Politics
SPEAKER(S) Achille Mbembe, Senior Research Fellow, Center for African Studies, Harvard University; Research Professor in History and Politics, Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
CONTACT INFO Panagiotis Roilos (roilos at fas.harvard.edu)
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Tuesday, April 19
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Boston TechBreakfast: AMA XpertEye Inc, Code to Table, Inc., VQL, YooGloo Inc
Tuesday, April 19
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD, Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/226655691/
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!
AMA XpertEye Inc: XpertEye - Anne-Fleur ANDRLE
Code to Table, Inc.: Sumu - Daniel Tewfik
VQL: - Jason
YooGloo Inc: YooGloo - Joe Pulcinella
~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words Boston
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Media and Politics: What’s Next? – A Conversation with the Spring 2016 Joan Shorenstein Fellows
Tuesday, April 19
12:00-1:00pm
Harvard, Tubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
A conversation on media and politics with the Spring 2016 Joan Shorenstein Fellows:
Johanna Dunaway is a newly appointed associate professor of communication at Texas A&M University. She was on the faculty of Louisiana State University from 2008 to 2015. Over the course of her career she has written extensively on the relationship between the structural and contextual features of media outlets and news content. Her current research examines the impact of the changing contemporary media environment across individuals, groups, and local communities. While at the Shorenstein Center, Dunaway will write about Latino voters through the lens of the changing media environment.
Joanna Jolly is the BBC’s South Asia editor, based in London, who was also recently assigned to the BBC’s Washington bureau as a feature reporter. Over the past decade she has worked as a radio producer in London, Brussels and Jerusalem. Jolly has also spent several years based in South Asia, first as the regional producer in Delhi and later as the BBC Nepal correspondent in Kathmandu. Jolly specializes in radio documentaries and long-form journalism. She won the 2015 Amnesty International Award (radio) for the BBC documentary “Red River Woman.” While at the Shorenstein Center, Jolly will explore how media campaigns around sexual violence shape public policy.
Dan Kennedy is an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University who writes for the Nieman Journalism Lab, WGBHNews.org and various other publications. His book The Wired City: Reimagining Journalism and Civic Life in the Post-Newspaper Age examines online local and regional journalism. Kennedy is also a former online columnist for The Guardian and was the media columnist for The Boston Phoenix. His blog, Media Nation, covers issues related to journalism, politics and culture. While at the Shorenstein Center, Kennedy will write about strategies that could change the fortunes of the declining newspaper business.
Marilyn Thompson is a deputy editor at Politico, working to expand investigative reporting capacities. Prior to her role at Politico she served as Washington bureau chief for Reuters and a national editor for The Washington Post. She left the Post in 2003 to serve as editor and vice president of the Lexington Herald-Leader, later returning to Washington as deputy bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times. In addition to her career as an editor, Thompson has also worked as a reporter for the New York Daily News, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. While at the Shorenstein Center, Thompson will examine money, politics and the press in 2016.
More at http://shorensteincenter.org/spring-2016-fellows-conversation/
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Copyright Law Year in Review
Tuesday, April 19
12:00 pm
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room B010 (ground level), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/04/Menell#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/04/Menell at 12:00 pm.
with Peter S. Menell, the Koret Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law and a Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
What ties together cheerleader outfits, monkey selfies, the Batmobile, a chicken sandwich, Yoga, and Yoda? Professor Peter Menell will provide an exhilarating copyright year in review.
About Peter
Peter S. Menell is the Koret Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law and a Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. Soon after joining the Berkeley faculty in 1990, where he focuses on intellectual property law, Professor Menell laid the groundwork for the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT), which he co-founded in 1995. He served as BCLT’s Executive Director from 1999 to 2005. Professor Menell has authored more than 70 articles and eight books, including leading casebooks and intellectual property treatises. Professor Menell has organized more than 50 intellectual property education programs for the Federal Judicial Center, including an annual four-day program on “Intellectual Property in the Digital Age” since 1998. Professor Menell earned his S.B. from the MIT, his Ph.D. (economics) from Stanford University, and J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as a member of the Harvard Law Review.
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Building a Biomedical Information Commons
WHEN Tue., Apr. 19, 2016, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Medical School, Gordon Hall, Waterhouse Room,
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Ethics, Health Sciences, Law, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School
SPEAKER(S) Bob Cook-Deegan, research professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Robert C. Green, director, G2P Research Program in Translational Genomics and Health Outcomes, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Broad Institute, and Harvard Medical School
Heidi L. Williams, assistant professor of economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DIRECTED BY Aaron S. Kesselheim
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK http://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/upcoming-events?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D117075719
TICKET INFO http://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/upcoming-events?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D117075719
CONTACT INFO bioethics at hms.harvard.edu
DETAILS Access to large public genetic databases is essential to advancing the diagnosis and management of genetic diseases. The largest databases of genetic variants are currently held by proprietary companies, such as Myriad Genetics, who control access to the data and thereby increase the cost of developing new lifesaving technologies.
Public databases, such as ClinGen, are racing to catch up, but have been criticized as being unreliable, expensive and vulnerable to funding cuts that compromise their upkeep. In this seminar we will explore the pros and cons of these two approaches to managing genetic information.
Register at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg;jsessionid=1BB33B4F3992A0CF03C005F7E31634E8?oeidk=a07ecchve63de6b9773&oseq=&c=&ch=
LINK http://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/upcoming-events?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D117075719
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A vertically-integrated approach to climate science: from measurements and machine learning to models and policy
Tuesday, April 19
1:00pm to 2:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Sarvesh Garimella, MIT
The role anthropogenic aerosol particles play in the formation and persistence of ice clouds remains one of the most uncertain aspects of understanding past, present, and future climate. Studying how these particles influence ice cloud formation requires careful measurement of their ice nucleating ability as well as robust uncertainty quantification of experimental results. These measurements and their corresponding uncertainties can be extended for use in climate models to probe how anthropogenic particle emissions affect climate through ice cloud formation. This type of investigation can then be used to inform policy decisions about controls on anthropogenic particle emissions. This study presents a vertically-integrated approach to clarifying the human role in the climate system by 1) developing instrumentation to perform ice nucleation measurements, 2) quantifying the uncertainty associated with these measurements using machine learning algorithms, 3) incorporating measurements and uncertainty quantification in climate model simulations, and 4) using the modeled climate response to inform policy decisions for anthropogenic particle emissions.
EAPS Special Lecture: Sarvesh Garimella, MIT
Event website: https://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/all
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The Closest We Ever Came to Nuclear War?
Tuesday, April 19
2:00-3:30 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 401, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Benoit Pelopidas
The 1962 "Cuban Missile Crisis" has often been referred to as "the closest we came to nuclear war." This crisis however, has mostly been studied from an American and to a lesser extent British perspective due to the availability of documentary evidence, until the 1990s when Cuba and the Soviet Union were given a voice, with the rest of the world still largely absent. This presentation by Benoit M. Pelopidas of Princeton University's Institute for International and Regional Studies, and the edited volume on which it is based offer new insights on the experience of the crisis worldwide, the understanding of nuclear vulnerability, security and the practices of alliance politics at the time based on previously untapped primary sources in 13 countries worldwide. Those findings have implications for international history, IR and policy.
Seminar Series: Project on Managing the Atom Seminar Series
Contact: MTA Project Coordinator
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Email: joshua_anderson at hks.harvard.edu
Phone: 617-495-4219
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How to Tell a Story With Data: Tools of the Trade
WHEN Tue., Apr. 19, 2016, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Ash Center, 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Education, Humanities, Information Technology, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
SPEAKER(S) Dhrumil Mehta, Database Journalist, FiveThirtyEight
COST Free - limited space; RSVP required
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-tell-a-story-with-data-tools-of-the-trade-tickets-22664110966
CONTACT INFO https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-tell-a-story-with-data-tools-of-the-trade-tickets-22664110966
DETAILS Part of the Technology and Democracy Workshop Series
Dhrumil Mehta will introduce participants to the tools of his trade as a database journalist, from GitHub to XML to locating relevant documents and databases and turning them into usable data for data-driven stories.
Participants will gain hands-on training using GitHub and familiarity with other tools for data gathering and manipulation, and they will then utilize these tools to find and parse a dataset. Knowledge of data gathering and manipulation from the web allows you to apply your skills in the real world. It can also be freeing, both reducing reliance on programmers and reducing friction when working with programmers. This workshop is for students who want to roll up their sleeves and crunch some numbers--bring your laptop!
LINK http://ash.harvard.edu/event/how-tell-story-data-tools-trade?delta=0
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The Future of Energy Efficiency
Tuesday, April 19
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM (EDT) -
BU, Questrom School of Business, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, ROOM 212, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-of-energy-efficiency-tickets-23319266554?aff=ebrowse
Join Harvey Michaels for an afternoon of exploring the future of efficient energy including the intelligent buildings at the edge of a decarbonized energy grid. Stay for a discussion led by Professor Robert Kaufmann. This seminar is moderated by Kira Fabrizio.
Harvey Michaels is Energy Efficiency Lecturer and Research Scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management. Previously, he was the founder of leading energy efficiency companies providing analytics and services. His research focuses on strategy innovation, business/policy studies of utility, community, and smart grid-enabled efficiency deployment models.
Robert Kaufmann is Full Professor in the Department of Earth and Environment and the Center for Energy & Environmental Studies at Boston University, a position he has held since September 2003. His research focuses on world oil markets, global climate change, the global carbon cycle and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Kira Fabrizio is Associate Professor and Dean's Research Fellow of Strategy and Innovation in the Questrom School of Business.
Event is free and open to public.
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Panel Discussion: Refugees and migrants: the current crisis in Greece and Europe
Tuesday, April 19
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Buidling E40-464, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Panel Discussion: Katerina Sokou, Washington DC correspondent of Kathimerini Greek Daily Newspaper & Luise Druke, headed UNHCR missions from 1977-2006 and most recently UNHCR Representative in Bulgaria
Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration
A session of the Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Inter-University Committee on International Migration
For more information, contact: Phiona Lovett
617-253-3848
phiona at mit.edu
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Efficient Buildings And Sustainable Urban Development Techmeeting
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
5:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/French-US-Meetup/events/228901075/
Today, there is a clear revival of cities and re-urbanization of downtown areas. More people want to live in cities and live, work, play within a reasonable distance. The younger generation is also more aware of the impacts of their activities on human health and the environment. Modern urban development has focused on creating mixed-use neighborhoods and transit-oriented development, as well as using more sustainable materials.
At the building level, this means creating a healthy and efficient space for occupants that has a positive impact on the environment. Residential and commercial buildings represent 41% of total energy consumption in the U.S. With growing commitments at the Federal, Regional and City level, there is still a huge opportunity for cleantech startups to develop solutions that will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and create more sustainable livelihoods.
During this Open Innovation Club Techmeeting, startups and large corporations will get together to discover the latest innovations and develop business relationships around:
Sustainable building solutions for resilience, health and safety
Smart and connected building technology for energy efficiency
AGENDA
05:00 pm Doors Open & Registration
05:30 pm Introduction - Open Innovation Club & Greentown Labs
05:45 pm Corporate Presentations: Phoebe Kwan, External Venturing Strategy Director, Saint Gobain; Roderick Fraser, Senior Director Energy Business Development, Veolia Energy North America
06:15 pm Startup Pitches: Crowd Comfort, Metacomb Materials,Senseware, Foobot, Sense
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The New Old Age: How the body ages and how to keep it young
Tuesday, April 19
6pm - 7:30pm
Harvard Medical School, The Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, The New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston
No one wants to become forgetful or less energetic as they age, but growing old is unavoidable—or is it? At this seminar, learn about the biology of aging and about scientific research at Harvard Medical School that may help keep you healthier and feeling younger at the same time.
Speakers:
Amy Wagers (Moderator)
Sharon Inouye
Bruce Yankner
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The Art & Science of Selling
WHEN Tue., Apr. 19, 2016, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Innovation Labs, 125 Western Avenue, Classroom, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
COST Free
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-art-and-science-of-selling-tickets-24463701590
TICKET INFO Eventbrite
DETAILS Sales makes the world go around, even the digital world. Whether you’re trying to convince an investor to give you money or a customer to buy your value proposition, you’re selling. The question is what skills and sensibilities do you need to excel as a seller in today’s complex environment. How much is about story telling, analytics expertise, relationship management, product knowledge? The answer lies in this first ever workshop hosted by Brian Cusack, the Industry Director in the Large Customer Sales Group at Google.
LINK https://i-lab.harvard.edu/event/the-art-science-of-selling/
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MIT NanoDay
Tuesday, April 19
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
MIT, Scanning Electron-Beam Lithography Facility, Building 24 - 041 (Access via 60 Vassar Street), Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-nanoday-tickets-23824121589
Join us in exploring the Nanoworld!
Here, tiny things reveal their super-powers. Inside this world, things are strong, vibrant, and electrified. You and a group of excited scientists will use real tools and experiments to discover the super-power of nano. We look forward to welcoming you in our labs!
The events welcomes all family members (recommended age above 7)
http://nano-day.mit.edu/
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Challenges and Opportunities in High Level Renewable Energy Integration
Tuesday, April 19
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
National Grid (Rooms: Valley A&B), 40 Sylvan Road, Waltham
RSVP at http://www.ieeeboston.org/Register/
Eduard Muljadi, Senior Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
In this talk the challenges and opportunities in integrating high level renewable energy will be presented. The background of renewable energy will be discussed first, the nature of the resources, different types of renewable energy generators, the concept of generator and the plant, the similarities and differences between conventional and renewable power plants. Then the presentation will continue with the discussion on the grid integration aspect of renewables, the opportunities and the limitations to participate in the ancillary services, and the flexibilities and direct response of the power converters. Hardware/software commonly used in analyzing grid integration of renewables will be presented. Different types of testing necessary to ensure seamless integration to the grid, and facilities at NREL to support the renewable industries. And, finally we will have a Q&A session at the end of the presentation.
Biography: Eduard Muljadi (M’82-SM’94-F’10) received his Ph. D. (in Electrical Engineering) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. From 1988 to 1992, he taught at California State University, Fresno, CA. In June 1992, he joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, where he is currently a principal engineer in the Power System Engineering Center. His current research interests are in the fields of electric machines, power electronics, and power systems in general with emphasis on renewable energy applications. He is member of Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi and a Fellow of the IEEE. He is involved in the activities of the IEEE Industry Application Society (IAS), Power Electronics Society (PELS), and Power and Energy Society (PES). He is currently a member of various committees of the IAS, PES, and an Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion. He holds two patents in power conversion for renewable energy.
Refreshments start at 6:00PM, talk commences at 6:30PM.
Free and Open to the Public.
Visit the IEEE PES Boston Chapter website for further details – http://wwww.ieeeboston.org/
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Questlove's somethingtofoodabout: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs
WHEN Tue., Apr. 19, 2016, 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Hall B, One Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
SPEAKER(S) Ben Greenman (Co-Author): Writer at The New Yorker and a New York Times bestselling author
Ludo Lefebvre: Chef at Trois Mec, Petit Trois, and judge/mentor on the television program "The Taste"
Daniel Patterson: LocoL, DPGroup
COST Free - tickets required. Limit 2 tickets per person.
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.boxoffice.harvard.edu/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=questlove
TICKET INFO https://www.seas.harvard.edu/cooking
CONTACT INFO science_cooking at seas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Tickets available (in person) at noon on Friday, April 1 at Sanders Theatre.
Note: Tickets are valid until 6:45 p.m. on April 19, then admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Questlove and Harvard faculty from the course Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter will lead a conversation that begins with food but ends wherever food takes them. Food is fuel. Food is culture. Food is history. And food is food for thought.
Questlove's new book, "somethingtofoodabout," will be available on-site for purchase. Book signing will follow the event.
LINK https://www.seas.harvard.edu/cooking
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A Legacy of Hope & Solutions for the 21st Century
Tuesday, April 19
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall D, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
2016 Lowell Lecture
The Extension School hosts Philippe Cousteau, Emmy-nominated TV host, author, speaker, and social entrepreneur
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Editing the Genome: Now We Can. Should We?
Tuesday, April 19
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, D'Arbeloff Suite, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/editing-the-genome-now-we-can-should-we-registration-20707983135
Speakers
Kevin Esvelt, assistant professor of the Sculpting Evolution Group at MIT Media Lab; Sam Lipson, director of Environmental Health, Cambridge Public Health Department
A newly developed technique is sweeping the biological engineering world. From yogurt to HIV to mosquitos, scientists are coming up with new ways to use a gene-editing technique that is more precise, efficient, and flexible, while also being cheaper, faster, and easier to use. Learn about the technique and its benefits and risks, and share your opinion about potential real-world applications. Refreshments available starting at 6:30 pm.
Presented in collaboration with the City of Cambridge.
Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
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BASEA Movie Night at Kendall Square Cinema: Catching the Sun! (Area Premier)
Tuesday, April 19
7 p.m.
Kendall Square Cinema, 355 Binney Street, Cambridge
Tickets (free!) at http://ctsboston.eventbrite.com
From award-winning director and eco-activist Shalini Kantayya comes a feature length documentary that explores the global race to a clean energy future.
"Solar power is a growing American success story. Yet just as solar is about to reach a tipping point, some utilities and other special interests are throwing obstacles in the way. Rather than moving into the 21st century, many utilities are fighting to protect outdated business models. Across the country, mayors, governors and others should set ambitious clean energy goals and commitments, offer new incentives, and promote new community solar programs. To make that happen, citizens need to voice their support for clean energy and demand clean energy access. Together, we can leave a cleaner, healthier world for future generations. The time for action is now."
View the trailer for Catching the Sun at: http://www.catchingthesun.tv/)
In place of BASEA Forum, usually held on the second Thursday of the month, join us on Tuesday the 19th at the Kendall Square Cinemas in Cambridge. After the movie, join us at Flattop Johnny's for an informal discussion of the film.
We are working with the Catching the Sun team on tickets, so please save the date and we will provide more information as it approaches. For any questions in the meantime, please contact Mike Higgins by e-mail: higginsm at mit.edu
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Wednesday, April 20
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April Boston Sustainability Breakfast
Wednesday, April 20
7:30 AM to 8:30 AM
Pret A Manger, 185 Franklin Street Post Office Square, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/april-boston-sustainability-breakfast-tickets-23164672158
Spring is here! Join us for the fourth Sustainability Breakfast of 2016 - Net Impact Boston's informal breakfast meetup of sustainability professionals together for networking, discussion and moral support. It's important to remind ourselves that we are not the only ones out there in the business world trying to do good! Feel free to drop by any time between 7:30 and 830 am.
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Harvard Chan School Sustainability Fair
Wednesday, April 20
11:30 am–1:30 pm
Rosenau Atrium, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston
Please join us at the Chan School of Public Health Sustainability Fair, which will feature student organizations, Harvard community groups, local nonprofits and businesses who are actively engaged in sustainability and public health efforts.
More at: http://green.harvard.edu/events/harvard-chan-school-sustainability-fair#sthash.UAfnMrTN.dpuf
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The Future of Protein: Blending Markets and Food Technology to Solve Some of the World’s Biggest Problems
Wednesday, April 20
11:45a–1:00p
MIT, Building E62-262, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Bruce Friedrich
What: As populations and incomes rise throughout the world, more and more environmental scientists and economists are asking how the world will support its projected population of 9 billion people by 2050 and how governments can meet the climate change goals they committed to in the Paris Agreement. Venture capital firms, entrepreneurs, and major corporations are rising to the challenge, innovating and marketing plant and cultured alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs that are cleaner, safer, and more sustainable.
In this talk, New Crop Capital’s Bruce Friedrich will: discuss why animal protein alternatives are gaining popularity with the biggest tech investors in Silicon Valley, including Bill Gates, Biz Stone, and Sergey Brin; share updates on some of the most exciting developments in the field; and talk about career opportunities in the venture capital and entrepreneurial fields.
Web site: https://sloangroups.mit.edu/sustain/rsvp?id=304733
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: https://sloangroups.mit.edu/sustain/rsvp?id=304733
Sponsor(s): MIT Food+Ag Club
For more information, contact: MIT FAC
food-exec at mit.edu
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Speaker Series: Bob Schieffer – Media Coverage of the Campaign
Wednesday, April 20
12:00-1:00pm
Harvard, Starr Auditorium, Belfer Building, 2nd Floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
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.
More at http://shorensteincenter.org/bob-schieffer-4/
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The Anthropocene, African Aesthetics and the Politics of Form
WHEN Wed., Apr. 20, 2016, 12 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research
SPEAKER(S) Sarah Nutall, director, Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Witwatersrand
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/april-20-2016-1200pm/spring-colloquium-sarah-nutall
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Sack Lunch Seminar (SLS): The Ocean, Arctic Sea Ice, and Climate
Wednesday, April 20
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Mary-Louise Timmermans, Yale
About the Speaker
I am a physical oceanographer with a main research focus in the Arctic Ocean. We use a combination of theory, numerical modeling and geophysical observations (from icebreaker surveys and an ice-based network of drifting ocean-profiling instruments) to investigate how the ocean relates to Arctic sea ice and climate. This includes such topics as ocean mixing, eddies and waves, and ocean heat and freshwater transport.
Event website: http://bit.ly/1RQpuuO
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Darius Collazo
617-253-2127
dcollazo at mit.edu
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New nanomaterials at the interface of structural biology and polymer science
Wednesday, April 20
3:30p–4:45p
MIT, Building 56-114 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Prof. Ronald Zuckermann (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab)
Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM) Seminar Series
PPSM sponsors a series of seminars covering a broad range of topics of general interest to the polymer community, featuring speakers from both on and off campus.
SEMINAR 3:30 PM REFRESHMENTS 3:00 PM
Web site: http://polymerscience.mit.edu/?page_id=2905
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM)
For more information, contact: Gregory Sands
(617) 253-0949
ppsm-www at mit.edu
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Cambridge Innovation Center Technology Showcase
Wednesday, April 20
4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (EDT)
Venture Cafe, CIC Cambridge, 1 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cic-technology-showcase-tickets-23245943242
In conjuction with The Cambridge Science Festival, CIC will be holding an expo style event for our clients to show off all of their new and innovative technologies. Join us in the Venture Cafe to check out some of the coolest devices and applications being conjured up right here in the Cambridge/Boston area.
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Paper Tigers, Hidden Dragons: Firms and the Political Economy of China’s Technological Development
WHEN Wed., Apr. 20, 2016, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 124 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
SPEAKER(S) Doug Fuller, professor, Zhejiang University School of Management
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO maisie_obrien at hks.harvard.edu
DETAILS Doug Fuller will discuss how China, a developing country with a spectacularly inefficient financial system, coupled with asset-destroying state-owned firms, has managed to create a number of vibrant high-tech firms.
LINK http://ash.harvard.edu/event/paper-tigers-hidden-dragons-firms-and-political-economy-china’s-technological-development?delta=0
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Urban Mobility in Clean, Green Cities
Wednesday, April 20
4:30 pm
BU, Questrom School of Business, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 208, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/urban-mobility-in-clean-green-cities-tickets-23448173117
Between 2010 and 2050, the number of people living in world's urban areas is expected to increase by 80 percent. This growth will intensify the great challenges for urban mobility. Cities increasingly face problems caused by transport and traffic, and how to keep cities clean and green become critical.
Join Henry Kelly, University of Michigan, and Christos Cassandras, Boston University, for a seminar on urban mobility issues in clean and green cities, moderated by Katharine Lusk, Boston University. The seminar will be followed by a discussion led by Martin Chavez, former Mayor of Albuquerque.
Henry Kelly is Senior Scientist at University of Michigan’s Institute for Data Science and Senior Advisor to the Director of EPSA. He previously served as Principal Associate Director for Environment and Energy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Christos Cassandras is Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Head of the Division of Systems Engineering at Boston University.
Martin Chavez is a former three-term mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico and New Mexico State Senator. He served as the Executive Director of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA and Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for Green Schools at U.S. Green Building Council.
Katharine Lusk is the founding Executive Director of the Initiative on Cities at Boston University where she spearheads new university-wide programs and research, including the Menino Survey of Mayors, student government fellowships, original urban scholarship and multi-stakeholder conferences.
Event is free and open to public.
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The Elusive Demos: Democracy in the Digital Age
Wednesday, April 20
5:00pm to 7:00pm
Harvard, Science Center Lecture Hall A, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Democratic societies are caught up in unprecedented political upheavals that are questioning some long-established principles of representative government. Do political parties matter? Are compromise and civility necessary for governing well? Do interests and identities take precedence over other bases for solidarity, including the ties of nationhood? All four countries represented on this panel—US, UK, Israel, India—are confronting these challenges in unique ways. In each, new digital technologies are centrally implicated in turning conventional democratic processes on their heads. Our discussion will be led by four of the most provocative and knowledgeable voices contributing to democratic theory today, all with specific insights into the realignment of politics and political subjectivities in the digital age.
Featured Panelists:
Yaron Ezrahi, Gerstein Family Professor Emeritus of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Andy Stirling, Professor, Science and Technology Policy, Science Policy, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex
Shiv Visvanathan, Professor and Vice Dean, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University
With comment by Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values, Harvard Kennedy School
Moderated by Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School
Science & Democracy Lecture Series
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/lectures/
ABOUT THE SCIENCE & DEMOCRACY LECTURE SERIES
Once a semester, the STS Program, with co-sponsorship from other local institutions, hosts an installation in its Science and Democracy Lecture Series. The series aims to spark lively, university-wide discussion of the place and meaning of science and technology, broadly conceived, in democratic societies. We hope to explore both the promised benefits of our era’s most salient scientific and technological breakthroughs and the potentially harmful consequences of developments that are inadequately understood, debated, or managed by politicians, institutions, and lay publics.
Contact Name: Shana Rabinowich
shana_rabinowich at hks.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-20-210000-2016-04-20-230000/science-democracy-lecture-series#sthash.8a73mNC8.dpuf
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Hannah Arendt: Thought Defying Evil
WHEN Wed., Apr. 20, 2016, 5 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Lower Level Conference Room, Busch Hall, Center for European Studies, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Colloquium for Intellectual History; Harvard Center for Jewish Studies; Harvard Government Political Theory Colloquium
SPEAKER(S) Richard Bernstein, Vera List Professor of Philosophy , New School for Social Research
CONTACT INFO Professor Peter Gordon, pgordon at fas.harvard.edu
LINK ces.fas.harvard.edu/#/events/3587
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Science by the Pint @ Cambridge Science Festival: Studying Marijuana
Wednesday, April 20
6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Aeronaut Brewery, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville
"In a Haze: Studying Marijuana"
Guest scientists Staci Gruber, Seth Blumenthal, Jodi Gilman & Anne Short
It’s 4/20, so Harvard’s Science by the Pint is teaming up with the Aeronaut Brewery and the Cambridge Science Festival to learn about the science of marijuana! Our researchers are here to discuss with you the challenges of studying a (mostly) illegal substance, and get into their research on the effects of marijuana on the brain, the environmental issues around growing weed, and how America’s relationship with the drug has evolved. So grab a beer and get talking!
Science by the Pint is a monthly science cafe free and open to the public, run by the Harvard non-profit outreach group Science In The News (SITN). Read more here: http://sitnboston/science-by-the-pint/
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Learning from the Central Park 5: Visions of American Criminal Justice Reform
Wednesday, April 20
6:30p–9:00p
MIT, Building 6-120, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Speaker: Yusef Salaam; Natalie Byfield; Andrea James; Ronald Sullivan; Malik Ghachem
In a case that polarized the nation across racial and class lines, five Black and Hispanic NYC teens were falsely convicted of the brutal rape and assault of a young white NYC banker. Learn why this happened, and how to make sure it never happens again.
Web site: http://alumic.mit.edu/s/1314/03-alumni/wide.aspx?sid=1314&pgid=30303&
gid=13&cid=48717&ecid=48717&post_id=0
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: http://alumic.mit.edu/s/1314/03-alumni/wide.aspx?sid=1314&pgid=30303&gid=13&cid=48717&ecid=48717&post_id=0
Sponsor(s): Black Graduate Student Association, DUSP Students of Color Committee; ODGE; OME; Political Science; History; SAO Multicultural Programs; GSC
For more information, contact: Mareena Robinson Snowden
mrobin at mit.edu
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Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties
Wednesday, April 20
7pm - 8pm
Emerson College, Beard Room, 80 Boylston Street, Boston
Tom Grace, Kent State shootings survivor and author
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Thursday, April 21
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Foodbetter Harvard
WHEN Thu., Apr. 21, 11 a.m. – Fri., Apr. 22, 2016, 4 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Plaza, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences, Education, Lecture, Special Events, Sustainability, Wellness/Work Life
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR EVP Katie Lapp, Foodbetter Harvard Committee
SPEAKER(S) Joyce Chaplin, Ted Bestor, Bill Clark, Dan Barber, Walter Willet, Joanne Chang, David Edwards, Sean Palfrey
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK foodbetter.harvard.edu
CONTACT INFO crista_martin at harvard.edu
DETAILS FoodBetter Harvard showcases the University's commitment to a healthy, sustainable and just food system as a valuable area of work, study, and institutional action on our campus and in our affiliated communities.
FoodBetter Harvard will highlight the power of interdisciplinary knowledge and discovery taking place here, and explore the complex questions about food that challenge our region and the world.
Events will include presentations, cooking and science demonstrations, panels and an innovation and sustainability fair, all of which allow you to explore the many ways in which our community endeavors to Food Better: grow better, eat better, conserve better, transport better, choose better.
Keynote Address on Thursday, April 21, 4pm:
Chefs Dan Barber and Joanne Chang and Harvard nutrition expert Walter Willett will discuss the impact of food on our environment, our health, and our sense of pleasure and comfort. The conversation will be moderated by Aaron Bernstein.
Thursday, April 21
1:15pm – The History of Food and the Mass Bay Colony (Joyce Chaplin)
2:00pm – The Current Culture of Food (Ted Bestor)
2:30-3:45pm – Speed Lectures on Sustainability in Food/Food Systems (curated by Bill Clark)
4-5:15pm – Keynote Conversation with Dan Barber, Walter Willet and Joanne Chang
5:30-7:00pm – Sustainable Dinner for students in Houses and Reception on Plaza for staff
Friday, April 22
11:00am-3:00pm – Innovation & Sustainability Fair
Harvard- and Cambridge-area innovators (students, alumni, affiliates, etc) with ideas for improving the food system
Harvard- and Cambridge-area sustainability programs or groups showcasing current practices and opportunities
Mini Farmers' Market
11:30am-12:30pm – Mini Science & Cooking student demonstrations (curated by Pia Sorenson)
12:30-1:30pm – Harvard-Affiliated Chef Talks (Chefs Barton Seaver & Martin Breslin)
1:30-3:00pm – Speed Lectures on Innovations in Food/Food Systems (curated by David Edwards)
3:00pm – Student Panel on Harvard and Food as an area of Study and Enjoyment (moderated by Sean Palfrey)
3:45pm – Closing
LINK http://foodbetter.harvard.edu
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Sustainability at BU’s Earth Day Festival
Thursday, April 21
11 am - 2:30 pm
BU, GSU, 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
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The Future of the Conservative Political Agenda with Michael R. Strain
WHEN Thu., Apr. 21, 2016, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Michael R. Strain, Resident Scholar and Deputy Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
COST Free - limited space; RSVP required
TICKET WEB LINK Please RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
CONTACT INFO Please RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
Lunch will be served.
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Transportation at MIT Seminar: How Uber is Changing the Transportation Landscape
Thursday, April 21, 2016
11:45a–1:00p
MIT, Building 1-190, 33 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Andrew Salzberg, Global Mobility Policy Lead at Uber
Join us for a presentation by Andrew Salzberg - Global Mobility Policy Lead at Uber. He will discuss the effect of transportation network companies (esp. Uber) on transportation in cities in the US and around the globe.
Lunch provided at 11:45. Seminar begins at noon.
Web site: http://t-club.mit.edu/category/seminars.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Transportation Club, GSC Funding Board
For more information, contact: Patton Doyle
t-club at mit.edu
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The Social Lives of Computer Models in Forestry Research
Thursday, April 21
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Tom Ozden-Schilling, Department of Anthropology, Tufts University
What can a long-simmering technical dispute between two groups of tree growth modelers tell us about the relationship between expertise and environmental governance in the twenty-first century? Drawing on over a year of ethnographic work conducted at government ministries and independent research offices, this talk will explore how the professional goals and social attachments of different forestry scientists have shaped the kinds of stories that computer simulations tell about the future of forests – and of forestry science – in British Columbia. As more and more government institutions transition away from field-based forestry research to remote sensing and automated image analysis, we will examine how some scientists have confronted their personal fates by exploring the precariousness of these new research infrastructures within the algorithms of growth models and the space of soon-to-be-abandoned experimental forests.
Tom Özden-Schilling is a doctoral candidate in the History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society program at MIT, and is a lecturer in environmental anthropology at Tufts for the 2015-16 academic year. He was trained in materials science and engineering before beginning doctoral work in social anthropology, has been a visiting scholar at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo. His current book project, Salvage Cartographies: Mapping, Futures, and Landscapes in Northwest British Columbia, explores how digital media and institutional restructuring have affected relationships between forest ecologists and indigenous Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialists currently studying the effects of climate change and forestry practices on the traditional territories of the Gitxsan and Gitanyow First Nations.
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Sustainable Electricity: A Generational Change in the Making
Thursday, April 21
4:00 pm
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Refreshments @ 3:30 pm in 4-349 (Pappalardo Community Room)
ALEXANDRA VON MEIER, California Institute for Energy and Environment
The electric grid has been called a system that works in practice, not in theory. While large power networks based on 19th century technology have served us remarkably well, new challenges await: a transition to carbon-neutral energy sources is now imperative. This introduces the problem of coordinating heterogeneous, temporally intermittent and spatially distributed resources at an unprecedented scale, and with greater precision than ever imagined by early grid architects. Solutions must reconcile the constraints of legacy infrastructure with a spectrum of new opportunities created by advanced sensors, controls and information technology.
This talk will outline the integration challenges from a physical perspective, starting with an elementary characterization of a.c. electric power systems and what is (surprisingly) not obvious about them. It will also introduce research on new tools such as micro-synchrophasors that support a qualitative leap in how we may observe, understand and manage the grid, as a critical infrastructure and enabler of timely change across the energy sector.
Physics in the Interest of Society Colloquium
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Novel Climate, Novel Ecosystems: Effects of directional changes in precipitation amount and variability
Thursday, April 21
4 pm
Harvard, BioLabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Ecological Systems in the Anthropocene Lecture series with Osvaldo Sala, Julie A. Wrigley Chair and Foundation Professor, School of Life Sciences and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University
Sala will discuss "Novel climate-Novel Ecosystems: Effects of directional changes in precipitation amount and variability."
Osvaldo Sala is the Julie A. Wrigley and Foundation Professor at ASU. Before arriving at ASU, Sala was the Lindemann Professor of Biology and founding Director of the Environmental Change Initiative at Brown University. Sala’s research topics include: responses of arid ecosystems to global changes and consequences on their ability to provide ecosystem services. His work is reflected in more than 180 publications, and he sits on a number of national and international leadership committees.
More at: http://green.harvard.edu/events/novel-climate-novel-ecosystems#sthash.xIpKCTRE.dpuf
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Climate Change Policy After Paris
Thursday, April 21
4:00 pm
BU, Questrom School of Business, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Questrom Auditorium, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-change-policy-after-paris-tickets-23461735683
n 2015 world leaders negotiated a major agreement, known as the Paris Agreement, to reduce climate change and committed to take action to keep global temperature rise below 2C by the end of the century.
Join Ken Berlin, President & CEO of The Climate Reality Project, for an afternoon exploring climate change policy after the Paris Agreement. Introduction by Kenneth Freeman, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean.
Ken Berlin is the President and CEO of The Climate Reality Project. He has been recognized as one of the top climate change attorneys in the world and has extensive expertise on international environmental issues ranging from clean energy to biodiversity.
Kenneth W. Freeman joined Boston University as the Allen Questrom Professor and Dean of the Questrom School of Business in 2010. He has more than forty years of professional experience, most recently at KKR where he was a partner and also served as a senior advisor.
Event is free and open to public.
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Panel on the Front National and the Rise of Populism in Europe
WHEN Thu., Apr. 21, 2016, 4:15 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Hoffmann Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Seminar on Social Exclusion and Inclusion
SPEAKER(S) David Art, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University; Mabel Berezin, Professor of Sociology, Cornell University; Visiting Scholar, CES; Bart Bonikowski, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Harvard University
CONTACT INFO Jonathan Mijs, mijs at fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Mabel Berezin’s research asks how shared cultural meanings and practices shape 1) political institutions such as the state; 2) social processes around political movements and ideologies; and 3) agents through the construction of political identities. Her methodology is primarily comparative and historical.
David Art's field is comparative politics, with a regional focus on Europe. Professor Art's research interests include extremist political parties and movements, the politics of history and memory, and comparative historical analysis in the social sciences.
Bart Bonikowski's research relies on surveys, textual data, and experimental methods to apply insights from cultural sociology to the study of politics in Europe and the United States. His work has a particular focus on populist claims-making in political discourse and popular identification with the nation in settled times.
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USGBC Building Tech Forum 2016
Thursday, April 21
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/usgbc-building-tech-forum-2016-tickets-21464837908
Cost: $27.37 – $69.57 GET TICKETS
Buildings are fundamentally about technology. Innovation in the building sector is driving improvements in performance and enhancements to the user experience.
Join the U.S. Green Building Council, MA Chapter (USGBC MA) for the 2016 Building Tech Forum to connect on the local level to these important trends for sustainability in real estate.
Come hear from speakers Ben Myers, the Sustainability Manager at Boston Properties, and Kurt Roth, Director of Building Energy at Fraunhofer, as they share their perspectives as a real estate developer and a building performance researcher, respectively, on trends and innovations that they view as important to success.
Boston Properties is our Gold Sponsor
A second-stage panel will include speakers from St Gobain, The Green Engineer, and Ogletree Deakins
This event will bring together two important tribes: practitioners in the high-performance & green building sector: owners, builders, designers and operators, mixing with innovators on the cutting edge of technological innovation.
Are you involved in a technology that will improve buildings? Vendors and sponsors will have opportunities to directly present their product and service to the attending building professionals. Go to usgbcma.org/building-tech-forum for more information.
Let's connect the users and the providers who are are delivering the next solutions to the challenges of building design and facility management.
Displaying sponsors include:
Pillar Technologies
Budderfly
Moen
BuildingIQ
View Glass
B2Q
Solablock
EAS
Carbon Cure
NECEC
Mass CEC
At the Building Tech Forum, you will:
meet people who will help you on your next high performance building project
encounter inspiring new technologies and solution strategies
hear from industry leaders about where things are going
connect your business to the innovations going on in the building sector
Image of occupied Greentown Labs event space at large event.
Agenda:
5:30 - Orienting Remarks
6:00 - First Program begins; Keynote w Ben Myers and Kurt Roth
6:20 - First Program ends; games ensue
7:20 - Second Program begins: Panel w St Gobain, The Green Engineer, and Ogletree Deakins
7:40 - Second Program ends
8:15 - Final Remarks and Appreciations
8:30 - End
Food and drinks will be provided throughout the evening! Special demonstrations and interactive challenges for all!
Individual tickets start at $25; vendor display opportunities and sponsorship opportunities are available at usgbcma.org/building-tech-forum
U.S. Green Building Council, Massachusetts Chapter, is a membership-based advocacy organization driving change for sustainability in the built environment for the benefit of our communities and our world. Learn more about our education, networking and advocacy work at usgbcma.org - and thank you for your interest in the Building Tech Forum!
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Alma Guillermoprieto: Making Art Out of Fright
WHEN Thu., Apr. 21, 2016, 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Ethics, Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Seminar on Violence and Non-Violence
SPEAKER(S) Alma Guillermoprieto
CONTACT INFO humcentr at fas.harvard.edu, 617-495-0738
DETAILS This event will be live streamed.
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/making-art-out-fright
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The Rainforest's Business: What can nature teach us about business and conservation?
Thursday, April 21
6:00PM
Harvard, 60 Oxford Street, Room 330, Cambridge
Lider Sucre, Executive Co-Director of Earth Train, Regional Director for Latin America of Wildlife Works Carbon, and newly elected Mesoamerican delegate to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will discuss the question "The Rainforest's Business: What can nature teach us about business and conservation?" Lider has also served as Executive Director of Panama’s National Association for the Conservation of Nature, during which time he helped secure legal protection for Panama’s Coiba National Park, and as Executive Director of the Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo in Panama City. An environmentalist with a Harvard MBA, Lider has forged a successful career by combining a deep passion for nature with sharp business acumen. In this talk, follow Lider on a virtual hike through the vibrant rainforests of his native Panama as he highlights specific lessons that nature has to teach us about success in business and conservation.
Contact Name: Benjamin Goulet
bgoulet at g.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-21-220000/rainforests-business-what-can-nature-teach-us-about-business-and#sthash.4rX52f13.dpuf
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Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart
7:00p–8:15p
MIT, Building W-79, MIT Simmons Hall MPR, 229 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. James Doty, M.D. and Ven. Tenzin Priyadarshi
James R. Doty, M.D., is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), where he researches the neuroscience of compassion and altruism. He is also a philanthropist funding health clinics throughout the world and has endowed scholarships and chairs at multiple universities. He serves on the board of a number of nonprofits, including the Charter for Compassion International and the Dalai Lama Foundation.
Web site: http://thecenter.mit.edu/cent_events/james-doty-md-into-the-magic-shop/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, MIT Residential Scholars @ Simmons Hall
For more information, contact: Heather Goldman
617-254-6030
DalaiLamaCenter at mit.edu
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Film Screening: 1971
Thursday, April 21
6:40pm doors open
7pm film starts promptly
243 Broadway, Cambridge (corner of Broadway & Windsor, entrance on Windsor)
On March 8, 1971 eight ordinary citizens broke into an FBI office in Media, PA, took hundreds of secret files, and shared them with the public. Thus uncovering the FBI's vast and illegal regime of spying and intimidation of Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.
Despite searching for the people behind the heist in one of the largest investigations ever conducted, the FBI never solved the mystery of the break-in, and the identities of the members of the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI remained a secret.
Until now.
For the first time, the members of the Citizens'?? Commission have decided to come forward and speak out about their actions. “1971" is their story. Told through a combination of exclusive interviews, rare primary documents from the break-in and investigation, national news coverage of the burglary and dramatic recreations, the story of the Citizens' Commission unfolds with haunting echoes to today’s questions of privacy in the era of government surveillance.
The film ends with our characters and their families explaining why, after 40 years, they have decided to break their silence.
Trailer at https://youtube.com/watch?v=W2Kgo7NNXWs
More at http://rule19.org/films-2016/160421-1971.pdf
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Thursday Socials with Green Cambridge!
Thursday, April 21
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Plug Cambridge, 618 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Green-Cambridge-Meetup/events/229893456/
Look for our banner!
Come and join Green Cambridge for our monthly Thursday meet-up!
Our President, Quinton Zondervan, will be discussing his experience attending COP21 in Paris. He will then be leading a lively discussion on how to bring the international agreement here to Cambridge.
We will also be serving free wine and beer!!
We are a group of Cantabrigians dedicated to improving the environment and striving for sustainability. We'll be talking about all things green, giving run-downs on our community, advocacy and organizing work, and just getting to know one another.
Can't make it? We'll be repeating the event the third Thursday of every month! Plus, our organizing and planning meetings happen the first Thursday of every month. Also check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and at www.greencambridge.org.
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Space Station
Thursday, April 21
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Museum Of Science, Charles Hayden Planetarium, Museum Of Science Drive,Boston
RSVP at https://store.mos.org/index.php?action=showevent;event_id=275;c=1
Cost: $10
You wake up inside the cramped confines of a cryosleep chamber. You feel weak and dizzy from a prolonged period in cryonic suspension. What will you do next? Join game designer Jared Sorensen and the Charles Hayden Planetarium team as we break new ground in the Planetarium dome. Inspired by the text-parsing games of the ’80s, Space Station allows the entire audience to play a single character trying to survive a dangerous situation…in space!
Give commands, explore rooms, examine objects, and try to escape the Space Station, if you can!
For more information about the Parsely series of text-based adventure games: memento-mori.com/parsely
Due to live audience participation, it is possible that this event may contain adult language or situations.
Tickets on sale beginning Thursday, January 28 (Tuesday, January 26 for Museum members).
Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
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Friday, April 22
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Cambridge S.T.E.A.M. Forum
Stoking a 21st Century S.T.E.A.M. Engine: Rocket Fuel for the Innovation Economy
Friday, April 22
8:00 AM to 12:30 PM (EDT)
Boston Marriott Kendall Square, 50 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cambridge-steam-forum-registration-23063015099?aff=ebrowse
A public forum to explore strategies to increase and sustain the flow of high-quality talent to feed the growing innovation economy-while ensuring shared prosperity for Cambridge Residents. The forum is focused on the intersection of Workforce, Education and Opportunity.
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2016 Forum on Future Cities: Bits & Bricks
Friday, April 22
8:30 AM to 6:30 PM (EDT)
MIT, 50 Memorial Drive, Samberg Conference Center, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-forum-on-future-cities-bits-bricks-tickets-18575175851
Cost: $0 - $80
The MIT Senseable City Lab cordially invites you to join us for the “Forum on Future Cities: Bits & Bricks”. On Friday, April 22, 2016, thought leaders, industry heads, researchers, city officials and citizens at large will be invited to MIT’s campus to explore challenges, trends, and current issues impacting the fields of big data, digital technology, and the urban landscape.
Last year’s program, “The Road Ahead”, addressed questions on the future of transportation and mobility and drew over 250 people. In the past, we have worked with media partners such as the Economist and Wired to shine light on the topics we discuss on an international scale.
This year, we are excited to announce our partnership with the World Economic Forum as well as the sponsorship provided by Mahindra. Our conference will take place in the Samberg Conference Center at MIT, in the newly restored Chang Building, E52. This space provides unparalleled views of the Boston skyline and is designed to foster the spirit of innovation and discourse so deeply embedded in the culture of MIT and within its relationships to the community.
“Bits & Bricks”, will be comprised of four sessions: Utilities, Transportation, Building and the Responsive Environment- each a lens into the future of urban development. The event will culminate in the launch of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Cities “Green Canopy Initiative” and will be followed by a reception.
We hope that you will join us this year and we look forward to your participation in the events to come!
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Celebrate Earth Day at Fenway!
Friday, April 22
10:00AM
4 Yawkey Way, Gate A, Boston
RSVP at https://greenovateearthday2016.splashthat.com
You're invited!
Please join Mayor Walsh, Greenovate Boston, the Office of Neighborhood Services, and the Boston Red Sox at the State Street Pavilion in Fenway Park for a morning of celebrations and giving back!
The event will start with the 10th Annual Greenovate Boston Awards to recognize environmental sustainability excellence.
Then, in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, we'll kick off a weekend of Boston Shines!
All guests must RSVP.
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MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) - Tobias Bischoff, Caltech
Friday, April 22
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Tobias Bischoff (Caltech)
I use mathematical models combined with computer simulations to study the physics of climates. My goal is to uncover physical principles that can help us understand the spatial and temporal structures of atmospheric and oceanic circulations. More specifically, I think it would be great to have a set of sound physical principles that can be used to explore and understand the "phase space" of all possible climates, or in more mathematical terms, which climate states are realizable for a given set of planetary boundary conditions. I believe that in order to achieve this, we need to use a hierarchy of models that ranges from simple analytical models to complex general circulation and climate models.
Event website: http://bit.ly/1P33yOq
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Unions as Brokers of Transition from Authoritarian Rule: Insights from Tunisia
WHEN Fri., Apr. 22, 2016, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Fainsod Room, Littauer Building, Room 324, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Middle East Initiative
SPEAKER(S) A seminar with Dina Bishara, Middle East Initiative Research Fellow and Ph.D. in Political Science, the George Washington University. Part of the Middle East Initiative Research Fellow Seminar Series.
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/7008/unions_as_brokers_of_transition_from_authoritarian_rule.html
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Connectomics – Mapping the brain
Friday, April 22
12:30pm to 2:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G115, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Lunch 12:30pm; Talk 1pm
Verena Kaynig, IACS Lecturer, Harvard SEAS
Connectomics is the study of the dense structure of neurons in the brain and their connections. Neurobiologists can gain new insights into the relation between the brain’s structure and its function by studying the brain connectivity at the single cell level. Recent advances in Electron Microscopy enable high-throughput imaging of neural tissue at a resolution high enough to identify single synapses. At this resolution, a cubic millimeter of brain tissue leads to an image volume of about 1 Petabyte of data. These large amounts of data require novel computer vision based algorithms and scalable software frameworks to process this data. In this talk I will describe the development of RhoANA, our dense Automatic Neural Annotation framework, which we have developed in order to automatically align, segment and reconstruct a cubic millimeter of brain tissue.
Speaker Bio: Verena Kaynig-Fittkau is a lecturer at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). Her main interests are machine learning and computer vision applied to bio-medical images. Previously she was a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS in the Graphics, Vision and Interaction Group of Hanspeter Pfister, working on connectomics in close collaboration with Jeff Lichtman. She received her PhD in computer science in 2011 from ETH Zurich, working in the Pattern Analysis and Machine Learning Group headed by Joachin Buhmann. She also developed image processing approaches for electron microscopy images for Electron Microscopy ETH Zurich (EMEZ). She received her BSc in computer science in 2006 from the University of Hamburg.
IACS Seminar Series
Contact: Natasha Baker
Phone: 617-496-2623
Email: iacs-info at seas.harvard.edu
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Robots in Our World: Uncertain, Incomplete and Unfamiliar
Friday, April 22
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
MIT, Building 32-G449 (Kiva), 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Refreshments: 2:45 PM
Speaker: Jeremy L Wyatt
To make transfer to applications in everyday domains robots require the ability to cope with novelty, incomplete information, and uncertainty. In this talk I will describe a line of work carried out over ten years that provides methods to tackle this. I will examine two problems: object search and grasping. This requires the ability to reason and learn in open worlds and novel circumstances. The results are demonstrated in two robot systems, Dora and Boris. Dora is a robot for object search that plans in open worlds. The technical contribution is to achieve this by using assumptive planning and common-sense knowledge. Dora uses the same scheme to verify explanations in the face of failure. Boris is a robot that learns to grasp novel objects from a very small number of example grasps. The novel technical contribution in that instance is the use of products of experts to enable grasp transfer. If there is time I will briefly mention other work.
Contact: Teresa Cataldo, cataldo at csail.mit.edu
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Earth Day Talk - Professor Max Liboiron: Data Activism in Science and Technology
Friday, April 22
4-5 PM
MIT, Building E51-345, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Professor Liboiron's research focuses on how harmful yet invisible threats become visible in science and activism, and how these methods of representation relate to action. Through the lens of her work on marine plastics and toxicants, she will discuss how research can foster change not only after data has been collected and analyzed or after prototypes are complete, but during the entire research and development process. Refreshments will be provided.
More at http://civiclaboratory.nl
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Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties
Friday, April 22
4:00pm-5:30am
Harvard Coop Bookstore, Level 3
Thomas Kent
On May 4, 1970, National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed antiwar protesters at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four students and wounding nine others, including the author of this book. The shootings shocked the American public and triggered a nationwide wave of campus strikes and protests. To many at the time, Kent State seemed an unlikely site for the bloodiest confrontation in a decade of campus unresta sprawling public university in the American heartland, far from the coastal epicenters of political and social change.
http://harvardcoopbooks.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBcalendarEventListView?eventYear=2016&showStoreId=52084&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=52084&eventMonth=3
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2016 Emerson Green Gala
Friday, April 22
Reception: 6:15pm & Show: 7:30pm
Emerson College, Paramount Theatre, 555 Washington Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-emerson-green-gala-tickets-23200195409
General Admission: $10 & Students: $5
Using art to promote a healthier planet, the Emerson Green Gala is an event and competition at the Paramount theatre (Boston, MA), with a mission to drive conscious awareness of “Earth Day” and our environment into the minds and hearts of Emerson College students, faculty and the Boston community. Our purpose is to celebrate our Mother Earth through diverse forms of young artistic expression, while promoting the importance of Earth Day. This event will include Emerson's SGA (student government) recognized performance-based organizations, involving over 120 student performers, each crafting a specialized performance piece. Additionally, there will be a reception including booths with inspiring guidance on how to create a better world and healthier planet. We use recycled playbills, provide gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian food (Because what college student can resist free food!), sell merchandise from the NYC-based organization "Broadway Green Alliance", distribute organic cotton t-shirts and show videos to exemplify the significance of this international holiday. Additionally, there is a film component of the competition where the winning film will be revealed at the gala. We also collaborate with other schools in the Boston community to bring everyone together for this special day!
More at http://www.gogreengala.com
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Saturday April 23
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Earth Day Open House
Saturday, April 23
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
33 Champney Street, Brighton
RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/561865537331209/
Just a minute walk from Oak Square, Brighton, you'll be able to see the solar panels as you approach this energy-efficient home. In the cellar you'll be able to see the high-efficiency gas fired heating system, the solar hot water tank, solar electric panel & meter, air seal insulation around pipes in ceiling, spray insulation at the meeting of the house and the foundation (rim joist), and heating pipes wrapped with new insulation. Plan to visit the rain garden too. Get free advice on reducing your own heat and electric bills from Renew Boston professionals and chat with some of the "greenest" homeowners in Boston.
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The Spring 2016 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
Saturday April 23
(early this year—NOT in May)
NOON to 2 pm
at Fayette Park(near the corner of Broadway and Fayette Streets), Cambridge
Rain date—in case of DOWNPOUR—is Sunday April 24, 12-2
Bring anything that's growing in too much abundance in your garden. Elegant packaging not required, but please do write down the names of plants. We expect to have perennials, biennial seedlings, seeds, indoor plants, catalogs, pots, and lots of "whatever." Feel free to just come, chat with neighbors, talk gardening. NOTE: it’s a week or so early this year.
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Harvard, EAC Earth Day Festival
Saturday, April 23
12–4 pm
Harvard, Science Center Plaza, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Feed Change! Come celebrate Earth Day at the Environmental Action Committee’s annual EARTH DAY FESTIVAL on the Science Center Plaza!
Discover green efforts all over Boston with a focus on sustainable food:
Free Food
Seed Planting and Pot Painting
Games
Great Bands
Huge Raffle
Reusable Bag Design
Henna and Face painting
Flower Crown Headband Making
Everyone's favorite... free water bottles.
More at: http://green.harvard.edu/events/eac-earth-day-festival#sthash.y00i79vn.dpuf
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Sunday, April 24
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Science by the Pint @ Cambridge Science Festival: Gravitational Waves Unplugged
Sunday, April 24
6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Aeronaut Brewery, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville
Guest scientist Scott Hughes
You may have heard a little announcement in the science world this February about gravitational waves. We’ve asked back MIT Professor Scott Hughes and members of his group from the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research and the MIT LIGO Laboratory to talk to us about the incredible discovery of gravitational waves and what that means for us and the future of physics. Come grab a seat, enjoy Aeronaut beer and great science festival company.
Science by the Pint is a monthly science cafe free and open to the public, run by the Harvard non-profit outreach group Science In The News (SITN). Read more here: http://sitnboston/science-by-the-pint/
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Monday, April 25
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MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) - Jessica Neu, JPL
Monday, April 25
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge
Speaker: Jessica Neu (JPL)
Dr. Jessica Neu's research focuses on understanding what controls the chemical composition of the atmosphere at the regional and global scale and, ultimately, how atmospheric composition will change with and feed-back onto changes in other components of the climate system. She employs a hierarchy of models of varying complexity in combination with measurements from both satellite remote sensing and in situ instruments, and her work encompasses a wide variety of techniques, including theoretical studies, numerical modeling, and analysis of observational data to address these issues. Her work has recently evolved to include data assimilation and adjoint modeling techniques to facilitate model-measurement intercomparison as well as Observing System Simulation Experiments to define science objective-based requirements for future satellite missions.
Event website: http://bit.ly/1P33yOq
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Cultivating Resilience with Heuristics and Systems Thinking: Lessons from New Industries
Monday, April 25
12:00p–1:00p
Webcast at http://sdm.mit.edu/cultivating-resilience-with-heuristics-and-systems-thinking-lessons-from-new-industries/
RSVP at http://sdm.mit.edu/cultivating-resilience-with-heuristics-and-systems-thinking-lessons-from-new-industries/
Speaker: Burl Amsbury, Business Consultant, Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Cattleman; MIT SDM alumnus
The interdependence of finance and information can greatly impact the resilience of a company while helping it address socio-political and environmental concerns. In this respect, regenerative ranching, sustainable agriculture, organic foods, integrative medicine, and other new or niche markets have much to teach companies of any age, in any industry. Two key elements many use to compete effectively are heuristics and systems thinking.
In this webinar, SDM alumnus Burl Amsbury will offer lessons in how to design or redesign your organization by sharing specific systems thinking heuristics drawn from his experience as an entrepreneur, startup executive, big company employee, US Navy pilot, engineer, and creative problem-solver. Using examples from new and/or niche industries, Amsbury will discuss:
common themes among industries that employ systems thinking principles???even if they don???t use that term;
why systems thinking is rapidly being put to work in so many disparate fields; and
heuristic principles for designing an entrepreneurial organization within a fast-growth niche in any industry.
A Q&A will follow the presentation. We invite you to join us!
MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series
About the Series
Sponsored by the System Design & Management (SDM) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series 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.
Web site: http://sdm.mit.edu/cultivating-resilience-with-heuristics-and-systems-thinking-lessons-from-new-industries/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: See url above.
Sponsor(s): MIT System Design & Management, MIT System Design & Management program
For more information, contact: Lois Slavin
617-253-0812
sdm at mit.edu
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Nuclear Energy: Obstacles and Possibilities
Monday, April 25
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Pu Wang, Giorgio Ruffolo Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Sustainability Science in the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
This series is presented by the Energy Technology Innovation Policy/Consortium for Energy Policy Research at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard. Lunch will be provided.
HKS Energy Policy Seminar Series
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/cepr/seminar.html
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at hks.harvard.edu
(617) 495-8693
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-25-160000-2016-04-25-173000/hks-energy-policy-seminar-series#sthash.Z6wfC27b.dpuf
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Sanitation and Waste Management (Solid and Liquid) in Urban India: The Challenge and Opportunity for Entrepreneurs
Monday, April 25
4-5pm
MIT, Building 4-237, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://goo.gl/forms/ax9QTKHKUL
Details: Manas Rath, an MIT Alum, is an advisor to some outstanding socially-focused businesses and non-profit organizations in India, as well as to impact investors and philanthropists. He has worked extensively on issues of urban sanitation, education/youth development and disabilities, helping social enterprises scale their impact, develop sustainable operating models and build stronger teams. He serves on the Clean India (Swachh Bharat) Task Force of the Government of India, and on CSR and advisory boards.
Manas works extensively with BORDA, a German technical non-profit organization with operations in 24 countries, focused on de-centralized sewage management solutions. Specifically, BORDA has played a key role in developing Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) that use zero electricity (purely biological treatment) and require minimal maintenance by un-skilled labor, and thus are robust enough to be deployed in the most difficult and remote locations. Over 4,000 of these systems have been designed and installed across Africa, India, Indonesia and 20 other countries. They have built over 400 systems in India treating from 20,000 – 2 million liters of sewage per day.
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A Conversation on Conversation
Monday, April 25
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, E51-095, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Sherry Turkle, MIT, and Wade Roush, MIT
STS Speaker Series Colloquium
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/sts/index.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): HASTS
For more information, contact: Gus Zahariadis
617-253-3452
gusz at mit.edu
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Spatial and Social Frictions in the City: Evidence from Yelp
Monday, April 25
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E52-532, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Jonathan Dingel (Booth School of Business)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): International Seminar
For more information, contact: economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu
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Book Talk: Unfinished Revolutions Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia after the Arab Spring
WHEN Mon., Apr. 25, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Nye A, Taubman Building, Fifth Floor, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Middle East Initiative
SPEAKER(S) A discussion with Ibrahim Fraihat, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution Doha Center and Affiliate Scholar, Georgetown University in Qatar, on his most recent book Unfinished Revolutions from Yale University Press.
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/7013/book_talk.html
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The future of nuclear energy or the lament of a life long nuclear guy
Monday, April 25
4:45p–6:30p
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: John Rowe; Chairman Emeritus, Exelon Corporation
The prerequisites for a new generation of nuclear plants are simple, but have not yet been met:
1) A shortage of base load electricity;
2) A shortage of natural gas;
3) A new and simplified plant design; and
4) An accepted solution to the nuclear waste disposal problem.
In the absence of these factors, new nuclear power plants will not be economic in the United States or most of Europe for several decades.
This simple conclusion begs a number of other questions. These include: How long will the existing plants be economic? How many good jobs will be created as we seek as much value as we can in the existing fleet? What factors are impacting the value of the existing fleet? What do we need to do to keep the existing plants as safe as they have been? How are we ever going to build a waste disposal facility?
As that great nuclear engineer, Robert Frost, put it: Miles to go before we sleep. In this talk, John Rowe will discuss his many years of experience in the nuclear industry and thoughts on the future of nuclear energy.
Web site: http://mitei.mit.edu/rowe
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/425-seminar-the-future-of-nuclear-energy-or-the-lament-of-a-life-long-nuclear-guy-with-john-rowe-tickets-24231562255
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:
askmitei at mit.edu
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Film Screening of "Exit Zero: An Industrial Family Story"
Monday, April 25
5:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building E15-070, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Melissa Nobles, Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences will introduce the film. The filmmakers along with Professor David Autor of the Economics Department will discuss the film following the screening.
Film screening of "Exit Zero: An Industrial Family Story". Filmmakers, Chris Walley (Anthropology Professor) and Chris Boebel (Office of Digital Learning) will screen their film which documents the effects that the closing of the steel mills in Southeast Chicago had on Professor Walley's family. This is an intimate, moving documentary of a Rust Belt family struggling to come to terms with a changing America.
Web site: https://anthropology.mit.edu/sites/default/files/images/MITAnthro_ExitZero_poster.pdf
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Anthropology Program, MIT First Generation Program
For more information, contact: Irene Hartford
617-452-2837
ihart at mit.edu
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President's Challenge Demo Day
WHEN Mon., Apr. 25, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard i-Lab, 125 Western Avenue, Allston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard I-Labs
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK https://i-lab.harvard.edu/event/presidents-challenge-demo-day/
DETAILS We are pleased to invite you to the President’s Challenge Demo Day here at the i-lab. The President’s Challenge encourages students from across Harvard to come up with creative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Ten finalist teams have been announced and awarded a seed grant of $5,000 along with support from the i-lab, including mentoring, workshops and workspace. At Demo Day these ten finalist teams will showcase their efforts and progress in making impact on the world around them. The Grand Prize Pool of $100,000 will be awarded to the winning team and three runners up.
We hope you are able to join us for this celebratory evening!
LINK https://i-lab.harvard.edu/event/presidents-challenge-demo-day/
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Tuesday, April 26
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Consequences of earlier springs for phenological overlap in and among plants, caribou, and muskoxen in Greenland
Tuesday, April 26
12:00pm to 1:00pm
22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA Seminar Room 125
Eric Post, Director, The Polar Center, Penn State University
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Berkman Tuesday Luncheon Series featuring Susan Crawford, The John A. Reilly Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a co-director of the Berkman Center
Tuesday, April 26
12:00 pm
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 1015 (first floor), 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/04/Crawford#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2016/04/Crawford at 12:00 pm.
Susan Crawford is the John A. Reilly Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a co-director of the Berkman Center. She is the author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, co-author of The Responsive City: Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance, and a contributor to Medium.com’s Backchannel. She served as Special Assistant to the President for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (2009) and co-led the FCC transition team between the Bush and Obama administrations. She also served as a member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Advisory Council on Technology and Innovation and is now a member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Broadband Task Force. Ms. Crawford was formerly a (Visiting) Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard’s Kennedy School, a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, and a Professor at the University of Michigan Law School (2008-2010). As an academic, she teaches courses about city uses of technology, Internet law, and communications law. She was a member of the board of directors of ICANN from 2005-2008 and is the founder of OneWebDay, a global Earth Day for the internet that takes place each Sept. 22. One of Politico’s 50 Thinkers, Doers and Visionaries Transforming Politics in 2015; one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology (2009); IP3 Awardee (2010); one of Prospect Magazine’s Top Ten Brains of the Digital Future (2011); and one of TIME Magazine’s Tech 40: The Most Influential Minds in Tech (2013). Ms. Crawford received her B.A. and J.D. from Yale University. She served as a clerk for Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) (Washington, D.C.) until the end of 2002, when she left that firm to enter the legal academy.
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Europe & the New Russia as seen from Northern Europe
Tuesday, April 26
4:00PM TO 5:30PM
Harvard, Belfer 503, CBG Conference Room, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Ulf Sverdrup, Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Hosted by Ole Gunnar Austvik, M-RCBG Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School. Advance registration is not required. All sessions are open.
Professor Sverdrup will address the political tension between the U.S. and EU on the one side and Russia on other, resulting in mutual sanctions, militarization and energy security problems. He will discuss how recent developments challenge the attitudes and positions of the Nordic countries relative to pursuing a policy of continued cooperation with Russia.
Europe and the Geopolitics of Energy Study Group
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/students/sg/austvik
Contact Name: Ole Gunnar Austvik
ole_austvik at hks.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-26-200000-2016-04-26-213000/europe-and-geopolitics-energy-study-group#sthash.9e3nuoyO.dpuf
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Design Thinking at the Intersection of Technology and Policy
Tuesday, April 26
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
Ash Center for Democractic Governance and Innovation, 124 Mount Auburn Street, 2nd Floor North, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/design-thinking-at-the-intersection-of-technology-and-policy-tickets-24652118149
Anjelika Deogirikar, ORGANIZE Innovator in Residence, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Are you curious to learn more about applying design thinking? Anjelika Deogirikar will introduce human-centered design principles and discuss how to apply tools from the design thinker’s toolkit to your work as a policy innovator. Anjelika will draw on her recent experiences using human-centered design to help the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rethink the organ donor and transplant ecosystem in the U.S. Students will apply these new tools to develop a practical innovation or creative solution to a big challenge within the sphere of cybersecurity, ‘making democracy work’, or digital media and politics.
Part of the Technology and Democracy Workshop Series
About the Technology and Democracy Workshop Series
The Ash Center’s non-resident Technology and Democracy Fellows will design and lead a series of hands-on workshops for Harvard Kennedy School students, co-sponsored by Tech4Change. Each workshop will help participants develop their “technological intelligence” and learn skills related to understanding, managing, or creating digital technologies with the potential to improve the quality of democratic governance. Visit ash.harvard.edu to read more. RSVP is required. Space is limited.
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Designing with Water - by Jason Hellendrung, Sasaki Associates
Tuesday, April 26
4:30-5:30pm
MIT, Building 4-231, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Jason will present some of Sasaki's recent work on addressing challenges faced by waterfront cities due to sea level rise. His presentation will focus on Sasaki’s work with Memphis and Shelby County’s winning application to HUD’s National Disaster Resilience Competition, which created a holistic approach to water and city resilience.
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Environment and Health Effects of China's Industrial Growth
Tuesday, April 26
6pm
MIT, Building E19-319, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FHx52naf36pEOrFcbIyP0g9bAZkq9qogiwoIbYma0Xw/viewform
Dinner included!
Dr. Valerie Karplus, Project Director, Tsinghua-MIT China Energy and Climate Project & Professor Xiliang Zhang, Director, 3E Institute, Tsinghua University
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“The Boy and the Beast” from award-winning director Mamoru Hosoda
Tuesday, April 26
7:00pm
MIT, Building 34-101, , 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Latest feature anime film from award-winning Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children)
When Kyuta, a young orphan living on the streets of Shibuya, stumbles into a fantastic world of beasts, he’s taken in by Kumatetsu, a gruff, rough-around-the-edges warrior beast who’s been searching for the perfect apprentice. Despite their constant bickering, Kyuta and Kumatetsu begin training together and slowly form a bond as surrogate father and son. But when a deep darkness threatens to throw the human and beast worlds into chaos, the strong bond between this unlikely family will be put to ultimate test—a final showdown that will only be won if the two can finally work together using all of their combined strength and courage.
Screening followed by discussion with Ian Condry (MIT) and Jennifer Fu (Funimation)
Free
Open to public
Before the film, please join us: Pizza Dinner Discussion “From MIT to the Anime Industry: A Conversation with Jennifer Fu”
5-6:30pm in 14E-304
(RSVP for dinner discussion: gsl-events at mit.edu)
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, April 27
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MIT Water Club Open House
Wednesday, April 27
12-1pm
Are you interested in learning more about who we are and what we do? Join us for an interactive lunch time open house where we will give an overview of our activities this year as well as our exciting plans for the future. Whether you would like to get involved in the club or are simply curious about our events, we are excited to meet you! More information will be available shortly.
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Sack Lunch Seminar (SLS) - Matthew Alford, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Wednesday, April 27,
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Matthew Alford, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Dr. Alford is a seagoing physical oceanographer and the head of the Wave Chasers group. He employs specialized instruments to better describe and understand processes that occur on scales, say, < 10 km; however, he is also interested in how these affect both coastal processes and the larger-scale circulation.
His research focuses on: 1) process studies of these phenomena themselves, 2) instrument development, 3) observational techniques to better study them, and 4) the specific ways in which they affect global-scale phenomena as well as biological/chemical processes such as anoxia.
In 2002 Alford received the Office of Naval Research's prestigious Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, and in 2009 received the University of Washington College of Fishery and Ocean Sciences' Distinguished Research Award.
He has over 70 refereed publications in top-tier journals including Nature and Journal of Physical Oceanography, and has led several ambitious experiments funded by the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation.
Event website: http://bit.ly/1RQpuuO
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Civilian-Military Cooperation in Humanitarian Response
Wednesday April 27
12:00-1:00pm
Where: MIT Building E38, 6th floor conference room, 292 Main Street, Cambridge
Lunch provided.
Please join the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Working Group at MIT for a lunch seminar with Commander Rodrigo Arancibia of the Chilean Navy and Professor David Polatty of the U.S. Navy. They will be talking about the current state of civilian-military cooperation during natural disasters and complex emergencies with a focus on recent disasters and emergencies including the 2010 Chilean earthquake, the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, and ongoing humanitarian relief efforts in Syria.
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Get Free: Hip Hop Civics Education
WHEN Wed., Apr. 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) Bettina Love, associate professor of educational theory & practice, University of Georgia
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/april-27-2016-1200pm/spring-colloquium-bettina-love
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Beyond Ideology: A Conversation on Race, Violence and Justice
Wednesday, April 27
12:00 - 1:30pm
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 124 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge
Please join Jelani Cobb, Professor of History and Director of the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Connecticut, contributor to The New Yorker, and recipient of the 2016 Jay College of Criminal Justice Trailblazer award, along with Thomas Abt, Senior Research Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer with the Harvard Kennedy School and former Deputy Secretary for Public Safety for New York State, for a wide-ranging dialogue on new pathways for addressing the some of the most sensitive and polarizing issues in criminal justice today. Leah Wright Rigueur, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, will moderate the discussion.
Presented by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Co-sponsored by the Shorenstein Center.
More at http://shorensteincenter.org/beyond-ideology-conversation-race-violence-justice/
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The Cost of Silence: Causes and Consequences of Abortion Stigma in the United States and Around the World
Wednesday, April 27
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building 14E-304, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Elizabeth Janiak, Brigham and Womens Hospital
Elizabeth Janiak uses a health equity framework, multilevel perspective, and mixed-methods approach to investigate determinants of access to sexual and reproductive health services. Dr. Janiak is Education and Research Program Manager at Brigham and Womens Hospital.
Though abortion is common in legal and illegal settings around the world, abortion experiences remain shrouded in silence. People seeking abortion and the health care providers who care for them experience social stigma with potentially profound consequences for personal and community well-being. This talk will describe abortion stigma and its manifestations in public policy, health care infrastructure, and interpersonal interactions. We will explore how abortion stigma contributes to maternal mortality and occupational stress for providers, and will situate these downstream effects in the broader context of gender inequality.
Lunch will be provided. We hope you will be able to join us for this important talk!
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Global Health and Medical Humanities Initiative, Women's and Gender Studies
For more information, contact: Brittany Peters
bapeters at mit.edu
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Seasonality and cold hardiness of temperate tree species under global warming
Wednesday, April 27
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill 1300 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Yann Vitasse, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Arnold Arboretum Research Talks
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/research/research-talks/
Contact Name: arbweb at arnarb.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-27-161000/arnold-arboretum-research-talks#sthash.YnS2fTJV.dpuf
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Reporting from China
WHEN Wed., Apr. 27, 2016, 12:30 – 1:50 p.m.
WHERE S020, Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Critical Issues Confronting China Seminar Series; co-sponsored by the Harvard University Asia Center and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
SPEAKER(S) David Barboza, Correspondent for The New York Times, Shanghai, China
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Controlling Carbon Emissions from U.S. Power Plants: How a Tradable Performance Standard Compares to a Carbon Tax
Wednesday, April 27
4:15PM TO 5:30PM
Harvard, Room L-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Warwick McKibbin, Australian National University, Adele Morris, Brookings Institution, and Peter Wilcoxen, Syracuse University,
Support from Enel Endowment for Environmental Economics and the Department of Economics is gratefully acknowledged. For further information, contact Professor Stavins (617-495-1820), Professor Weitzman (617-495-5133), or the course assistant, Jason Chapman (617-496-8054).
Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/5340
Contact Name: Bryan J. Galcik
bryan_galcik at hks.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-27-201500-2016-04-27-213000/seminar-environmental-economics-and-policy#sthash.LyuItpvj.dpuf
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Green Line Extension Re-Design
Wednesday, April 27
5:30-6:30 open house; 6:30-9:00 pm presentation/Q&A
St. Anthony’s Parish Hall, 400 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Cambridge
The MBTA will host a public worskhop about the re-design and potential cost savings strategies for the Green Line Extension project.
More information at http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us
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From Reality TV to Urban Farming: Changing Careers & Starting a Successful Second Career
Wednesday, April 27
6:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT)
Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler Street, Somerville
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-reality-tv-to-urban-farming-changing-careers-starting-a-successful-social-impact-business-tickets-24666185224
Jessie Banhazl is the CEO and Founder of Green City Growers. After graduating college, she moved to New York City and began a career in reality television production. Disillusioned with the entertainment industry, she moved back to Boston to run GCG, re-awakening her passion for food, farming, and sustainability. Since co-founding the company in 2008, Jessie has led GCG through seven successful seasons, building and maintaining over 500 raised-bed vegetable gardens, including gardens at Akamai Technologies, Google, Athenahealth, Fenway Park, and a 17,000sqft rooftop farm for Whole Foods Market.
Green City Growers transforms unused space into thriving urban farms, providing our clients with immediate access to nutritious food, while revitalizing city landscapes and inspiring self-sufficiency.To date, Green City Growers has grown over 150,000 pounds of organic produce, and worked hands-on with more than 6,000 individuals, all in under two acres of growing space.
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Cambridge Forum: All About Bees
Wednesday, April 27
7 PM
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
What is killing our honey bees and can we save them? Bees don't just make honey, they pollinate a third of our food supply - but bee colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate in the United States. In addition to being ecologically essential insects, bees are highly social and complex creatures that have been subjected to a
barrage of attacks ranging from parasitic mites to high levels of exposure from pesticides and herbicides.
In recognition of Earth Day, Cambridge Forum is examining the plight of the poor honey bee with the help of Noah Wilson-Rich from Best Bees and David Hackenberg, apiarist and owner of Buffy Bees. If you care about the future of food and most crucially, the survival of the honey bee, please plan to attend. Come along and bring your bee-keeping friends!
Join us at Cambridge Forum. All are welcome and it is free!
Mary Stack, Director, Cambridge Forum
3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
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Thursday, April 28
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Sacred Rice: Environmental Change and Structural Uncertainty in Rural West Africa
Thursday, April 28
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Joanna Davidson, Department of Anthropology, Boston University
On the frontlines of global climate change, rural Jola farmers in Guinea-Bissau are no longer able to maintain a livelihood that has defined them for centuries. This talk explores how Jola rice farmers are responding to a range of environmental changes that are challenging them to reinvent themselves as a people. I will discuss how a desiccating climate reaches into not just the livelihoods, but the very life-ways, rhythms, ideals, and ideologies of an African people.
Dr. Joanna Davidson is a cultural anthropologist focusing on rural West Africans' responses to environmental and economic change. She has conducted long-term ethnographic research in Guinea-Bissau among Jola rice cultivators. Her book – Sacred Rice: An Ethnography of Identity, Environment, and Development in Rural West Africa – came out last summer with Oxford University Press. Prior to graduate studies in anthropology, Dr. Davidson worked for several years with a range of progressive non-governmental international development organizations in Africa and Latin America on issues such as refugee resettlement, indigenous rights, women's and rural development, and social entrepreneurship. Dr. Davidson has also conducted research on the regional dynamics of social fragility through a case study of inter-ethnic conflict across the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal border, and explored the ways in which new international development initiatives directed at agricultural transformation are playing themselves out in the sub-region. She has presented testimony and prepared policy briefings based on her research for the UN, served on the Executive Board of the American Ethnological Society, and served as a reviewer of research proposals for the Wenner-Gren Foundation. She has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from various organizations including the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and Boston University's Center for the Humanities.
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Educational Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship: Startup Showcase
Thursday, April 28
12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Harvard Innovation Lab , 125 Western Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/educational-innovation-social-entrepreneurship-startup-showcase-tickets-24609943002
Interested in educational innovation? Come to the Educational Innovation Startup Showcase at the Harvard Innovation Lab on Thursday, April 28th from noon to 5pm. Students from various Harvard schools and departments will present their innovative projects developed in the course, Educational Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Comparative Perspective. It's a great opportunity to connect with members of the Harvard entrepreneurial community, professors, and students.
Admission is FREE.
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Webinar: Four strategies solar installers can use to reduce soft costs
Thursday, April 28
2:00pm EST/11:00am PST
RSVP at http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2016/03/four-major-ways-solar-installers-can-reduce-soft-costs/
Soft costs represent the most flexible aspect of solar project finance, yet they continue to consume outsize sums of cash—up to 64% of the total project cost, according to the DOE.
Fortunately, industry innovators are finding ways to reduce soft costs. Attend this webinar to learn four such strategies, including:
How solar companies can reduce financing costs through standardization and automation technology, particularly in the C&I sector.
How in-depth training reduces installation soft costs.
How creating and maintaining solar opportunities within local communities can reduce soft costs.
How solar software tools, techniques and workflows can accelerate proposal-to-project speed while shrinking costs.
Featured Speakers
Chad Laurent, Esq., Senior Consultant and General Counsel, Meister Consultants Group
Chad specializes in renewable energy law and policy, sustainable business strategies and renewable energy project development. He is a nationally recognized expert in solar PV soft cost reduction strategies, currently working with the U.S. Dept. of Energy. He holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School where he was a Rappaport Honors Fellow in Law and Public Policy, and a B.S. from the University of Michigan in Environmental Policy & Behavior and Natural Resource Ecology & Management. He is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
Paul Grana, Co-Founder, Folsom Labs
Paul is responsible for sales and marketing at Folsom Labs. His passion for data analysis began at an early age. At 13 he cracked his first code, figuring out the cheat codes for Madden ’94. Paul began his professional career in management consulting and later joined the solar industry, where he ran product management for Tigo Energy, the module-level electronics manufacturer, before co-founding Folsom Labs, which develops the advanced PV system design tool HelioScope. Paul holds an SB in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Chicago, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Kathy Swartz, Executive Director, Solar Energy International
Kathy is honored to serve as SEI’s Executive Director, even more so because she is one of more than 45,000 alumni of SEI. She took her first PV class in 2004, which kickstarted her career in solar. With a background in environmental education, Kathy’s goal is to ensure that SEI’s Training Program prepares participants with the knowledge and hands-on experiences needed to safely and successfully work with renewable energy systems.
Graham Smith, CEO and Founder, Open Energy Group
Graham has over 15 years of experience in renewable energy finance and building capital markets brokerage platforms. He founded Open Energy in 2013 to unlock financial technology innovation and drive increased debt financing in commercial solar. Prior to Open Energy, he founded two brokerage firms – Axiom Global in 2004 and Phoenix Partners Group in 2006, co-running the latter for seven years. Graham studied at both the University of Cambridge and University College in London
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How to Evaluate Economic Benefits of Local Food Systems
Thursday, April 28
3 p.m. E.T.
Webinar at http://goo.gl/forms/JIOrvfQiMM
RSVP at http://goo.gl/forms/JIOrvfQiMM
Washington, DC, April 13, 2016—Local and regional food systems are helping revitalize rural and urban communities across the country. The authors of a new U.S. Department of Agriculture guide to evaluate the economic impacts of investing in farmers markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), food hubs, and other local food systems will discuss the toolkit during a free webinar.
The Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments and Choices, developed by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) in cooperation with Colorado State University (CSU), uses real-world projects, experiences, and applied research to help community leaders, planners, economic development specialists, public agencies, and private businesses or foundations evaluate the economic benefits of local and regional food systems.
Audience: n Community leaders, planners, economic development specialists, public agencies, and private businesses or foundations
What: nFree webinar on how to use The Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments and Choices. The webinar will last approximately 90- minutes.
When: 3 p.m. E.T., Thursday, April 28, 2016
Speakers: Debra Tropp, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Alfonso Morales, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Becca Jablonski, Colorado State University
Dave Swenson, Iowa State University
Dawn Thilmany, Colorado State University
To register for the webinar, please use this link: http://goo.gl/forms/JIOrvfQiMM
If you have any questions, please email: becca.jablonski at colostate.edu
Technical issues, please email or call: ruth.willson at colostate.edu (970) 491-6988
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Emissions Trading in Urban China
Thursday, April 28
3:30PM TO 4:45PM
Harvard, 100F Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
China Climate Seminar
http://chinaproject.harvard.edu/Ding160428
Iza Ding, Department of Government.
Sponsored by the China Project, Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Contact Name: Chris Nielsen
nielsen2 at fas.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-04-28-193000-2016-04-28-204500/china-climate-seminar#sthash.ndHXrr6Y.dpuf
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Claim No Easy Victories: Can the Social Sciences Serve the Equity Interest of the Poor?
Thursday, April 28, 2016
5:00 - 6:30pm
Harvard, Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall 110, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Charles M. Payne, Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor in the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
Free and open to the public; no ticket required.
Call 617-495-1336 for more information or email katy at ethics.harvard.edu
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Future of the Museum
Thursday, April 28
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
McDermott Award
David Adjaye will be joined by Thelma Golden, Jill Medvedow, Charles Renfro, Lorna Simpson and Meejin Yoon in a discussion about the future of the museum and the relevance of physical space to cultural experience in the digital era.
Free and open to the public but reservations strongly recommended.
Web site: http://arts.mit.edu/events-visit/mcdermott/residency-2/future-of-the-museum/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/future-of-the-museum-panel-with-david-adjaye-thelma-golden-jill-medvedow-lorna-simpson-charles-tickets-20480221895
Sponsor(s): Arts at MIT
For more information, contact: Leah Talatinian
617.252.1888
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Workshop and Facilitated Discussion on the Health Risks of Climate Change
Thursday, April 28
6pm - 8:30pm
Humanist Hub, 30 JFK Street, 4th floor, Cambridge
Rsvp at http://bit.ly/1MU80Jb
The MIT Science Impact Collaborative is working with the City of Cambridge to enhance public understanding of the health risks associated with climate change. During this interactive workshop, you will participate in a role-play simulation game based on local policy choices related to climate change and public health, followed by a facilitated debrief of the game and a discussion of how climate related health risks should be managed. Results of the sessions will be vital to ur MIT research team in identifying steps Cambridge should take to manage climate change related health risks.
Dinner will be served!
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Soil: Rising Star in the Climate Movement
Thursday, April 28
7-8:30pm
First Church UU JP, 6 Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain
with Seth Itzkan and Quinton Zondervan
In December, Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, tweeted that soil was “a rising star” at the Paris climate talks. This presentation explores the reasons for that hopeful proclamation, illustrating the promise of soil restoration to capture atmospheric carbon while providing benefits for food production and ecosystems. Seth Itzkan is co-founder of Soil4Climate and Quinton Zondervan is president of the Climate Action Business Association. Check it out
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MIT Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize Final Pitch Event & Awards
Thursday, April 28
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
MIT Building E52, 6th Floor, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-food-and-agribusiness-innovation-prize-final-pitch-event-awards-tickets-22590475721
Join us for the final pitch event and award ceremony of the first MIT Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize on Thursday, April 28th from 7-10 pm on the 6th floor of MIT building E52.
From 7:00-8:45, our nine finalists will pitch their ideas to the judges (for details on the finalist teams, check out our website). While the judges deliberate, the audience will hear from our keynote speaker (TBD). At 9:15, we will announce the winners followed by a reception with snacks and drinks. If you wish to consume alcohol at the reception, you must bring ID.
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Friday, April 29
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Native People, Native Politics Conference
WHEN Fri., Apr. 29, 2016, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences, Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS Politics requires more than voting and electoral mobilization. It requires knowledge of law, organization, identity, history, and culture. This reality is very much evident in Native American life today, where Native communities are sovereign nations within the United States, yet must still negotiate politically within a federal democratic system that at times inconsistently honors their rights, their land and water, and their ways of life.
This conference will explore a range of mechanisms for political expression with leading members of Native communities, academics, policymakers, journalists, students, artists, and writers. Register online.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2016-native-peoples-native-politics-conference
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Lessons from a Great Negotiator: A Conversation with Senator George Mitchell
WHEN Fri., Apr. 29, 2016, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School, Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall,
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S)Senator George Mitchell
Recipient of the Great Negotiator Award
Former United States Senator, Former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Moderated by: Professor Robert Mnookin, Samuel Williston Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Chair, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, Director, Harvard Negotiation Research Project
Professor James Sebenius, Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, Vice-Chair of Practice-Focused Research, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO Julie Barrett, jbarrett at law.harvard.edu
Polly Hamlen, mhamlen at law.harvard.edu
DETAILS In 2000, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School honored Senator George Mitchell with the Great Negotiator Award for his work as the Independent Chairman of the Northern Ireland Peace Talks. Under his leadership, the Good Friday Agreement, an historic accord ending decades of conflict, was agreed to by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland.
For his service in Northern Ireland Senator Mitchell received numerous other awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the US government; the Philadelphia Liberty Medal; the Truman Institute Peace Prize; and the United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize.
LINK http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/#/?i=7
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The New Muckrakers and the Old Farm Bloc: The Twentieth- Century Politics of Surplus and Abundance
Friday, April 29
2:30p–4:30p
MIT, Building E51-095, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Sarah Phillips, Boston University
Seminar on Environmental and Agricultural History
Web site: https://history.mit.edu/lectures-and-seminars/seminar-environmental-and-agricultural-history
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): History Office, Program in Science, Technology, and Society
For more information, contact: Margo Collett
617-253-4965
history-info at mit.edu
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The Smart Grid Opportunity: from Automation to Autonomy
Friday, April 29, 2016 - 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G125, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Sakis Meliopoulos, Georgia Institute of Technology
The electric power grid has been recognized as one of the critical infrastructures that are paramount to the economic activity of any country. The electric power grid is a large heterogeneous system, with many interdependencies on other infrastructures (fuel supply), subject to weather effects (weather related failures and weather sensitive electric load), exhibits complex dynamic interactions and it is controlled with humans in the loop. Renewables (wind, photovoltaics, etc.), distributed generation, storage, PHEVs and other distributed resources are integrated into the electric power grid at fast pace. These resources exhibit high variability/uncertainty and low inertia (inverter interfaced generation) creating new challenges and new opportunities. To fully address the challenges and realize the advantages of these technologies and to make their economics attractive, it is necessary to invent new ways of monitoring, controlling, optimizing and protecting the integrated electric power grid. The term smart grid (or grid of the future) captures the expectation for the development of these technologies which may comprise development of two-way interfaces with intelligent control, plug and play operation, re-configurability, survivability, self-healing capability, efficiency and ability to support the national grid in case of emergencies or to use stored energy to ride through disturbances. The end result is that the electric power system of the future will be a more complex but more controllable system. We discuss key issues of smart grid technologies, the technological infrastructure needed to integrate and automate multiple and diverse energy resources, the case for the electrification of the transportation sector, the impact on power system engineering curricula and the opportunities and challenges for the next generation of power engineers.
Speaker Bio: Sakis (A. P.) Meliopoulos was born on March 19, 1949 in Katerini, Greece. He obtained a Diploma in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University in Athens, Greece in 1972 and a Master in EE (1974) and a Ph.D. degree (1976) from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Dr. Meliopoulos' first professional association was with Western Electric (1971) in Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving a PhD degree in 1976, he joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor (1976), Associate Professor (1982-88) and full professor (1989-present). Since 1999 he is the Georgia Tech Site Director of PSERC, an NSF I/URC. In 2006 Dr. Meliopoulos was named the Georgia Power Distinguished Professor and in 2015 was appointed Associate Director of the Institute for Information Security and Privacy. He is actively involved in education and research for improved safety and electromagnetic compatibility of electric power installations, protection and control of power systems and the application of new technology in these areas. Dr. Meliopoulos has pioneered several new analysis and design techniques for bulk power reliability analysis, safety, protection and electromagnetic compatibility of electric power systems. Most well-known is the EPRI transmission reliability program TRELLS (now renamed TransCARE), the GPS-synchronized harmonic state measurement system for transmission systems (first (1993) wide area measurement system on NYPA and still operational), the distributed dynamic state estimation method (SuperCalibrator), the Dynamic State Estimator based protection, his invention of the Smart Ground Multimeter, the EPRI grounding analysis programs, the WinIGS (Integrated Grounding System analysis and design), the GEMI (Grounding and ElectroMagnetic Interference) computer code, and the mGrid computer code – a methodology and implementation for precise analysis of multi-wire power systems with distributed energy resources. Dr. Meliopoulos has modernized many power system courses at Georgia Tech, introduced new courses, initiated the power system certificate program for practicing engineers and most importantly he has introduced visualization and animation methodologies that dramatically increase the teaching efficiency of complex power system concepts. Dr. Meliopoulos is a Fellow of the IEEE. He holds 3 patents, he has published three books, a chapter in the Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers and over 300 technical papers. He has received a number of awards, including the Sigma Xi Young Faculty award (1981), twice the outstanding Continuing Education Award, Georgia Institute of Technology (2002 and 2015), three of his papers have received the best paper award (IEEE-PES-SC-1984, IEEE-PES-EC-1987, and IEEE-CSS-HICSS 2002), he received the 2005 IEEE Richard Kaufman Award and the 2010 George Montefiore international award.
Electrical Engineering Seminar Series
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ARTS FIRST: Jazz on the Plaza
WHEN Fri., Apr. 29, 2016, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Plaza, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Concerts, Music, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Office for the Arts at Harvard and Board of Overseers of Harvard College
COST Admission free; tickets/RSVPs not required
CONTACT INFO 617-495-8676
DETAILS Kick off ARTS FIRST weekend with a free concert under the Plaza tent! New director of Jazz Ensembles Yosvany Terry, a Grammy-nominated saxophonist/composer, makes his ARTS FIRST debut leading the Harvard Jazz Bands. Special appearance by Tia Fuller, saxophonist and Berklee College of Music faculty member. Cash bar with beer and wine.
LINK http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/arts#friday
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Saturday, April 30
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The Power and Promise of Biodiversity
Saturday, April 30
9:00 AM
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-power-and-promise-of-biodiversity-visions-of-restoring-land-sea-and-climate-tickets-21724837574
Cost: $16.82 - $53.74
We will explore the interconnections of life forms we see around us in the New England landscape, seascape and beyond, and discover the origins of those relationships in the past. Human restoration of biodiversity can regenerate rich and abundant eco-systems - we know how and now is the time to start!
Our speakers are scientists, visionaries and practitioners. Their stories will illuminate ways in which many species working in partnership can, with our help, regenerate a robust community of life - and a livable climate. Join us for a day of hopeful and realistic planetary solutions.
Please pass the word, and bring a friend!
Additional Details and Registration at: http://bio4climate.org/harvard-2016
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MIT Clean Energy Prize Showcase & Award Ceremony
Saturday, April 30
12:00 PM
MIT, Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Join the MIT Clean Energy Prize on April 30th for the Grand Final Showcase & Award Ceremony. At the Showcase (12:00pm-2:00pm) you'll have an opportunity to meet this year's finalist teams in categories including Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Infrastructure & Resources. At the Award Ceremony (2:00pm-3:30pm) prizes will be announced for each track as well as the $100,000 Grand Prize Award. You'll also hear from our keynote speakers (to be announced)! Reception to follow with food and drink from 3:30pm-5:00pm.
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Sunday, May 1
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Health Risks of Climate Change in Cambridge
Sunday, May 1
3-5:30pm
MIT, Building E25-117,
RSVP at http://bit.ly/22Q3Q1v
Join us in playing a role-playing game about the health risks of climate change in Cambridge! The MIT Science Impact Collaborative is working with the City of Cambridge to enhance the public understanding of health risks associated with climate change by hosting interactive workshops with various stakeholder groups throughout the city. You are invited to a workshop for Cambridge area environmentalists on Sunday, May 1st. You’ll be providing city officials valuable input into their planning processes to make Cambridge more resilient in the face of climate change.
Refreshments provided
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Monday, May 2
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Political Turbulence: How Social Media Shape Collective Action
Monday, May 2
11:30am to 1:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin 119, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Helen Margetts (University of Oxford)
Abstract: How does the changing use of social media affect politics? In a recent book - Political Turbulence, Princeton University Press, 2016 - Helen Margetts and colleagues Peter John, Scott Hale and Taha Yasseri show how social media are now inextricably intertwined with the political behaviour of ordinary citizens, and exert an unruly influence on the political world. As people go about their daily lives, they are invited to undertake 'tiny acts' of political participation (liking, sharing, tweeting, retweeting, following, uploading, viewing, signing and so on) which extend the ladder of participation at the lower end. These micro-donations of time and effort can scale up to large mobilizations – most fail, but some succeed rapidly and dramatically through a series of chain reactions. When deciding whether to participate, people are exposed to web-based social influence, such as social information about the participation of others, and visibility. Different types of people (personality types for example) have different responses to these forms of social influence. The book uses large-scale data and data science approaches including experimentation to explore how such dynamics inject turbulence into the political world, with mobilization characterized by instability, unpredictability and often unsustainability. The talk will discuss the implications of these findings both for political science research and the future of the modern state.
Bio: Helen Margetts is the Director of the OII, and Professor of Society and the Internet at Oxford. She is a political scientist specialising in digital era governance and politics, investigating political behaviour, digital government and government-citizen interactions in the age of the internet, social media and big data. She has published over a hundred books, articles and major research reports in this area, including Political Turbulence: How Social Media Shape Collective Action (with Peter John, scott Hale and Taha Yasseri, 2015); Paradoxes of Modernization (with Perri 6 and Christopher Hood, 2010); Digital Era Governance (with Patrick Dunleavy, 2006); and The Tools of Government in the Digital Age (with Christopher Hood, 2007). In 2003 she and Patrick Dunleavy won the ‘Political Scientists Making a Difference’ award from the UK Political Studies Association, in part for a series of policy reports on Government on the Internet for the UK National Audit Office (1999, 2002 and 2007), and she continues working to maximise the policy impact of her research. She sits on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government and is editor-in-chief of the journal Policy and Internet. She is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. From 2011- 2014 she held the ESRC professorial fellowship ‘The Internet, Political Science and Public policy: Re-examining Collective Action, Governance and Citizen-Governance Interactions in the Digital Era’.
Professor Margetts joined the OII in 2004 from University College London where she was a Professor in Political Science and Director of the School of Public Policy. She began her career as a computer programmer and systems analyst with Rank Xerox after receiving her BSc in mathematics from the University of Bristol. She returned to studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1989, completing an MSc in Politics and Public Policy in 1990 and a PhD in Government in 1996. She worked as a researcher at LSE from 1991 to 1994 and a lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London from 1994 to 1999.
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MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) - Christiane Jablonowski, Michigan
Monday, May 2
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)
The MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar Series [MASS] is a student-run weekly seminar series. Topics include all research concerning the atmosphere and climate, but also talks about e.g. societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars usually take place on Mondays in 54-915 from 12.00-1pm unless otherwise noted (term-time only). Talks are generally followed by a lunch with graduate students. Besides the seminar, individual meetings with professors, postdocs, and students are arranged. The seminar series is run by graduate students and is intended mainly for students to interact with individuals outside the department, but faculty and postdocs certainly participate. 2015/2016 co-ordinators: Marianna Linz (mlinz at mit.edu) and John Agard (jvagard at mit.edu). mass at mit.edu reaches the list.
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
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Energy Cooperation in China’s “One Belt One Road” Initiative
Monday, May 2
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard. Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
with Kaho Yu, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, HKS.
This series is presented by the Energy Technology Innovation Policy/Consortium for Energy Policy Research at the Kennedy School of Government. Lunch will be provided.
HKS Energy Policy Seminar Series
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/cepr/seminar.html
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
Louisa_Lund at hks.harvard.edu
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2016-05-02-160000-2016-05-02-173000/hks-energy-policy-seminar-series#sthash.EpE59fON.dpuf
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The Psychological Lives of the Poor
Monday, May 2
2:30p–3:30p
MIT, Building 6-120, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
Live webcast
Speaker: Sendhil Mullainathan
The D2P2 Lecture Series' inaugural talk will feature Sendhil Mullainathan (Harvard University), who will discuss "The Psychological Lives of the Poor," showcasing his research on scarcity and its impact on mental bandwidth and decision-making. The event is open to the general public and will be live webcast.
Professor Mullainathan is the co-author of Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, a book acclaimed by The Economist as "novel in its scope and ambition." In this book, Mullainathan and coauthor, Eldar Shafir, demonstrate that scarcity creates a similar psychology for everyone struggling to manage with less than they need. Busy people fail to manage their time efficiently for the same reasons the poor and those maxed out on credit cards fail to manage their money. The dynamics of scarcity reveal why dieters find it hard to resist temptation, why students and busy executives mismanage their time, and why sugarcane farmers are smarter after harvest than before. Once we start thinking in terms of scarcity and the strategies it imposes, the problems of modern life come into sharper focus.
This lecture provides a new way of understanding why the poor stay poor and the busy stay busy, and it reveals not only how scarcity leads us astray but also how individuals and organizations can better manage scarcity for greater satisfaction and success.
D2P2: Data. Decisions. Public Policy.
The D2P2 Lectures feature leading academics and other experts who share knowledge derived from modern applied economics research to demonstrate how it can inform better public policy decision-making. Speakers will discuss their groundbreaking research and practice, and how it can be applied to improve people's lives.
Web site: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/d2p2
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/register-d2p2
Sponsor(s): J-PAL, MIT Economics Department
For more information, contact:
6173247255
d2p2lectures at povertyactionlab.org
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After Ukraine, After Syria: What's Next?
Monday, May 2
3:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Andrei Kortunov
Focus On Russia lecture series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact: Harlene Miller
617-258-6531
harlenem at mit.edu
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Womenomics and Economic Reconstruction: A View from Fukushima
WHEN Mon., May 2, 2016, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Belfer Case Study Room (S020), Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
SPEAKER(S) The Honorable Masako Mori, Member, House of Councillors. Former Minister of State for Gender Equality, and former Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
Moderated by Susan Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and Director, WCFIA Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University
COST Free and open to the public
LINK http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/calendar/upcoming
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Why is Pollution from U.S. Manufacturing Declining? The Roles of Trade, Regulation, Productivity, and Preferences
Monday, May 2
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E52-532, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Joe Shapiro (Yale)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): International Seminar
For more information, contact:
economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu
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Thinking Fast Makes Changing Slow, Lydia Villa-Komaroff, MIT STS Morison Prize Lecture
Monday, May 2
4:00p–6:00p
MIT, Building E14, Winter Garden Room, and Lecture Room, 6th Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D.
Morison Prize Lecture
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): HASTS
For more information, contact: Gus Zahariadis
617-253-3452
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Roundtable Discussion on the Future of Technology and Democracy
WHEN Mon., May 2, 2016, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Ash Center, 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Information Technology, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center for Democratic Governance & Innovation
SPEAKER(S) 2015-16 Technology and Democracy fellows
Moderated by Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship, and Academic Dean, Harvard Kennedy School
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO maisie_obrien at hks.haravard.edu
DETAILS Join the 2015-16 Technology and Democracy fellows for a roundtable discussion on the future of civic tech, their work in and outside of the fellowship program, and the Technology and Democracy Fellowship.
LINK http://ash.harvard.edu/event/roundtable-discussion-future-technology-and-democracy
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The Logic, Urgency and Promise of Tackling Climate Change
Monday, May 2
4:15 pm
Harvard, CGIS-S020, Belfer Case Study Room, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
The Energy History Project hosts Nicholas Stern, London School of Economics, who will discuss "The Logic, Urgency and Promise of Tackling Climate Change."
More at: http://green.harvard.edu/events/logic-urgency-and-promise-tackling-climate-change#sthash.UxGNIQJn.dpuf
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Reflections on Emerging Microbial Threats
Monday, May 2
5:00 pm
MIT, Building 1-190, 33 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Prof. James M. Hughes, Emory University School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health
Pre-lecture Reception: 4:30pm.
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Haiti: Voice, Gender and Representation in the Aftermath of Disaster
Monday, May 2
5:00p–6:30p
MIT, Building 14E-304, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speakers: Kaiama L. Glover and Charles Forsdick
Professor Kaiama L. Glover (Barnard College)
Professor Glover joined the Barnard College faculty in 2002. Her teaching and research interests include francophone literature, particularly that of Haiti and the French Antilles; colonialism and postcolonialism; and sub-Saharan francophone African cinema.
Professor Charles Forsdick (University of Liverpool)
Charles Forsdick is James Barrow Professor of French at the University of Liverpool. He has published widely on travel writing, colonial history, postcolonial literature and the cultures of slavery. He is also a specialist on Haiti and the Haitian Revolution, and has written widely about representations of Toussaint Couverture.
MIT Global France Seminar
Web site: https://mitgsl.mit.edu/news-events/haiti-voice-gender-and-representation-aftermath-disaster
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): MIT Global Studies and Languages
For more information, contact: Lisa Hickler
617-452-2676
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Tuesday, May 3
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Boston TechBreakfast: Paperflite, thoughtbot, MobileLeads LLC, and More!
Tuesday, May 3
8:00 AM
Northeastern University, Curry Student Center, Room 318-322, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston
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!
Paperflite: - Yegappan Kumarappan
thoughtbot: FormKeep - Matthew Sumner
MobileLeads LLC: MLeads - Manish Gorawala
*** OPEN ***
~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words
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How "New" is the New National Front?: Mapping Out Marine Le Pen's Rhetorical Turn With Digital Humanities Software
Tuesday, May 3
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 14E-304, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Cecile Alduy
Since taking over the National Front in 2011, Marine Le Pen has carried the far right party to first place in the polls. What does she say that resonates with French voters so strongly? Does voting Marine Le Pen today mean the same thing as voting Jean-Marie Le Pen yesterday?
Cecile Alduy is Associate Professor of French literature and culture and the Director of the French and Italian Department at Stanford University. Last year she published Marine Le Pen prise aux mots. D’cryptage du nouveau discours frontiste [Marine Le Pen Taken To Her Words. Decoding the New National Front Discourse] (Seuil, 2015).
Global France Seminar
Web site: http://mitgsl.mit.edu/news-events/how-new-new-national-front
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): MIT Global Studies and Languages
For more information, contact: Lisa Hickler
617-452-2676
lhickler at mit.edu
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Common Ground for Health: Precision, Personalized, and Social Medicine
WHEN Tue., May 3, 2016, 5 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Fay House, Sheerr Room, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Professors Linn Getz, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Bruce McEwen, of the Rockefeller University
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS “Precision medicine” and “personalized medicine” are emerging medical models that promise to customize disease prevention and treatments based on individual variability in DNA and the molecular products of genes. “Social medicine” seeks to understand how social and economic conditions impact health and disease. With recent developments in epigenetics, this lecture will examine how these different paths contribute to health study and how the most fruitful work may occur at the intersection of these perspectives.
LINK http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2016-linn-getz-and-bruce-mcewen-lecture
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TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
Tuesday, May 3
6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.harvard.com/event/chris_anderson/
Cost: $5.00 - On Sale Now
Harvard Book Store welcomes the curator of the internationally famous TED Talks CHRIS ANDERSON for a discussion of his book TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking—an insider’s guide to creating talks that are unforgettable.
About TED Talks
Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has shown how carefully crafted short talks can be the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement, spreading knowledge, and promoting a shared dream. Done right, a talk can electrify a room and transform an audience’s worldview. Done right, a talk is more powerful than anything in written form.
This book explains how the miracle of powerful public speaking is achieved, and equips you to give it your best shot. There is no set formula; no two talks should be the same. The goal is for you to give the talk that only you can give. But don’t be intimidated. You may find it more natural than you think.
Chris Anderson has worked behind the scenes with all the TED speakers who have inspired us the most, and here he shares insights from such favorites as Sir Ken Robinson, Amy Cuddy, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Khan, Dan Gilbert, Mary Roach, Matt Ridley, and dozens more—everything from how to craft your talk’s content to how you can be most effective on stage. This is the 21st-century’s new manual for truly effective communication and it is a must-read for anyone who is ready to create impact with their ideas.
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The Momentum towards Sustainability and Challenges Facing Youth
Tuesday, May 3
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Cambridge Innovation Center, Venture Cafe, 5th Floor One Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-momentum-towards-sustainability-and-challenges-facing-youth-tickets-24561467009
Cost: $10 – $12
Not unlike generations before them, kids these days are growing up in a new reality. Lightening-speed connectivity and innovation are making life exciting and them aware of massive societal issues. Included in this mix is a large group of disadvantaged young people who have less to do with the natural world than ever before.
This month, our spotlight is on momentum toward ever-greater sustainability and the challenges kids face in a connected, yet changing and also distressed world. There will be a lot to learn from the truths and tensions of this topic and to take back to your own efforts in your communities, organizations and personal lives.
As a starting point for the evening, we’ve asked our speakers to touch on a few topics as they bring their experience and passion for sustainability and children to the BASG.
Authentic, meaningful and effective approaches for engaging children in sustainability
The role of policy at the federal or state level to advance sustainability education
Translating interest in sustainability to interest in a STEM career
Differences in momentum across regions, demographics and living environments
We are grateful to Eric Magers (Director of the Green Team and Green Scholars Programs in the Manchester-Essex Regional School District) and Dr. Ricky S. Stern, Founder and Executive Director of “e” inc., an environment science learning and action center, for leading this important conversation.
Dr. Ricky Stern
Ricky founded “e” inc. over 13 years ago with a mission of educating children, youth and their caregivers in our area about environment science, environmentally positive behavior, and how they can make a difference that can lead to a sustainable future. She and her team teach young people through standards-based science residencies that use hands-on experiences to demonstrate science ideas and actions. Their goal is to help children clearly grasp the science concepts of how our planet ‘works’ and what they can do today to make a difference. “e” inc. is active in 13 schools and 17 after-schools in 3 cities, this year reaching 7000 young people.
Eric Magers
Eric is a passionate sustainability educator and practitioner. Everything he does is about helping students in their quest of lifelong learning and collaborating with others to grow and improve local and national environmental education. Two cool highlights from Eric’s environmental advocacy career are receiving an honorable mention in 2014 from the EPA’s Gina McCarthy for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators and winning the Alliance for Climate Education Teacher of the Year award in 2013, annually given to one teacher in the U.S.
We hope you’ll be able to join us, our speakers and our co-host CitySprouts for this important conversation. — Carol, Holly, Tilly.
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Opportunity
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CLIMATE SMART BOSTON
Climate Smart Boston is about getting public input on vulnerabilities and resources related to climate readiness and resilience in the City of Boston and surrounding region in order to more fully inform to the Climate Ready Boston and Imagine Boston 2030 planning processes.
SIGN UP at https://communityplanit.org/bostonclimate/
Boston is striving to advance climate preparedness planning to produce resiliency initiatives that work together to address physical, social and environmental vulnerabilities in our communities. You can participate in this process and help shape the preparedness of the city in adapting to climate change. Boston is recognized as a world-class leader in climate resilience planning by the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative and was recognized at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference with an award for "Smart Cities and Smart Community Engagement" by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group in Paris. Boston officials want to make sure the distinct needs of all neighborhoods are well understood as they plan to meet the climate challenges that will face our city in 2030 and beyond. Participate in Climate Smart Boston to play your part!
Three missions
Climate Smart Boston challenges you over three time-sensitive missions:
Mission 1: March 25 - April 1
Mission 2: April 1 - April 8
Mission 3: April 8 - April 15
Miss a mission? Don't worry, there's still plenty more to play!
This game has launched!
Sign up now, and get ready to plan your community! If you share this page with your friends, we'll get even more bright ideas on the table.
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The Summer of 2016 there will be a special issue of the journal Socialism and Democracy (http://sdonline.org/) on Energy Transition, with an emphasis on renewable energy, including wind, solar, and biomass.
We are looking for reviewers of one or more articles. We are also seeking people who could send us reviews of relevant books, for this issue.
Weimin Tchen
weimintchen at gmail.com
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Solarize Somerville is a go!
Hello neighbors--
On this cold winter day, I'm delighted to share the sunny news that Somerville MA has been chosen by the MassCEC (Clean Energy Center) to be a Solarize Mass community! You can see the announcement here:
http://www.masscec.com/about-masscec/news/state-energy-officials-announce-five-new-communities-participate-solar-program
State energy officials today announced the selection of the first five communities to participate in Solarize Mass for 2016. The new municipalities participating in the community-based solar energy group-buying program that lowers overall costs of installing solar electric systems include Somerville and Natick, as well as Shelburne, Colrain and Conway, which have joined as a trio of partner communities....
You can learn more about the MassCEC and the SolarizeMass program at: www.solarizemass.com .
As the announcement has just been made, we don't have a lot of additional information at this time. But this selection means that we can now work with the city and the state to help residents of Somerville to decide if solar is a suitable option for them and their homes or businesses. We'll be developing and sharing educational materials, we'll have events to help people learn more and get questions answered, and we will help people to understand the processes associated with generating local, artisanal electrons.
Officially I'm the "Solar Coach" for Somerville. I am a point of contact to help people with basic solar PV issues and incentives. I'm working with folks from the city who will manage the overall project. This is a joint effort by the Office of Sustainability and Environment, with director Oliver Sellers-Garcia, and the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development with Russell Koty.
As a Coach, I am a volunteer organizer and am not authorized to speak as a spokesperson on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or MassCEC. My job is to help people to understand the program once it's in place, and to answer questions that my neighbors may have as they consider the options. Things outside of my wheelhouse will be directed to the folks who can answer them.
You can contact me here with questions, or soon we'll have some information resources with more details. If you might want to volunteer to be on the outreach team. let me know.
Mary Mangan
Solar Coach Volunteer
somervillesolarcoach at gmail.com
[vendors should not contact me, I'm not supposed to have contact with them prior to the proposal process]
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Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!
Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.
For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
Solar map of Cambridge, MA
http://www.mapdwell.com/en/cambridge
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Hey Cambridge residents!
Did you know the City of Cambridge is trying to win the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize? It was created to develop a cleaner and more efficient energy future. Energy efficiency and conservation are the best ways to save energy and minimize environmental impact. In that effort, Cambridge is hoping all residents will get a no-cost energy assessment in order to make their homes more efficient and comfortable. Let us know you're interested here: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/sign-up-for-an-assessment
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
Again, let us know you're interested here: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/sign-up-for-an-assessment and someone will be in contact with you shortly to give you personally tailored contact information on how you can get your no-cost home energy assessment. Renters are also eligible!
Any action to save energy in the home will help Cambridge win this competition while protecting the environment. For additional ideas on how to save energy, please see the Cambridge Energy Alliance website at http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/interactivehome
Please share with your Cambridge friends and family and ask them to get a free energy assessment!
Want to be more involved? Become a neighborhood Block Captain! Block Captains help their community members sign up for and complete no-cost home energy assessments through the MassSave program. Our team will give you the tools and guidance needed to recruit neighbors to get an assessment and improve the efficiency of their homes. Participation is welcome at whatever level you are able to commit to.
If you are interested in becoming a Block Captain, please fill out the form at http://tinyurl.com/blockcaptainsurvey and someone from the Cambridge Energy Alliance will be in contact with you shortly. If you know someone who might be interested, please let them know about this opportunity!
Questions? Contact jnahigian at cambridgema.gov
Cambridge Energy Alliance
http://www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org/winit
@cambenergy
http://facebook.com/cambridgeenergyalliance
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Sunny Cambridge has just launched! Sunny Cambridge is the city-wide initiative that makes it easy for all types of residents to get solar power for their homes. Cambridge has lined up local solar installers through the EnergySage Solar Marketplace, which helps you request, receive, and compare solar quotes 100% online with support available every step of the way.
The City of Cambridge is working on many levels to reduce energy use and GHG emissions to make the city more sustainable. As a semifinalist in the nationwide competition for the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize, Cambridge Energy Alliance is encouraging residents to take actions to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Get involved by signing up for a no-cost home energy assessment at the Cambridge Energy Alliance home page (www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org/winit)
and going solar at http://www.sunnycambridge.org
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Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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The Boston Network for International Development (BNID) maintains a website (BNID.org) that serves as a clearing-house for information on organizations, events, and jobs related to international development in the Boston area. BNID has played an important auxiliary role in fostering international development activities in the Boston area, as witnessed by the expanding content of the site and a significant growth in the number of users.
The website contains:
A calendar of Boston area events and volunteer opportunities related to International Development - http://www.bnid.org/events
A jobs board that includes both internships and full time positions related to International Development that is updated daily - http://www.bnid.org/jobs
A directory and descriptions of more than 250 Boston-area organizations - http://www.bnid.org/organizations
Also, please sign up for our weekly newsletter (we promise only one email per week) to get the most up-to-date information on new job and internship opportunities -www.bnid.org/sign-up
The website is completely free for students and our goal is to help connect students who are interested in international development with many of the worthwhile organizations in the area.
Please feel free to email our organization at info at bnid.org if you have any questions!
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Boston Maker Spaces - 27 and counting: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zGHnt9r2pQx8.kfw9evrHsKjA&hl=en
BASEN / Boston Solidarity Network Economy: http://ba-sen.tumblr.com
Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston: http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at over 50 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